If you're dead serious about first-person shooters and other games that demand millisecond-fine responses, the last thing you want to buy is a TV that introduces lots of input lag. Here are five of the fastest responders we've tested this year. June 14, 2013 6:01 AM PDT Today's HDTVs are packed with Smart TV suites, fancy picture processing, and other extras that add functionality and/or affect picture quality. For a serious gamer, none of that matters compared to the responsiveness of the TV, and often the extras just get in the way. The culprit is input lag. That's the term for the delay, in milliseconds, between a TV receiving a signal and the results of that signal appearing on the screen. Those milliseconds are irrelevant for TV shows and movies, and they don't even matter for most games -- the majority of gamers probably wouldn't even notice if their TV was laggy. But if you're an attentive, skilled gamer, especially one who plays "twitch" games like Call of Duty, Halo, or fighting games, especially in online multiplayer environments, input lag can mean the difference between virtual life and death. CNET just started testing for input lag, and so far we've corralled a handful of 2013 TVs. Here are five of our favorites so far, in ascending order of lag in Game mode--or the least laggy picture mode, if Game isn't an option. For reference, we grade under 40ms of lag as Good, 40 to 70 as Average, and more than 70 as Poor. Sony KDL-55W802A: 16.9ms lag Despite the full array of picture processing and Smarts, this LED LCD delivers the least lag we've tested, thanks to an ultra-aggressive Game mode. Read the full review. Sony KDL-55W900A: 19.7ms lag The second-best so far is also a Sony, and while it costs a lot more than the 802A, this one does have a better picture. Read the full review. Vizio E500i-A1: 32.2ms lag Speaking of cheap, this Vizio is the least-expensive on this list at $650 for the 50-inch size. The best gamers might notice a tiny bit more lag than the Sonys in a size-by-side comparison, but it (and the ones below) are still extremely fast. Read the full review. BenQ W1070: 33.7ms lag Our favorite budget projector also happens to be the speediest we tested. If you can game on a 100-inch screen like this guy, why not? Read the full review. Panasonic TC-P50S60: 34.1ms lag The highest-rated TV on this list -- and the only plasma -- the S60 is as gamer-friendly as they come. And no, you don't need to worry about burn-in. Read the full review. Looking for specs and more info? Compare these TVs head-to-head. Click through to the reviews for additional screen sizes.

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If you're dead serious about first-person shooters and other games that demand millisecond-fine responses, the last thing you want to buy is a TV that introduces lots of input lag. Here are five of the fastest responders we've tested this year. June 14, 2013 6:01 AM PDT Today's HDTVs are packed with Smart TV suites, fancy picture processing, and other extras that add functionality and/or affect picture quality. For a serious gamer, none of that matters compared to the responsiveness of the TV, and often the extras just get in the way. The culprit is input lag. That's the term for the delay, in milliseconds, between a TV receiving a signal and the results of that signal appearing on the screen. Those milliseconds are irrelevant for TV shows and movies, and they don't even matter for most games -- the majority of gamers probably wouldn't even notice if their TV was laggy. But if you're an attentive, skilled gamer, especially one who plays "twitch" games like Call of Duty, Halo, or fighting games, especially in online multiplayer environments, input lag can mean the difference between virtual life and death. CNET just started testing for input lag, and so far we've corralled a handful of 2013 TVs. Here are five of our favorites so far, in ascending order of lag in Game mode--or the least laggy picture mode, if Game isn't an option. For reference, we grade under 40ms of lag as Good, 40 to 70 as Average, and more than 70 as Poor. Sony KDL-55W802A: 16.9ms lag Despite the full array of picture processing and Smarts, this LED LCD delivers the least lag we've tested, thanks to an ultra-aggressive Game mode. Read the full review. Sony KDL-55W900A: 19.7ms lag The second-best so far is also a Sony, and while it costs a lot more than the 802A, this one does have a better picture. Read the full review. Vizio E500i-A1: 32.2ms lag Speaking of cheap, this Vizio is the least-expensive on this list at $650 for the 50-inch size. The best gamers might notice a tiny bit more lag than the Sonys in a size-by-side comparison, but it (and the ones below) are still extremely fast. Read the full review. BenQ W1070: 33.7ms lag Our favorite budget projector also happens to be the speediest we tested. If you can game on a 100-inch screen like this guy, why not? Read the full review. Panasonic TC-P50S60: 34.1ms lag The highest-rated TV on this list -- and the only plasma -- the S60 is as gamer-friendly as they come. And no, you don't need to worry about burn-in. Read the full review. Looking for specs and more info? Compare these TVs head-to-head. Click through to the reviews for additional screen sizes.

