WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.680 TVs are not just larger versions of computer monitors. 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 00:00:07.820 --> 00:00:12.360 ones is probably input lag, the amount of time that passes between the TV receiving 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 00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:23.720 optimizing this characteristic to keep input lag as low as possible. 00:00:23.720 --> 00:00:27.880 It isn't difficult to find gaming monitors with around 10 milliseconds of latency. 00:00:27.880 --> 00:00:33.360 However, because TVs are built more for, you know, idly watching while being a couch potato, 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 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 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 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 00:00:55.560 --> 00:00:59.000 review site like Artings or DisplayLag.com. 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, 00:01:03.640 --> 00:01:09.320 which is comparable to a decent monitor, while others, notably LG's 2019 OLEDs, are down 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 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 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:25.520 mode that turns off any lag inducing post-processing such as AI color enhancement or whatever. 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. 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 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 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 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 00:01:49.480 --> 00:01:52.520 mean it actually has a low latency mode. 00:01:52.520 --> 00:01:57.040 Consistence is just another corny preset color setting, so do your due diligence. 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 00:02:03.360 --> 00:02:06.840 be advantageous if you're going to be doing lots of gaming. 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, 00:02:11.320 --> 00:02:14.480 something happening toward the periphery in the video game can be very important, with 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 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 00:02:23.240 --> 00:02:26.720 if you get fragged. You'll also want to consider panel type. 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 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:34.600 there, OLED TVs are plentiful, albeit more expensive. 00:02:34.600 --> 00:02:38.920 The pixels that make up OLED displays have extremely fast response times, meaning that 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 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 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. 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 00:02:58.360 --> 00:03:02.480 of damaging your display from having the same graphics, like a heads-up display or speedometer 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 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. 00:03:12.840 --> 00:03:17.160 Historically, TVs run at a 60Hz refresh rate, similar to monitors. 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. 00:03:21.320 --> 00:03:26.400 Unlike gaming monitors, many TV manufacturers advertise fake refresh rates, which you can 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:30.640 learn more about up here, which are achieved using trickery-like motion interpolation to 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. 00:03:37.600 --> 00:03:41.680 And again, independent review sites can often confirm not only whether this is even possible 00:03:41.680 --> 00:03:44.880 on a given model, but which resolutions this mode can support. 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 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 00:03:56.600 --> 00:04:01.440 of frames or if you want a next-gen console like Microsoft's upcoming Project Scarlet, 00:04:01.440 --> 00:04:05.080 which is supposed to support 120Hz for certain titles. 00:04:05.080 --> 00:04:10.200 Some TVs now also finally support variable refresh rate technology, which prevents screen 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 00:04:16.920 --> 00:04:22.560 compatible badge. For console gamers, anything with VRR or FreeSync will do you just fine. 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 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 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:35.880 get worse with 4K and HDR enabled. 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, 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 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. 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. 00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:55.840 Check out our other videos and don't forget to subscribe.