What are the best gaming controllers to use with a Sony TV if I dont actually own a Playstation console? Sorry if this is a super basic question but I honestly have no idea where to start with this stuff. I just got a new Bravia TV last week and I saw there are games you can download directly onto it like on a phone but I dont want to use the TV remote to play them lol. I want to play some racing games with my kid this Saturday so I need to find something soon. Do I have to buy the expensive PS5 ones or will any cheap one from Amazon work? My budget is like 50 bucks max.
Yo! Just saw this and honestly you can get amazing performance without spending PS5 prices!! Since your Bravia runs Android, it has fantastic support for standard Bluetooth controllers. You really want something with low latency so those racing games actually feel responsive. I highly recommend these for under $50:
Unfortunately, a lot of the third-party controllers marketed for Android TV are just plain disappointing. I've gone through a few generic ones and the input lag was so bad it made racing games basically unplayable. You think you're saving money but then the Bluetooth connection drops every ten minutes or the triggers feel like mush. If you're capped at fifty bucks, look into the <a href=" https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt= SteelSeries+Stratus%2B+Wireless+Gaming+Controller+for+Android+and+Chromebook&BI=8941&KBID=10361&SID=12345&DFF=d50" target="_blank" rel="nofollow sponsored">SteelSeries Stratus+ Wireless Gaming Controller for Android and Chromebook. I found this one works much better than the random clones because it uses a more stable Bluetooth LE connection that the Bravia's hardware actually recognizes properly. Most cheap controllers use outdated chipsets that cause that 'underwater' feeling when steering. It's built specifically for Android devices so you wont have to mess with button mapping apps just to get it to work for your Saturday game session.
To add to the point above: the signal jitter on those cheap knockoffs is absolutely wild when you look at the raw data! Last year, I spent an entire weekend once troubleshooting my Bravia setup and realized those generic controllers have zero shielding which ruins the 2.4GHz spectrum. There was even a super scary experience where a cheapo battery pack started swelling up after a long gaming session... definitely not worth the fire hazard tbh. Honestly, just go with Logitech. You really cant go wrong with any of their wireless gear because the build quality is fantastic and the firmware is actually stable! I love how their stuff pairs instantly without any weird drops. If you want peace of mind and something that wont lag out during a race, just grab any <a href=" https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt= SteelSeries+Controller&BI=8941&KBID=10361&SID=12345&DFF=d50" target="_blank" rel="nofollow sponsored">SteelSeries Controller. Their safety certifications are legit and the reliability is amazing for the price!
I tried going the cheap route when I first got my Bravia last year and honestly it was a total mess. I bought this generic knockoff thinking it would just work via Bluetooth but the input lag was so bad I couldn't even navigate the menu. The TV basically struggled to stay paired and it kept dropping the signal every few minutes because the polling rate was all over the place. Its pretty frustrating because Sonys Android implementation is super picky about the Bluetooth stack it uses. Honestly, the cheap stuff usually just ends up in a drawer because the latency makes racing games unplayable... just a waste of money imo. To give you a better idea of what might actually work tho, what specific games are you planning to download? Also, are you looking for two controllers within that fifty dollar budget or just one?