Quick and "hidden" tips to decrease input lag in your display

[Jawshe]

General Introductory Info

 

First off - no matter what monitor you get or what settings you configure, H5's reticle will continue to feel like you're dragging it through dogshit.

 

Second, you have to understand there is a difference between input lag and response time with displays:

 

1. Input Lag = The signal delay that begins in your controller, goes through your Xbox, registered as input by the game itself, then into the HDMI/VGA cord, into your monitor, through the processor in the monitor, and then into the pixels. Any deficiencies in any of these stages will make you reticle less responsive and will add to your total MS rating. The higher the MS rating, the longer it takes your input to translate to your screen. The actual input lag measurement between monitors/TV's is almost never disclosed by the manufacturer. The number that they advertise is instead Response Time.

 

2. Response Time = The time it takes each pixel of your monitor to go from one state to another (sometimes advertised as GTG or Grey to Grey, or BTW, as in Black to White). A higher MS response time means your monitor will be blurred during quick movement. Looking around or watching fast moving objects with a low response time monitor will look much clearer/smoother, making things much easier to track. Response time doesn't necessarily affect the "responsiveness" of your aiming, but extremely high response times (7-20+ms) will actually "trick" your eyes into thinking the display has lag.

 

Essentially, you want a monitor that has as low Input Lag and Response Time as possible. The fastest Response Time monitors are easy to find and 1-2ms are pretty much the industry standard. Keep in mind that 1ms will have no observable differences from a 2ms monitor. You do notice something strange when you reach 7+ms though. Past that point, your game starts to look like a slide show, or as if you're getting framerate drops. 

 

So getting a 1-2ms response time monitor is easy. The tougher part is finding the input lag measure for your display. Generally, the larger the screen, the more ms delay. Most videogame vets know that playing on a large living room TV makes it way more difficult to aim properly. Also, PC monitors tend to have much lower input lag and feel much more "snappy" and responsive. Input lag is by far the most important variable that determines how your aiming will feel. Input lag can range anywhere between a lowest rating of 9ms to a whopping 

50-60ms or more. If your big TV also has a slow response time of 15ms as an example, you're looking at a total of 75ms of input lag just from your monitor. I'll get into the other devices that affect your total signal delay.

 

The only reliable way to check for your display's input lag measurement is through dedicated database websites, such as http://www.displaylag.com/

If you can't find your display in the database, you can try doing google searches which often give you the data you need (except in more rare or older products).

 

No matter what settings you set on your display, if you have a bad lag/response rating there isn't much you can do.

 

Moving forward, keep in mind that each of the following hardware/settings I am recommending may only give a few ms advantage here or there. BUT, once you've made several small changes, the ms reductions will add up and there will be a noticeable difference.

 

Hardware

 

- Monitor: A 1-2ms response time monitor, with an input lag of no more than ~15ms or so (the lowest monitors available are 9ms, and you will feel the difference between a 9ms and a 15ms, and anything higher is downright robbing you of your potential) You can get 9ms monitors for less than $150 (Benq is an option in this price range). Check Newegg or Amazon, and look for refurbished/used if you are comfortable with those options. Remember that these websites offer extended guarantees and free returns if anything goes wrong with the monitor (in Canada the policy is 2 years free warranty).

 

- Wired controller. You can use any micro USB (even one from an old phone or an Android, etc.) in any Xbox One wireless controller, and it will charge your controller AND send input signals directly through the cable instead of wireless. No, its not a myth either. I can't find any official evidence from Microsoft on the wireless vs wired ms delay differences for this exact controller. However, using the 360's controller as reference, its well known that there is at least a 16.67ms savings from using wired as demonstrated by many tests over the years. One test even demonstrated huge 166ms spikes from interference. I would assume the Xbox One's wireless technology has improved from the 360, but theres only so much that can be improved with wireless technology. Expect the ms reduction to be almost the same with the Xbox One.

 

- Monitor settings: There are tons of settings on your monitor that will affect its input lag. Keep in mind that every monitor/brand is different and often name the same setting different names (eg. "Magicolor" vs "Smartcolor" is really the same thing). You should also remember that if you accidentally mess your settings up, there is always a "reset" option in all monitors/TV's. Wait until the end of the guide befroe you try to mess with the settings to make everything look perfect. Messing with stuff before we're done is just a waste of time because everything is going to be changing a lot.