If you're dead serious about first-person shooters and other games that demand millisecond-fine responses, the last thing you want to buy is a TV that introduces lots of input lag. Here are five of the fastest responders we've tested this year. June 14, 2013 6:01 AM PDT Today's HDTVs are packed with Smart TV suites, fancy picture processing, and other extras that add functionality and/or affect picture quality. For a serious gamer, none of that matters compared to the responsiveness of the TV, and often the extras just get in the way. The culprit is input lag. That's the term for the delay, in milliseconds, between a TV receiving a signal and the results of that signal appearing on the screen. Those milliseconds are irrelevant for TV shows and movies, and they don't even matter for most games -- the majority of gamers probably wouldn't even notice if their TV was laggy. But if you're an attentive, skilled gamer, especially one who plays "twitch" games like Call of Duty, Halo, or fighting games, especially in online multiplayer environments, input lag can mean the difference between virtual life and death. CNET just started testing for input lag, and so far we've corralled a handful of 2013 TVs. Here are five of our favorites so far, in ascending order of lag in Game mode--or the least laggy picture mode, if Game isn't an option. For reference, we grade under 40ms of lag as Good, 40 to 70 as Average, and more than 70 as Poor. Sony KDL-55W802A: 16.9ms lag Despite the full array of picture processing and Smarts, this LED LCD delivers the least lag we've tested, thanks to an ultra-aggressive Game mode. Read the full review. Sony KDL-55W900A: 19.7ms lag The second-best so far is also a Sony, and while it costs a lot more than the 802A, this one does have a better picture. Read the full review. Vizio E500i-A1: 32.2ms lag Speaking of cheap, this Vizio is the least-expensive on this list at $650 for the 50-inch size. The best gamers might notice a tiny bit more lag than the Sonys in a size-by-side comparison, but it (and the ones below) are still extremely fast. Read the full review. BenQ W1070: 33.7ms lag Our favorite budget projector also happens to be the speediest we tested. If you can game on a 100-inch screen like this guy, why not? Read the full review. Panasonic TC-P50S60: 34.1ms lag The highest-rated TV on this list -- and the only plasma -- the S60 is as gamer-friendly as they come. And no, you don't need to worry about burn-in. Read the full review. Looking for specs and more info? Compare these TVs head-to-head. Click through to the reviews for additional screen sizes.

Posted by : Unknown Friday, June 14, 2013

If you're dead serious about first-person shooters and other games that demand millisecond-fine responses, the last thing you want to buy is a TV that introduces lots of input lag. Here are five of the fastest responders we've tested this year.

June 14, 2013 6:01 AM PDT

Today's HDTVs are packed with Smart TV suites, fancy picture processing, and other extras that add functionality and/or affect picture quality. For a serious gamer, none of that matters compared to the responsiveness of the TV, and often the extras just get in the way.

The culprit is input lag. That's the term for the delay, in milliseconds, between a TV receiving a signal and the results of that signal appearing on the screen. Those milliseconds are irrelevant for TV shows and movies, and they don't even matter for most games -- the majority of gamers probably wouldn't even notice if their TV was laggy. But if you're an attentive, skilled gamer, especially one who plays "twitch" games like Call of Duty, Halo, or fighting games, especially in online multiplayer environments, input lag can mean the difference between virtual life and death.

CNET just started testing for input lag, and so far we've corralled a handful of 2013 TVs. Here are five of our favorites so far, in ascending order of lag in Game mode--or the least laggy picture mode, if Game isn't an option. For reference, we grade under 40ms of lag as Good, 40 to 70 as Average, and more than 70 as Poor.

Sony KDL-55W802A: 16.9ms lag

Despite the full array of picture processing and Smarts, this LED LCD delivers the least lag we've tested, thanks to an ultra-aggressive Game mode. Read the full review.

Sony KDL-55W900A: 19.7ms lag

The second-best so far is also a Sony, and while it costs a lot more than the 802A, this one does have a better picture. Read the full review.

Vizio E500i-A1: 32.2ms lag

Speaking of cheap, this Vizio is the least-expensive on this list at $650 for the 50-inch size. The best gamers might notice a tiny bit more lag than the Sonys in a size-by-side comparison, but it (and the ones below) are still extremely fast. Read the full review.

BenQ W1070: 33.7ms lag

Our favorite budget projector also happens to be the speediest we tested. If you can game on a 100-inch screen like this guy, why not? Read the full review.