Hardware Looking to get a decent LED TV for games

[the_randomizer]

Okay, so I currently have a Vizio TV which I bought a little more than two years ago and it does indeed get the job done, in fact Vizio is one of the better brands to get for a budget brand. The lag is minimal so that part isn't a big deal, the thing that kills it though are the presets it comes with. one for Game, Custom, Retail, etc.

The best results I've gotten were ironically, from the Retail mode, however, this sets the settings to settings that are worrisome, notably, the backlight is set to 90, which isn't an LED light but an older CCFL. When in Game mode, the colors look dull and blurry as hell, with Custom, I replicate the setting as best I can in Retail mode, but the results look nowhere near as crisp/vibrant. To sum up, I like Retail mode as it looks the way it should, but the fact the light is up 90 makes me think that it won't last very long at all, what with it being near max level and for being not the highest-end TV out there.

I don't even remember what model it is, but I got it in 2012, it's 36" (I think) has four HDMI ports, PC input for speakers and a component/RCA input. Should I keep it on Retail mode, tinker with the Custom mode until I get good results or sell this one and pay a difference and get a new LED TV instead? Keep in mind I can't go overboard and get a super high-end TV since, well, I'm a college student lol. I've heard mixed results with LG and having severe lag, Samsung can be good, as can Sony and Toshiba. I wish to avoid Westinghouse as they're garbage, like, bottom of the food chain.

What I'm looking for, 1080p is nice, I don't need 120 Hz as it makes movies look unnaturally fast, and I don't know if that affects games at all, much less if they have dedicated game modes. A few HDMI ports, don't need anything special like Netflix, Hulu, so no smart TVs or ones that use WiFi, don't need them. Just a TV that can play games, watch TV, have 720/1080p, not terribly latency. I don't know anything about what to look for, to be honest.

Budget: Anywhere from $200 to $350 if at all possible
Screen size: Nothing less than 32"


Should I try for a better Vizio like this?

http://www.amazon.com/VIZIO-E390-A1...UTF8&qid=1398567769&sr=1-2&tag=donations09-20

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889262326

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA22F1GB6463

 

[marcus134]

but the fact the light is up 90 makes me think that it won't last very long at all,

I wouldn't worry about that as they're made for lasting 60 000 hours+ ( I didn't look vizio spec sheet but some lcd mufacturer even claim 100 000 hours).
Actually, as far as ccfl technologies goes, dimming is more of a problem for lifespan, than operating them at full rate. Wikipedia

The big difference between ccfl lcd and led lcd is their back lightning method, led doesn't wake a tv magically better. If they use the same lcd display and electronics, you won't really see any difference.
With such a tight budget, I really doubt you can have a substantial upgrade to what you have right now

 

[the_randomizer]

I wouldn't worry about that as they're made for lasting 60 000 hours+ ( I didn't look vizio spec sheet but some lcd mufacturer even claim 100 000 hours).
Actually, as far as ccfl technologies goes, dimming is more of a problem for lifespan, than operating them at full rate. Wikipedia

The big difference between ccfl lcd and led lcd is their back lightning method, led doesn't wake a tv magically better. If they use the same lcd display and electronics, you won't really see any difference.
With such a tight budget, I really doubt you can have a substantial upgrade to what you have right now

Okay, what if I were to change the budge range from $200 to $400? That might at give me a little more leeway Something in LG, Samsung, Toshiba, Sony, etc Vizio does have LED TVs and LED is more often than not, helluva lot better than standard LCD since they don't use CCFL for the backlight. LED does typically have more advantages, such as better contrast ratios, better response times, use far less amount of energy and therefore less heat, they've gotten a lot better over the years, that's for sure. But with that new range up to $400, I think I'd be able to have a somewhat better chance at finding better The TV I have now, I spent more or less $300 on it back in early 2012.

As for the CCFL in the current Vizio, it's not really worth worrying about despite it's high setting?

 

[kristianity77]

Yeah Id agree with above. For the price your looking at your probably going to get no if little improvement for your outlay. What I'd be more tempted to do in the first instance is try and properly calibrate your TV. You shouldn't be having images that are less sharp in game mode. Do the obvious first and make sure whatever console your connecting up is set to the resolution of the TV. And then, if your TV allows it, absolute make sure you have a 1:1 scanning set up enabled to give you the sharpest possible picture. And yeah, I wouldnt worry about the lifespan of your TV, even if using it retail mode. If its only two years old it will easily outlast the point where you consider properly upgrading (unless it actually breaks down for one reason or another).

