1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,680 TVs are not just larger versions of computer monitors. 2 00:00:03,680 --> 00:00:07,820 Even today, there are still plenty of differences between them, and for gamers, one of the biggest 3 00:00:07,820 --> 00:00:12,360 ones is probably input lag, the amount of time that passes between the TV receiving 4 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:19,760 a signal and outputting it on the screen. Now since most competitive gaming is done on PCs, monitor manufacturers have spent years 5 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:23,720 optimizing this characteristic to keep input lag as low as possible. 6 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:27,880 It isn't difficult to find gaming monitors with around 10 milliseconds of latency. 7 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:33,360 However, because TVs are built more for, you know, idly watching while being a couch potato, 8 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:40,040 their lag times have typically been a lot higher. And just because the TV is high in and other ways, doesn't mean its lag time will be anywhere 9 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:45,440 close to a gaming monitor. It's very easy to spend a lot of money on a model with other bells and whistles, yet 10 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:50,520 it has a lag time of around 50 milliseconds, or even far higher, so it's crucial to check 11 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:55,560 this spec first. Or if the manufacturer doesn't provide it, get that information from a reputable TV 12 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:59,000 review site like Artings or DisplayLag.com. 13 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:03,640 These days, a set that's good for gaming can easily have input lag of around 20 milliseconds, 14 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:09,320 which is comparable to a decent monitor, while others, notably LG's 2019 OLEDs, are down 15 00:01:09,320 --> 00:01:13,600 closer to 10, which is darn near the theoretical limit of the tester line as tech tips used 16 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:19,000 to measure it. To hit this kind of responsiveness, most TVs require that you switch to a special game 17 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:25,520 mode that turns off any lag inducing post-processing such as AI color enhancement or whatever. 18 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:31,000 And a really cool related feature to look out for is ALLM, or Auto Low Latency Mode. 19 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:36,360 It's part of the HDMI 2.1 spec, and it allows your TV to automatically detect source devices 20 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:39,720 that are used for gaming, so you don't have to be constantly fidgeting with the settings 21 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:44,720 menu. A word of warning though, just because your TV has a game mode doesn't mean it works 22 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:49,480 on all the input ports, sometimes you have to use a specific one, and it also doesn't 23 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:52,520 mean it actually has a low latency mode. 24 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:57,040 Consistence is just another corny preset color setting, so do your due diligence. 25 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:03,360 Moving on, size matters. You might be tempted to grab a large model for Netflix, but a smaller screen can actually 26 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:06,840 be advantageous if you're going to be doing lots of gaming. 27 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:11,320 Unlike movies and TV shows where the action is often focused on one part of the screen, 28 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:14,480 something happening toward the periphery in the video game can be very important, with 29 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:18,640 dire consequences if you miss it, and miss it you might if you have a screen that takes 30 00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:23,240 up too much of your field of vision, and of course, unlike Netflix, there's no rewinding 31 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:26,720 if you get fragged. You'll also want to consider panel type. 32 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:31,120 One nice thing about gaming on a TV is that while there are very few OLED monitors out 33 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:34,600 there, OLED TVs are plentiful, albeit more expensive. 34 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:38,920 The pixels that make up OLED displays have extremely fast response times, meaning that 35 00:02:38,920 --> 00:02:45,640 they can change colors very quickly. This helps cut down on motion blur and fast-paced titles, and OLEDs also have very good viewing 36 00:02:45,640 --> 00:02:49,840 angles, so an OLED TV might be a good choice if you're a fan of local multiplayer games 37 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:53,840 with many people sitting in one room, like if you're doing 8-person smash or something. 38 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:58,360 However, remember that OLED TVs are also more susceptible to burn-in, so you run the risk 39 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:02,480 of damaging your display from having the same graphics, like a heads-up display or speedometer 40 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:07,920 on your screen all the time. So if that sounds like you, the good news is that the response times and viewing angles 41 00:03:07,920 --> 00:03:12,840 of modern LCDs have come a long way. Another important spec to look at is refresh rate. 42 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:17,160 Historically, TVs run at a 60Hz refresh rate, similar to monitors. 43 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:21,320 But if you only go higher, there are a lot of options out there. Just be careful. 44 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:26,400 Unlike gaming monitors, many TV manufacturers advertise fake refresh rates, which you can 45 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:30,640 learn more about up here, which are achieved using trickery-like motion interpolation to 46 00:03:30,640 --> 00:03:37,600 make movements appear smoother. So what you'll want to find is a TV that can natively accept a 120Hz input. 47 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:41,680 And again, independent review sites can often confirm not only whether this is even possible 48 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:44,880 on a given model, but which resolutions this mode can support. 49 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:50,200 See, it's common for a 4K TV to be capped at 60Hz a full resolution, but still run at 50 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:56,600 120Hz at 1080 or 1440p. This feature is especially important if you're using your TV with a PC that can spell lots 51 00:03:56,600 --> 00:04:01,440 of frames or if you want a next-gen console like Microsoft's upcoming Project Scarlet, 52 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:05,080 which is supposed to support 120Hz for certain titles. 53 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:10,200 Some TVs now also finally support variable refresh rate technology, which prevents screen 54 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:16,920 tearing and stutter. If you're on a PC with an NVIDIA graphics card, look for one with HDMI VRR and a G-Sync 55 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:22,560 compatible badge. For console gamers, anything with VRR or FreeSync will do you just fine. 56 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:26,520 Finally, you'll want to make sure your TV has support for 4K and whichever flavor of 57 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:32,800 HDR your PC or console supports. However, do keep in mind that the input lag issues we previously mentioned can actually 58 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:35,880 get worse with 4K and HDR enabled. 59 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:40,400 So if responsiveness is of paramount importance to you due to the types of games you play, 60 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:44,960 you could always just buy a 1080p set and then immediately regret that you paid extra to 61 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:49,200 stream Netflix and 4K. Thanks for watching guys. It was good to see you all again after a while. 62 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:53,120 Like, dislike, hopefully not dislike, but do it if you have to. I don't really care. 63 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:55,840 Check out our other videos and don't forget to subscribe.