120hz LCD HDTV as a gaming monitor?

[Robert-The-Rambler]

Tommorrow I will be picking up this HDTV from Bestbuy. It is an Insignia 32" White Edgelit LED LCD 1080p HDTV with 120hz frame rate interpolation for $499. The TV only accepts 60hz content and I think 24p content but interpolates that to 120 FPS. It has a native 4000:1 contrast ratio. It has a dynamic/BS contrast ratio of 80000:1.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Insigni...HDTV/9577326.p?id=1218131058575&skuId=9577326

Recently I had bought an Element 32" 120hz LCD model from Walmart.com for just $349 but my experiment didn't work because the backlight bleed in the top left and right portions of the screen was too intense even with the lights on. Honestly the backlight probably wasn't that bad but Element did not have any options for backlight control built into the set. The only option was brighter than the sun. I couldn't settle or learn to deal with that so after 3 days I gave up on that one. Walmart even refunded my shipping costs. The Element set was amazing with motion and Devil May Cry 4 was nothing short of stunning since it wasn't too shadow dependant. I thought if this is as cheap as an LCD gets than a few more bucks might really lead to something spectacular for gaming and watching sports. I have a Sanyo PLV-Z5 for huge screen movie viewing in my bedroom so the movie experience is not as critical. I shoot that sucker right over my head while I'm lying in bed. The Element really got me thinking about pushing the envelope a little more and how for cinematic gaming 120hz can be amazing. It really does look like your PC is actually pushing more frames. Hell if it works it saves power. Pushing a native 120 frames is very demanding and will draw much more power at 1080p.

Any thoughts? Any reason to not pull the trigger?

I know input lag may be a problem. All I'm looking for is getting the thing to work reasonable well and being able to enjoy super smooth non-competitive gaming like Devil May Cry 4 or Dragon Age Origins while generally being able to aim accurately. I'm not looking to win a Starcraft tournament or something. The Element didn't seem to have a problem so I'm crossing my fingers for the Insignia. My budget is tight so spending more than $500 is not an option. That is why I am looking at a Bestbuy brand.

 

[mastrdrver]

Thoughts? Yes it's tomorrow already!

Got any impressions?

 

[AsRock]

Check out the Vizio TVs there is some real nice ones out there. Even better go back to walmart and get one as ya can always get a refund .. Just don't lose the receipt .

 

[Robert-The-Rambler]

Well, I struck gold on clearance for the same price!!!

Thoughts? Yes it's tomorrow already!

Got any impressions?

I got this very strange Insignia model 42" LCD model that is now discontinued. I couldn't resist taking the chance for $499. It has 5 HDMI inputs and also 120hz.

http://insigniaproducts.com/products/televisions/NS-L42X-10A.html

I just saw a review on the web and they claimed that the backlight had poor uniformity. I think that is simply not true and even in a pitch black room black level is uniform enough for any type of viewing with minimal light bleed with the advanced lighting option activated. In fact the screen has better uniformity than my Dad's Samsung 46" Series 5 550. There are no distractions in the dark. I have tried Bioshock 2 and Devil May Cry 4 so far. I just downloaded Aliens Versus Predator and will give that a try. Text is so sharp for web surfing that from my bed I don't have to strain my eyes at all. The motion effects are not as great as I might of hoped but I will do more testing. Even at maximum motion enhancement the effect does not seem as fast as the Element I had. But I'll take suspect motion enhancement over a crappy backlight anyday. Screen response seems good and I don't notice darkening during motion from poor response from black. So far I am really impressed with everything but the interpolation. I'll keep experimenting.

 

[casual swift]

Sounds like it should be fine for gaming... it's all personal preference though. I used a 27" for a while, now I'm down to a 22".

 

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

Ewww, using a 120hz "truemotion tv" != to 120hz frame rate tv and it looks weird, and is not good for FPS. the interpolation causes input lag.

That said I game day to day on a 42" Panasonic LCD tv which is 1080p, 60hz, and Has an IPS panel. It is truly a great TV computer monitor.

They have 37" and 32" models with the IPS panels as well.

 

[Mussels]

the only problem is as you've stated, it only has 60Hz inputs.

if it had 120Hz inputs it would be 3D ready (the PC version at least), and have a smoother image.