• Switch input mode from "AV" to "PC/HDMI". For monitors/TVs that have the "HDMI" label instead of "PC" (such as with 90% of Samsung products), you must rename the input mode to "PC" manually. I know it seems silly that changing the name of the input would actually make a difference - but just try it and see what happens. You'll cry. If your monitor is NOT a Samsung, AND you cannot find out how to rename HDMI mode to PC, then chances are your HDMI mode will work just as well. With any monitor though, switching to "PC" (or HDMI mode if you can't rename it) input mode instead of "Auto", "AV" or "HDMI" will instantly shut off all of the useless post-processing protocols that are specific to the AV mode. Whats amazing is that for every product I've ever done this on, the screen looks ten times smoother and actually has an anti-jaggy (AA) effect despite shutting off post-processing effects. This is because AV modes almost always use some weird "artificial digital sharpness" that makes jaggies from games appear worse. I'm sure this feature can make movies look great, but its not meant for games. Even more surprising is often you'll gain another inch... of screen that is. AV mode (or AV/HDMI mode on Samsung) is often zoomed and stretched. TONS of people go years without even realizing they are missing a portion of their screen. Flip back and forth if you think you notice a difference. That said, many monitors already use the unzoomed format (also called "Just Scan" protocol), and in that case you won't notice a difference. Either way, you're picture should look better but most importantly you have just shaved about another 10-15ms from this switch (we are essentially bringing down the ms to the figure that would have been recorded from DisplayLag). If your image looks worse for some reason, its probably because switching modes reset your other settings back to default. We'll get to those settings.

 

• Enable Game Mode, if available. Most of the time this option will have disappeared from selecting PC mode. PC mode usually stops ALL post-processing (which is what causes input lag), while game mode usually only stops some for HDMI mode. If you do still see a Game Mode, turn it on. Check to see if doing so reset your monitor back to "HDMI" mode. If so, go with PC mode over Game mode. If you can have both modes at the same time (its possible) then go with that.

 

• Look for a setting called "Response Time" or "Pixel overdrive", "overdrive", etc. Usually the options are something like "Normal", "Faster", or "Fastest". The "1-2ms" advertised response time of your monitor is usually only achieved by using this overdrive setting. Before you automatically choose the "fastest" (or equivalent setting), you should do a quick google check to see if your monitor's overdrive method is worth it. In theory the overdrive/response time setting should improve your response time (pixel switch speed) which will give you a smoother moving screen. However, many time (especially with Benq), the overdrive does nothing to improve your response time, and often can introduce input lag (as it is an intense/complicated form of post-processing). do your research to determine if the benefits will outweigh the costs. Remember that faster response time gives you smoothness while lower input lag will make your aiming "feel" better. If you discover there is a compromise, its really up to you as far as which to choose. If you don't notice any motion blurring effect (outside the game's graphical engine), then I'd personally just stick with better input lag if I was forced to choose between the two. If you find your monitors overdrive method is efficient then obviously crank it to get the best of both worlds.

 

• Turn off any remaining "magic" or "auto-color" or anything else that sounds like a patented, gimmicky name. Generally any color or picture settings that imply an "auto" mode are just processes. Settings that say "custom" or "manual" are the ones you want to gravitate towards. If your picture/color looks worse on these manual/custom modes, then feel free to move the manual sliders around (Sharpness, RGB color balance, and contrast sliders, etc. are all fine to customize and won't affect lag). My Samsung PX2370 has a common "Magic Color" setting that is supposed to auto balance colors dynamically. This option is not turned off by PC mode, so turning things like this off is necessary to "purify" your signal and eliminate remaining lag. I also have a "Magic Bright" picture mode that adjusts other picture aspects on the fly. Turn anything like that off as well. Make sure you go through each subsection of your settings (eg. Picture, Color, Input, General, etc.), and when in doubt, just google something if you don't know what it is. If you something off and it makes everything look like garbage, then obviously you can keep those vital processes. Once again remember if you do mess anything, you can just reset and try again.

