What is eSports?

eSports is short for electronic sports, and if you haven’t heard of it you’re missing out on a quickly growing form of entertainment and more importantly a major driver of AV and broadcasting development. Gone are the days of clearing out a room in the house to host a local tournament or LAN party, competitive video games have transformed into a billion-dollar industry. To help put this into perspective League of Legends, which is one of the most popular eSport titles, reached a peak viewership of 6.75 million viewers during their World Championship tournament this last year.  

On top of this, eSports is widening its reach; it's no longer just something that is limited to the pro scene. As the market for eSports continues to grow year by year, the push for eSports to expand into education and training centers is also growing. In 2016 there were only a handful of varsity programs in universities in North America, however that number has grown to over 300 varsity programs as of 2025.

Why AV Quality Matters in Competitive Gaming

Much like how a normal athlete can be particular about the cleats or gloves that they pick since it impacts how they are able to move or interact with the ball, an eSports competitor is no different. They need to be able to see what’s going on in the game clearly, and they need to do it with as close to no delay as possible and with as many frames as possible. If a piece of hardware introduces any perceptible latency in a competition where milliseconds matter, it’s already going to be considered worthless. 

This is where standard AV equipment falls down on the job. Most AV equipment is tailored to broadcasting standards, so you’re typically going to be capped at 60Hz for refresh rates. However gaming as a medium is interactive, it requires you to see and react to things and when you increase the frame rate you have essentially given someone more information to see and be able to process sooner. This is why most players who are interested at all in being competitive will choose to run their games at a lower resolution like 1080p or 1440p and opt for a monitor that delivers at least 120Hz refresh rate. 

This is why BZBGEAR’s eSports ecosystem was engineered to support 8K@60Hz, 4K @120Hz, and 1080p@240Hz. Because ensuring that the player can get more information delivered to them within the same time frame helps them to play with precision and facilitates faster reaction times. 

Key BZBGEAR Products for eSports

4K@120Hz/8K@60Hz HDMI Extenders 

As eSports grows as a spectator sport, the demand for in person viewing also becomes greater. The larger the venue becomes the more difficult it can become to get signals from one place to another, especially if you want to maintain the high-refreshrate experience. However this is not just limited to the viewers, in every eSport the coach needs to be able to see what’s happening in order to make adjustments for the next game or sometimes even during the game depending on the eSport and their rules. 

This is where the BZBGEAR lineup of extenders come in. From HDBaseT options, AVoIP options and fiber options. There are quite a few different products in the extender lineup that can fill this role. Take for example our BG-EXH-8KF which offers:

• Support for 8K@60 4:2:0 12bit, 4K@120Hz
• VRR, ALLM, QMS, QFT, and SBTM 
• Extend up to 300m
• HDR, HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, HLG pass-through
• 8K to 4K or 8K/4K to 1080P auto downscaling on TX loop out and RX OUT2

On the HDBaseT front, we have the BG-EXH-8K150C which is a fantastic option if you’re looking to utilize Cat cable instead of fiber. This option offers:

• Support for 8K@30 4:4:4, 4K@120Hz
• bi-directional IR, RS-232, and CEC pass-through
• VRR, FVA, and ALLM
• Extend up to 490ft
• Power over cable

On the topic of AVOIP, it’s truly amazing that you can fit an 8K fiber extender into an AVOIP system on a 1G network. The BG-IPGEAR-XTREME is a new solution on the market that is offering a 48Gbps scalable extender to tie into our AVOIP ecosystem. From 8K@30Hz to 4K@144Hz and more, not only are you getting a beautiful image but you’re also getting zero latency, which is important considering this unit is also capable of KVM function. So you can not only game on this unit using your keyboard and mouse on a computer that is potentially over 6km away but you can also tie that into the networked video distribution system that allows for video walls or matrixing. 

4K@120Hz/8K@60Hz HDMI Matrix Swtichers

To piggyback on viewership, part of being able to get a great viewing experience is through being able to actually see what’s going on! Not everyone can be next to the stage or close to the on stage viewership monitors so you have to be able to distribute the game feed somehow, and likely some other digital signage. This is where a matrix switcher comes in handy, especially ones that are 8K capable! So not only can you game on it, but the audience can also see exactly what the players are experiencing with high refresh rates.BZBGEAR offers a premium lineup of award-winning 8K/4K120 HDMI 2.1 video switchers designed to meet the demands of both professional AV environments and competitive gamers alike, whether they need a 2x2 or even a 16x16 matrix. 

The BG-8K-88MA is a perfect way to distribute high resolution or high-refreshrate feeds throughout an arena. 

This 8x8 48Gbps matrix switcher is equipped with RS-232 and TCP/IP control meaning it can be controlled remotely from a centralized control room inside the building. It also boasts audio de-embedding for use with the arena sound system if desired. Due to the fact that this matrix switcher can support high refresh rates and no latency added, it can also be a great fit for a game room or LAN center. 

For a smaller space, the BG-8K-42MA would be a perfect choice. This is a compact 4x2 48Gbps HDMI 2.1 matrix switcher that also comes with audio de-embedding. This means it can easily find a home in a college game room that wants to be able to have more than one console and say two PCs connected to two different monitors. The BG-8K-42MA comes standard with auto-downscaling, HDR support and a couple of other awesome technologies like VRR/ALLM/FVA. 

4K@120Hz/8K@60Hz HDMI Splitters

So how can we get the signal from say a game console for competitive console games to the display and another device at the same time if there is only one port out on the console? This is where a splitter can come in handy, let’s take for example the BG-8K-DA12A-G2. The BG-8K-DA12A-G2 will allow consoles like the PS5 Pro to split their signal out and maintain their ability to push 4K@120Hz in specific titles like Fortnite. 

However that’s not all that is on offer from BZBGEAR for splitters. For those who need the most reliability and want to maximize the signal splitting from one input, there is also the BG-8K-DA18, a 1x8 splitter for the ultimate distribution system. This unit boasts per-port downscaling to automatically match connected displays, as well as HDR to SDR conversion. This makes it an ideal candidate for spaces that want to be able to duplicate the output to several screens locally. 

Check out more of the BZBGEAR 8K splitter lineup here. 

Building the Future of Play

As eSports continues to move from the fringes of popular culture and weaves its way into the heart of mainstream sports and education, the demand for high-performance AV infrastructure is only going to increase. Whether you are equipping a high school gaming lab or a massive professional arena, the hardware you choose defines the quality of the competition. By prioritizing high refresh rates, ultra-low latency, and scalable distribution, BZBGEAR ensures that your tech never stands in the way of hosting a competitive environment. From 8K matrices to zero-latency extenders, we provide the tools needed to turn every match into a top tier broadcast.