As an owner of a television, I have often been frustrated by the input lag that can occur when streaming my favorite shows and playing video games. After doing some research and testing, I am here to share how I solved this issue, as well as other potential solutions that I have discovered.
In this blog post, I will explain how to reduce input lag on your TV so that you can get the best viewing and gaming experience possible.
You can reduce the input lag on your TV by setting your TV to Game Mode. If your TV does not have game mode, turn off the post-processing settings, like Noise Reduction, NR Reduction, MPEG Reduction, and Auto Brightness. Try different HDMI ports, switch off HDMI-CEC, and avoid using TV speakers.
| Tips for Reducing Input Lag on TV |
|---|
| – Use game mode to reduce input lag. |
| – Disable HDMI-CEC to reduce input lag. |
| – Switch off any power-saving features to improve input lag. |
| – Faulty HDMI ports on your TV can increase input lag. |
| – TV speakers and 3D surround sound can cause input lag. |
| – Post-processing settings can also contribute to input lag. |
| – Switch off the Ambient Light Detection feature. |
Table of Contents
How To Reduce Input Lag On TV?
There can be several reasons why your TV experiences input lag and also accounts for the severity of input lag.
It may not be an issue if you watch TV once a week, but when you use your TV every day, you’ll soon become desperate to find ways of reducing the input lag.
Fortunately, you can employ a handful of methods to reduce the input lag on your TV.
If you have an Xbox or Playstation hooked up to your TV, the increased speeds will be a welcome addition to your performance and gaming experience.
Set Your TV To Game Mode To Speed Up All Faculties
By selecting game mode on your TV, you optimize it to focus on producing quick, real-time images from video games.
In some cases, game mode can reduce your input lag by up to 60 percent or your latency from 100 ms to 40 ms (milliseconds).
Most new TVs come with an integrated game mode. Let’s cover how to activate game mode.
How Do You Use Game Mode On A Google TV?
- Find and press the Quick Settings button on your remote control.
- Choose Settings from the options menu.
- Select Display & Sound
- Select picture, then Picture Mode, and finally Game.
How Do You Use Game Mode On Android TVs Released After 2016?
- Access the Settings menu on your TV. How you access your settings will differ depending on your TV.
- If your TV model released in 2019 or later, press the Quick Settings button on the remote control and select Settings.
- If your TV model released in 2018 or earlier, press the Home button on the remote control and choose Settings.
- The second step will look slightly different depending on your TV’s menus. Look for the following two options:
- Choose Display & Sound, then Picture, followed by Picture Mode, and finally Game.
- Select Display, then Picture, Picture Mode, and finally Game.
How Do You Use Game Mode On Android TVs Released In 2015?
You need to switch off Motionflow in your TV motion settings, or you can activate game mode via your display settings.
To switch off Motionflow on your Android TV:
- Press the Action Menu button on your TV remote control.
- Choose Picture or Picture Adjustments from the menu, whichever is available.
- Select Advanced Settings.
- Navigate to Motion, and underneath it, choose Motionflow.
- Select the Off option to switch off Motionflow.
If the first option is not available for whatever reason, try this:
- Press the Home button on your TV remote control.
- Choose Picture or Picture Adjustments, followed by Picture Mode and Game.
Disabling HDMI-CEC Helps To Reduce TV Input Lag
CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) is an HDMI feature that allows you to manage other CEC devices without directly interacting with them.
Manufacturers have different terms for HDMI-CEC, so we’ll cover the general method for switching it off in your TV settings menu.
Otherwise, check out this website from Logitech that gives a guide on how to disable HDMI-CEC for up to 20 different TV manufacturers.
To disable HDMI-CEC, you need to access your TV System Settings.
- Hit the Menu button
- Choose System, or you might need to navigate to the right.
- From the System menu, find HDMI-CEC.
- Set Device Power, TV Auto Power, and Device Auto Power to Off.
Disabling the HDMI-CEC feature can boost your input lag by 10ms.
Switch Off Any Power Saving Features To Improve Input Lag
Power-saving features cause your TV to utilize less power when executing commands, meaning it will take longer and give you more input lag.
Furthermore, ambient screen dimming options also cause the screen to take longer to show images and give you more input lag.
When you disable both these features, it’s possible to cut your input lag by 10ms for each feature, helping you to shave off 20ms from your input latency.
Faulty HDMI Ports On Your TV Can Increase Input Lag
Technology ages and slows down at some point. Thus, switch and alternate your devices between the different HDMI ports of your TV to test if some are faulty.
You might be surprised to find that one or two are slightly quicker than the others. With some luck, you can shave off around 6ms from your input lag.
TV Speakers And 3D Surround Sound Can Cause Input Lag
It’s wise to use an audio system not attached to your TV because TV audio can potentially increase input lag, adding a slight but noticeable 6ms.
In fact, in some cases, 3D surround sound can also cause input lag. Thankfully, you can switch off 3D surround sound by doing the following:
- Press the Quick Settings button on your TV remote control.
- From the menu, choose 3D Surround.
- Set 3D Surround to Off.
Your TV’s Post-Processing Settings Cause Input Lag
The post-processing settings of your TV are some of the worst offenders when it comes to increasing your input lag.
Newer TVs, especially HDTVs, have many of these features that enhance the picture yet severely affect input lag.
Some of these features include:
- Dynamic Lighting Adjustment
- Auto Brightness
- Shadow Enhancement
- Noise Reduction
- TruMotion
You’ll notice this feature vividly with Samsung TVs – the TV will brighten or dim automatically.
You can switch off this feature, although it will differ slightly depending on whether your TV model is before 2016 or after 2017.
- If your TV model is a 2016 or older, go to System, then Eco Solution, followed by Eco Sensor. Lastly, select Off.
- If your TV model is 2017 or newer, navigate to Settings, General, and Ambient Light Detection. Interact with the slider to turn off the feature.
Lastly, while some of the older TVs don’t have these options, there are still a few things you can try.
Remember that switching to Game Mode essentially turns off all or most of your post-processing settings. You can always switch those settings off manually if your TV does not have a game mode.
Manufacturers may have different names for post-processing settings, namely:
- Mosquito Reduction
- MPEG Reduction
- NR Reduction
- Noise Reduction
Conclusion
You can reduce input lag on your TV by switching it to Game Mode. Check that your HDMI ports are not faulty by alternating between them, and disable the HDMI-CEC feature in your TV settings.
TV speakers and the 3D surround sound features can also contribute to input latency.
Lastly, post-processing settings significantly contribute to input lag because they sacrifice speed to achieve better image quality.
Game mode disables most post-processing settings, but you can do it manually, too.
Read more: connect Disney Plus to TV from Phone
Sources
https://www.reddit.com/r/PS4/comments/3lajwh/some_known_and_not_well_known_tips_to_reduce/
https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/comments/2oiw77/to_hdtv_pc_gamers_what_are_your_tips_to_reduce/
https://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/6imjir/is_it_possible_to_reduce_input_lag_on_hdtvs/
https://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/2mdrko/reducing_input_lag_and_how_to_get_the_best/
https://www.sony-asia.com/electronics/support/articles/00160270
