Search This Blog

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Playing Games on Televisions

05 October 2019 

  #MiTV, PS4 Pro, Video lags,  causes,  solution

Jump to
1. How to determine video lag?
2. Which MiTV Play Games?
3. Can’t Find Games Mode in MiTV
4. Can MiTV Really Play Games?
5. Setting Up the PS4
6. TV does not Support HDR
 

Playing Games in Televisions

Many users who play FIFA19 with PS4 PRO on TVs often experience video lags.  Some found the annoying error message telling them "HDR is not supported" when they set up the PS4.   This article will explain why and what are the solutions and workarounds.

Why?

The video lag is caused by delays in processing the video signal.


Before the TV can display a picture on the TV,  the signal must be encoded by the player and then send it through  the HDMI cable as shown above.   The signal picked up on the other end must then be decoded and checked before it is processed for display on the LED panel.   

This complicated signal processing often cause video lags.  If the delay is below 100 mseconds,  it will not have video lag.  Some video games such as fast action games will demand the delay to be less than 50 mseconds.

back to top
How to determine video lag?

One can use a  laptop that use HDMI or other type of cables to connect to the TV.  After that,  go this website to display a stop watch online(click).   This website will tell how to connect up the cable(click.   One can also use normal video mirroring apps but there will be some time lag to display the picture.

On the laptop,  select the stop watch mode and work out the delays in milliseconds in the displays between the laptop and the TV screens.  As illustrated in the following picture,  the delay is about 72 mseconds.


What can be done if there are excessive delays?

Find out the source of delay,  starting by checking if the player is set according to manufacturer’s recommendation and if the cable is HDMI 2.0 cable.   When the television is found to be the cause,  there is nothing much one can do except to adjust the display parameters in the settings of the TV. Lowering down the brightness and contracts will usually reduce the video lags.  If there is a Games Mode in the display setting,  select it.

The other way is to overclock the CPU/GPU but this was not recommended as the TVs are not designed for over-clocking;  also,  the  process might require rooting the TV using special technique.

back to top 
Which Model of MiTVs can Play Games?

There were conflicting reports about ability to play games in MiTVs.  Some users reported no problem;  other found that there are lags.  Then there are reports saying MiTV4 without subscripts playing well as it has higher CPU speed and better GPU.
The trick lies  in the changing of the settings of TV to Games Mode plus having to use HDMI 2.0 cable and changing the Playback settings to accept HDMI 2.0.   These settings are  hidden somewhere where many people might have missed.  The following descriptions should help.

back to top
Can’t Find Games Mode in MiTV?

There is no Games Mode in the display parameter for TVs imported from China if one select the Display Parameter in the MiTV's main setting.    One can only find the Games Mode setting in the respective HDMI's inputs as illustrated in the following picture. 

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIwB9J-tV8iUSU513D9IccXtgu4y-rzrBgQnBGJaW2hKh0zq2vBzt57_IOZyOPt9cYOoVBYewlVLBN9GSKIViA4vuJPmX8AGufbfQjvEPzSwn_WgPxBKiS5rIm_IHf7WZXHSHxVKg6ng0/s1600/2019-10-05_21h09_24.jpg
Doubleclick to enlarge picture
If the Games Mode  is in Chinese,  find the Chinese Character ”游戏摸式”.  Adjust the setting if necessary

One should also turn off the Dynamic Contract and Dynamic Color to "off".  The Contract and Color settings can be found after clicking the lowest row.  If the Contract and Color settings are in  Chinese;  动态对比”= Dynamic Contract and “动态色彩” = Dynamic Color.

back to top
Can MiTV Really be used for Playing Games?

Technically speaking,  MiTV is not designed for playing fast action games as its electronic are not made with these games in mind.  There will be video lags for some games but  there were reports that users were able to play Fifa19 in MiTV using PS4 Pro without much problem.

If one were to compare the response time of the TV screens,  one will find that MiTV has  comparable performance to some PC or Games Monitors as shown in this table.

Brand
Model
Size
Response Time
Xiaomi Mi TV
 3
70"
6 ms
 4A
43"
6 ms
 4C
43"
6.5 ms
 4X
43"
6.5 ms
 2S

8 ms
 3
55"
8 ms
 3
60"
8 ms
 3S
43"
8 ms
 3S
55"
8 ms
 3S
65"
8 ms
 3S Flat
65"
8 ms
 4
55"
8 ms
 4
65"
8 ms
 4
75"
8 ms
 4 Pro
55"
8 ms
 4A
40"
8 ms
 4A
49"
8 ms
 4A
55"
8 ms
Yashi
 YZ2710

5 ms
 YZ2747

5 ms
 YZ2748

5 ms
 YZ3204

5 ms
 YZ3208

5 ms
 YZ3227

5 ms
 YZ3521

5 ms
 YZ4041

5 ms
 YZ4141

5 ms
BenQ
 ZOWIE RL2455T

5 ms
 ZOWIE RL2455TS

5 ms
LG
 24GM77-B

6 ms
Liyama
 G-Master
 GB2488HSU-B2

6 ms
Lenovo
 L24i-10

6 ms
 L27i-28

6 ms
 L27m-28

6 ms
 P24q-10

6 ms
 Q24i-10

6 ms
 Q27q-10

6 ms
 T22v-10

6 ms
 ThinkVision E24-10

6 ms
 ThinkVision L22e-20

6 ms
 ThinkVision L24e-20

6 ms
 ThinkVision P27h-10

6 ms
 ThinkVision P27q-10

6 ms
 ThinkVision P27u-10

6 ms
 ThinkVision S22e

6 ms
 ThinkVision T22i-10

6 ms
 ThinkVision T23i-10

6 ms
 ThinkVision T24i-10

6 ms
 ThinkVision T24m-10

6 ms
Acer
 S277HK

6 ms

However,  not all MiTVs are made the same.  Most MiTV will come with TN LED panel but some are VA or IPS panel which have higher response time.

back to top
Setting Up the PS4

Always follow the guides given by the manufacturer.   After setting up the PS4 to send the signal,  one must also set up the TV to receive and display the signals received.   This article gives a good description of how to it,   including how to set  HDR in the TV (click).

back to top
TV Does not Support HDR

Very often,   MiTV users will come across this problem when setting up the PS4 with an error message saying “Your TV does not support HDR”.

The solution is to set the TV’s input to accept the HDMI 2.0 input signal as shown below

This article has a comprehensive description on how to enable the HDR settings in various brands of TVs (click)

Please note that MiTV supports HDR system electronically but not the LED panel which does not have the required specification for HDR display.    Some reported MiTV was not able to display HDR pictures properly. 

iPhone and iPad: How to Create a Short Cut in Home Screen to Clear Cache & History

23 November 2024 What are Cache and History? Cache and browser history store information about websites you've visited.  The C ache s to...