Samsung Adds Amazon Luna to Its Smart TV Gaming Hub
Samsung’s 2022 lineup of TVs and monitors got a gaming upgrade in June with the addition of Stadia, GeForce Now, and Xbox Cloud Gaming support. At the time, Samsung said its new Gaming Hub would get support for Amazon Luna in the future, and the wait was shorter than expected. As promised, Luna is now available on compatible Samsung smart TVs.
The Samsung Gaming Hub is built into the company’s current TV lineup, so you don’t have to get a streaming dongle or a separate TV box to stream games. It’s rare to find a media streaming device that supports more than one of these services, but with the latest edition, 2022 Samsung TVs support all of them. All you need is a compatible controller and a subscription to the service of your choice. Well, you need the TV as well, but Samsung’s offerings run the gamut from a budget-friendly 43-inch 4K model for as little as $550 all the way up to the latest 85-inch 8K set that costs $7,000.
Of course, none of these streaming services can manage 8K resolution — 4K is the best you’ll get (only 1080p on Luna), and the image clarity might not be what you expect from traditional gaming. Cloud gaming services like Luna render games on a server and then stream the video to you. That’s why a TV with a modest integrated processor can bring you games that usually require a powerful video card or game console.
Amazon officially launched Luna in the US earlier this year, and it’s got a different pitch than the competition. Amazon Prime members get access to one of several “channels” with a handful of free games — just don’t expect any hot new blockbusters. Gamers have the option of subscribing to other channels with their own selection of games. At $10, Luna+ is the general channel with more than 100 titles like Control, Devil May Cry 5, and Overcooked 2. The $5 retro channel includes a few dozen games from past eras in gaming, and the $18 Ubisoft+ channel has, you guessed it, all Ubisoft titles you can shake a controller at.
If Luna doesn’t strike your fancy, Samsung Gaming Hub still has three other major streaming platforms. Game selection isn’t the only thing to worry about, though. Your connection quality might vary between services. Even if you prefer the selection of GeForce Now, you might find Microsoft’s offering works better for you. They all require moderately high speeds, but reliability is paramount. Games are played in real-time, so there’s no way to buffer like you can with a video. Samsung’s Gaming Hub is a great way to give all the clouds a shot to see what works best.
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