Samsung UExxF5500 LED TV for gaming / PC use

[fagin]

I'm just about to embark on a new "project" and needed to get hold of a good gaming (360, PS3, PS4, XBO etc) screen, 32", VESA mounting facility and ability to work well as a PC display. After reading Fudoh's information on the Sony W6 series of panels I thought "perfect"..... until I realised these were non VESA (how idiotic that is of Sony). For the 1st time in my life I needed VESA mounting.... typical! I realise there is a way around this (although I'm not sure the bracketry is available in the UK), my interest in messing around finding or making something meant I was quickly turned off by the idea.

With all of this in mind I needed to delve into the world of finding something that was suitable for my needs.

Due to the fact this "project" has been something I've wanted to do for nearly 3yrs, and any excuse to find another reason not to do it has always been the order of the day, I needed to act fast to stop me from continuing to umm and ahh about it (for another 3yrs!!).

After some quite quick research I landed upon the Samsung UE32F5500 LED HD 1080p Smart TV which based on the various reviews, most importantly the review on hdtvtest.co.uk, I thought "bingo". The review for this specific TV is HERE.

32" screens can be quite a gamble, as all the extra functionality (and indeed panel quality at this size) to support a great set appear to be associated to bigger models, but this specific model appears to be OK.

One of the key elements of this screen is the requirement for gaming, so lag (or lack of it) was a major consideration. The inclusion of the following statement made in the above review was key:

In terms of gaming responsiveness, the Samsung UE42F5500 is one of the best HDTVs available to buy on the market at the moment, only lagging behind (pun intended) the all-conquering Sony 2013 Bravias. On higher-up Samsung TVs, relabelling the [HDMI] input to “PC” can sometimes produce lower lag than enabling [Game] mode, but on the 42-inch F5500 we found that both methods returned the same number of 28ms as measured via a Leo Bodnar input lag tester. Using [Movie] or any other non-[Game] mode for playing video games is not advisable, with a recorded lag of 80ms.

The key eyed among you will realise that the review was in relation to a bigger screen version of this model. There was a specific mention to this in the review and my heart sank slightly with the following being stated:

Note:The specific model we tested was the Samsung UE42F5500AKXXU which denotes the 3-pin-plug UK version. The television may also be sold by high-street retailers such as John Lewis and Currys, or ecommerce sites like Amazon as the UE42F5500AK. Please be careful extrapolating the findings of this review to the smaller, 32-inch Samsung UE32F5500, since Samsung has been known to source their LCD panels from different vendors which may affect the picture characteristics of the sets.

Was this the excuse I needed to park this project again!?!?

I went out this morning with the sole purpose of "grabbing my nuts" and finally kickstarting this project once and for all..... screw it, let's do it!

After completing various price comparisons I luckily discovered I could buy from local (normal thieving!!) high street retailers (Currys) for £300 (special Easter deal). With the convenience of seeing it in the flesh and buying it there and then (for the same price as I could get it at it's cheapest on-line), it was a good sign surely!

Anyway...... I've just been spending the past 3hrs testing the screen and to say I'm impressed is as understatement. The review above says it all, so I won't go into that detail, apart from a few key points.

The lag figures given in the review are meaningless in reality..... I can't detect anything when gaming (and I've given it a good workout). I'm not suggesting there is no lag. I'm stating whatever lag there is, I can't "feel" it.

The picture looks absolutely outstanding with console gaming (testing it at my desk so sitting only a couple of feet away) and works REALLY well as a PC screen. Regarding PC use, I could quite easily use this as a monitor (although as I have a 2.5k monitor, I won't be doing anything like that anytime soon! lol). It would be good as a dual purpose screen though if you wanted something bigger (and at 1080p) on your desktop for console stuff, but still wanted to use as a PC screen. A 32" desktop screen may require some getting used to though!

I don't normally say this, but I'm so genuinely chuffed at how this screen looks and feels....... I can't wait to put it to the use I'm intending for it!!

This screen is certainly worth considering if you want a gaming screen.

