Xbox One FreeSync and Variable Refresh Rates: Everything you need to know

Microsoft is debuting an assortment of new display options for Xbox One with the April Xbox Update. Now available to the public, support for 1440p resolutions, Auto Low Latency Style and Variable Refresh Rates via FreeSync has been added to the console.

Since the launch of the Xbox One Ten, upcoming support for FreeSync has been one of its virtually anticipated features. Smoothing out gameplay via specialist hardware, the feature further solidifies the panel as one of the top-tier gaming devices on the market. Here'south what you need to know virtually FreeSync and using information technology on your Xbox One.

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Understanding the problem

When gaming on traditional displays, incoming frames are output on the fly, to ensure the most recent image is reflected on-screen. When the number of frames output by a device exceeds the refresh rate of the display, a new frame can exist pushed during a screen depict, resulting in two images existence displayed at a unmarried time. Known as "screen tearing," this tin ruin an otherwise faultless gaming feel.

Software-based counters to screen tearing take been used in the by, with the most common of these "Vertical Sync" (V-Sync). Forcing a system to output a consistent frame rate matching the monitor'southward refresh rate, this tin can eliminate screen tearing entirely. Even so, by belongings back frames, V-Sync tin be a cause for stuttering and lag. That's not ideal for activeness-packed gameplay.

What is FreeSync on Xbox One?

How FreeSync can eliminate screen trigger-happy on your Xbox One, provided by AMD.

Variable Refresh Rates (VRR) is the next big engineering science expected to eliminate screen tearing, adapting the refresh rate of your brandish to that of outputted content. FreeSync is AMD'due south VRR technology, assuasive FreeSync-compatible systems and monitors to communicate directly, scaling a display'southward refreshes to current outputted frames. This reduces screen tearing without bottlenecking operation, making for a smoother overall gaming experience.

Between AMD and its partners, an ecosystem of over 200 FreeSync-uniform displays is now available on the market. Leveraging an open standard and offering royalty-free licensing for manufacturers, the technology is seeing increased adoption over rival solutions such every bit NVIDIA'due south G-Sync. And with the Xbox One housing AMD chips under the hood, FreeSync is a perfect fit for the console family.

What you need for FreeSync on Xbox I

Support for FreeSync on Xbox One is limited to Xbox I X and Xbox One S variants of the panel. Support for the technology was added in the upcoming April Xbox Update.

Due to Xbox I hardware limitations, but select FreeSync displays are compatible with the console likewise. To employ FreeSync, an Xbox One must be connected to a brandish that supports FreeSync over HDMI, which is merely offered by a subset of the current display range. VRR support should soon be more accessible with HDMI 2.1 but adoption of the standard is nevertheless scarce.

To get the near out of FreeSync, a display that supports the FreeSync 2 and HDR10 standards should exist used. FreeSync 2 is the latest revision of the applied science, delivering support for features similar High Dynamic Range (HDR), while HDR10 is the only HDR standard supported by Xbox One. Without this, HDR images cannot be displayed on the console.

All-time FreeSync monitors for Xbox One

How to enable FreeSync for Xbox One

When connected to a FreeSync-compatible display, FreeSync support can exist enabled through the console's settings. When the Xbox Spring Update is installed on your console, the selection to enable the feature can exist found in the Settings app. These are the steps to enabling FreeSync on Xbox I.

Open the Settings app on Xbox One.
Navigating to the Display & sound tab.
Select the Video output tile.
Select Video modes.
Enable the Variable Refresh Rates checkbox.

Variable Refresh Rates over FreeSync is now enabled on your Xbox I.

Over to you

Have yous used FreeSync on your Xbox 1 console? Exercise yous programme to purchase a uniform display? Driblet into the comments department below with your thoughts on the technology.

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Xbox 1 Spring 2022 Update: All the expected changes
Why Xbox I X owners should care about HDMI two.1
How to enable HDR for Xbox One 10 on popular 4K TVs
How to enable Xbox One 1440p support for Xbox 1 Ten and Xbox One S

Updated April 24, 2022: Refreshed this article following the characteristic's public rollout.

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