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Game mode on TV: Yay or nay?

M

MauroNL

Member
So I recently bought a new TV, the Samsung 65HU7500 (EU model) and I have been toying around with the settings a lot. Previously I also had a Samsung TV and I never really bothered with the settings; I just switched on the Game mode on the TV and used the same settings on all devices. Now though, with such a big screen, it's interesting to fiddle around with the settings because the effect is much more dramatic.

Samsung TVs have a dedicated Game mode to remove all the post-processing and reduce the overall lag. This however reduces the overall image quality, and its much more noticeable now with a 65" screen. The game mode on Samsung pretty much puts the TV in lock 'cause it uses a custom colour scheme and there are hardly any settings you can change. So is it really worth it playing games with the game mode switched on? I have been playing some games with both game mode and standard movie mode and I don't seem to notice any difference in lag or whatever. Was this effect that much worse with TVs in the past or is this still the case? Colours look a lot less bright with game mode and it doesn't look like there is some vague layer over the screen like with game mode switched on?

So what is the general opinion on GAF for game mode on TVs? Switched on every time you game or just play with general settings made for normal TV and movie watching?
 
I always avoid the setting due to the reduced image quality. Instead, I just research a quality TV that natively displays a beautiful image with the least amount of video latency.
 
I just got a new LED TV that has this feature. I turned it on and don't really notice a difference other than the picture getting a little bit darker.
 
Just got a new Samsung myself and the only reason I will be switching Game Mode on is for fighters/games requiring very little input lag like Smash Bros. Otherwise I don't mind a super tiny amount of input lag sacrificed for better picture quality.

EDIT: Also OP I recommend calibrating your Game Mode as well. My Samsung default Game Mode was way too sharp and contrast-y.
 
I used to leave it on gaming mode, but I recently noticed that gaming mode doesn't properly fit my TV (it zooms in a bit), unlike when I set my TV to PC mode.
 
I have a different model Samsung, but from my research PC mode is best for console games. It removes all filters just like game mode and doesn't overscan or autowide (speculation on my part).

Test both out I'd say and see what it does for you.
 
New 4K Panasonics ax802 changed that, you can now put game mode on every set up, its still just 37 ms, but that's the fastest 4K at the moment..... Good for main TV though.

Best gaming TV is still sony w905 2013 model 19 ms leo bodnar, test, 10 ms lag vs CRT......TEN, that's almost gaming monitor level for a large TV...

For your TV, if you not buying 1 with primary gaming in mind, is to google 'leo bodnar' and your TV set model...that's the name of the lag test equipment

If its been reviewed and tested for response, they will tell you the fastest and best 'mode' for gaming on that TV.
 
I can never tell the difference with input lag when using a console control pad. I can only tell a difference when using a mouse though.
 
MauroNL said:
So I recently bought a new TV, the Samsung 65HU7500 (EU model) and I have been toying around with the settings a lot. Previously I also had a Samsung TV and I never really bothered with the settings; I just switched on the Game mode on the TV and used the same settings on all devices. Now though, with such a big screen, it's interesting to fiddle around with the settings because the effect is much more dramatic.

Samsung TVs have a dedicated Game mode to remove all the post-processing and reduce the overall lag. This however reduces the overall image quality, and its much more noticeable now with a 65" screen. The game mode on Samsung pretty much puts the TV in lock 'cause it uses a custom colour scheme and there are hardly any settings you can change. So is it really worth it playing games with the game mode switched on? I have been playing some games with both game mode and standard movie mode and I don't seem to notice any difference in lag or whatever. Was this effect that much worse with TVs in the past or is this still the case? Colours look a lot less bright with game mode and it doesn't look like there is some vague layer over the screen like with game mode switched on?

So what is the general opinion on GAF for game mode on TVs? Switched on every time you game or just play with general settings made for normal TV and movie watching?
Click to expand...
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=883355

Do yourself a favor OP.
 
Sun Bather said:
I put motion flow on my tv to turn any 30fps game into 60fps, why even buy better hardware
Click to expand...

Lol, just no.

All you did was create judder, add interpolation artifacts and add a TON of latency to the controls.

OP: maybe look up your TV's manual onlien to see whatt he various modes actually do.

Usually PC is best for gaming as it kills all video signal processing so you get as little latency as possible. But sometimes game mode does the same, then again sometimes it doesn't, it just over saturates the image.
 
All it does as far as i can tell in new Samsung tvs is lock you out of some of the post processing features avaliable in non game mode settings.

Doing this also resets the picture setting so you will have to redo those as well.
 
