HDTV and Gaming Mode

[Icandy]

We're looking at a 37" Toshiba HDTV that has gaming mode. Samsung has this also. Gimmick? Does it make a difference? I'd appreciate feedback from anyone that has it.

 

[cyberzomby]

yea a lot of big screen tv's apear to display wii graphics a bit blurry! I want a sweet 4ss tv like that as well but not with blurry graphics so Im interested in the answer as well

 

[Skippy]

Sometimes TVs do a lot of additional processing to the video before it's displayed. This can essentially delay the video a bit, but the console doesn't know that and so your controller actions can seem to lag a bit which can make gaming practically impossible. The Gaming mode typically illiminates the extra processing so that what you see on the screen is in-sync with the game console.

(however it's possible that for that particular TV model they may mean something else entirely, checks the specs on the website to see if they describe what they mean just to be sure)

 

[Icandy]

That's pretty much it. Here's what the specs say: Game Mode: When playing a video game requiring split-second timing (high-action games, music creation, etc.), the Game Mode shortens the frame delays between the on-screen display and the input from the controller.

Note: The Game Mode can only be used on the Video 1, Video 2, Component Video 1, Component Video 2, or HDMI inputs.

I just wanted to make sure that people were really seeing a difference.

 

[Deanis]

The GAME mode on my SAMSUNG 22" PC LCD simply cranks the Saturation and Contrast. Colours look way off, and you are better to just tweak them yourself using the usual Brightness/Contrast settings etc.
However this may be different when using consoles and TV LCDs....