{"video_id":"sSKXcbnIjmk","title":"Laser Keyboards – Do they REALLY shoot first?","channel":"Linus Tech Tips","show":"Linus Tech Tips","published_at":"2018-05-06T14:53:29Z","duration_s":572,"segments":[{"start_s":0.16,"end_s":8.16,"text":"the accepted wisdom for a long time has been that if you want a truly enthusiast","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":5.279,"end_s":13.599,"text":"class typing or gaming experience you need a mechanical keyboard and with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":11.28,"end_s":17.92,"text":"features like superior build quality satisfying tactile feedback and quicker","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":16.48,"end_s":22.48,"text":"response times perhaps there was only one thing that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":20.48,"end_s":28.439,"text":"could actually have made them even better and that would be freaking laser","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":25.439,"end_s":28.439,"text":"beams","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":35.92,"end_s":42.48,"text":"ek waterblox's all-aluminum fluid gaming","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":39.52,"end_s":46.079,"text":"lineup offers great custom grade water cooling performance for an affordable","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":44.399,"end_s":49.68,"text":"price learn more at the link in the video description","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":47.92,"end_s":54.32,"text":"optical key switches like the ones that we are looking at today promise","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":51.68,"end_s":58.079,"text":"extremely quick response times and shorter actuation distances than popular","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":56.719,"end_s":63.12,"text":"mechanical key switches from manufacturers like cherry","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":60.48,"end_s":66.96,"text":"but for some reason they remain a niche item the fact that the big boys of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":65.36,"end_s":70.72,"text":"current keyboard manufacturing like Corsair and logitech haven't picked them","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":69.6,"end_s":75.36,"text":"up yet probably isn't helping","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":73.04,"end_s":79.28,"text":"so we turned to bloody tesoro and wooting the only three companies we","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":77.68,"end_s":83.36,"text":"could find that are currently incorporating them into their keyboards","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":81.28,"end_s":87.439,"text":"to see if this technology has a bright future let's start with a quick look at","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":85.52,"end_s":92.88,"text":"how they work currently there are two main types of optical switches one uses","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":90.56,"end_s":97.28,"text":"a plunger that blocks a beam of light and when the key is pressed a gap in the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":94.799,"end_s":102.32,"text":"plunger moves down and allows the light beam to hit a sensor that registers a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":100.079,"end_s":108.88,"text":"key press two of our keyboards the bloody b720 and the tesoro excalibur se","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":105.92,"end_s":113.68,"text":"spectrum use this process with the bloody switches branded as light strike","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":111.84,"end_s":120.56,"text":"abbreviated as lk for some reason while the tesoro uses","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":117.2,"end_s":122.079,"text":"swappable switches from gatoron gataron","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":120.56,"end_s":125.84,"text":"gaturon either way both keyboards incorporate","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":123.84,"end_s":130.64,"text":"waterproofing as well a nice value for you mountain dew fanatics the second","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":128.16,"end_s":135.68,"text":"main type flaretech instead uses an upwards firing beam to determine how far","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":133.04,"end_s":142.08,"text":"downward the key has been pressed meaning instead of simply registering a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":138.16,"end_s":145.28,"text":"key as pressed or not the keyboard can","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":142.08,"end_s":147.84,"text":"instead register a partial key press","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":145.28,"end_s":153.12,"text":"similar to how an analog trigger on a game controller can be pushed only part","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":150.879,"end_s":158.56,"text":"way down to accelerate a little bit more slowly than a full press in a driving","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":155.92,"end_s":163.68,"text":"game so our third keyboard the wu ting one is available with these flaretech","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":161.04,"end_s":168.8,"text":"switches in two flavors red linear switches or blue clicky ones which are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":166.64,"end_s":173.44,"text":"user swappable and we'll start with a closer look at this one wuting actually","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":171.2,"end_s":178.8,"text":"markets this granular level of input sensitivity control as analog which is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":176.4,"end_s":184.159,"text":"not technically correct because the keyboard is really just registering one","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":181.04,"end_s":186.08,"text":"of 256 distinct states of pushed","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":184.159,"end_s":191.36,"text":"downness but for the sake of helping users understand the tech we see why","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":189.04,"end_s":195.599,"text":"they did this and in practice the action is very smooth i doubt that most users","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":193.84,"end_s":200.879,"text":"would actually even be able to notice the difference let's demonstrate how this works with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":198.239,"end_s":206.0,"text":"forza 3. here you can see how pushing down the keys that are mapped to the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":203.2,"end_s":211.76,"text":"steering wheel only part way results in a much more gradual turn while a gentler","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":209.28,"end_s":216.0,"text":"throttle