The Xbox Series X can stream and record gameplay in 4K at 60 fps
But what can the Series S do?
Microsoft has revealed a lot about its next-gen plans this week, confirming details about its smaller, cheaper console called the
Xbox Series S. The company also released a tidbit of information about the system’s more powerful sibling, the
Xbox Series X: It is capable of streaming gameplay and recording gameplay clips in 4K resolution at a frame rate of 60 frames per second, according to a fact sheet Microsoft provided to the media.
This is an upgrade over the current-gen
Xbox One X, which can record Xbox Game DVR clips at 4K but is limited to 30 fps. Of course, it’ll be much easier to capture screenshots and gameplay on the next-gen Xboxes, thanks to the new
Share button on the controller.
A table in the Xbox fact sheet comparing the capabilities of the Xbox Series X and the Series S makes their respective feature sets look largely identical. Microsoft says that the major difference between the two consoles is in their rendering resolution: The Series X is built to play games in native 4K at 60 fps, while the Series S is designed for 1440p gaming at 60 fps. (Both consoles also support frame rates as high as 120 fps.)
However, the 4K60 streaming and recording is listed in the table as a feature available exclusively on the Xbox Series X. Of course, this makes sense — the Series S isn’t rendering games at 4K. But there’s no information on the resolution and frame rate that the Series S does support for gameplay streaming and capture. We’ve reached out to Microsoft regarding the Xbox Series S’s capabilities in this respect, and we’ll update this story with any information we receive.
The Series X’s ability to stream and capture 4K60 gameplay brings it in line with some of the most powerful gaming PCs out there. Nvidia and AMD graphics cards allow for high-end gameplay streaming and recording using proprietary software. But otherwise players must use devices like the Elgato 4K60 Pro capture card or Elgato 4K60 S+ box — which can run a couple hundred bucks themselves — to actually capture that high-end video. Microsoft’s new hardware makes high-end streaming and video capture much more accessible to non-professional content creators.
It’s worth noting that YouTube is currently the only major streaming service that supports livestreaming at 4K60, since
Microsoft shut down its own service, Mixer, in July. Twitch is limited to 1080p at 60 fps, while Facebook and Twitter only support 720p video at the moment. It’s possible that Microsoft’s inclusion of 4K60 streaming capability in the Xbox Series X could push platforms other than YouTube to support higher-quality video.
www.videogameschronicle.com
faraany3k:
www.pcgamer.com
EternalBlizzard:
