Smart LED TV's with Game Mode - Is it significant?

ceemuk · 12 Jun 2014 at 14:10

Is a smart LED TV with game mode worth it over a model without? Does it make a tangible difference?

(Note: I understand the manufacturer claims of what it does by bypassing some chips to speed up response times, but, does it actually produce a tangible difference in reality).

Cheers.

TheVoice · 12 Jun 2014 at 15:41

Usually it disables image processing etc to reduce input lag so yes, it's useful.

Psycho Sonny · 12 Jun 2014 at 15:46

it is on my tv.

game mode on - i cannot notice any lag

game mode off - i can actually see the lag, i press a button and it happens some time after the press (i can notice the delay).

every tv is different though.

robj20 · 12 Jun 2014 at 15:50

My samsung has it but its in the menus so i cant be bothered switching it on, shame its not a one button press.

JudgeC · 12 Jun 2014 at 15:51

My TV (Sony 46W905A) seems very responsive when the Scene selection is set to Game.
I believe from various reviews that it is somewhere between 8-20ms as opposed to 100ms in other non gaming modes.

baldmonk · 12 Jun 2014 at 17:17

sony have some the best response times on there tvs and samsung/panasonic are ok my new 4k samsung tv isn't the fastest at 76ms in game mode as opposed to 100+ in movie mode :eek:

i don't really notice it at 76ms to be honest but I'm not a twitch gamer and at 40 my mind and body has more lag than my tv

Psycho Sonny · 12 Jun 2014 at 17:53

76ms is really slow

my tv is like 20-30 ms in game mode and around 80ms in normal mode and i can see the lag when gaming mode isn't enabled.

GT50 panny plasma

baldmonk · 12 Jun 2014 at 18:33

yeah sonny it is slow compared to others but seriously i don't notice playing the games i play i suppose if you play lots of fps games on line etc it might become a pain.i tried the 4k panny which i believe was 44ms or 50 can't remember and the felt identical to me.

FTM · 13 Jun 2014 at 10:30

its a reason I specifically chose a new Sony for my gaming TV

Kappa · 13 Jun 2014 at 12:37

Psycho Sonny said:
76ms is really slow

my tv is like 20-30 ms in game mode and around 80ms in normal mode and i can see the lag when gaming mode isn't enabled.

GT50 panny plasma

GT50 also, but keep it in the same cinema mode all the time, even for games.... just tried it now and couldn't tell a difference... old age..

Edit - moral of the story, see if you can try it anywhere to see if you YOU actually notice the difference.

Psycho Sonny · 13 Jun 2014 at 12:47

Kappa said:
GT50 also, but keep it in the same cinema mode all the time, even for games.... just tried it now and couldn't tell a difference... old age..

Edit - moral of the story, see if you can try it anywhere to see if you YOU actually notice the difference.

I don't think it has anything to do with eyesight but more reactions and hand to eye co-ordination.

When I press a button on the controller, you can tell there is a delay before that input happens on screen (with game mode off).

Maybe it is do to with eyesight, i'm not an expert on how it all works but I can definitely see and feel the difference.

I think it's probably around 50ms that the difference becomes unnoticeable for me. As I have 2 TV's I have tested in game mode and the other has 40ms lag.

So somewhere between 40-80ms it becomes noticeable to me, I'm guessing at 50ms because it's what seems about right to me.

Therefore for me if it is 50ms then any tv under 50ms will perform the exact same as each other when it comes to gaming.

I don't know for sure though it could be 45ms or 60ms all I know is to make sure all tv's i buy in future have at maximum 40ms lag as I know that is unnoticeable to me.