press also allows finer control over acceleration neat huh","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":214.159,"end_s":220.319,"text":"you'll also find a surprising amount of customizability in wooting one's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":217.84,"end_s":223.2,"text":"software package which is called and no do not adjust your headphones you heard","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":222.159,"end_s":228.879,"text":"me right wutility not only can you remap keys to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":226.4,"end_s":233.439,"text":"functionality like triggers on a gamepad but you can set up multiple analog","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":231.44,"end_s":238.239,"text":"profiles with different sensitivity curves since you might want the keys to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":235.92,"end_s":243.76,"text":"react differently depending on whether you're piloting a tank in battlefield or","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":241.2,"end_s":249.04,"text":"controlling a soccer player footballer in fifa something to note is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":246.799,"end_s":253.84,"text":"that this analog functionality doesn't actually kick in until after the two","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":251.599,"end_s":258.639,"text":"millimeter actuation distance which is similar to most cherry mx switches so","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":256.639,"end_s":262.96,"text":"while wooting is looking into the ability to build a hair trigger capable","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":261.28,"end_s":268.4,"text":"version in the future for now the utility can only be used to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":265.759,"end_s":273.52,"text":"make the actuation distance longer if you prefer less sensitivity in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":271.04,"end_s":275.919,"text":"something like a turn based game or if you're just","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":274.56,"end_s":282.08,"text":"typing and of course all this additional functionality doesn't mean the wu ting","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":279.36,"end_s":288.479,"text":"one is automatically the best option in every scenario let's move on to the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":284.88,"end_s":291.28,"text":"bloody b720 its lk switches lack the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":288.479,"end_s":297.6,"text":"fancy analog functionality but it boasts a very short actuation distance of 1.5","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":295.28,"end_s":301.919,"text":"millimeters the shortest of any of the keyboards in our roundup to see if","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":299.84,"end_s":306.8,"text":"there's a tangible benefit we had our resident cs go wizard edsel test out","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":304.8,"end_s":311.84,"text":"each of the keyboards and while he didn't feel that the wooting or tesoro","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":309.44,"end_s":318.56,"text":"were appreciably different from common cherry mx reds he really liked the quick","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":315.199,"end_s":321.6,"text":"response of the bloody saying that while","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":318.56,"end_s":324.24,"text":"the difference wasn't huge it definitely","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":321.6,"end_s":330.96,"text":"was noticeable kind of like going from a 144 to a 240hz monitor in his words and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":328.72,"end_s":335.28,"text":"we didn't even tell him the actuation point specs before he tried it out so","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":333.36,"end_s":338.96,"text":"give bloody some credit here they're claimed to have the world's fastest key","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":337.44,"end_s":343.36,"text":"response might just be true at least when","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":340.72,"end_s":349.6,"text":"comparing to other optical solutions the mx speeds claim a slightly shorter","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":345.919,"end_s":351.28,"text":"actuation distance at 1.2 millimeters","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":349.6,"end_s":356.96,"text":"and although edsel didn't think this made a difference in game responsiveness","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":354.08,"end_s":362.08,"text":"he did think the lk switches were a bit heavier so keep that in mind if you use","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":359.84,"end_s":366.8,"text":"a light touch on your keyboard and this leads us into our impressions","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":364.08,"end_s":371.28,"text":"of overall build quality and usability in our opinion the wooting one walked","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":368.96,"end_s":375.68,"text":"away the clear winner in this department its deck is quite rigid which often","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":373.44,"end_s":380.08,"text":"indicates a well-made keyboard and its understated brushed finish and subtle","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":377.759,"end_s":385.28,"text":"logo at the bottom give it a higher end appearance not to mention i really liked","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":382.8,"end_s":389.6,"text":"how this thing felt under my fingers it was soft but in a good way kind of like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":387.44,"end_s":394.24,"text":"typing on boobs for whatever it's worth and then when you use the clicky","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":390.8,"end_s":397.28,"text":"switches it was sharp and satisfying the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":394.24,"end_s":400.4,"text":"bloody with its giant blood-soaked logo","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":397.28,"end_s":402.4,"text":"on the other hand practically screams we","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":400.4,"end_s":406.96,"text":"tried to make this look as gamer as possible at any cost","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":404.8,"end_s":410.8,"text":"and the keys felt a bit mushy for my liking though ed didn't seem to mind so","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":409.28,"end_s":415.759,"text":"that's something to note and the build quality overall seemed solid if","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":413.039,"end_s":419.84,"text":"unexceptional