32" LED\LCD TV owners, seeking your feedback

[torchredraider]

I'm building a slim 2-player cabinet with space for a 32" LCD\LED.  It's wide, but my old eyes need the size.  I'm hoping you can make a recommendation on performance\satisfaction from your experience.

If I go cheap, I'll was thinking a TCL\Element refurb from Frys or Walmart.
Frys TCL refurb
Walmart Element refurb

If I spend more, I was thinking this Visio, due to depth and 120hz, though the lack of a VGA input could be good or bad.
Visio M321i-A2-32

How do you like your 32" LED\LCD and what is it?
Thanks in advance.

[rCadeGaming]

Are you familiar with the importance of input lag?  Unlike CRT's, all LCD's have measurable input lag.  Explanation here:

http://www.displaylag.com/what-is-input-lag-the-breakdown/

Input lag is highly detrimental to gameplay.  No matter what type of game, if there is anything that you have to react to unexpectedly, any kind of delay will degrade your ability to react.  There is lag in MAME's emulation, lag in the LCD, and your own response time.  None of these "cancel out," it all adds up. 

You may not immediately notice the difference this causes if you don't have a low-lag setup that you're used to too, but whether you're aware of it or not input lag will cause you to not do as well in the game as you would with less lag.  It will also cause a general feeling of less responsiveness from the controls.  If you play an emulated arcade game on a poorly configured setup, then go play it on a real cabinet, you may notice how much "tighter" the controls feel on the cabinet.

People will try and tell you that it's not noticeable, but this is usually because they either don't know what they're missing, or they don't want to believe that there is something they're missing and that work is required to fix it.

Lag in MAME can be reduced significantly by using the right build with the right settings.  As for the display, if you don't want to use a CRT, low lag LCD's are available.  Most LCD's lag several frames, and are very poor for gaming.  Manufacturers know this, but they are primarily focused on making TV shows and movies look as good as possible, as that is what their primary market wants.  Sometimes there are game modes available, but this doesn't necessarily guarantee low enough lag for proper gaming.  Input lag measurements aren't advertised (response rate is NOT a measure of input lag), so you need to know the model numbers of confirmed low-lag LCD's to get something appropriate for gaming.

Try starting here:

http://www.displaylag.com/display-database/

This lists displays ordered by input lag, measured in milliseconds (ms).  When running at 60Hz, meaning 60 frames per second, each frame is 16ms.  I wouldn't recommend any display that lags more than two frames (32ms) for gaming, especially when adding MAME's input lag.  With several frames of lag you can start to feel it just moving around in-game.

[torchredraider]

rCadeGaming, thanks for the info.  I fully understand the lag issue and it's the underlying reason I asked for comments from 32" LED\LCD users.

I've searched posts and see several references to builds using 32" flat panels.  Hopefully I'll get some feedback once more folks check in.

[Brian74]

I dont have a 32" LCD, but I do have a Vizio 26" LCD TV & 27" Samsung monitor. I had the 26" in my horizontal cabinet. I not only noticed the lag, it had bad viewing angles. I have replaced it with my Samsung LCD. It has 2Ms response time. Believe it or not, it still lags, but has much better viewing angles. I dont notice it as much, but it is still there.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

[rCadeGaming]

Torch, I prefer a real CRT for low-res gaming, but I do have a nice 32" LCD that I bought for playing PS3 and such.  It's an LG 32LD450.  It has 16ms of lag, which is pretty good, but I didn't mention before because I don't think you could find it for sale anymore.  I picked it off of this list:

http://forums.shoryuken.com/discussion/145141/sub-1-frame-hdtv-monitor-input-lag-database/p1

Unfortunately, I don't think that list is up to date anymore, so I'd start with the other one I posted. 

Anyhow, if you want impressions I am very happy with mine, in terms of picture quality and viewing angles as well as low-lag.  I would definitely recommend an LG or Samsung if you get a TV.  Good value, picture quality is great, great warranty programs if there's ever a problem.  I would stay away from cheap Walmart brands and stuff like that.  Picture quality is poor, parts are rarely available if it breaks, etc.

If you get a monitor, you'll have to get some opinions from others, as I don't have a whole lot of experience with LCD monitors.  I do know that you should go for a specific panel technology for the best viewing angles.  Btw, it shouldn't matter whether you get a TV or a monitor.  As long as you find something low-lag with the size and features you want it's the same thing.

The other thing is, are you sure you want that big of a screen on a slim cab?  I would definitely not be comfortably playing very close to such a large screen.  Be sure to borrow some kind of display in the size you're looking for and do a mock up for some test playing.

-

Again, response rate is NOT a measure of input lag.  Response rate only measures the minimum time it takes for a pixel on the screen to transition from full black to full white.  A lot of input lag takes place during scaling and post-processing.  The signal has already been received, but there is a period of delay during processing before the screen is even told to do anything about it.

[Unstupid]

Don't go for a TV just because it can do 120hz.  Remember, your source devices only output 60hz so the tv has to do additional processing to convert the 60hz signal to 120hz (or even 240), and this is way a lot of the higher end tv's have the worst lag.  A lot of time the bare bones, cheapest, no frills, tv's have the least amount of lag!  BTW I'm typing this on a LG 32LN5300 and it is really quick.  The 42" version of this monitor is rated at 28ms lag...