Does every HDTV have input lag?

There's a 32" Samsung HDTV on sale that I'm thinking of getting, but I'm worried about input lag.

 

I notice none on my crappy Sanyo TV so you should be fine on your Samsung!

 

Most HDTV's have an option setting in their menu that allow you to set the TV to "Game" mode, which alleviates the problems encountered with on-screen lag during game play.

 

i have a 3 or 4 year old 50" plasma by magnavox and it has no lag. plasma are the fastest by far and better than oled and and lcd overall (based on professional comparisons).

 

Plasma usually have better black levels and I think higher contrast, but they suck electricity like it's nothing, perform poorly in even moderately lit environments, act like space heaters (see comment about sucking power), and I think tend to be more expensive. LED is a great choice for most people. Besides, the specific display technology shouldn't effect lag, it would be the image processing that does that.

 

^ a plasma is almost as bright as a lcd... but they look better and more real life coloring - less cartoony (in general. LCDs can be good depending on company). plasmas also have been cheaper, unless thats changed since normal lcd is dying out. mines in a VERY bright room and still looks bright and very good picture. the only hdtv that sucks with brightness is the projection which are so dim they dont look very good in dark rooms.

 

i have some problems looking at LED backlit displays... no idea why... some people have that problem too

a standalone HDTV doesn't have any noticable input lag... however, if you try to hook up a game console to a USB Tv Tuner on a laptop, you'll see lag there

 

Sorry, that was a typo, I meant LCD, not LED.

 

I would argue with the plasma in a bright room and so would avsforums. Sure, a NEWER model plasma such as Panasonic's G10s (or the rest of the line using the same panel) can match the brightness of an LCD but not the ones before or a lot now. I had a 42" Pioneer Kuro in my university apartment and it was terrible when the sun came up and shone through the blinds. I had to send that home and picked up a Samsung LCD instead. I doubt your Magnavox is better the Kuro I had in terms of colour quality but maybe in brightness. But that's not the point as quality is what matters and it's best to find the best performing for the conditions in the room. The Kuro was not bright enough. So you can't generalize that plasmas can match an LCD's brightness levels when only a fraction of those recently made can. The OP will have to look for certain models. But indeed, a quality 50" Panasonic plasma can be had for $1000 whereas an LCD alternative will be $800 more. And a plasma will easily be defeated by OLED...there's no way a plasma is "by far better" than an OLED screen that is able to provide significantly better contrast levels (due to the OLED actually shutting off) while also providing better colours.

 

^ Cells in the plasma shut off too. OLED doesnt have an advantage (or disadvantage) there. I didnt realize this until recently so mine may not but new plasmas have the same potential. No, my tv isnt as bright as the new ones but i assume whatever tv the op is looking at is new, and probably wont put it where the sun shines directly on it. But theres absolutely no reason to spend 80% more on an lcd or oled as of now. My friend got an oled a month ago and it honestly doesnt look any better than recent plasmas.

 

^^

Are you mistaking this for an LED-lit LCD? These are not even close to OLED quality.

There are no OLED TVs larger than 11"(which is $2500) being sold to consumers. You should go to the Sony store and check out the OLED screen there. The only problem that they're dealing with atm is image retention problems. And you should definitely read up on OLED technology. Plasma/LCD are really duds when comparing the potentials.

Of course, for $1000, plasma is the definitive choice as LCDs won't provide a better quality(Performance)/$.

 

LCD motion still looks awful even on 240Hz sets.

I'll stick to plasma.

 

right, my mistake. LED LCD is what i was comparing it to.


EDIT: here's cnet's comparison: http://asia.cnet.com/buyingguides/home_av/0,39066264,61985379-3,00.htm

 

plasma is really considered as a stopgap tech for LCD screen to get to those screen sizes...

OLED is promising, but it is at least 5 years from being feasible(cost+sizewise)...

 

Hmm, I'm pretty attuned to noticing video errors (I spent 8 months working on HDDVD players, looking for errors), and my LCD TV looks pretty good to me, and it is only 120Hz. And I am quite glad I don't have something that rivals my stove in terms of throwing off BTUs sitting in my living room.

 

although i agree that the new plasmas look smoother, mine is probably 120 since its older and I dont notice much. also, as far as heat my 50" plasma puts out LESS heat then my 27" sony tube tv did (which was like 2 years older). Im not sure if this is a normal thing or if that tube tv just was originally supposed to be a heater. also, xbox 360 (pro) puts out much more heat as well.

 

You do realize that modern plasmas use barely if any more power than modern LCDs, right?

Or that they operate under the same energy star ratings system as LCDs?

Or that the power consumption ratings for plasma are generally peak consumption figures and you'd need to run the thing 24/7 all year to even come close to hitting it?

Or that the much touted low power consumption figures for both LCD and plasma are all while running on eco modes that sacrifice brightness for efficiency?

It's not the late 90s anymore.

 

Anyhow, the best solution is to go to avsforums and read up on the LCD/plasmas you want. There is much greater detail on TVs than on here.

 

Well, lots of information here. I think I might just bring my laptop in with me and test it out on the demo model.

FYI it's an LCD that's running for about 670,000 won ($580 USD). I didn't get the exact model number though.

 

I have a 40" LCD Samsung...

No Lag Here

 

It's good to see it for your self, but beware, they do always look different in the store than at home. Stores all skrew with color settings and lighting conditions to make the TVs look exciting (not necissarily acurate), and I find that if you go in looking for one size TV, it looks so small next to some of the behemoth models they will have it near that you will want to get something bigger (and more expensive) even if you don't need it.

 

^ as a note to that, anything bigger than 50" is usually too big for 1 player video gaming. If my tv were any bigger, it would be much more difficult to have a constant eye on my motion sensor in halo, etc.

However, a 50" is too small if you play with 3-4 people a lot.... but its still better 50" lcd/plasma than the similarly priced 65" projection.

 

That would depend on your room setup and your viewing distance. I have a 52" LCD and I refute both of those statements.

 

Yeah, it does all depend upon room setup. There is an optimum arc radiating from your retina in which you want to get your TV screen to fit. I forget the exact numbers, but basically, just as you'd suspect, the further away the screen is, the bigger you can (and should) get away with.