Choose the right TV for gaming

Play on TV? No problem. All modern TVs work and have no problems with the current standard of 4K/60 signal. All TVs also have a game mode that provides lower latency and thus less added delay between you pressing the controller and things happening on the TV. That’s it, all set. You don’t have to read any further than here! Almost then.

Today, no normal TV is too small for games. However, there are big differences as soon as you step beyond the basics. These differences will be about how it can be better and more responsive to modern game functions and for gaming with PC. For 2024, it is TV models with a 120 Hz panel that account for the functions that are in demand when gaming:

• 4K/120 Hz for modern consoles and PC, of ​​course requires a 120 Hz panel.

• VRR, Variable Refresh Rate for adaptive sync where the TV’s Hz follows the game’s FPS, which works better as the panel’s frequency increases.

• 4K/144 Hz as a small extra bonus for games from PC.

• Expanded game modes for extra game functions, like being able to quickly change the character of the image and get information about, for example, FPS level, are usually only available on 120 Hz models.

• AMD Freesync and Nvidia G-Sync Certified certification to ensure the functional level requires at least 120 Hz.

• Double the panel frequency at lower resolution, similar to running 1080p/240, is often called Dual Line Gate and can be seen as a bonus finesse for PC gaming.

In addition to that, you may have wishes for playing based on the conditions for playing in bright rooms and at varying times of the day. That the TV has the best brightness and that the reflective filter reduces glare. To be able to play with high graphics quality and high contrast, especially with HDR, comes further beyond panel frequency. A FALD improves an LCD TV’s ability to keep black as black, and OLED is, of course, completely black when it needs to be black. The other guides cover this.

144 Hz is a bonus finesse for PC gaming

Several new TV models are capable of running 144 Hz and this is mainly to match what PC users are already used to. As you know, it is a psychological threshold to be forced to downgrade even if the difference is marginal. So that’s why we have 144 Hz on newer TVs. Modern consoles stick to 120 Hz at most, and the fact that there is an option for 144 Hz in the TV makes no difference.

Double the frequency in lower resolution

Finesse DLG, Dual Line Gate was introduced by TCL on its panels a couple of years ago. Hisense also uses the function and to some extent other manufacturers who build their products on Hisense and TCL’s panels. The function consists in the fact that two rows of pixels can be addressed simultaneously with twice the panel frequency.

Effectively, with a 4K/120 panel you reach 1080p/240 Hz and with an 8K/60 panel you reach 4K/120. As well as 4K/60 panels in simple models which can run 1080p/120. This is mainly a bonus finesse for PC users who want to use the games which work better in high frequency but do not add much in terms of graphic detail level.

Latent, input lag

Game mode is often a must for gaming because outside of game modes, a typical TV has a large delay, latency, of 50 to 200 ms. In game mode, most manufacturers have a latency between 10–20 ms vid 4K/60 Hz and 5–15 ms vid 4K/120 Hz. However, the modes with doubled frequency, like the previously mentioned 1080p/240 Hz, usually give somewhat higher latency than with 4K/60.

In general, there are few TVs that have a higher latency than 25ms in game modes today. LG and Samsung usually keep the lowest latencies and in 2024 Philips, TCL, Hisense and Panasonic are also catching up. Only Sony has slightly higher latency of the established manufacturers. Outside of game mode, there is usually very high latency, often more than 100ms.

Exceptions with TVs that give high latency always exist, like older models and all models from other brands which are less often tested. There, latencies can increase to 30–50 ms even in game mode. These manufacturers and their models still lack such finesse as 4K/120 and VRR. They are generally not built with gaming in mind.

Expanded game modes

Extended game modes are when the TV’s game mode provides extra functions like FPS meters and crosshairs but also a way to affect the game image more specifically. For example, lifting shadow tones so that the image is flatter but also clearer. These extended game modes help when tuning, for example, how to optimize the game’s graphics settings, show if VRR is really running, and the like. Excellent technical aids.

More detailed game modes can be found today at LG, Samsung, Philips, TCL and Hisense. Panasonic is going to introduce this, while Sony so far seems not to. Sony is overall – and ironically considering the Playstation 5 – the manufacturer that invests perhaps the least in gaming functions of the established manufacturers.

When the new TV meets the console for the first time

First time with a new TV for your Xbox or Playstation? Then, as a rule, need to run through the video setup wizards so that the console can detect all the new features of the new TV. Otherwise, consoles usually assume that you are running the old TV and then new functions such as 4K/120, VRR and even HDR cannot yet work.

HDMI 2.1 a must for 120 Hz?

HDMI versions are, as you know, a huge whirlwind of misunderstanding. You can never tell from the version number what works or not with a certain product. And if you thought that HDMI versions would now confirm or certify something about individual products, you are a contributing source to the continuing whirlwind. Time to unlearn.

You don’t need to think about HDMI version really ever. You can instead think in terms of functions. Instead of asking for version, ask as follows:

• Do you need 4K/120? Buy a TV capable of 4K/120. This guide tells you which models.

• Do you need VRR? Buy a TV that can handle VRR. This guide tells you which models.

• Do you need GENERAL, automatic game mode? Yes, basically all TVs have it and it is not so important in practice if it is now, against the odds, missing. Nothing decisive, but mainly a simple convenience that in some situations you don’t have to choose the game mode via the remote control.

• Do you need eARC for the sound? Buy a TV with eARC and the vast majority of TVs today have it, with the exception of some simple entry-level models.