November 11, 2009
- How To Choose The Best Gaming Headset
A good PC gaming headset is almost a must if you want to have the best gaming experience. Most games nowadays are embedded with high definition audio effects. To really enjoy the game and be in the game, a good gaming headset is necessary.
So what constitutes a good PC gaming headset?
Comfort
A good computer gaming headset must be able to provide comfort to the user. This is necessary since you will be wearing it for a long period of time. There is only one way to test whether a headset is comfortable or not, and that is to try it out before you make your purchase.
Most of the time, the comfort factor is dependent on the:
- Padding - Is it thick and soft enough to protect your ear?
- Ear cups - Is it big enough to contain your ear?
- Headband - Is it freely adjustable to suit the size of your head?
- Weight - Is it too heavy for your ear to carry?
Put it on for 15 minutes and you will know whether it is suitable for you or not.
Sound Quality
A good PC gaming headset must have the ability to produce great sound quality. While different people perceive sound differently, you can use these few guideline to distinguish a headset with good sound quality from a bad one.
Bass
A gaming headset with a powerful bass will show significant differences in first person shooting game such as Counterstrike. You will be able to hear clearly the bullets flying around you and distinct explosion in the background.
Surround Sound
Surround sound effect is necessary to create the realism in your gameplay. Those PC gaming headsets with 5.1 digital audio encoded will be useful to help you identify the enemy that is sneaking behind you or shooting at you
Noise Cancellation
Some gaming headset uses an external microphone to pick up external noise and invert them to cancel out any unwanted noise. This is extremely useful if you are always playing in a noisy environment, such as an Internet cafe.
Cable Length
The cable length will determine how far away you can stay behind the screen. A typical gaming headset should have a cable length of 2m. Anything shorter than this length will restrict your movement and cause inconvenience to you. If you are playing game console, such as Xbox or PS3, in your living room, you might consider getting a headset with longer cable or an extra extensible cable to connect to your headset.
Wireless Headset
If you always move around and do not wish to be bothered by the cable, you can choose the wireless gaming headset that makes use of Bluetooth or RF technology. A word of caution, wireless headsets might be more prone to noise interference and/or loss of signal during the transmission, which can lead to static, pops or annoying noise.
Microphone
Some of the PC gaming headsets are geared with a microphone to allow interaction during gameplay. This might be a useful feature that you want to include in your gaming headset.
Volume Control
This may seem a trivial feature, but it matter a lot when you are far away from your sound system. For a gaming headset with surround sound feature, it would be useful to have an inline volume control to control the individual speaker levels. You can customize the volume setting for each speaker to enhance your gaming experience.
Vibrator
Force feedback gaming headsets make use of vibration to try to recreate the physical sensation of bass frequencies. The headset can vibrate in sympathy with the low frequencies in the audio signal, so that listeners both hear and feel the bass.
These should sum up most of the features found in a good PC gaming headset.
In conclusion, choosing a good PC gaming headset can be a very personal thing. A headset might fit comfortably on others, but not on you. You will have to try out the headset before deciding whether it is suitable for you.
November 10, 2009
- Accessorizing Video Game Consoles: Cables, Headsets and More
It’s 2008 and the gaming world has never looked better. Technological advancements are rapidly changing the way video games are played and experienced. With bold innovation, game developers are channeling the best in hi-tech electronics to deliver mind-blowing video game titles. In addition to the games, video game consoles are now a platform for entertainment in its many forms. Social networking and home theater technology has changed gaming consoles. As a result, video game consoles also come with a host of video game accessories that are not only important for chatting, watching movies or viewing photographs but also enhance game play.
Home theater entertainment is about hi-def and nothing less. HDMI is the new video game cable standard, set by Sony’s Play Station 3 and the Microsoft Xbox 360. Characterized by astounding picture quality, high definition games truly introduce virtual reality. Systems using older technology, like the Wii cables, aren’t really able to match the quality of a high definition signal. Nevertheless S-video cables, component cables and composite cables, which have all been used in the past, are integral to many video game consoles.