 

• Do one last check for your monitor's refresh rate (60Hz in NA, differs depending on country). You might have a 50Hz if you are in EU. Check to see if you can switch the refresh rate to 60Hz, as its generaly the smoothest. If your display looks messed up when trying to set it to 60Hz, then just wait about 10 seconds or so for it to automatically switch back (it'll know). Also make sure your resolution is set to 1920X1080p. If your monitor can't do that - throw it out the nearest window you scumbag.

 

• Now go on your Xbox and go to All Settings>Display and Sound>Video Input and under "Display" on the left you should be set at 1080p (just checking). Under that you should see "TV Connection". Set that to Auto Detect. This probably won't make a difference, but if switching from AV to PC/HDMI mode on your monitor didn't do anything, go back to your monitor settings and try that step again. Moving on, under "Color Space", you should attempt "PC RGB" mode instead of standard. Most monitors should have no problem doing this. It will 100% make your colors better and your blacks/whites more pure. Its hard to tell the difference in the black menus of the Xbox, so go do some comparisons by opening a game. You should notice an immediate improvement. This PC RGB setting should also help reduce lag further by cutting out any remaining scaling/compatibility issues. There is a small chance this RGB mode will make you display super dark (too deep of a black), if this is the case then you can try changing the contrast, color intensity etc. settings on your monitor. You can change the brightness for Halo 5 specifically if its the only game giving you that "too dark" look from using PC RGB color space. If none of that fixes the darkness then its because your monitor just doesn't support that contrast ratio. If thats the case then switch your Color Space back to standard or RGB full. Make sure "Allow 50Hz" isunchecked if you have a 60/120Hz monitor. EU monitors (I think), should be 50Hz and should therefore check the box. Last setting on your Xbox - Color depth. This shouldn't affect your input lag, but some monitors can go higher than the default 24 bits.There are 30 and 36 bit options that will REALLY improve your color, but only if your monitor supports it (usually only monitors with RGBY capability). Give each option a try. If it doesn't work or looks messed up, then hit the B button and it'll put it back.

 

• Your monitor is now 100% optimized for gaming! You may or may not feel a massive improvement right away. Everyone is different. Maybe your settings were already pretty good, or maybe they were way off. Either way, load up a game and check it out. KEEP IN MIND, the game engine in H5 itself has unavoidable lag. There's nothing you can do to fix that aspect of the delay we all feel. There is actually a database for game engine input lag for past Halos over at DisplayLag.com that shows how different games can have different lags. Its no surprise that H3 is much higher than the other games. Take a look. I don't think they've added H5 to that database but I would guess it would be even higher than H3's. Anyways, at least you know you are getting your moneys worth from your console and monitor. Even if you can't feel a difference, you should notice some sort of improvement in your aim down the road (stat wise). Again, at the very least its peace of mind knowing you're maxed out as far as responsiveness goes. Make sure your in game deadzones in H5 are as close to 0% as possible as well. At this point you can mess around with the manual sliders on you monitor to dial-in the color and sharpness (side note - many people set sharpness too high thinking it'll make the image more crisp, but in reality too much of it just makes the game look jaggy and ugly. You want a bit of softness). The same thing applies to contrast - you don't always want to max it out. Also try different Gamma presets. If you want a reference for adjusting these things then there is a built-in calibrator in the same area of video settings that we were already in.

 

If you guys have any other questions feel free to ask away! I put a lot of effort and time into checking and rechecking all my info. Believe me when I say I'm not talking out of my ass. I'm very experienced with displays and technology and have done extra research to give you guys the best results. Help me keep this bumped, and also give me feedback for both this guide and future ones. Thanks!

 

-Jawshe

[Edain]

My monitor has a preset called "game". Is that good?

[FireAtWill]

Awesome write up, thanks! I will go through your list and check my system.

[Turkeyyy Lips]

I finally switched from a Tv to a monitor 5 days ago. I purchased the ASUS MX279H. What a difference! It has a 5ms response time (not the greatest but still much better than tv). I Just checked that display input site you said to check out and I have an 09 rating which is great.