I just bought the 55 inch version of the Samsung HU7500 earlier this week and the picture quality is great even in game mode. Unfortunately my set suffered from some pretty bad backlight bleed so I ended up returning it, but otherwise it was great. The only reason why I wouldn't use the game mode for gaming is that the option is buried so deep in the menus that it takes ages to change.

pixlexic said:
All it does as far as i can tell in new Samsung tvs is lock you out of some of the post processing features avaliable in non game mode settings.

Doing this also resets the picture setting so you will have to redo those as well.
Click to expand...
This is false. Activating game mode didn't reset picture settings at least on my set.
 
I have a similar Samsung tv and play with hdmi input relabelled as "PC" mode, the difference in image quality isn't that bad (and you get used to it, a bit darker over all) but the difference in input lag is something I really notice and not something I would want to get used to. The reason I use that over gaming mode is that on Samsungs game mode still has some filters and PC has slightly less lag, there is a great web site that has tv reviews and also focuses on input lag for games, not at my computer atm so will have to look for it. Edit: The site is> http://www.rtings.com/info/input-lag-tvs
 
Orcastar said:
I just bought the 55 inch version of the Samsung HU7500 earlier this week and the picture quality is great even in game mode. Unfortunately my set suffered from some pretty bad backlight bleed so I ended up returning it, but otherwise it was great. The only reason why I wouldn't use the game mode for gaming is that the option is buried so deep in the menus that it takes ages to change.
Click to expand...

Well, if you got 100 ms human reaction no big deal, most of us are 200 ms, and adding input lag just makes playing fast games a little bit harder as you are 2-3 frames behind seeing whats already happened In the game.

I used to buy LG and Samsung, last year Ive switched to Sony and Panasonic (best lag depending on model) - can really feel the difference from my 3 year old LG - that was slow as hell
 
I prefer PC mode as it gives the choice of full/limited RGB, has the lowest input lag and doesn't hamper the overall IQ like Game Mode does. PC mode on my 2013 Samsung model also has near perfect gamma/brightness/contrast values out of the box tested on Lagom.net
 
Pictured below: The guy who uses motion flow on his TV for games

gavlhlG.jpg
 
Zeyphersan said:
There's a "nay" argument?
Click to expand...

It reduces image quality by disabling features. I was trying out a top of the line full array local dimming LED TV a couple years ago. The game mode completely disabled the local dimming which basically made the TV look like complete garbage. That's when I decided to just go with plasma and be done with it.
 
Probably depends on the TV and the game.

Ever played Halo/Smash with ~150 ms input lag? It sucks. For slower paced games though there isn't much benefit.
 
I recently got the same TV (the 55" model, though) and was wondering the same thing myself, then I toyed around with it some and I'll take whatever input lag I get over the reduced IQ. It's just too noticeable to me.


Sun Bather said:
I put motion flow on my tv to turn any 30fps game into 60fps, why even buy better hardware
Click to expand...
wait... Is this a thing?
 
You need it for modern tv's and their lag. Just make sure you adjust the picture properly with an avs forum calibration.
 
gruenel said:
Game mode doesn't look any worse on my Sony TV... in fact, it looks better when all the post processing garbage is turned off. So yeah, game mode all the way. I even use it when watching movies.
Click to expand...

yea, basically depends on TV and if it looks good on just keep it that way. I have it on for both games and movies too.
 
Pat_DC said:
I have a similar Samsung tv and play with hdmi input relabelled as "PC" mode, the difference in image quality isn't that bad (and you get used to it, a bit darker over all) but the difference in input lag is something I really notice and not something I would want to get used to. The reason I use that over gaming mode is that on Samsungs game mode still has some filters and PC has slightly less lag, there is a great web site that has tv reviews and also focuses on input lag for games, not at my computer atm so will have to look for it. Edit: The site is> http://www.rtings.com/info/input-lag-tvs
Click to expand...

You may want to make sure that HDMI Black Level setting is right as you say it's a bit darker and you have to get used to it. On my Samsung UN55FH6500 (I think that's the model) HDMI Black Level needs to be on Low for limited RGB content to look right. By default PC mode had Normal set for black level, which I only use for my PC. Set correctly PC mode is by far the best mode to have your TV in.
 
Nay for me. Not that I'm against it, but my 4 year old Samsung plasma allows zero calibration on game mode and it looks awful with it turned on. Looks like a Sharp LCD *puke*.
 
I don't know why you'd want to ruin picture quality via postprocessing effects like blur or "enchanced" sharpness. I always keep my TVs in PC/Game mode: best picture quality, best input latency.
 
With my television, turning off "game modes" means that, for instance, my Wii U virtual console games have significant input lag, and Rocksmith has audible lag which distracts from playing adequately. Turning game mode on instantly fixes these issues.

That said, my television as many individual settings where I'm able to adjust many variables at my discretion, and it's not necessary in every game. I personally leave it on anyway at this point, but there you go.
 
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