unfortunately i can't say the same about the tesoro i was able to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":418.0,"end_s":423.68,"text":"twist the keyboard way too much even with a minimal amount of torque maybe","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":422.0,"end_s":429.199,"text":"that's what they meant by break the rules at 92 dollars it isn't a bad piece","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":427.28,"end_s":433.52,"text":"of hardware it just simply doesn't do anything better than the other two the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":431.599,"end_s":438.8,"text":"bloody however presents an interesting alternative to mx speed switches thanks","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":435.919,"end_s":442.96,"text":"to its very competitive price of 75 bucks u.s","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":440.319,"end_s":447.28,"text":"the wu ting one is by far the most interesting one we checked out today","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":445.12,"end_s":454.36,"text":"possessing a unique feature set with solid build quality and customizability","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":450.639,"end_s":458.0,"text":"but i would probably only shell out the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":454.36,"end_s":460.319,"text":"160 euros it'll cost you if the games","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":458.0,"end_s":464.72,"text":"you play specifically benefit from their pseudo analog functionality or if you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":462.639,"end_s":470.0,"text":"want a typing experience that matches your tacky mouse mat","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":467.68,"end_s":474.08,"text":"if you were to go get tunnelbear right now you could actually have it turned on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":472.24,"end_s":478.96,"text":"and working by the time i finished telling you why it's awesome it is that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":476.72,"end_s":484.4,"text":"simple to use you basically press one button and boom your connection is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":481.68,"end_s":489.759,"text":"secured and your online activity is kept private from your internet provider","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":486.879,"end_s":494.08,"text":"advertisers and the websites that you use and of course there's the added","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":491.84,"end_s":499.44,"text":"benefit of being able to select any country you want so you can use websites","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":496.96,"end_s":503.68,"text":"and online services like streaming video players as though you are from a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":501.919,"end_s":508.8,"text":"different country tunnelbear has a top-rated privacy","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":506.0,"end_s":514.479,"text":"policy and does not log your activity and you can even try it for free to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":511.84,"end_s":520.56,"text":"experience what a more open internet might be like with 500 megabytes of data","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":517.599,"end_s":524.56,"text":"with no credit card required and then once you choose to get a year of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":522.08,"end_s":529.519,"text":"unlimited data you can save ten percent on that by going to tunnelbear.com","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":527.519,"end_s":532.0,"text":"LTT thanks for watching guys this video","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":530.8,"end_s":536.959,"text":"sucked you know what to do if it was awesome get subscribed hit the like button hit the bell if you want to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":534.88,"end_s":540.16,"text":"incessantly see every single video we ever released to your phone in your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":538.32,"end_s":543.76,"text":"desktop and everything it's a good way to keep track of everything we're doing","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":542.24,"end_s":548.48,"text":"if you want to see stuff to buy check out the link in the video description there's an amazon link down there and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":546.16,"end_s":554.64,"text":"there's also a merch store link for some cool shirts that aren't this one","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":551.839,"end_s":559.04,"text":"anyway yeah check out this video which is uh","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":556.56,"end_s":563.04,"text":"seeing the first video i ever made which was on my own and it never got uploaded","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":561.04,"end_s":567.76,"text":"anywhere and it was on a ducky keyboard from like way back my mom filled it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":565.36,"end_s":572.88,"text":"filmed it on a flip hd camera in our kitchen at the time","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":569.76,"end_s":572.88,"text":"see you later","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"the accepted wisdom for a long time has been that if you want a truly enthusiast class typing or gaming experience you need a mechanical keyboard and with features like superior build quality satisfying tactile feedback and quicker response times perhaps there was only one thing that could actually have made them even better and that would be freaking laser beams ek waterblox's all-aluminum fluid gaming lineup offers great custom grade water cooling performance for an affordable price learn more at the link in the video description optical key switches like the ones that we are looking at today promise extremely quick response times and shorter actuation distances than popular mechanical key switches from manufacturers like cherry but for some reason they remain a niche item the fact that the big boys of current keyboard manufacturing like Corsair and logitech haven't picked them up yet probably isn't helping so we turned to bloody tesoro and wooting the only three companies we could find that are currently incorporating them into their keyboards to see if this technology has a bright future let's start with a quick look at how they work currently there are two main types of optical switches one uses a plunger that blocks a beam of light and when the key is pressed a gap in the plunger moves down and allows the light beam to hit a sensor that registers a key press two of our keyboards the bloody b720 and the tesoro excalibur se spectrum use this process with the bloody switches