[Xyga]

Yeah this series is well know for its qualities.
28ms of input lag though, it's true that it's okay for most people but some are more demanding and will go Sony W.

A cheaper alternative to that Samsung series is the LG LN5400 series (LN5300 in the US) also supporting 4:4:4 colour subsampling and with similar input lag figures.

[fagin]

I'd challenge you or anyone else to put your interpretation of these lag figures to the reality test. I'm a CRT gaming freak, so fully aware of how lag can be felt. I was very surprised how I couldn't feel anything with this screen.

[Xyga]

Oh I did, and countless times! in order to try my own sensitivity to input lag.
Turned out I am able to notice a +/- 2 frames difference.
The Sony W is interesting for me because I am using an XRGB+DVDO combo with it (+8ms) and I can safely keep the total below 2 frames.

[fagin]

I meant in relation to THIS set. I'm saying this as I don't believe the lag figures being reported in that review.


Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting this is in any way shape or form the same or better than the W6 series. However based on my experience with this set, it feels and looks great.

[Xyga]

I don't know how they use their LB tester, IIRC in his review of the W6 Fudoh suggested they don't use it correctly.
His own readings are lower than those found on hdtvtest or displaylag.

EDIT: they're very similar sets, probably hard to differenciate after calibration it you remove the frames. ^^

[fagin]

Well... they measure lag via two methods. Their camera image tests consistently show much lower figures than their LEO hardware test, on every test they have done.

This screen is measured as 16ms via the camera method. Ironically their camera tests for the W6 come in at the same as Fudoh's LEO tests (circa 6ms).

In fact: Reading their (hdtvtest) review of the 32" version of the W653, it comes in at 33ms of lag. Glad it didn't have VESA mounts in that case!!!!!!!

[BuckoA51]

I'd challenge you or anyone else to put your interpretation of these lag figures to the reality test. I'm a CRT gaming freak, so fully aware of how lag can be felt. I was very surprised how I couldn't feel anything with this screen.

It would be extremely interesting to do some proper tests into input lag and how it affects gameplay. Ideally you'd want to test a group of gamers on a laggy panel vs one that was nearly lag free but do it blind so they couldn't tell which was which. Have a control group too that actually played on the same panel each time then compare peoples preferences and scores/performance. I don't think you can always 'feel' input lag, but does it affect your game without you even knowing it is the question.

Maybe Eurogamer's Digital Foundary could set up a test like this, it'd certainly make for fascinating reading.

[Xyga]

That's only my personal opinion but I believe there are very few occurences where input lag (a moderate amount of 1 or 2 frames) can really hinder a player's performance.

Of course we all read about high-level fighting games players who supposedly cannot input combo sequences properly if there's too much lag, but at the same time I think our brain's capable to adapt to the delay after a while.

I'm definitely not one of those extremely picky players, but I want to keep input lag reasonably low for the same reason I like fake scanlines: to minimize the overall degradation of the original look/timings while playing on a flat/hd display.

[Lord of Pirates]

I'd challenge you or anyone else to put your interpretation of these lag figures to the reality test. I'm a CRT gaming freak, so fully aware of how lag can be felt. I was very surprised how I couldn't feel anything with this screen.

It would be extremely interesting to do some proper tests into input lag and how it affects gameplay. Ideally you'd want to test a group of gamers on a laggy panel vs one that was nearly lag free but do it blind so they couldn't tell which was which. Have a control group too that actually played on the same panel each time then compare peoples preferences and scores/performance. I don't think you can always 'feel' input lag, but does it affect your game without you even knowing it is the question.

Maybe Eurogamer's Digital Foundary could set up a test like this, it'd certainly make for fascinating reading.

A double blind would on this would be pretty cool. Is it possible to induce precise amounts of lag without any noticeable cue?

[brownvim]

I used to go to a lot of Pro Evolution tournaments when it was good on PS2. Then it went to the PS3 and Xbox (HDMI).

The game would feel different on every TV I tried. As the places where the tournaments were held did not have the same screens, they were sourced from anyone.

Quite a few people could tell something wasn't right, so you would get people TV hopping to find a good one and then stick.