Due to the ever-increasing popularity of the Microsoft Xbox and the Sony PlayStation, more and more people are buying TVs primarily for gaming. While the usual attributes of picture quality – such as contrast ratio and colour vibrancy – are still crucial when it comes to choosing the best TV for gaming, there’s one additional factor that will determine how enjoyable your gaming experience will be: input lag.
Why is input lag so important?
Surprisingly, this is one of the few details that isn’t found on any TV spec sheet. Input lag is the delay from executing an action (for example, pressing a button or moving the analog stick) on your game controller to the result manifesting onscreen. The higher the input lag, the more sluggish a game will feel, which will affect the satisfaction you’ll get from playing reflex-based games such as first-person shooters and racing games – and can potentially be the difference between winning and losing.
Most modern TVs, especially high-end ones, feature a host of clever video-processing techniques – ranging from deinterlacing and upconversion to motion enhancement and noise suppression – that improve picture quality, but unfortunately also increase input lag.
As a result, most TV manufacturers now implement a specific Game mode that reduces input lag by cutting down the amount of video processing applied. Even then, the ranges of some TV brands offer lower input lag than others, and in this article we’ll dissect the top four TV brands in the UK, explain their various pros and cons, and suggest the best TVs for gaming from each brand.
READ NEXT: Check out our guide to the best Full HD, 4K and HDR TVs
The best TVs for gaming
1. Samsung: The best gaming TVs you can buy
Since last year, Samsung TVs have delivered the lowest input lag on the television market, with lag times measuring between 20ms and 25ms once Game mode is engaged. And where Game mode was once buried several layers deep in the user menu, which made it awkward to activate, Samsung’s 2016 models have moved it to a more logical and easily accessible location within the picture menu. This is great news for gamers.
Samsung’s revamped Game mode also benefits the latest HDR games (such as Battlefield 1, Forza Horizon 3 and Gears of War 4 on the Microsoft Xbox One S), since it can now also be enabled with HDR content. TVs from some manufacturers – yes, we’re looking at you, LG – automatically kick into HDR-specific picture presets where Game mode can’t be activated once HDR metadata is detected, but thankfully that’s not the case with Samsung’s 2016 family.
Which Samsung TV should I buy for gaming?
When it comes to recommending a specific Samsung TV model, we just can’t see past the KS7000 series for its sheer value for money. It’s Samsung’s most affordable SUHD TV range, yet in addition to HDR compatibility, it also carries the Ultra HD Premium certification, which guarantees a good level of HDR performance.
The VA-type LCD panel found on the Samsung KS7000 produces a convincingly deep shade of blacks which, together with the wide colour palette, gives games a rich vibrant look without appearing washed out. Of course, as with most LED LCDs, viewing angles are relatively limited, so contrast and colour saturation take a hit when viewed off-axis. However, this shouldn’t be a problem for gamers who are more likely to have the TV to themselves, and can sit directly in the sweet spot in front of the screen.
Bear in mind that the supporting feet are located at both ends of the panel, so you’ll need to place the TV on a surface that’s at least as wide as the screen. Build quality could be better, too: the feet are slotted in without screws; and while the design looks premium, with a slim bezel and brushed-aluminium trim, the rear panel has a tendency to pop out from time to time.
2. Sony: Stunning quality, but no longer the best gaming TV choice
Sony Bravias were once the king for gaming. The Japanese manufacturer’s 2013 and 2014 sets returned input lag as low as 18ms, but in 2015, the introduction of new chipsets to incorporate an Android-based Smart TV platform pushed the figure up closer to 40ms. While this level of responsiveness is still very acceptable for all but the most demanding of gamers, it won’t be as snappy as the class-leading Samsungs.
To obtain the lowest input lag on Sony TVs, you have to switch the picture preset to Game. This mode also has added benefit of retaining 4:4:4 chroma – in layman’s terms, this guarantees the highest possible colour fidelity, and is particularly useful for 4K PC gaming.
