Gaming on a tv?

[50calsniper]

Ok so I'm investing in a msi gtx 980ti but I've always liked gaming on a big tv I'm going to either buy a 4k tv or a 4k monitor but I like the size of the TV so my question is what are the down falls of a tv I'm investing in an expensive card and don't want it to go to waste also what are the advantages of gaming on a monitor I have a lot of questions so any info will help thanks

[zzenigmaxzz]

response times are the biggest downside of tvs

 

generally monitors will have <5 ms response time but tvs can have 20,30 or higher ms response times

 

if you dont play alot of really competitive games you should be fine, also fps games are usually easier to play on a smaller screen

[Samfisher]

Ok so I'm investing in a msi gtx 980ti but I've always liked gaming on a big tv I'm going to either buy a 4k tv or a 4k monitor but I like the size of the TV so my question is what are the down falls of a tv I'm investing in an expensive card and don't want it to go to waste also what are the advantages of gaming on a monitor I have a lot of questions so any info will help thanks

Response times, and the TV backlight brightness is made for sitting about 10 feet away, you're gonna have to do a bit of tuning to make it not blind you if you're sitting close.

[Enderman]

tvs just have higher latency, between 20-40 ms

its not a problem unless you play competitive fps games like csgo or whatnot

[Enderman]

here are some 40" options that tek syndicate has reviewed

 

I personally prefer 50-55" but thats more tv than monitor

these are actually just large monitors with very similar features to tvs

 

[Fgtfv567]

Text might be a little harder to read, especially if you're far away from your TV and with 4K text scaling in Windows

[50calsniper]

Well I'm moving so if I got the TV I set it up farther back anyways or if I got the monitor I would sit closer so about the refresh rate I play a little bit of everything gta sim city skyrim cod you name it but I've always used a decent monitor so do you think I'll notice a huge diffrence also I'm really in to a screen looking beautiful deep rich colors and love screens with glass or that look to them any suggestions?

[50calsniper]

Nice thanks for the suggestions!

[SkilledRebuilds]

Use the 'GAME' profile on your TV at all times, reducing the latency.

 

The latency given by a TV (not on game mode) feels a lot like Vsync input delays, but also still feels a little bit worse on the TV.

Still okay for most games, cept those twitchy aiming shooters.

 

Edited-Note - The GAME profile does not REMOVE TV latency, it only reduces it.

[Security]

As someone gaming on a TV the issues you will notice are ghosting and the latency even on a gaming profile.

[TheCaptain53]

Is there much point investing in a 4K TV? At that distance, I'd have thought 1080p would still look pretty damn good.

[wolfsbane3083]

The only TV I've had so far that has low enough input lag for gaming is the Sony W705 series with 13ms (less than 1 frame) of input lag. I'm using one atm as my main display and It works alright for gaming/movies. Downsides being it's only 1080p and the viewing angles/uniformity are atrocious.

 

Samsung apparently have 26ms (1 frame) on their 4k displays in game mode but for some weird reason the review state they go up to 44ms(2-3 frames) on a PC.

[Jonaroni]

It's tough to get a good 1080p TV anyway. If you have the cash, best gaming TVs right now in the 4K realm are from Sony. Specifically in the 55" or above size.

The Sony 55x850c is a gorgeous 4K TV with 4:4:4 chroma and 4K @60hz as well as 1080p at 120fps which is pretty spectacular for a TV.

[gergy008]

Everyone has hit the nail on the head with this one.

 

The only downside is response time, however on most if not all, Game Mode can be enabled which turns off extra processing and makes it much easier to game on, bringing the latency down to a manageable 10-12ms.

[Nexxus]

As someone gaming on a TV the issues you will notice are ghosting and the latency even on a gaming profile.

ive never noticed ghosting of any type on my tv

[Glenwing]

response times are the biggest downside of tvs

 

generally monitors will have <5 ms response time but tvs can have 20,30 or higher ms response times

 

if you dont play alot of really competitive games you should be fine, also fps games are usually easier to play on a smaller screen

 

Response times, and the TV backlight brightness is made for sitting about 10 feet away, you're gonna have to do a bit of tuning to make it not blind you if you're sitting close.

 

Everyone has hit the nail on the head with this one.

 

The only downside is response time, however on most if not all, Game Mode can be enabled which turns off extra processing and makes it much easier to game on, bringing the latency down to a manageable 10-12ms.

 

Some tvs are worse than others.  I can game fine on my vizio and insignia tvs, but the response time is so much better on my qnix.

