Is Sony X930e good for retro gaming?

[Brad251]

I am looking for a new TV and am thinking about getting the Sony 55" X930E. I will be using it partially to play retro games via emulation. This TV doesn't have the best input lag for 1080p sources but the input lag for 4K sources is low and I can emulate in 4K from my PC. Other uses will be for modern gaming and watching HD movies and TV shows. This TV has gotten very good reviews and appears to be about as good as the Sony X900F.

If any of you have this TV, what do you think of it? Are there any good cheaper LCDs that you would recommend for my purposes?

[Hoagtech]

I would reccomend against it. Their angles fade easily and that amount of input lag is intolerable. If a CRT has 7 ms of inherent lag than your set will interpret 6 times the amount of input delay at any available scalers output settings at 1080p (42ms)

The 120z low input feature is intriguing but the fact that PWM backlighting is set to 960hz. The panel looks funny from an angle and the input delay. I would not be inclined to purchase

That size range is perfect for OLED and I would say the LG OLED B7A 55” would be a much better image. Motion capability. Black levels. And it’s 1080p input lag measures 21 ms for around the same price.

[Brad251]

I agree that an OLED has a better image but the 55" LG OLED B7A is significantly more expensive and OLED technology has the potential for burn in. This is especially true when playing retro games in a 4:3 aspect ratio. In my area, I can get the 55" X930E for $1000, but the 55" LG OLED B7A would cost me $1,500. The input lag on the 930E for 4K@60Hz is decent at 25.7ms and I would do most of my emulation in 4K. Why is the PWM dimming frequency of 960Hz a problem? It is unfortunate that viewing angles on the X930E aren't good but I will be only be viewing the TV straight on so that won't really be an issue for me.

[ChuChu Flamingo]

If a CRT has 7 ms of inherent lag than your set will interpret 6 times the amount of input delay at any available scalers output settings at 1080p (42ms)

I think you're mistaking 60 hz scan-out for crts input lag. Yes it is true that at the top it will be 0 ms, middle of the screen it will be 8.3ish ms, bottom will be 16.67ish. If you upped the refresh rate it would be even faster. Most CRTs (except most HDCRTS and ones that do digital processing) can beam race for consoles that don't buffer a frame.

On a related note I think the testing methodology sucks for input lag. Averaging top, middle, bottom is not superior to saying what the top middle and bottom is individually. The top for example would tell you your processing lag, bottom would say how long it takes to draw the whole frame.

I've also read sometimes that certain monitors can make the next incoming frames faster or slower as well but I havent read much into it.

[energizerfellow‌]

For extensive input latency testing on TVs the Rtings site is the place to be. They're the best latency testing i know of.

https://www.rtings.com/tv/tests/inputs/input-lag

Just be aware that their model numbers are for the North American market, so model numbers may be slightly different in your region.

On a related note I think the testing methodology sucks for input lag. Averaging top, middle, bottom is not superior to saying what the top middle and bottom is individually. The top for example would tell you your processing lag, bottom would say how long it takes to draw the whole frame.

Pretty much, yep. Places like Rtings are really on top of input latency with big breakdown tables of latency across input modelines and panel rise/fall times. They still average across top/bottom, as far as I know, however.

I've also read sometimes that certain monitors can make the next incoming frames faster or slower as well but I havent read much into it.

Are you thinking of the variable refresh rate features of HDMI 2.1?

[Hoagtech]

For extensive input latency testing on TVs the Rtings site is the place to be. They're the best latency testing i know of.

https://www.rtings.com/tv/tests/inputs/input-lag

Just be aware that their model numbers are for the North American market, so model numbers may be slightly different in your region.

On a related note I think the testing methodology sucks for input lag. Averaging top, middle, bottom is not superior to saying what the top middle and bottom is individually. The top for example would tell you your processing lag, bottom would say how long it takes to draw the whole frame.

Pretty much, yep. Places like Rtings are really on top of input latency with big breakdown tables of latency across input modelines and panel rise/fall times. They still average across top/bottom, as far as I know, however.

I've also read sometimes that certain monitors can make the next incoming frames faster or slower as well but I havent read much into it.

Are you thinking of the variable refresh rate features of HDMI 2.1?

Thanks for the convo. All three commenters so far were referring to the rtings review on his model TV.

I really appreciate you letting us know that rtings has input lag reviews.

I would also like to let you know that I like turtles.

Good luck on your quest of defining veritable refresh rates

[bobrocks95]

42ms is far from "intolerable". It's not great, but for a large consumer LCD TV it's about average to good. 26ms with a 4K signal is great, and if you're going to be emulating at 4K, well, you're golden.

You've already said viewing angles don't matter much- I would take a VA over an IPS for a large TV any day. And the PWM flicker doesn't kick in unless you're below 17/50 on the backlight brightness setting, if I'm interpreting right. You can get the set for $500 cheaper than an OLED (not insignificant) and none of the downsides hoagtech mentioned bother you...

Now personally I'm waiting for HDMI 2.1 features, but if those aren't important to you, this TV seems to fit your needs just fine.