Go Big or Go Home
Serious gamers play in one of two ways. PC gamers usually sit at a desk and use their keyboard and mouse, staring at a monitor that’s just a foot or two away and usually measures between 20 and 30 inches. Console gamers, on the other hand, often sit on a couch with a gamepad and headset, staring at a TV that’s six or more feet away. The greater distance needs a bigger screen, and that means monitors won’t cut it. You want a good TV for gaming. Ideally that means getting a good TV in general, but there are other important elements to consider as well.
We judge TVs on a variety of factors. Our biggest focus is on picture quality, measuring the contrast and colors so everything looks as bright, dark, vivid, and accurate as the director (or game designer) intended. We also consider how easy the TV is to work with, taking aspects like remote ergonomics and interface design into account. Those are all good for when you want to watch your favorite movie or TV show, but for gaming you need to take an additional factor into consideration: input lag.
What’s Input Lag?
Input lag is the amount of time between when a TV receives a signal and the display updates. Fighting games, character action games, and other types of games that are timing-focused play best when input lag is very low. It can make the difference between feeling like you have precise control over everything happening, and needing to constantly compensate for what amounts to very tiny pauses throwing off your game.
Input lag generally ranges between 15 and 80 milliseconds for TVs. We consider 30 to 40 milliseconds to be acceptable, and sub-20ms input lag as excellent (and qualifying for this category).
How We Test Lag Time
We test input lag using an HDFury 4K Diva 18Gbps HDMI matrix with an Xbox One X as a source. The matrix processes the source video to 4K, then transmits the picture to the TV with a black box overlaid on the center of the screen. A light sensor placed on the screen measures the box as it flashes, determining how long the TV takes between when the signal is sent and the picture changes, down to the tenth of a millisecond. The Diva can measure input lag with both 1080p and 4K pictures, though so far we’ve seen deviations between the two resolutions of only two or three milliseconds at most; resolution doesn’t appear to affect input lag when image processing features are disabled (as they should be if you want to get the lowest input lag on your TV).
We record lag times both in the picture mode in which we perform standard picture tests (Custom, Movie, or User modes with very simple dark room calibrations for contrast, and color temperature set to the warmest preset), and in any Game or Computer picture modes available (or with the applicable feature enabled, if it’s separate from the picture modes).
Game and Computer modes and features can often improve input lag significantly over modes that prioritize picture quality over responsiveness, with some trade-offs in the form of color accuracy and noise reduction. We note both lag times in our reviews, and mark the fastest numbers between them in our charts and product profiles.
4K and HDR Gaming
It’s currently the standard for most new TVs, but is still pretty new for gaming, and is generally reserved for only high-end game consoles and PCs. is also a feature that’s been steadily growing in adoption and usefulness. Whether your games will have true 4K resolution and HDR contrast and color depends on the platform and the game.
See How We Test TVsSee How We Test TVs
The two newest game consoles, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, support 4K resolution (3,840 by 2,160) with high dynamic range (HDR). Games on these systems will generally be sharper and more vibrant than previous-generation consoles like the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro (and much sharper than the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One S, which don’t support 4K gaming). The new systems also support graphical features like raytracing that their predecessors don’t. Regardless, you should look for a TV that supports 4K HDR, so you can fully enjoy the latest games.
If your PC is powerful enough, any game that supports the resolution can be rendered in native 4K. However, HDR support depends on each games, and PCs tend to be a bit more finicky with HDR content. Still, if you have the most recent hardware, like a gaming PC with a GeForce RTX 3080, you’ll be pushing 4K and have HDR support with raytracing (in compatible games).
For the Hard-Core: Gaming Monitors
If you want input lags consistently below 15ms, you need to turn toward smaller screens in the form of dedicated gaming monitors. These are designed specifically for gaming, and emphasize responsiveness at least as much as picture quality. Input lag between of 2 to 4ms is common on high-end gaming monitors, and they can also include PC-friendly features that further improve performance, like adaptive refresh rates with Nvidia G-Sync.
The drawback with gaming monitors is that you’ll be spending much more per square inch. Monitors are generally smaller than TVs and designed to be used from only a foot or two away, at a desk. They have fewer inputs and don’t always have speakers, and rarely have any kind of remote control. If you want to game from your couch, a gaming monitor simply isn’t feasible.
Here you’ll find our top picks for TVs for gamers. For smaller, even more gaming-oriented alternatives, check out our list of the best gaming monitors. If you want the best picture available, look at our roundup of the best TVs and the best 65-inch TVs. And if you’re looking to save some money, head over to our list of the best cheap TVs, which has some models that are good for gaming.
For more buying advice, see our story on what TV model numbers and SKUs actually mean.