 

[the_randomizer]

Yeah Id agree with above. For the price your looking at your probably going to get no if little improvement for your outlay. What I'd be more tempted to do in the first instance is try and properly calibrate your TV. You shouldn't be having images that are less sharp in game mode. Do the obvious first and make sure whatever console your connecting up is set to the resolution of the TV. And then, if your TV allows it, absolute make sure you have a 1:1 scanning set up enabled to give you the sharpest possible picture. And yeah, I wouldnt worry about the lifespan of your TV, even if using it retail mode. If its only two years old it will easily outlast the point where you consider properly upgrading (unless it actually breaks down for one reason or another).

Even with changing the budget to up to $400 (instead of what I said earlier)? It's weird, Vizio does make some of the best budget TVs for sure, and I'm glad I don't have one of those Westinghouse pieces of crap lol. They just plain suck. Unfortunately, all but the Custom preset can actually be changed, the others have permanently fixed settings, and can't be adjusted individually, not sure why, it's really weird. I tired to calibrate the Custom setting to match how vibrant the Retail setting works, but if I can't make any other mode look as good, I'll stick with it. I'll try to keep messing around with settings to see what I can pull off. I'll find out what the specific model is, that might help use pinpoint the issue


Edit: Yep, the model is E320VA, http://www.amazon.com/VIZIO-E320VA-32-Inch-Class-Black/dp/B003NSBL9K?tag=donations09-20

Heh, should have looked at the reviews before buying this lol

According to a forum ,these settings are good

Ambient Light Sensor =
OFF Picture Mode =
CUSTOM Backlight =
71 Brightness =
63 Contrast =
26 Color = 48 -
52 Tint =
0 (ZERO)
Sharpness =
40 Noise Reduction =
OFF More >
Color Temperature = CUSTOM
>Red Gain = 65
>Green Gain = 64
>Blue Gain =
71 Color Enhancement = OFF
Adaptive Luma = OFF
DCR = OFF

 

[kristianity77]

The thing is, is that you'll find that the TV you have got, is probably going to be better or at least on a par than a low spec TV from a better brand. I know prices for TV's over there are a lot cheaper than over here in the UK, but if I consider that $400 is about £300, its still not a lot of money for a better TV than you have. Ill have a look around see what I can find.

Also, not sure why you think LG is a bad brand. Over in the UK, they are considered very good TV's for the price bracket they sit in. I've never known lag to be an issue really. As long as a TV has a game mode option (IE, turn off all fancy processing etc) then lag will be minimal

 

[the_randomizer]

The thing is, is that you'll find that the TV you have got, is probably going to be better or at least on a par than a low spec TV from a better brand. I know prices for TV's over there are a lot cheaper than over here in the UK, but if I consider that $400 is about £300, its still not a lot of money for a better TV than you have. Ill have a look around see what I can find

I did find a forum that has suggest calibration settings for the E320VA (model I have), here http://www.avsforum.com/t/1366618/vizio-e320va-display-is-dark, as the default setting in most cases are for the most part, really not ideal. I'll give those setting a whirl! Let me know what you find In fact, Vizio is actually surprisingly popular and reliable, so I didn't get screwed, really

Here's a link to the manual http://www.manualowl.com/m/Vizio/E320VA/Manual/157475

 

[kristianity77]

For $350, this would be quite a big improvement actually to what you have. Thats really cheap compared to the UK

http://www.amazon.com/LG-Electronic.../ref=lh_ni_t?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

[the_randomizer]

For $350, this would be quite a big improvement actually to what you have. Thats really cheap compared to the UK

http://www.amazon.com/LG-Electronic.../ref=lh_ni_t?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Nice find! Adding that to my wishlist What have you heard about LG and gaming? I'm not too familiar with it, but I've heard many good things about them Any luck finding out about the E320VA? I can't seem to find much about it on Google for some reason, but first thing, I'll try that calibration I saw on that forum

 

[kristianity77]

LG is totally fine for gaming. I had an LG from 2009 - mid 2013 which I used for 360 and PS3 and it was totally fine. More than fine if I'm honest as I hate thing like motion blur or lag and it was a great little TV.

Regards to your TV I can only see really what you have found on AVS. I cant even find a way to enter the service menu which may give you a few more options to tinker with regarding your picture.

 

[the_randomizer]

LG is totally fine for gaming. I had an LG from 2009 - mid 2013 which I used for 360 and PS3 and it was totally fine. More than fine if I'm honest as I hate thing like motion blur or lag and it was a great little TV.

Regards to your TV I can only see really what you have found on AVS. I cant even find a way to enter the service menu which may give you a few more options to tinker with regarding your picture.