With the advent of multiplayer gaming through Xbox Live and, more recently, the Play Station Network, the need for gamer communication was heightened. A good gaming headset is essential for a hardcore gamer when battling through a multiplayer environment. Keeping in touch with team-mates scattered across the globe is made much easier with a Bluetooth headset. The wireless advantage is obvious - clutter-free convenience. Handheld systems have long relied on headsets to provide the audio output to gamers. The Nintendo DS headsets and PSP headsets are sleek earphones with a microphone for social networking.
As games become longer and infinitely more complex, the need for a storage medium, that is, video game memory, has been felt. The early 8 MB memory cards for the Sony Play Station One have been replaced by 80 GB hard drives that use high speed SATA 2 technology. Multiple flash card readers that support a variety of formats are now the standard for video game consoles. The advantage of a built-in card reader is that the gamer can choose the best memory card, rather than be forced to use a proprietary one. Another advantage of removable storage is the expanded ability of the console to handle videos, photos and music. A memory card can be quickly and easily loaded from a computer, and the multimedia accessed anytime, anywhere. A variety of memory cards for various consoles e.g. GameCube memory card, PSP memory etc. are readily available in the market now-a-days. More on Accessorizing Video Game Consoles: Cables, Headsets and More.
- Xbox 360 Elite - The Best Gaming Console On The Market
Xbox 360 Elite, which is the flagship of the 360 console. Not only will I tell you why I think it is the best, but I'll tell you the cheapest place you can get it.
Video gaming was revolutionized with the creation of the Xbox 360 thanks to a team of developers working hard to combine the right technology at the right price. Who would have ever thought we could live without HD video gaming and 5.1 Surround Sound with which you can hear every single little nuance of a game's audio environment.
The Xbox 360 looks so good on an HD TV that I've often had friends ask me what game was on when I was playing Madden. They literally thought that I was watching a real sporting event when I was actually playing the Xbox. This system is so smooth that there are never any glitches or freezing unlike other gaming systems.
The Xbox 360 Elite boasts a huge hard drive of 120GB, which is capable of storing an endless amount of game demos, videos, skins, and music all without you needing to save space for your saved games. It also comes with a black matte finish wireless controller, which means no more of the dog tripping on the controller and yanking it out of your hand during a boss battle.
You can also use it to your advantage to play from anywhere the wireless connection will reach. As if you needed any more reason to buy the Xbox 360 Elite, it also comes with a black matte finish headset so you can talk to your friends online via Xbox Live as you dominate them in a first person shooter like Call of Duty 4 or in a FIFA 2009 match. The system also comes with an HDMI port and cable so you can take full advantage of the HD resolution that the Xbox 360 offers.
The games for the 360 are the best on the market and you can find the most variety of any game system thanks to the fact that this was the first modern gaming console released on the market. Game developers have been spending years perfecting the design and implementation of their games on the Xbox 360. As a result, you 've got the best graphics, sounds, and game play on the market. When I say that the Xbox 360 is a cutting edge console gaming system, I am not joking!
The Xbox 360 Elite also features a Windows Live software setup that allows you to stream audio and video from your home PC or laptop meaning that the Xbox 360 functions as a home entertainment system as well. You don't need a DVD player anymore either, since this bad boy can do it all on its own. The prices of Xbox 360 are as cheap as they've ever been and now is the perfect time to get one so that you can start enjoying high definition, crisp gaming that is the best on the planet.
The 360 Elite is the best of the best and there is no way you could get bored with this system.
More on Xbox 360 Elite - The Best Gaming Console On The Market.
November 7, 2009
- Talk For Free With Computer Headsets
One of the best and cheapest ways to talk to people today isn't on a cell phone. A trend in many businesses is to utilize their existing Internet connections and use VoIP services like Cisco and Vonage to make their business calls. Doing so will save them big bucks if they can eliminate there need for a leased line for phone communications. Cell phones are limited in the areas they cover, and they typically cost more to operate than Internet VoIP aplications. To use your computer to make phone calls you will need VoIP software and a computer headset to allow you to talk over the Internet for free, if you buy a service such as Vonage you can make local and long distance calls for free. So, if you decide to go this route here are a few pointers when purchasing you new computer headset.