branded as light strike abbreviated as lk for some reason while the tesoro uses swappable switches from gatoron gataron gaturon either way both keyboards incorporate waterproofing as well a nice value for you mountain dew fanatics the second main type flaretech instead uses an upwards firing beam to determine how far downward the key has been pressed meaning instead of simply registering a key as pressed or not the keyboard can instead register a partial key press similar to how an analog trigger on a game controller can be pushed only part way down to accelerate a little bit more slowly than a full press in a driving game so our third keyboard the wu ting one is available with these flaretech switches in two flavors red linear switches or blue clicky ones which are user swappable and we'll start with a closer look at this one wuting actually markets this granular level of input sensitivity control as analog which is not technically correct because the keyboard is really just registering one of 256 distinct states of pushed downness but for the sake of helping users understand the tech we see why they did this and in practice the action is very smooth i doubt that most users would actually even be able to notice the difference let's demonstrate how this works with forza 3. here you can see how pushing down the keys that are mapped to the steering wheel only part way results in a much more gradual turn while a gentler throttle press also allows finer control over acceleration neat huh you'll also find a surprising amount of customizability in wooting one's software package which is called and no do not adjust your headphones you heard me right wutility not only can you remap keys to functionality like triggers on a gamepad but you can set up multiple analog profiles with different sensitivity curves since you might want the keys to react differently depending on whether you're piloting a tank in battlefield or controlling a soccer player footballer in fifa something to note is that this analog functionality doesn't actually kick in until after the two millimeter actuation distance which is similar to most cherry mx switches so while wooting is looking into the ability to build a hair trigger capable version in the future for now the utility can only be used to make the actuation distance longer if you prefer less sensitivity in something like a turn based game or if you're just typing and of course all this additional functionality doesn't mean the wu ting one is automatically the best option in every scenario let's move on to the bloody b720 its lk switches lack the fancy analog functionality but it boasts a very short actuation distance of 1.5 millimeters the shortest of any of the keyboards in our roundup to see if there's a tangible benefit we had our resident cs go wizard edsel test out each of the keyboards and while he didn't feel that the wooting or tesoro were appreciably different from common cherry mx reds he really liked the quick response of the bloody saying that while the difference wasn't huge it definitely was noticeable kind of like going from a 144 to a 240hz monitor in his words and we didn't even tell him the actuation point specs before he tried it out so give bloody some credit here they're claimed to have the world's fastest key response might just be true at least when comparing to other optical solutions the mx speeds claim a slightly shorter actuation distance at 1.2 millimeters and although edsel didn't think this made a difference in game responsiveness he did think the lk switches were a bit heavier so keep that in mind if you use a light touch on your keyboard and this leads us into our impressions of overall build quality and usability in our opinion the wooting one walked away the clear winner in this department its deck is quite rigid which often indicates a well-made keyboard and its understated brushed finish and subtle logo at the bottom give it a higher end appearance not to mention i really liked how this thing felt under my fingers it was soft but in a good way kind of like typing on boobs for whatever it's worth and then when you use the clicky switches it was sharp and satisfying the bloody with its giant blood-soaked logo on the other hand practically screams we tried to make this look as gamer as possible at any cost and the keys felt a bit mushy for my liking though ed didn't seem to mind so that's something to note and the build quality overall seemed solid if unexceptional unfortunately i can't say the same about the tesoro i was able to twist the keyboard way too much even with a minimal amount of torque maybe that's what they meant by break the rules at 92 dollars it isn't a bad piece of hardware it just simply doesn't do anything better than the other two the bloody however presents an interesting alternative to mx speed switches thanks to its very competitive price of 75 bucks u.s the wu ting one is by far the most interesting one we checked out today possessing a unique feature set with solid build quality and customizability but i would probably only shell out the 160 euros it'll cost you if the games you play specifically benefit from their pseudo analog functionality or if you want a typing experience that matches your tacky mouse mat if you were to go get tunnelbear right now you could actually have it turned on and working by the time i finished telling you why it's awesome it is that simple to use you basically press one button and boom your connection is secured and your online activity is kept private from your internet provider advertisers and the websites that you use and of course there's the added benefit of being able to select any country you want so you can use websites and online services like streaming video players as though you are from a different country tunnelbear has a top-rated privacy policy and does not log your activity and you can even try it for free to experience what a more open internet might be like with 500 megabytes of data with no credit card required and then once you choose to get a year of unlimited data you can save ten percent on that by going to tunnelbear.com LTT thanks for watching guys this video sucked you know what to do if it was awesome get subscribed hit the like button hit the bell if you want to incessantly see every single video we ever released to your phone in your desktop and everything it's a good way to keep track of everything we're doing if you want to see stuff to buy check out the link in the video description there's an amazon link down there and there's also a merch store link for some cool shirts that aren't this one anyway yeah check out this video which is uh seeing the first video i ever made which was on my own and it never got uploaded anywhere and it was on a ducky keyboard from like way back my mom filled it filmed it on a flip hd camera in our kitchen at the time see you later"}