I’m thinking about getting this as a christmas present for myself and Best Buy is having an amazing thanksgiving weekend sell on it. I was wondering if it is a solid LCD TV or not, I’ve been shopping around for these tv’s for awhile now and I’ve just been confused or been told wrong information at stores because the person selling it wanted the bonus. Any help would be appreciated!
Samsung LCD’s are good TV’s and look great. The only problem is that if you are an avid fighting game fan, it has been noted that the Samsung LCD’s have a normal lag of 80ms. If you turn Game Mode on, there is still a lag of 30ms.
Whether or not you’ll notice it is a different story.
Can that be solved with the VGA box thing? I don’t really know what those things are about but does that usually fix the problem?
Edit: Is this only a problem with pre HD games?
Does this pertain to PS2 2D fighting games or current-gen stuff too? I just bought the 46" version of the Samsung but they had to order it for me so won’t have it until Wednesday.
The best VGA box is that XRBG3, I think, however the name goes, there are a few cheaper alternatives though. Personally, I’d go for a Sharp Aquos, I wish I did because it has a game mode that actually works.
Input lag test of 42" Sharp Aquos LCD TV:
[media=youtube]7TETrO0GypU[/media]
EDIT: Yes, anything 480i is going to have some crazy input lag. In theory, the 360 and PS3 should have no lag with their games bcuz they’re specifically made to work with HDTV’s, all that jazz. Doesn’t really matter, I have a 360 through component inputs and it lags, I have to turn the game mode on.
The people I talked to said there wasn’t any noticeable lag with next gen consoles and HD games. Only with pre HD games. But thats why there is game mode, or the VGA box if you are just going to play old ps2 and ps1 games you can get that chea 70 dollar model but if you are going to play a bunch of different old games you need to drop the 200+ for the XRBG3… at least thats what that thread lead me to believe.
The various reviews that I’ve read say that there is a minimum 30ms delay no matter what the resolution is. It also doesn’t matter whether you use the VGA or Game mode. Here’s one that I originally read. Note this is only the newest model, but there are other reviews on this site.
VA_King: I think it would be a wise investment in that Sharp Aquos. Really, the game mode is epic win. I see you play Brawl, it’s worth it instead of getting a HDTV and wasting money on that VGA thing when you can get the whole package and not worry about it.
More reviews on the Sharp: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14133516#post14133516
EDIT: http://www.amazon.com/Sharp-Aquos-LC42D64U-42-Inch-1080p/dp/B000UN3VT4
$979.98, dunno how long that will last.
I’m also trying to figure out this issue of lag with HDTV’s since I’m looking to maybe upgrade soon when I purchase a 360 and have been researching. For whatever it’s worth I am currently watching that Sharp that people are mentioning.
I would keep an eye on the www.avsforum.com threads. Although the Sharp has virtually no input lag, there are other issues that people have with the set like banding and poor video processing.
Too bad there isn’t a perfect set. Life was easier when it was just CRT’s. 
I still have my CRT of 8 years and its just like it was new.
But the Samsung is what I decided on because overall it was such a good deal. I mean 52 inch for only 1499 and they deliver it for free and free shipping. Plus a 4 year warranty. It’s also an amazing screen and I think it will be fine since the upcoming sf4 and sf2hd is out already there wont be any lag with those, not to worried about pre hd systems.
let us all know how that works out, i’m excited to know; i have a monstrous samsung HDtv, but mine seems to lag when i’m playing T5DR (others have complained about this too) since this is the only game i notice lag in (compared to the arcade anyway) i dunno if its the game or the tv or both or god knows what, it would be nice to have more info from other users with similar equipment 
What model is yours? It may be a difference of versions, the one I’m expecting is a 580.
- The reviews noted that the lag was with every resolution, with 480i being the worst. It’s probably due to some of the Samsung’s video processing that you can’t disable.
Give it a try and compare it to your CRT. You should be able see if there is a difference.