HDTV for Gaming

[Master Xanthan]

So I made this thread because I was thinking about getting an hdtv for gaming, though its also for netflix and cable. However, the main issue here is what kind of specs are needed for a good hdtv for gaming? I've searched google and asked some friends and I hear 120 hz (refresh rate) and 1080 resolution is pretty good. But I wanted to get input from people on smashboards since pretty much all of you that post in light house are gamers.

 

[Serris]

The main thing you need to focus on is response time. The lower, the better. If your television doesn't display input signals from your console fast enough, you'll notice a delay between your actions and what's happening on screen.

 

[theeboredone]

I'm assuming this is console gaming. A lot of PS3 and 360 games don't support TRUE 1080p. Rather, 360 scales up (which can result in some jagged edges) and you can force that setting on your PS3. Though 1080p is great for watching TV or Blu-Ray

 

[Master Xanthan]

Is 4 ms response time good? Or would there still be noticeable input lag?

 

[hichez50]

No 4ms is fine. Anything under 8ms is typically O.K. I recently(yesterday) got the chance to use Sony's new simuview TV. It performs great I got to play uncharted 3, motorstorm, and super stardust HD. If you have 400 dollars to spend I would go with that. I think you could probably get one for 350 if you search hard enough.

 

[Luigitoilet]

do regular DVDs look okay on an HDTV? I'd like to get an HDTV but I'm not going to restart my movie collection on Blu-Ray.

 

[Deleted member]

yeah, but it will obviously be stretched a bunch (unless you go for like a 30" or smaller TV)

 

[theeboredone]

I don't see any problems on my 46 inch Samsung LCD as far as DVDs go. Then again, I'm sitting pretty far back so it's hard to notice anything apparent. Though I get the feeling some movies end up having a black box around them as opposed to stretching out.

 

[Zook]

do regular DVDs look okay on an HDTV? I'd like to get an HDTV but I'm not going to restart my movie collection on Blu-Ray.

Yeah, they look fine. I don't think I've ever seen them stretch the picture out like Paprika Killer said; usually, they leave the sides of the screen black, and center the picture.

 

[Deleted member]

I dont mean strech that results in clipping, just that the DVD resolution is somewhat low for such a large TV.

 

[Master Xanthan]

I've found some used HDTV's at decent prices. But is it a good idea to buy a used tv?

 

[F8AL]

I've found some used HDTV's at decent prices. But is it a good idea to buy a used tv?

Could you provide us with a link, please?

 

[Master Xanthan]

Could you provide us with a link, please?

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-UN22D...J3E2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1327969644&sr=8-2

 

[OmegaXXII]

do regular DVDs look okay on an HDTV? I'd like to get an HDTV but I'm not going to restart my movie collection on Blu-Ray.

Hmm...good question, it all depends on what type of HDTV it is, it's screen size, and of course; what type of scaler it has.

Typically good HDTV's will have a good scaler, most notably if you are a movie fanatic most Plasma's do a better job since it has deeper blacks and has slightly better color saturation controls.

For gaming however, LCD's are just as well, sure the colors aren't as great as say some of the best plasmas, but they don't have any glaring and most importantly don't leave any screen burn which Plasmas are very susceptible to if an image if left in place for a long time, of course, higher end models and newer models have gotten more resistant and have better controls against it.

I own a 720p 43" Samsung Plasma and typically speaking, most DVD's and 6 generation consoles (I.E. PS2, Gamecube) won't look so good even with the HDTV's built in scaler since their signals are analog and are mostly in 480i, however there are some games for those system that do support 480p progressive mode which improves the picture quality on HDTV's, of course component cables are needed as well as the game supporting such a mode.

I use an external scaler and the results are outstanding, though I wouldn't suggest it unless it's a large screen over 40".

For most current generation systems, gaming will not look bad since they are obviously made for HDTV's, excluding the Wii, and it depends what kind of resolution you get as well, if it's of a higher resolution, say 1080p and a PS3 game only support up to 720p, then you are bound to get jagged edged, even though it's in HD, it won't be "True HD" since the game wouldn't support, otherwise if you don't care for graphics to much, then 720p or 1080i aren't really gonna make a difference on current gen gaming. Blu-Rays however look amazing and should be experienced on an HDTV.

