There appears to be an arms race between AMD and Nvidia for the living room. Earlier this year, Nvidia announced its Big Format Gaming Display (BFGD) initiative that will see several hardware partners introduce 65-inch 4K TVs with G-Sync support (among other things), and not to be outdone, AMD today announced it's hitching a ride to the living room by partnering with Samsung to support FreeSync on a bunch of QLED TVs.
FreeSync support is now available on Samsung's 2018 QLED lineup throughout the 55-inch to 82-inch range, and on the NU8000 / NU8500 models in the same size range.
"We launched FreeSync technology with a mission to end frame tearing and dropped frames, as well as improve the experience for gamers around the world. With Samsung’s FreeSync technology QLED TVs, extra smooth gameplay visuals have never been so accessible, and never in such a large and appealing format," said Scott Herkelman, vice present and general manager of AMD's Radeon Technologies Group.
This is a smart partnership, if not one that was inevitable. On the console side of things, AMD's graphics hardware is found in Microsoft's Xbox One S and Xbox One X consoles, both of which gained FreeSync support last month. And for PC gamers, this makes playing on the living room TV more appealing, provided all the necessary parts are in place (Radeon GPU + a supported Samsung TV).
"From the beginning, Samsung has embraced Radeon FreeSync technology and the commitment from AMD to deliver technologies based on open standards that enhance the gaming experience," said Chu Jongsuk, senior vice president at Samsung. "Our users demand the absolute best in visual quality, and that extends to smooth gaming low latency. We're thrilled to bring the power of Radeon FreeSync technology to Samsung TVs for players around the world."
Hopefully this is just the beginning and will lead to other TV brands supporting FreeSync. We can also hope for higher 4k refresh rates in the future. If nothing else, it certainly makes things interesting between AMD and Nvidia in the living room.