 

Please note that response time IS NOT the same thing as latency, in fact they are completely unrelated. The "5ms" numbers you see on monitors are a (very imprecise and inaccurate) measure of response time, those numbers have absolutely nothing to do with the "delay" you might feel when you press a button. Most TVs have about the same 5-15ms response time as a monitor, since it's all based on the same LCD technology.

 

What you're talking about here is latency, which is never listed in specs and is usually around 10-30ms on a monitor and 100-200ms or above on TVs without "game mode" enabled to turn off all the additional image processing that adds that latency. With game mode enabled most TVs get down to around 30-50ms, though it depends on the TV of course.

[gergy008]

Please note that response time IS NOT the same thing as latency, in fact they are completely unrelated. The "5ms" numbers you see on monitors are a (very imprecise and inaccurate) measure of response time, those numbers have absolutely nothing to do with the "delay" you might feel when you press a button. Most TVs have about the same 5-15ms response time as a monitor, since it's all based on the same LCD technology.

 

What you're talking about here is latency, which is never listed in specs and is usually around 10-30ms on a monitor and 100-200ms or above on TVs without "game mode" enabled to turn off all the additional image processing that adds that latency. With game mode enabled most TVs get down to around 30-50ms, though it depends on the TV of course.

 

Thanks for this! I actually had no idea about this, and I just saw your signature now which also explains it in great detail.

[GoldSrc]

In a TV, there's a lot more going on as far as image processing goes, is not as direct to the panel as in monitors.

You may or may not notice a small amount of input lag/latency.

[PrimeSonic]

I've used Samsung TVs as my primary screens at home for regular use and gaming for years now. Here's what I can say.

On the particular HDTVs I used, the experience was great. There was no noticeable latency between input and the action on screen.

I did experience that on a cheaper TV which did have a noticeable delay. I returned it and got a 40" Samsung screen that served me well.

I can say with some certainty that if the TV has a "Game Mode" it may already be fit to game on even without it being activated.

If you want to game on a big screen, bigger than a typical monitor, then using a TV isn't a bad choice, so long as you get a quality one.

I can recommend Samsung from personal experience. I never even had to use Game Mode on them even for high speed/twitch games.

Do a bit of research on the TV you want to buy. If they list a response time 5ms or lower, you should be fine.

In either case, make sure you know what the return policy is so that if the TV doesn't meet your needs, you can just send it back.

Edit: To clarify, none of these Samsung TVs were "smart".

[PlayStation 2]

You can, but honestly, this all depends on what you play.

I own some Vizio TV from 2009, and it's fine for my needs. TF2 feels responsive, GRID 2 plays nice, and I can video edit. Now if you're doing shit like comp CSGO, then you're not using a TV for that purpose.

[SolarWind]

I've personally been using a 42" plasma for about 4 years now as a pure PC screen (its only connected to my PC).

TV's are perfectly capable, problem is new TV's are 'smart' and have a butt load of image processing that increases input lag (game mode helps). older screen that are not smart "generally" have less, but they are older so the panel tech can be worse, there's a fine line. You can ofc find modern TV's that work fine, but you gotta be careful.

 

Then you have the dreaded slow pixel response (which causes ghosting/haloing/blurring),

LCD TV's use VA panels most the time and while they are a great medium between TN and IPS in terms of performance. But TV manufactures don't tend to aim for fast as possible pixel response as they are not intended to be primarily used for gaming where slow pixel response becomes painfully obvious.

 

Now if you go Plasma, that issue is gone, completely, as plasma has (near as makes no difference) instant response, but they are not made anymore, are 42" minimum, heavy, run hot, consume more energy etc etc, and can get screen burn (not always).

 

Oh and I hate Samsung , much prefer Panasonic. But that's a opinion based on a peace of crap Samsung 37" LCD TV I got and owned for about 2 months before replacing it with my current plasma. The LCD ghosted like crazy and was made out of cheapo plastic, build quality was shit and customer support/tech support were moronic. This Panasonic is built like a tank, very solid construction, great quality ..but its a plasma ..not a LCD so

 

( FYI: ignore my post count this isn't my main account, that's currently trying to get the password reset)

[Jwolf7722]

Currently I find only a few games benefit from using a TV as the display (currently I am using the Vizio M55-C2). Fifa and NBA2k16 are the only times I use the TV as the display. I have tired Civ 5, Bioshock and Borderlands 2 but found I liked playing those games on my BenQ BL3201PH monitor with headphones. Its just a more engaging experience over a TV. Honestly if I was gaming mainly on a TV I would get the Sony KDL55W800C. Its not 4k but still a better gaming TV (IMO).