Input Lag on HDTVs

[teambayern]

This is a follow up thread to the HDTV advice thread i put up (thanks to those who responded there). I created this separate thread however, because I wanted to focus attention on one specific issue that I feel has been overlooked and is very pertinent to us as gamers.

I'm about to buy an HDTV, and I have only just recently discovered the issue of input lag (delay caused by processing in the TV that causes a gap between your inputs to a video game and the results on screen) as separate from the issue of display response times (measured in ms). While I can easily find data on which TV's have the best response times (low ms) which means they will deal with motion well, there is virtually no site that reviews American TV's for input lag.

IGN started a list in 2006 that categorized which tv's users reported as laggy and which are good. THe problem is that the list is now outdated and that more modern TV's are suspected of being worse on this issue since they have added more processing for better picture quality in recent years.

Background: to understand what I'm talking about, here is a wiki page about it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Input_lag and two youtube videos that look at a samsung and sharp respectively (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBolS3c1-Nk; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TETr...eature=related)


How you can help: please post the type of HDTV you have, when you bought it, and whether it has noticeable input lag. If it has a game mode (which reduces processing) that would great to list as well. Finally, I'm especially looking for Tv's in the sub-1000 range, close to or below 600 if possible.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: Input Lag on HDTVs

Have a 32inch Vizio. Have had a Xbox, NES, PS2 and 360 hooked up to it with no lag.

[teambayern]

Re: Input Lag on HDTVs

Thanks, this is very helpful. Keep em coming guys

[mgoblue]

Re: Input Lag on HDTVs

Thanks, this is very helpful. Keep em coming guys

you'll probably have more luck looking at a technical forum like avsforum.com

They have forums where people get intense about sound, video quality, tv testing, etc...

I'm not sure many people here really measure that stuff that closely, and most LCD tv's you won't really have a problem. I've heard about this before, but it's never been a big deal at any gaming forum I've seen, so I personally wouldn't sweat it too much.

[p_rushing]

Re: Input Lag on HDTVs

That really doesn't matter any more as it once did. I have my 360 hooked up through my Receiver using HDMI and then going to my tv and I have no issues at all. Sure the you want less lag, but unless you get some real low budget tv made with whatever crap they could buy cheap, you most likely won't notice anything.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: Input Lag on HDTVs

That really doesn't matter any more as it once did. I have my 360 hooked up through my Receiver using HDMI and then going to my tv and I have no issues at all. Sure the you want less lag, but unless you get some real low budget tv made with whatever crap they could buy cheap, you most likely won't notice anything.

Pretty much. This won't be an issue with any decent LCD HDTV. Don't think I would go so far and say that for the ultra cheap brands though.

You'd be better off picking out several tv's you'd be interested in within your budget. Then go on AVS forums or highdefdigest and ask around on those particular tvs.
If there are any tv issues (lag included) they'd be mentioned in the user reviews.

[teambayern]

Re: Input Lag on HDTVs

Thanks guys and I hope that that's true, but here is my concern.

First, AVS is a great place for this kind of stuff, and it was there I even discovered this problem. BUT the guys at AVS tend not to be gamers. A lot of AVS'ers mention this problem, but the threads tend to end quickly because so few care about it. That or they end with them recommending the same $2,000 sharp that is made specifically for gamers, which isn't as helpful for your average consumer. That's why I posted here because I wanted to know if it affects your average HDTV gamer. Glad to hear that it doesn't seem to.

Second, the reason that I'm worried about this is because at AVS one guy mentioned that this is becoming MORE of a problem, and is a bigger problem for the HIGHER end tv's. The reason for this is that the better the brand and newer the TV, the more likely there will be a lot of advanced video processing, which typically is the cause for these lag issues. I know response times are getting better all the time, but I've heard that input lag is getting worse.

So I'm glad to hear that you guys haven't had any problems, but I'd still like to keep these threads open in case there are others out there that have.

[p_rushing]

Re: Input Lag on HDTVs

For the ones that have the advance settings, they can be turned off. A lot of them will have custom settings when you can setup a profile or by source and then switch to that when you are playing or have it done automatically when you switch inputs.

I didn't have any problems on my parents Vizio 120hz 1080p LCD with the motion blur on, 3d something or other on, etc. I have an older DLP, so I don't have any worries.

[Burns11]

Re: Input Lag on HDTVs

My three TVs:

KDSR70XBR2 70" Sony SXRD, end of 2006, no noticeable lag (but not measured), main TV for everything

52RV535U 52" Toshiba LCD, purchased in February, measured lag of 42ms with RB2, TV for upstairs living room and doesn't get a whole lot of use

TH42PZ85U 42" Panasonic Plasma, purchased march 2008, doesn't get any game time so I can't comment on lag, my bedroom TV