Which Sony TV should I buy for gaming?
Having looked through Sony’s 2016 Bravia TV lineup, we like the Sony XD93 series, which is available in 55 or 65 inches. It’s not the cheapest, but Sony models below the XD93 don’t deliver as good an HDR presentation. This is because they either use an IPS-type LCD (and so exhibit shallower blacks and weaker contrast) or 60Hz panels (which don’t provide the same smooth motion as 120Hz ones). By contrast, the Sony XD93 combines deep blacks, rich colours and strong processing to give a truly immersive gaming experience.
One thing to look out for, though, is that the Sony XD93 locks itself into HDR Video mode with a higher input lag (around 60ms) for displaying HDR material including HDR games. Only Sony TVs released in the second half of 2016 allow Game mode to be engaged for HDR games, but they’re either extremely expensive (for example the flagship Sony ZD9) or have subpar specs (IPS/ 60Hz panel).
3. LG: OLED excellence which comes at a price
LG – at least at this time of writing – implement mutually exclusive Game and HDR modes on their 2016 TVs. What this means is that upon detection of HDR metadata, LG TVs kick into HDR mode and offer three separate picture presets, all of which exhibit relatively high input lag (roughly 50ms) with no option to enable Game mode. However, following an online petition from frustrated LG TV owners, the South Korean company is currently working on a firmware update that will lower input lag in HDR mode.
Although LG produce both LED LCD and OLED televisions, we don’t rate the former, because they almost always use IPS LCD panels that suffer from elevated black level and mediocre contrast, an especially severe handicap given the high brightness demands of HDR.
We’re big fans of LG OLED, though, what with its self-emissive display characteristic (every pixel can be switched on and off independently of one another) that lends itself to true blacks, lush colours and wide viewing angles. Another oft-overlooked advantage of OLED is that it displays supremely clean, smooth motion thanks to its insanely fast pixel-response time. Some rival VA LED LCDs are affected by black smearing/trailing where dark objects moving across a light background would leave a ghosting trail, which is most obvious when you’re turning around in games.
Which LG TV should I buy for gaming?
Our pick is the most affordable LG B6 series. While stepping up to the more expensive E6 and G6 series rewards with a more refined image, any improvement in picture quality is incremental, making the B6 particularly good value. As with most things OLED, though, value is relative: the 55in LG OLED55B6 will cost the best part of £2,000. Still, that’ll buy you the kind of natively inky blacks and clean motion that no LED LCD can touch – especially as far as HDR gaming is concerned.
4. Panasonic: Great TVs for gaming, but not quite the best
Even though Panasonic’s 2016 TVs allow Game mode to be engaged for HDR content, from our tests you can achieve a similar degree of gaming responsiveness in most picture presets simply by disabling the Intelligent Frame Creation motion processing. In other words, you can enjoy both highly accurate colours and lowish input lag at the same time.
That said, Panasonic’s high-end LED TVs this year exhibit more dark colour smearing, which may be visible in video games. We think this may be caused by the decay time of the type of phosphor used on these sets to reach a wider colour gamut without resorting to the quantum dot technology used by rival manufacturers. Viewing angles on Panasonic LED LCDs are also typically fairly narrow, but since playing video games is predominantly a solitary activity on one screen, we don’t think it’s a deal-breaker.
Which Panasonic TV should I buy for gaming?
Panasonic plasmas used to be awesome displays for gaming due to low input lag and inherently sharp motion, but alas, they’re no longer made. Among the current crop of Panasonic TVs, we like the top-end Viera DX902 series, which delivers formidable blacks, accurate colours and relatively low lag (38ms) even for HDR games, although obviously it comes at a price: the 58in TX-58DX902B will cost you almost £2,000. A better bargain is the £800 Panasonic TX-50DX750B, which features similarly deep blacks and realistic colours but a slightly higher lag (48ms).