Well, alrighty then! I've heard a lot of things about LG and input lag, that's what I wanted to find out, but looks like I was wrong, and I'm glad I was too! I think that AVS forum is my best bet, I'll try it out and see how it looks on mu Wii U using emulators, retail games, as well as regular TV to see how it fares. But that TV has gotten many very good reviews, 4.5 stars, so that would work out just fine

 

[kristianity77]

Well, alrighty then! I've heard a lot of things about LG and input lag, that's what I wanted to find out, but looks like I was wrong, and I'm glad I was too! I think that AVS forum is my best bet, I'll try it out and see how it looks on mu Wii U using emulators, retail games, as well as regular TV to see how it fares. But that TV has gotten many very good reviews, 4.5 stars, so that would work out just fine

Your probably not wrong regarding LG and input lag if you have all the processing effects on etc. But thats the same as any TV. My TV has a setting where it can make a game that runs at 30fps appear to be running at 60 by "filling in the gaps" betweens frames which looks amazing. But you cant use it with twitch based gaming as it adds to lag.

 

[the_randomizer]

Your probably not wrong regarding LG and input lag if you have all the processing effects on etc. But thats the same as any TV. My TV has a setting where it can make a game that runs at 30fps appear to be running at 60 by "filling in the gaps" betweens frames which looks amazing. But you cant use it with twitch based gaming as it adds to lag.

That would look too weird for me, as I like my 30/60 fps games, so it'd look unnatural for my eyes lol; but if it has a game mode, I should be fine. I'll test the calibration settings in a little while

 

[kristianity77]

That would look too weird for me, as I like my 30/60 fps games, so it'd look unnatural for my eyes lol; but if it has a game mode, I should be fine. I'll test the calibration settings in a little while

It does look weird, but when you have friends over who have exactly the same game they will often come out with "How the hell have you gotten it to run that smoothly?"

 

[stomp_442]

When I was looking to purchase a new TV a few years ago, all the research I did lead me to believe Samsung was the brand to get. I wasn't specifically looking for a gaming TV, I was looking for something that wasn't going to need to be replaced for while. I ended up getting an LG because I didn't read any bad reviews anywhere about LG tv's. This is the model I bought http://www.lg.com/us/tvs/lg-42LK450-lcd-tv and I have no complaints about it except it could use more than 3 HDMI ports on it. The USB port recognizes up to 4 HDD partitions, and it plays movies, music, and pictures. I haven't found a movie file format that it wont play, on the other hand my parents just bought a 60 inch Vizio that will not play all the different video files, mp4 was about the only movies it would play. So you may also want to look at what features you are getting with your new purchase as well as the hardware and tech specs.

 

[marcus134]

LG uses IPS panels witch are slower than other types of panels, which causes more blur and lag, but gives prettier pictures. IPS pro variant however cuts the delay.

also post-prcessing tech that adds frame adds input lag.

 

[stomp_442]

LG uses IPS panels witch are slower than other types of panels, which causes more blur and lag, but gives prettier pictures. IPS pro variant however cuts the delay.

also post-prcessing tech that adds frame adds input lag.

I use a ps3 and a Wii U on my LG via HDMI and don't notice any lag, the picture looks sharp when using the HDMI. In my opinion, it looks really great, but then agian I'm not comparing it with all of the TV's on the market. I have my XBOX 360 plugged into the A/V because I don't use that much and it looks kind of crappy using that input. I'm sure there is better, when I was looking to make my purchase I didn't have a whole lot to spend, I think I paid around $500 for it a few years ago, and that was cheap compared to other tv's (that I considered purchasing) on the market at that time. I have no complaints concerning the gaming on this tv. If what you about IPS panels is true, I haven't noticed any lag or blurring on my screen.

 

[the_randomizer]

It does look weird, but when you have friends over who have exactly the same game they will often come out with "How the hell have you gotten it to run that smoothly?"

I thought most TVs had a dedicated Game Mode......? Hmm....

When I was looking to purchase a new TV a few years ago, all the research I did lead me to believe Samsung was the brand to get. I wasn't specifically looking for a gaming TV, I was looking for something that wasn't going to need to be replaced for while. I ended up getting an LG because I didn't read any bad reviews anywhere about LG tv's. This is the model I bought http://www.lg.com/us/tvs/lg-42LK450-lcd-tv and I have no complaints about it except it could use more than 3 HDMI ports on it. The USB port recognizes up to 4 HDD partitions, and it plays movies, music, and pictures. I haven't found a movie file format that it wont play, on the other hand my parents just bought a 60 inch Vizio that will not play all the different video files, mp4 was about the only movies it would play. So you may also want to look at what features you are getting with your new purchase as well as the hardware and tech specs.

I don't need anything like that, as I've plenty of ways of playing media files Don't need more than 3 HDMI ports for the time being, already have a music player, and I have Netflix for the Wii U, which works quite well. Just need a no-frills TV that plays games, doesn't have terrible response time or lag and isn't a Westinghouse lol

LG uses IPS panels witch are slower than other types of panels, which causes more blur and lag, but gives prettier pictures. IPS pro variant however cuts the delay.

also post-processing tech that adds frame adds input lag.

Wasn't aware they used IPS screens, never would have guessed to be honest.