What is the best HDTV for precision gaming?

((I'm looking into HDTVs, partially out of curiosity and partially out of interest in getting one in the next 6 months. I don't give a fuck about 3D so I figure I can get a steep discount.))

This question should be relevant to most of the people 'round here, so here are some criteria:

-Low input lag is a must obviously -- I figure within the 1-2 frame range (16-32ms) is not totally out of the question based on my research. (this is NOT the listed response time on the TV's specs)

-Good picture quality for movies/vanilla DVDs/legacy consoles, if it is at all possible

-37" or above, but I'm willing to compromise a bit on this one

-Price range: currently between $600-$1,000

A few additional questions:

-Plasma or LCD?

-What brands do you recommend?

-Am I asking the impossible?

I'm aware that there are computer monitors with no input lag that run in 1080p -- I own two of them, one of which is the "EVO Monitor". They're great, but I'm looking for something bigger!

Thanks for reading this far! Any responses are greatly appreciated.

 

You know what, I was just at a best buy the other day, they had Sony tv's that fit your criteria and they're brand new models.

 

Hey virtua, i don't know the answer to your question, just wanted to suggest that if your flexible on any of the criteria, i'd suggest being flexible on price. IDK, the market, but it is an investment, so many times in the long run it's better to pay a little more than u hoped to make sure u get the product that u want. You'll be glad ya did later on.

Bump.

 

looked into projectors at all?

might be exactly what you're looking for.

 

If you have a laptop and a digital camera you can use this test to determine TV's input lag at the store.

http://blog.arogan.com/2008/09/lcd-hdtv-input-lag-tests.html

And if youre hardcore enough to go that far
Idea is to connect the laptop to the TV so they both show the same screen, then put that timer running and take a picture of it with the camera. The picture shows the timer difference and thus inputlag.

What causes lag in the Tv is the postprocessing of the signal, particularly scaling.(thus lag can sometimes be circumvented by changing the resolution from the console so TV doesnt have to scale it.)

 

http://www.shoryuken.com/blog.php?u=19484

This man does a terrific job.

 

Panasonic G10, case closed.You could get those for under a grand(40inch-50inch)

 

Care to elaborate, shinobifist?

 

Whatever tv you go with just make sure it has a good return policy. In case the lag doesn't match your criteria.

 

I got a 46inch samsung that has gamemode and without enabling it already has a 2ms respone time.

 

Input lag != response time. It'd be a lot easier if that were the case, though.

 

Indeed. It may be that the TV is okay if it indeed has some "game mode" but iirc thats not a guarantee. I remember some samsungs used in WCG tournaments over here were really bad. I could often get rid of the lag by fiddling with console settings though.

 

I brought my 360, VF5, and VSHG to the TV store to try out the set before I bought anything.

 

Ha ha!

They let you do that?

 

If you're worried about input lag then I would suggest going with a Plasma if you're looking to get a bigger TV. The only real trouble with Plasmas is the power consumption. They still offer a better range of colours/black levels than LCD's. Or you can just wait for OLED's.

It never seems to be quite the right time to buy a TV at the moment.

 

If you don't mind buying used, and at prices around $250 or less, you can get Sony's best TV ever made, a 34" Direct View (CRT) widescreen HDTV which has virtually 0 lag.

CRTs in general have the least amount of lag, so low you might as well say 0.

That reminds me, hey Junosynth, do you still have yours? =)

I just sold mine to a buddy. It's a shame because new in 2003 they were $2500, now it's hard to give them away because of the size and weight. But the picture quality is still better than anything out there, even with 7 years newer technology. The black levels and contrast are unmatched with a good CRT. If you decide to look for one though, only go with Sony's KD or KV series.

The models to look for are:

SONY KV-34XBR910
SONY KV-34XBR960
SONY KV-34XBR970


The 960 has two advantages over the 910. It can scale/zoom HD sources and also has HDMI input instead of just DVI. The 970 I don't know as much about and heard that the anti-glare coating wasn't used in some and also might be only "Fine Pitch" instead of "Super Fine Pitch."

Hope this helps!

 

No I sold mine a couple years ago to someone off craigslist for $450. I had the xbr960 and payed $1300 used. But to be honest, I must of had a faulty tv because my current tv a 50" panny plasma TH-PZ800 blows the xbr i had out of the water. Like night and day difference. So I can't really recommend the crt because mine wasn't as good as the tv's out now. And if my plasma is better, I can just imagine how much better a kuro would look since i know the kuro's were top of line at one time. I don't know whats top of line now though. But like i said, my xbr might of been messed up so I really can't say how it compares.

Oh, and i bought a smaller panny plasma for $800 around the same time that i sold the crt abd even that looked better. I think the modal is px85u or something like that. So if $1000 is your budget emx and tech is 2 years later, then I know you could get a kick ass tv in that range. But Id probably go with plasma since you get more bang for your buck. I dont know whats best though. I usually start my research at cnet and see what they say then read what other websites say about it.

 

one more or less fail safe method of getting no input lag on an lcd tv is to use it's vga in port, as most tv's disable post processing on them.

if you have a 360, that's probably the best you're going to get without picking up an old crt monitor.

 

Well, after some research, the G10 series seems like it lags around or under a frame, with great picture quality and other bells and whistles etc. It's really tempting!
My research also yielded some reports of weirdness with the black levels crapping out over time - usually after 1000 hours. I'd hate for a thousand dollar TV to lose picture quality after less than a year of use.

 

Heh, it's funny you mention the Kuro, because that is what I just replaced my XBR-910 with, the best Kuro made, the Pioneer Elite Kuro PRO-141FD 60". I never had any intention of purchasing a $7000 TV, but I got the last one in the Midwest from Best Buy for $3500.

You must have had something wrong with your 960, because as insanely awesome as my Kuro is, it still cannot beat the black levels and contrast ratios of Sony's XBR Direct View sets, although it comes closer than any other TV even still being made today. It's amazing that with even two more years under manufacturers belts that they cannot duplicate the awesomeness of the Kuros.

My recommendation, if you don't care about size and weight (200 pounds), try to find a used 910 which is now possible around $200 to $300 only. Here is a link for specs: http://reviews.cnet.com/direct-view-tvs-crt/sony-kv-34xbr910/4507-6481_7-30536650.html