 

This post is super helpful to those who are not knowledgeable when it comes to monitors - which includes me. Excellent job!

[Riddler]

back in 2008 when my crt broke and I got a new tv, I couldn't figure it out for the life of me why my aim was so much worse, I just figured it was cause my TV was a little bit bigger. Then in late 2009 I finally stumbled across that input lag was a thing. My teenage brain couldn't believe it that tv makers would actually make this a thing. I'm never looking back, crt or gaming monitor for life. Also something to note on is that "component to hdmi or vice versa converters" add lag. It's why OP mentioned making sure you're monitor is set to 1080p because games on the xbone output to 1080p natively. 

[giobernard]

• "Switch input mode from "AV" to "PC/HDMI". For monitors/TVs that have the "HDMI" label instead of "PC" (such as with 90% of Samsung products), you must rename the input mode to "PC" manually. I know it seems silly that changing the name of hte input would actually make a difference - but just try it and see what happens. You'll cry. With any monitor though, switching to "PC" input mode instead of "Auto" or "HDMI" will instantly shut off all of the useless post-processing protocols that are specific to the HDMI mode. Whats amazing is that for every product I've ever done this on, the screen looks ten times smoother and actually has an anti-jaggy (AA) effect despite shutting off post-processing effects. Even more surprising is often you'll gain another inch or so of extra screen. HDMI mode is often zoomed (especially with Samsung) and stretched. TONS of people go years without even realizing they are missing a portion of their screen. Flip back and forth if you think you notice a difference. That said, many monitors already use the unzoomed format (also called "Just Scan" protocol), and in that case you won't notice a difference. Either way, you're picture should look better but most importantly you have just shaved about another 10-15ms from this switch (we are essentially bringing down the ms to the figure that would have been recorded from DisplayLag). If your image looks worse for some reason, its probably because switching modes reset your other settings back to default. We'll get to those settings."

 

How do you "manually" change the name from HDMI to PC? lol...I have an Asus VS247H-P

[Nokterne]

I'm not so sure about the benefits of switching to PC RGB and a higher bit depth. I've tried switching both my Xbox and BenQ monitor to the 0-255 setting, and I find it just makes it more difficult to distinguish between blacks and whites on the extreme ends of the spectrum. If I were to guess, I'd say this is the fault of the console and how it outputs color values. Also I've read that there isn't any Xbox One content that outputs more than 24 bit, though if it improves the picture on your display than of course go for it (doesn't on mine).

 

Amazing post though, very helpful, lots of great best practices here to follow when setting up a display.

[Exidrion]

Great post! I haven't spent a lot of time with my BenQ (I use the one MLG/most pro's use, RL3455HM) so I'll check this out more thoroughly when I get home.

[Mow]

What do I do if my TV has none of the options you mentioned..?

[valaea]

This is the most helpful shit ever, thanks ... I've had a Viewsonic for years but haven't tweaked settings since like 2012

[Jawshe]

I finally switched from a Tv to a monitor 5 days ago. I purchased the ASUS MX279H. What a difference! It has a 5ms response time (not the greatest but still much better than tv). I Just checked that display input site you said to check out and I have an 09 rating which is great.

 

This post is super helpful to those who are not knowledgeable when it comes to monitors - which includes me. Excellent job!

 

This is actually the EXACT monitor I'm looking to buy. The best aprt about your monitor is that its an IPS panel that somehow manages to be faster than most TN panels. I'm so jealous. Make sure you go through your settings to make sure you're getting the most out of that beast.

 

Any other info about that monitor? Should I get it?

