4 ms·

So 100 ms is on about human eye-hand reaction time. Not that humans think in discrete chunks, but 100-400ms is like 1-4 extra responses, which makes game play q

So 100 ms is on about human eye-hand reaction time. Not that humans think in discrete chunks, but 100-400ms is like 1-4 extra responses, which makes game play quite different. Also, I know people will say "Game Mode!" but obviously, as a dev you can't just assume your end users will do that.

Timothee 15y ago
Is that what "game mode" is? I had always thought it was just changing the preset of brightness/contrast/etc. but is it also trying to reduce latency? (I'm not a gamer)
- endianswap 15y ago
  Usually it turns off all of the filters/post-processing steps and tries to mimick the response times of CRT displays more closely by sending the framebuffer to the screen as soon as possible. The works to varying degrees of success on a per-model basis. Just check out forums discussing which television to buy when you want to play music/rhythm games (like Guitar Hero) to read a lot more details about specific displays.
  - speleding 15y ago
    Guitar hero, and most other rhythm games have a configuration option to put in a delay so that the game and sound match up with your screen again. For shooters that wouldn't help, of course, so there you need a fast screen.
tseabrooks 15y ago
I think the only people that tend to notice the difference between 100ms and 400ms are the more... ardent players... and those guys better damn well know what game mode is.
- tylerneylon 15y ago
  I disagree. 400ms is noticeable lag to anyone, still so against 100ms. Run this in bash, and imagine this lag in a game you're playing, as the time from when you hit a button on a controller to when you see the response on screen: $ sleep .1 $ sleep .4
- neutronicus 15y ago
  When I last talked to my mom, she was complaining to me that she's been getting worse scores on her WiiFit dance routine since upgrading to an HDTV from a CRT. I assume it must be HDTV lag since ... what else could it be?
  - Splines 15y ago
    Some rhythm games have a built-in calibration tool you can use - it'll offset the video/audio by a certain amount to compensate for HDTV lag. I know Guitar Hero/Rock Band have one, maybe WiiFit does too?
  - sitkack 15y ago
    Why did you just step in such an egregious folly of "your mom?" was that your intent?
mnutt 15y ago
It seems like this would also affect audio, depending on how you have it set up: if it runs through the TV, the TV could delay the audio by 100-400ms to compensate, but if it goes straight from the computer to the stereo there would be a noticeable lag in the video. Is there something obvious I'm missing why this isn't a problem?
- endianswap 15y ago
  It was a problem with my TV (a Sony Bravia LCD display) so I had to run the sound through the TV and into the speakers instead of directly into the speakers.
- xsmasher 15y ago
  Many home theater systems have an adjustable audio delay for exactly that reason.

Timothee 15y ago

Is that what "game mode" is? I had always thought it was just changing the preset of brightness/contrast/etc. but is it also trying to reduce latency? (I'm not a gamer)

endianswap 15y ago
Usually it turns off all of the filters/post-processing steps and tries to mimick the response times of CRT displays more closely by sending the framebuffer to the screen as soon as possible. The works to varying degrees of success on a per-model basis. Just check out forums discussing which television to buy when you want to play music/rhythm games (like Guitar Hero) to read a lot more details about specific displays.
- speleding 15y ago
  Guitar hero, and most other rhythm games have a configuration option to put in a delay so that the game and sound match up with your screen again. For shooters that wouldn't help, of course, so there you need a fast screen.

tseabrooks 15y ago

I think the only people that tend to notice the difference between 100ms and 400ms are the more... ardent players... and those guys better damn well know what game mode is.

tylerneylon 15y ago
I disagree. 400ms is noticeable lag to anyone, still so against 100ms. Run this in bash, and imagine this lag in a game you're playing, as the time from when you hit a button on a controller to when you see the response on screen: $ sleep .1 $ sleep .4
neutronicus 15y ago
When I last talked to my mom, she was complaining to me that she's been getting worse scores on her WiiFit dance routine since upgrading to an HDTV from a CRT. I assume it must be HDTV lag since ... what else could it be?
- Splines 15y ago
  Some rhythm games have a built-in calibration tool you can use - it'll offset the video/audio by a certain amount to compensate for HDTV lag. I know Guitar Hero/Rock Band have one, maybe WiiFit does too?
- sitkack 15y ago
  Why did you just step in such an egregious folly of "your mom?" was that your intent?

mnutt 15y ago

It seems like this would also affect audio, depending on how you have it set up: if it runs through the TV, the TV could delay the audio by 100-400ms to compensate, but if it goes straight from the computer to the stereo there would be a noticeable lag in the video. Is there something obvious I'm missing why this isn't a problem?

endianswap 15y ago
It was a problem with my TV (a Sony Bravia LCD display) so I had to run the sound through the TV and into the speakers instead of directly into the speakers.
xsmasher 15y ago
Many home theater systems have an adjustable audio delay for exactly that reason.