Don't Buy the Cheapest
When purchasing a computer headset it is not wise to go for the cheap, ten-dollar version sold by the generic technology companies. These may function well enough to suit you, but after a while you will be disappointed with there quality. Most of the cheaper models are generally fairly uncomfortable and will only give you lackluster performance. Paying a little more for a good quality computer headset will dramatically increase the audio quality of both inbound and outbound voice calls. Headsets have been popular for use with computer games for a few years now, the recent trend in Internet gaming as helped boost the market. Bluetooth computer headsets have also been growing in popularity over the past few years in the business world to help increase mobility and productivity.
Computer Headsets for Business Use
Computer headsets are providing the necessary interface to the computer to allow business users to make all of their contact calls over the computer and utilizing the Internet to make the call for free. Headsets can also be used in the business world in places like call centers to cut down on the background noise of having so many employees on the phone at the same time in a small area. This allows for more private communication as well. Gone are the days of shelling out huge amounts of money every month for cell phone plans for each employee. By using the computer to make phone calls the only items you need to by is the VoIP software and a reliable headset for the user to wear. This setup will save you money in the long run compared today's expense cell wireless carrier plans.
Computer Gaming Headsets
If you are into computer games for the Xbox, Playstation and Wii, the latest craze is to play against one another over the Internet. This allows users from all over the world to play against each other in a virtual space, the Internet. However, if you are going to stay competitive in this world of high tech gamers, you will definitely need at computer headset to connect to your Xbox or Playstation. These headsets are typically wireless, using Bluetooth technology. Of course if you are the traditional computer gamer, your computer headset will be plugged into your ultimate gaming PC and you'll be playing something like Counter-Strike or World of Warcraft. If this is the case, you may want to go with a USB interface for your computer headset. This style will be directly wired to your PC and will not require you to replace the batteries. This style tends to be more comfortable and offers a much high audio quality than some of the cheaper wireless models available.
It is important to remember there are many different styles of headsets available and each with fit a little differently. If you are using the computer headset strictly for audio then you will need just the ear pieces, basically traditional headphones. But if you plan on using the headset to communicate for gaming of phone service you will need a headset with a mic in order to have two-way communication.
Just remember, cheaper is not always better especially in computer headsets. There is a big difference in quality between the low to mid grade as compared to the more pricier higher quality headsets. My advice is to get a mid level priced headset to start out and then if you find yourself using it more and more, you can later upgrade to a higher quality model. More on Talk For Free With Computer Headsets.
- Zone Out With A New Gaming Headset
Nothing is more annoying then constant interruption when you are trying to hang out with your friends on the internet, listen to music, or enjoy an online game. Especially if this is your way of unwinding from a stressful day, your housemates might see you playing a game and see that as an open invitation to engage in a mindless conversation with you. So what is the best way to zone out of your daily stresses and zone into your game, or music, or friends? The answer is simple; you are in the market for a gaming headset.
A gaming headset will allow you to listen to your music completely uninterrupted. The newest headsets utilize the latest technology in audio so you can rock out to your favorite band with the highest quality sound. A gaming headset will also give you the freedom to communicate with your friends online. There is nothing like enjoying a LAN party without having to leave the confines of your bedroom. A good gaming headset also has voice command functions, what could be better?
So where do you find good gaming headsets? Lots of companies are coming out with newer and more cutting edge models with better technologies. Chat with your friends online about which ones are the best for your needs. A good gaming headset will allow you to unwind without the annoying interruptions of siblings, roommates, or parents. Even if you are just using your gaming headset to listen to music, having a headset on is a very clear sign that you are not available for small talk at the moment.
So if you are looking to develop relationships online, continue with your internet gaming, or just listen to favorite tunes then check out a wireless headset. Newer models have awesome voice activation functions as well as technology that blocks out outside noise. Gone are the days where the person on the other line can not hear you due to a loud vacuum in the background or your roommate s stereo playing loudly. Technology has paved the way for you to relax and regroup doing what you love to do with no interruptions by using a gaming headset.
So the next time you feel frustrated by the people around you that do not seem to get it that you are busy slap on your gaming headset and zone out. You will be guaranteed some time to unwind.