Well, for those of you concerned about lag, well some HDTV's actually have a "Game Mode" which will typically reduce lag ranging from 6ms-18ms, but this mostly applies to older systems such as the PS2 since an HDTV has to upscale and de-interlace an image with it's own resolution, theryby the time to process it it will result in lag, unless an external upscaler or Game Mode is used which would reduce it significantly, but at the price of typical inferior picture.

tl;dr: If you want to watch a bunch of DVD's on a large screen without a scaler, it will look like crap, but if you own a PS3 or 360 then you should be fine since it actually upscales them with it's internal scaler, be warned, it won't look as good, and isn't "True HD" compared to Blu-Rays, as for gaming, if you guys play most of the current gens then you should be fine, especially if you don't plan on viewing on a large set, even the Wii looks okay with component set to 480p.

 

[Master Xanthan]

So what do you guys think of Plasma hdtv's? I hear some people say that plasma tv's these days have less of an issue with picture burn-in but I also hear others say that burn-in is still a problem. I've also heard that plasma's have a really short response time which would be good for games.

 

[Lythium]

How big of a TV do you want?

Because if you don't want something huge, you could always just purchase an ASUS monitor. Very little lag (like two frames or something?), and you can get them for pretty cheap, compared to a TV.

 

[Master Xanthan]

How big of a TV do you want?

Because if you don't want something huge, you could always just purchase an ASUS monitor. Very little lag (like two frames or something?), and you can get them for pretty cheap, compared to a TV.

I've been considering that actually. Can it be used with both the Xbox 360 and the Wii?

 

[Wavebuster]

Check local listings on eBay and craigslist for quality CRT HDTVs. They are absolutely amazing if you can find the right one, though they will be heavy.

I got a 32" 480p/1080i CRT that's lagless and beautiful for $10 this way since the seller was keen on getting rid of it in favor of a flat panel. They're literally throwing away treasures.

 

[Lythium]

CRTs are usually not so good for HD gaming though.

I've been considering that actually. Can it be used with both the Xbox 360 and the Wii?

I would check the specs, but you can definitely run PS3 through Asus, so there's no reason why a 360 wouldn't work. Wii, I'm not sure about.

 

[Master Xanthan]

So I'm using a CRT right now and it has no input lag (at least I don't notice any), so if I switch to an Asus monitor that has 2ms response time, will the 2ms time be noticeable when compared to the CRT response time (which is pretty much 0)?

 

[Wavebuster]

That often depends on the output resolution of the video source you're using compared to the native resolution of the display. Anything that isn't CRT is a fixed-pixel progressive scan display, which only has one native resolution. Generally, when feeding a standard def interlaced signal (480i) to a high def display, you get a lot of input lag. If you're enjoying your Nintendo games right now on a standard CRT you will likely run into this problem after you make the switch to an HDTV. Using 480p out of your video source will alleviate video lag issues, but often not completely as the HDTV still has to scale the 480p video to 720/1080p, but this isn't nearly as intensive as deinterlacing a 480i signal.

 

[Pikaville]

It's all about dat refresh rate.

That and how many colours it can produce.

 

[OmegaXXII]

So I'm using a CRT right now and it has no input lag (at least I don't notice any), so if I switch to an Asus monitor that has 2ms response time, will the 2ms time be noticeable when compared to the CRT response time (which is pretty much 0)?

Agreed with Wavebuster, like he said; it all depends what the input signal is, I'm guessing since the Wii is mostly 480i/480p, it will have to deinterealace it to whatever resolution your motitor will be (I.E 720p, 1080p) which results in lag.

But as for your question, 2ms is hardly anything, it "wouldn't" be noticable to an untrained eye anyway, anything over 5ms would start to become noticable for time sensitive gaming, bit if you aren't planning on playing alot of those, then there's no need to worry.

 

[Master Xanthan]

Agreed with Wavebuster, like he said; it all depends what the input signal is, I'm guessing since the Wii is mostly 480i/480p, it will have to deinterealace it to whatever resolution your motitor will be (I.E 720p, 1080p) which results in lag.

But as for your question, 2ms is hardly anything, it "wouldn't" be noticable to an untrained eye anyway, anything over 5ms would start to become noticable for time sensitive gaming, bit if you aren't planning on playing alot of those, then there's no need to worry.

Anything over 5 ms is noticeable? What about exactly 5 ms? Because I found a pretty nice HDTV but its 5 ms so idk if thats like borderline noticeable.

Edit: So I tried out a 42 inch 120 hz lcd hdtv at my friend's house and I still noticed some lag but it wasn't that bad (though playing cartoon network punchtime felt slightly laggy), and Call of Duty felt nearly unplayable for me since the screen was so big. Actually it was kind of hard to aim in most shooters (including Mass Effect 3), so I think I'm gonna get the Asus monitor since that's smaller.