Console gaming (XBOX, Playstation, Nintendo, etc) or PC gaming.
Gaming
How can I connect my WiiU to my home theater?
Episode 1002
Eric fromEric bought a Nintendo WiiU and says that it's amazing. He wants to connect his home theater to it, but it only has an HDMI port. Leo says in order for the surround sound to work, something has to decode it and tell it where to send those sounds. Having his TV do it is possible if it supports Surround sound. Leo says getting the undecoded audio from the WiiU into the TV is key. He could try optical out from the TV to the home theater. The best way to do this is by getting an A/V receiver. Let it do all the heavy lifting. Denon or Onkyo make affordable models.
How can I record my video gaming?
Episode 998
Brandon fromBrandon wants to start recording his video game play and needs a video card that can do that. Leo says that the next generation game platforms will be doing that, and live. Most people use the software FRAPS. That will allow him to not only record video games in HD, but also test the speed of video games. It's for PC only though.
What laptop should I get for gaming and school?
Episode 990
Matthew fromMatt is 13 years old and now that school is out, he wants to get a good laptop for gaming and for school. His dad has given him a budget of under $1,000. Leo says that's a great budget and there's plenty of options. Gaming is challenging for laptops because of heat, performance, etc. There are gaming laptops, but they're often overpriced, heavy, and have poor battery life. Games like Half Life or Team Fortress are pretty demanding, so he'll want to get a laptop with a good graphics processing unit.
How can I stop my computer from shutting itself down?
Episode 990
Xavier fromXavier's son has a problem with his computer shutting down after gaming on it for 10 minutes. Then, when he turns it back on, it never shuts down after that. Leo says that a PC usually shuts down when it's overheating. It's a really big deal when a computer shuts off. It won't be a driver or a crashed program, those things can crash the computer, but not shut it down. A shut down is designed to prevent overheating from causing damage. Could there be something running in the background that's doing it?
What's up with the XBox One restrictions?
Episode 987
Wyatt fromWyatt is a gamer, a huge XBox fan, and he's pretty upset with the new draconian used game policy that the XBox One will have. He believes it'll cause faithful fans like him go to Playstation which has no such restrictions. Leo says it's ridiculous and amounts to Microsoft and game publishers trying to get as much money as possible out of their fans. Microsoft is gambling it won't matter with the majority of those who buy it, and they may be right. Especially when the Playstation 4 is $100 less (of course, it doesn't come with a Kinect-like feature either).
Sony and Microsoft Announce Next Generation Game Consoles at E3
Episode 987
Microsoft and Sony both had announcements regarding their next generation gaming consoles at the E3 conference this week. The big news to take away from this is that Sony will have no restrictions for used and borrowed games on its Playstation 4, and it will be priced $100 cheaper than the $500 Xbox One from Microsoft. Both will be out in time for the holiday season this Fall.
Could I game with built-in graphics?
Episode 983
Grant fromGrant loves to play video games and wants to get a good computer to do it. Leo says that depending on the types of games he plays would decide just how powerful a computer he'll want to get. If he's doing first person shooter games, or games with heavy 3D graphics, then he'll want a laptop with an i7 processor and plenty of RAM.
Is it true that Xbox One has more than one operating system?
Episode 982
Matthew fromMatthew hears that the XBox One has more than one operating system. Leo says it actually has three! Under the hood, it has the central core of Windows 8. On top of that is Microsoft's HyperV, which switches in context. Lastly, there's the gaming interface for XBox. Leo says it's not really three separate operating systems so much as different user interfaces. The interesting thing is that Microsoft is using the Windows 8 kernel (even though they refuse to call it that), and Leo says it's going to be a very powerful PC with a gaming system on top of it.
New Xbox One From Microsoft Goes Beyond Gaming
Episode 982
Microsoft announced their next generation XBox this week. Dubbed 'XBox One,' the platform is not just for gaming anymore. The XBox One comes with an internal 500GB hard drive, and works as a 'pass through', meaning everything will connect to the Xbox instead of directly to the TV. This makes Xbox One a central hub for all entertainment, including live TV. According to the chat room, it should sell for around $299, but Leo suspects it could be around $500.
Can I use an HDTV for PC gaming in a multi-monitor setup?
Episode 977
Carlos fromCarlos wants to get a nice multi HD monitor setup with an HDTV to use as a gaming monitor. Leo says that HDTVs have lower resolution than computer monitors. Monitors are over 2K while TVs are currently just 1080p. 4K TVs are coming though. There is a Seiki UHD $1500 4K TV. PC Perspectives has reviewed it and got pretty good results. Most video cards now have HDMI, so he could connect his computer to an HDTV directly.
