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[ilfait]

Input lag is more important than many people realize. A few years back, I never even thought about it. I was playing my games on a TV that had horrible lag (it was an old 22" Samsung LCD) and never even noticed for years until I bought a bigger TV (32" Insignia) that had considerably less lag. The difference was immediately noticeable, athough I didn't realize (at the time) that it was because of input lag. Suddenly I was doing better at racing games and I was hitting the flippers too soon in Pinball Arcade.

This is an important point that people should consider, and not just because they'll do better, but because it will feel better to play.

It's not one of those things like tearing, by which your experience isn't impacted as long as you don't notice it. With latency your experience is impacted even when you don't notice, and it will be better with less latency. It's like playing tennis with a shitty racquet with worn-out strings when you don't have to. If you're a good player you'll do well with whatever you use, but you'll probably do better with a better racquet, freshly strung, and most importantly the feeling of hitting the ball will be better.

 

[bilderberg]

Never occurred to me how much input lag effects my enjoyment of games until I started messing around with frame rate caps. Even with vsync on, you'll see a huge difference in responsiveness from capping at your refresh rate versus uncapped vsync. I use rivatuner to cap frame rate and it's easy to alt-tab and test the difference yourself.

 

[PerezDeCorcho]

I didn't realize how important this was until I hooked up my Xbox One to my 1ms PC monitor for the lulz. It was like discovering a whole new world. Halo 5 became playable for the first time.

 

[Pasedo]

There's a whole bunch on new TV's from all brands which have come out and ive been searching for what's got the best input lag. This one looks like it will incorporate Xbox one x free-sync plus lowers it down to 6.8ms. Not sure if its just on this model. I believe game mode features are standard across all their Premium UHD and QLED range from Samsung.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnar...fn-review-lcd-bounces-back-with-a-vengeance/2

 

[paolo11]

Very important. I play Street Fighter V online a lot

 

[NahaNago]

Not important at all.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

As far as Im concerned it's a nonexistent made up issue that people use as an excuse for not gitting gud. Im convinced most of it placebo.

In all honesty, I've never paid much attention to it and have never noticed it.

Maybe I have been lucky and only used TVs with low input lag, but I have never once used a TV in "game" mode, as it was never worth the loss in image quality to me.

 

[Horsemama1956]

Not as important Any more. I can live with 40-50ms now that I realize even in competitive games Its just a game.

 

[Speedwagon]

If the TV is in PC mode then it's fine. It can be noticeably bad if it's not though

 

[World SkiFree]

The most important feature as the snes mini demonstrated amply when it was released because it felt so off until I realized it was due to input lag. Game Mode, hah!

#reflexgang

To join the chorus, it is very important to me. Really made obvious with the Nintendo mini machines, although I realize these are retro systems playing games on non-native TVs.

I ended up getting rid of the NES Mini because it never quite matched my muscle memory from CRT (fresh memory btw, as I still play my NES on a CRT). The SNES Mini fared better (for me at least) but I still have a new appreciation for control responsiveness.

Can’t think of any specific “modern” game examples but I’ve had those experiences. For me, I believe noticeable input lag will always be a dealbreaker.

 

[Chozofication_]

Hugely important. Doesn't mean I'll get some bargain basement screen like sanyo, Philips or element though.

But among the mid range - high end stuff it's most important.

 

[RivalGT]

Its very important to me, when buying a new TV the input lag is always something I research before buying.

 

[Chinbo37]

Very important. I always check the input lag. That doesnt mean that's all I care about. the last TV I got was the XE900E. It didnt have the best input lag at the time but it was top 3 for its price range.

 

[Morinaga]

Depends really, its worse on some screens and a total non issue on others, some games benefit from low input latency others do not.

It does exist and it can make playing games as fun as rectal surgery.

So from my point of view yes, but I honestly believe there is a lot of BS that floats around this subject and misinformation not just on the internet but also from manufacturers and the like. Its a minefield and actual reliable info is in short supply. Suffice to say that the screen is one part in a larger picture that can cause input latency.

 

[ThatStupidLion]

Ive never noticed it enough to make a difference. So while the concept matters to me, in experience it matters very little.

 

[SkeletonQuays]

I didn't realize how important it is until I went direct from my PS4 into my TV, instead of routing the hdmi through my receiver which was causing SEVERE input lag. Night and day difference. I was a huge Destiny player a couple years back and I would always get destroyed in PvP ... little did I know it was because I had a severe handicap due to input lag. *the more you know!*

 

[SkeletonQuays]

sorry for that rogue comma ^^^

 

[AdmiralMikey]

It's the most important feature when buying a TV

In terms of video gaming, this is absolutely correct. There are entire genres I can't play such as rhythm games, fighting games and 2D platformers because of the precise timing required and the input lag on my TV. Luckily it has a "Game Mode" that cuts down the lag, but at the sacrifice of framerate.

I'm going to heavily research input lag when the time comes to buy my next TV.

 

[Bolivar687]

It can be a pretty big factor in console. It was massive for me in mega man collection but I was able to somehow get past it just because I enjoy the games that much. With Call of Duty, though, it's probably part of the reason I've walked away from the series. The netcode seemed off with the last few entries but the input lag on my TV compounded the problem.

On the PC side, high refresh rates and low input lag have become my main criteria for my last two monitors. It will be on my next tv purchase as well.