HDMI 2.1 gaming on PS5 and Xbox Series X

14 November 2026

Both current Sony and Microsoft consoles can output 4K at 120Hz, but neither will do it automatically on a typical living-room setup. The PS5 supports the HDMI 2.1 specification and 4K 120Hz video output, according to PlayStation's 4K resolution guide. The Xbox Series X supports 4K120 over HDMI 2.1 too. Getting there means a TV port that can carry the signal, a cable that can handle it, and a handful of settings in the right order.

Which HDMI 2.1 settings matter most for PS5 and Xbox Series X

Three features do most of the work: 120Hz output, variable refresh rate (VRR) and HDR. On PS5, 120Hz output and VRR are both switched on from the same place, Settings > Screen and Video > Video Output, as Sony UK's support guidance explains. That makes the PS5 side straightforward. If the console's Video Output screen offers the options and your TV is set up to accept them, you can enable both in a single visit.

The Xbox Series X covers a similar spread. It supports 4K120 over HDMI 2.1, and 4K, VRR, HDR and Dolby Vision over either HDMI 2.0 or HDMI 2.1, according to FlatpanelsHD's rundown of the console's video features. The distinction matters for anyone with a slightly older television. A TV limited to HDMI 2.0 can still deliver 4K, VRR, HDR and Dolby Vision from an Xbox, so you are not locked out of the better picture features. What you give up is the 4K120 mode specifically.

HDR is the third piece, and it has its own calibration step on each console. On the Xbox, the option is called Calibrate HDR for games. On the PS5 there is a separate HDR adjustment process. We come back to both below, because the way you handle them affects how bright highlights and dark scenes look.

The practical point is that these are three separate switches rather than one. A TV can accept 120Hz and still have VRR disabled, and a console can output HDR while the TV applies its own processing on top. Treat each as something to check, not something to assume.

The TV port and cable choices that unlock 4K120

This is where most failed setups go wrong. A modern TV often has four HDMI sockets, and they are not always equal. Sony UK's guidance for its BRAVIA sets says to enable Enhanced Format on the HDMI port connected to the console to ensure 4K at 120Hz. In other words, the port may be physically capable of the signal and still not carry it until that setting is turned on. If you plug a console into the first free socket and never open the TV's input settings, you could be running at a lower refresh rate than the box on the shelf promises.

The detail to act on: Enhanced Format is applied per port, so it has to be enabled for the exact socket your console uses. If you later move the console to a different input, for instance to free up a socket for a soundbar or a streaming stick, the setting does not travel with it. Other manufacturers may use different wording for the same idea, so check the TV's manual or its input menu if you do not see that name.

Then there is the cable. HDMI 2.1 offers up to 48Gbps of total throughput, as Digital Trends explained in its overview of the standard. The Xbox Series X uses the 40Gbps HDMI 2.1 mode for its 4K 120Hz output, which sits below that ceiling. For 4K gaming, Reviewed recommends an HDMI 2.1 cable with 48Gbps bandwidth. Buying to the 48Gbps figure gives you headroom above what the Xbox needs, and it spares you from guessing which consoles, PCs or future devices might push harder.

Cables that came in the box with older equipment are the usual culprit when a 120Hz option is missing or the picture drops out. An old cable that works fine for 4K at 60Hz may simply not carry the extra data. If the console will not offer 120Hz even though the TV claims HDMI 2.1, swapping in a cable labelled for 48Gbps is the cheapest first test, before you start doubting the TV or the console.

A quick reference for the numbers involved:

• HDMI 2.1 total throughput: up to 48Gbps
• Xbox Series X 4K 120Hz output: the 40Gbps HDMI 2.1 mode
• Recommended cable for 4K gaming (Reviewed): HDMI 2.1, 48Gbps
• Sony UK port setting for 4K120: Enhanced Format, enabled on the console's HDMI port

How ALLM and Game Mode reduce lag

Most TVs spend a lot of effort improving the picture. Motion smoothing, noise reduction and sharpening all take processing time, and that delay shows up as input lag between pressing a button and seeing the result. Game Mode strips back that processing so the picture reaches the screen faster. For fast shooters, fighting games and anything competitive, that difference is felt in the controller.