[Jawshe]

 

• "Switch input mode from "AV" to "PC/HDMI". For monitors/TVs that have the "HDMI" label instead of "PC" (such as with 90% of Samsung products), you must rename the input mode to "PC" manually. I know it seems silly that changing the name of hte input would actually make a difference - but just try it and see what happens. You'll cry. With any monitor though, switching to "PC" input mode instead of "Auto" or "HDMI" will instantly shut off all of the useless post-processing protocols that are specific to the HDMI mode. Whats amazing is that for every product I've ever done this on, the screen looks ten times smoother and actually has an anti-jaggy (AA) effect despite shutting off post-processing effects. Even more surprising is often you'll gain another inch or so of extra screen. HDMI mode is often zoomed (especially with Samsung) and stretched. TONS of people go years without even realizing they are missing a portion of their screen. Flip back and forth if you think you notice a difference. That said, many monitors already use the unzoomed format (also called "Just Scan" protocol), and in that case you won't notice a difference. Either way, you're picture should look better but most importantly you have just shaved about another 10-15ms from this switch (we are essentially bringing down the ms to the figure that would have been recorded from DisplayLag). If your image looks worse for some reason, its probably because switching modes reset your other settings back to default. We'll get to those settings."

 

How do you "manually" change the name from HDMI to PC? lol...I have an Asus VS247H-P

 

 

You'll have to google how to do it with asus monitors. I've heard it only really makes a difference for samsung, so if you can't rename it to PC, HDMI should give you the same benefits with an Asus. Just make sure you aren't using AV mode.

[Jawshe]

My monitor has a preset called "game". Is that good?

 

Is this preset under "Input"?

 

If it is I'm sure this is the same as PC.

 

Or is it under your "Picture" or color settings?

 

If it is, then its probably just a preset picture mode that claims to be the best color/sharpness balance for gaming. Most of the time it isn't though.

[JordanB]

Text

 

Do you have any recommendations for brands? I'm a big Samsung guy, but do you think a brand like Asus or something else would be a better value.

 

For comparisons sake, I'll provide two links. If you could give me any feedback on if one is better than the other, I would appreciate it.

 

http://www.neweggflash.com/Product/0JC-0007-00D86?icid=WP_11_02272016

 

http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=N82E16824236489&ignorebbr=1&cm_re=PPSSFCXDFBTMXA-_-24-236-489-_-Product

[Devaneaux]

Thanks for the great post! I have a 2008 Panasonic 42" and I can't even find it on displaylag.com.

 

It has an option for Game on it but nothing else really.

[Jawshe]

Do you have any recommendations for brands? I'm a big Samsung guy, but do you think a brand like Asus or something else would be a better value.

 

For comparisons sake, I'll provide two links. If you could give me any feedback on if one is better than the other, I would appreciate it.

 

http://www.neweggflash.com/Product/0JC-0007-00D86?icid=WP_11_02272016

 

http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=N82E16824236489&ignorebbr=1&cm_re=PPSSFCXDFBTMXA-_-24-236-489-_-Product

 

I personally swear by Samsung and Asus.

 

I know Benq get good reviews but I've never actually owned one so I can't speak for them. I've found Samsung/asus to be visually stunning and reliable. The stats (responsetime/input lag) for a monitor can tell you how it'll perform, but you can't put a stat on the amazing picture that Samsung/Asus give you. Just my opinion. 

 

I would look up each of those two monitor's input lag measures and pick the one with the lowest. If they are the same... couldn't tell you lol. Theyare both good picks if they have a 9ms input lag.

[JordanB]

I personally swear by Samsung and Asus.

 

I know Benq get good reviews but I've never actually owned one so I can't speak for them. I've found Samsung/asus to be visually stunning and reliable. The stats (responsetime/input lag) for a monitor can tell you how it'll perform, but you can't put a stat on the amazing picture that Samsung/Asus give you. Just my opinion.

 

I would look up each of those two monitor's input lag measures and pick the one with the lowest. If they are the same... couldn't tell you lol. Theyare both good picks if they have a 9ms input lag.

The Samsung P2770FH is not listed on the website. Do you think that is cause for concern?

[ultimatetechnew]

ALSO CHECK THIS ARTICLE HELP U LOT  how to connect ps4 controller to pc

[fascination]

There's always a put lag on everything... Lol good post we needed it... Lol

[Hard Way]

ALSO CHECK THIS ARTICLE HELP U LOT how to connect ps4 controller to pc

The last post in this thread was a year ago. But thanks for the hot tip.

[Goat Shaman]

Big thanks, OP. Tried out these tips yesterday and now I'm fraggin' like a pro.