55" LED for gaming rig.

chasekwe

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Sep 7, 2010
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Hi folks,


I just bought a new house and would love to setup my living room with dual 55" LED TVs as a monitor setup for my new computer. I'll be seated 8-10ft from the screens and the most demanding programs I'll run will surely be games.

I'm curious if anybody has any recommendations on what are currently ideal TVs for this purpose or at least which aspects of the TV are most important such as refresh rate, etc.?

Also, in your experience is it even possible to get a good gaming experience out of TVs like this or will there be to much motion blur, display lag, or other issues?




Thanks!
 

AnUnusedUsername

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Sep 14, 2010
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I can't specifically recommend any TVs, but I can give you some general advice.

You probably already know that TVs are limited to a maximum resolution of 1920x1080. That's not very high by computer monitor standards, when you consider how large the screen is. But if you're sitting far away from them it shouldn't be a huge issue. Although text probably won't look great.

For specific panel technologies to look for, I'd highly recommend avoiding plasma. Plasma displays are succeptible to burn-in, which can happen when playing games because UI elements tend to be static.

Don't pay attention to the refresh rate advertised for TVs. To the best of my knowledge, there aren't any TVs out there that can actually accept anything higher than a 60Hz signal. They just mess with the signal by adding frames to reach their advertised refresh rate. If you are playing a game, this would cause nasty input lag and could possibly have other negative side effects. So I wouldn't pay much attention to advertised refresh rates (unless you're looking to use the TVs for 3D, anyway).

Likewise, don't pay attention to the dynamic contrast ratio values advertised with TVs. Dynamic contrast ratio isn't a useful measure of anything, as it means something different to each company. Static contrast ratio is more important, but almost always falls around 800-1000, so there isn't much difference between values on different TVs.

Make sure you know or can find out how much input lag the TV has. Most TVs have a lot of input lag, many have more than 100ms of input lag. Playing a game on that would be like playing with a ping of 100, i.e. not good. Some TVs do have a game mode or something similar that reduces input lag, and some just don't perform much image modification on signals from external sources. It varies widely, and companies don't advertise input lag values. You'll just have to read reviews before you buy, as many sites test this. In short, a TV that does less modification to the image will be better for gaming.

The panel technology used in the TV is also important, but I'm not positive they use all the same technologies as monitors. What type of panel is in a TV is another aspect that usually isn't advertised, so I don't really know enough about that to help you.

Finally, just a few things that are probably obvious. For a multi-display setup, you want to find TVs that have the thinnest edge (known as the bezel) possible. Thicker edges means a larger break in your display between monitors. I wouldn't advise getting two screens if you want to play FPS games on them, as your crosshair would be in the center, where there's a break in the screen. Either three screens or just one would work better. For racing games and other genres, though, two screens could work fine. With two screens, you'll need a PC capable of playing games at 3840x1080, but I assume you already have or are planning on building a capable system. With computer monitors, you can run games at lower than native resolutions to get better performance, but most TVs only accept input at their native resolution.

Hope that helps.
 
before you decide on a solution you have to think about a few things. mainly what do you expect out of this system, what your budget is, what your size constraints are, brand loyalties, etcetera.

AUU gave you some decent generalized advice. the only things that i'm not sure if he is right on is the fact that tvs are limited to 60hz signal. i'm thinking that the 3d televisions might be able to handle 120 but not sure on this point. also from what i've noticed personally (keep in mind its my opinion) is that if there is any input lag its not noticible. this might be due to the fact that i have a 60hz tv (and not one advertised as a 120/240 model). gaming mode probably disables this but there is most likely an option in settings as well.

since you still seem to be trying to wrap your head around what you want to do i'll give you some ideas:

instead of televisions you could go with a 4000k projector. this would give you a higher resolution (4096x2160). i'm not sure on any specifics on them though

one television or three televisions for fps. two for racing or multimedia. keep in mind that using such large televisions is "overwhelming".

one 30" monitor such as the ones dell manufacturers. they offer much higher resolutions than traditional monitors.

two or three of either the above monitors or 1920x1200 monitors rotated 90 degrees.

quote for projector info:
"Most experts think that moviegoers—those who go to the local movie theaters for their films—will be the first beneficiaries of the beyond-1080p standard. Sony, as an example, has two projectors ready for 4K digital cinema. Their latest projector, the SRX-T420, delivers 4096x2160 and provides a high brightness of 21,000 lumens and a contrast ratio of 3000:1."

also keep in mind: if you have such a nice display shouldnt your sound be good as well? its well worth only getting one tv and using a good sound system.

speakers like the $500 logitech set are okay but if you truly want a nice experience i'd seriously recommend using a receiver with HT speakers and sub. amp is optional.

this is what i personally use:

i7/470gtx pc, ps3 input devices
40" sony bravia television
pioneer vsx-30 receiver
klispch quintet iv 5.0 satelite speakers
klipsh 450w subwoofer.

also room arrangement, seating, and other factors can affect your experience.

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i know theres a television out there with virtually no bezel. i think its a samsung.