Auto Low Latency Mode, or ALLM, takes away the chore of switching it on manually. Sony UK says ALLM automatically activates Game Mode on compatible BRAVIA TVs when a PS5 or other compatible console is connected. The TV recognises that a console is attached and changes its own picture mode accordingly. When you turn the console off or switch to a different input, the TV can return to its usual settings, which is handy if the same screen is used for films and broadcast TV.

Because Sony's wording refers to a PS5 or another compatible console, the same idea applies on the Xbox side of the living room. You do not need to run two separate routines for two consoles. What you should check is that your TV actually lists ALLM or an automatic game mode, and that it is not disabled in the picture or HDMI menus. A set that lacks it still has a manual Game Mode, so the fallback is simply to select that mode yourself for the input the console uses.

One caveat is worth bearing in mind. Game Mode usually trades some picture processing for speed, so a game may look a little plainer than it does in a cinema preset. For most players that is a fair price, and for competitive play it is the right call. If you like to compare, switch the mode off briefly in a slow, scenic game and decide for yourself, but keep it on wherever response matters.

HDR calibration and HGiG for accurate brightness

HDR content tells the display how bright each part of the picture should be. The TV then decides how much of that to follow and how much to rework using its own tone-mapping. When the console and TV both try to adjust the picture, bright areas can lose detail or the whole image can look off. Calibrating on the console is meant to make the two agree.

On the Xbox Series X, the relevant tool is Calibrate HDR for games, which, as FlatpanelsHD notes, is used to set the TV's tone-mapping to off, sometimes called HGiG. That step is the heart of the process: you tell the console what your screen can actually show, and the TV stops second-guessing it. The PS5 has its own HDR adjustment process on the console, and the aim is the same, a picture tuned to the screen in front of you rather than to a generic default.

The order of steps below keeps it manageable:

Enable 120Hz and VRR on the PS5 in Settings > Screen and Video > Video Output.

Make sure the TV's port is set for the console's signal, using Enhanced Format on Sony sets.

On the PS5, run the console's HDR adjustment from its video settings.

On the Xbox Series X, run Calibrate HDR for games.

In the TV's menus, set tone-mapping to off, or HGiG, where the Xbox process calls for it.

Do the calibration with the game-friendly picture mode already active, so you are adjusting the picture you will actually play on. Doing it in a cinema preset and then letting ALLM flip the TV into Game Mode afterwards can leave the results out of step. Calibrating in a dim room helps too, because HDR highlights are easier to judge when the screen is not fighting daylight.

Best-practice setup order for a UK living-room TV

Start with the physical connection. Plug the console into the HDMI input you intend to keep using, ideally the one your TV marks as supporting its highest-bandwidth features, and use a cable rated for HDMI 2.1 at 48Gbps. Then open the TV's input settings and enable the enhanced format option for that port. Sony UK's advice is specific on that point: enable Enhanced Format on the port connected to the console to ensure 4K at 120Hz.

Next, turn to the console. On a PS5, go to Settings > Screen and Video > Video Output and enable 120Hz output and VRR. On an Xbox Series X, check that the console is outputting 4K, with 4K120 available if your TV and cable support it, and with VRR, HDR and Dolby Vision enabled where your set offers them. If the TV is limited to HDMI 2.0, expect to lose 4K120 but not the other picture features.

Then confirm ALLM is working. Switch to the console's input and see whether the TV drops into Game Mode on its own. If it does not, select Game Mode manually and look for an ALLM option in the TV's settings.

Finish with HDR calibration, running Calibrate HDR for games on the Xbox and the HDR adjustment on the PS5, with tone-mapping set to off or HGiG where the Xbox process calls for it. Leave this step until last because it depends on everything before it. If you change the port, the cable or the TV's picture mode later, run the calibration again.

If something does not appear in the menus, work backwards through the chain: cable first, then the TV port setting, then the console option. That order catches most of the problems, and it costs the least to test.