TV game mode and latency

StirlingMoose

StirlingMoose

1,510
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
StirlingMoose
I'm using a Toshiba Regza TV connected via HDMI to the PS3 and I noticed the other day that when watching a replay my braking points were a few metres later than when actually driving. I've always just used the normal TV mode and never bothered switching to game mode. I did a bit of research and couldn't find any exact numbers, but from what I can gather game mode by-passes some of the processing and reduces latency by 100ms or so. So I did a few laps using game mode on a track/car combo I was very familiar with and it did seem that I could brake a bit later and it all felt a bit tighter. Was it a placebo effect or real? Do any of you use game mode, is it noticeable and most importantly does it make any difference to your lap times?
 
Definitely real. Chances are that most people will find a rhythm that works for good, smooth, calm laps. Subconsciously taking into consideration their display's latency. However, it's when unforseen corrections need to be made that the milliseconds will become all the more crucial.

Side note: default brightness/contrast/etc. is usually quite nasty in game mode, and will almost always need adjustment.
 
It's absolutely a measurable relationship. My old TV didn't have a dedicated "Game mode" as such, so I made do with manually turning off many of the post processing until I learned of the "label the input as 'PC'" which effectively did the same thing (which also works on Samsung TVs, I believe). Even between manually turning off as many as I could and letting the TV do so there was a definite improvement in response time before and after (since that was around the time I played a lot of Rock Band-esque games), and that was with a really good TV. Some of the cheaper sets these days, especially the cheaper Smart TVs, have it so bad where the game mode just switches the lag from "Awful" to "Bad but at least tolerable."
 
People should bear in mind though that cheap does not necessarily equal high latency, and expensive does not necessarily equal low latency. Some of the more expensive displays can be quite bad in that department due to the fact that they're so good in others. ie. Good processing is as detrimental as bad processing.

Sony's 900 series is meant to be very good in regards to latency, and also has Motionflow Impulse, which is apparently similar to Light Boost on monitors. But that attempts deals with motion blur.

Another thing to watch out for is when running through an A/V receiver. Mine adds significant lag.
 
Sony W-series you mean? They are all good. The cheaper R-series not so. That motion flow do add a bit of input lag around 9 ms I believe it´s but it´s still better then 99 % of the tv sets out there as the W-series is below 20. I think W6 is the absolute fastest but it only differ a few ms so not really noticable.

Gaming help a bit but it´s generally still quite high. Beside Sony most are on 28 ms and upwards. There is also two way to measure leo bodnar input lag tester which give a more real number and a comparison between for example CRTs which have very low input lag which give lower readings.

But yes it´s very much a handicap for simracing. If the input lag is consistent you can learn some but still if your car start to drift or you do any misstake it take quite a bit for you to see it which make your reaction times slower. And it can just feel weird that you should turn in to a corner way before then what you would expect.

I remember when I went from CRT to a 32" LCD. I loved the bigger viewing area and thought it was an upgrade but I never did realize why I never was able to adapt to it so I could do the same lap times on it as my CRT. That TV got some 56 ms input lag and it´s with the nice way of measure it´s quite a bit more with the leo bodnar input lag tester surely.

So the lower the better. As for pixel response time that just add some motion blur can live with that so I don´t use the motionflow technology at all. It kills the contrast which is a big big achilles heel for LCD displays already.
 
Thanks for the answers guys. It's game mode from now on then, and I look forward to some faster lap times. I'm worried now that my TV may not be ideal even in game mode, but whether I can justify buying a better TV just to improve my lap times is another matter. I couldn't find the latancy figures for my TV but I guess I can get a rough idea from the difference in braking points between replay and live as that was pretty noticeable in normal mode.
 
I have a Toshiba Regza ZV650U. In game mode it is supposed to be around 25ms or so. PC mode is next with about 45ms. The rest add too much latency for most gaming. This Regza tv's have some of the lowest input lag out there. IN gaming mode the picture is very accurate as well. It doesnt blind you with over saturated reds etc...
 

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