How to Reduce Input Lag on a TV for PC Gaming
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A TV straight out of the box can add over 100ms of input lag — enough to feel like your mouse is underwater. The good news is that almost all of it comes from picture processing you can switch off, and a properly configured modern TV lands in the 9–15ms range. This guide walks the settings in the order that matters, from the one that saves 80ms to the ones that save one.
Nearly all TV input lag is processing, not the panel. Turn the processing off and the panel is fine.
Where the lag actually comes from
A TV is built to make film and broadcast content look good, which means it buffers several frames to do work a monitor never attempts:
- Motion interpolation (“smooth motion”, TruMotion, Motionflow, Auto Motion Plus) — the biggest offender. It needs future frames to invent intermediate ones, so it inherently delays the picture.
- Noise reduction and MPEG artifact cleanup — buffers frames to compare them.
- Upscaling and detail enhancement — extra processing passes on every frame.
- Dynamic contrast / local dimming analysis — usually cheap, occasionally not.
Game Mode exists to skip most of that pipeline. That’s why it’s worth more than everything else combined.
Step 1 — Turn on Game Mode (do this first)
The setting name varies by brand, but it’s always in the picture menu:
- LG: Picture → Select Mode → Game Optimiser
- Samsung: Settings → General → External Device Manager → Game Mode (or auto via Game Bar)
- Sony: Settings → Picture → Game Mode
- TCL / Hisense: Picture → Picture Mode → Game
Set it on the specific HDMI input your PC uses — on many sets the picture mode is per-input, not global. Then verify: swing the mouse quickly across the desktop. If the cursor visibly trails your hand, processing is still on.
Step 2 — Label the HDMI input as PC
This is the second-biggest win, and it’s easy to miss. Naming the input PC (or enabling the PC/Graphics icon) does three things on most TVs: it enables full RGB 4:4:4 chroma, it disables the remaining video-oriented processing, and on some models it unlocks a lower-latency path that Game Mode alone doesn’t.
On LG this is Home Dashboard → Edit input → PC. On Samsung it’s External Device Manager → Edit Device Type → PC. On Sony, set the HDMI signal format to Enhanced and rename the input.
Step 3 — Enable ALLM and the HDMI 2.1 signal mode
- ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) flips the TV into Game Mode automatically when a gaming source is detected. Turn it on, but still verify manually — PC GPUs don’t always signal it.
- Enhanced HDMI / HDMI 2.1 / Input Signal Plus / UHD Deep Colour must usually be enabled per port before the TV will accept 120Hz or full-bandwidth modes at all. If your PC only offers 60Hz, this is the setting you’re missing.
- If you’re unsure which port or cable standard you need, our HDMI vs DisplayPort guide covers the bandwidth math.
Step 4 — Kill the remaining processing
With Game Mode on, most of these are already off. Check anyway — several brands leave one or two active:
| Setting | Set to |
|---|---|
| Motion interpolation (TruMotion / Motionflow / Auto Motion Plus) | Off |
| Noise reduction / MPEG NR | Off |
| Dynamic contrast / adaptive brightness | Off |
| Sharpness | 0 (or the neutral midpoint) |
| Black frame insertion / motion clarity | Off for competitive — it lowers brightness and can add a frame of delay |
| Eco / energy saving | Off |
Black frame insertion is a genuine trade-off rather than a straight loss — it sharpens motion clarity at a cost. Our motion blur reduction guide covers when it’s worth taking.
Step 5 — Set the PC side correctly
- Refresh rate: Settings → System → Display → Advanced display. Pick the highest the TV supports — 120Hz where available. This is a real latency reduction, roughly 4ms versus 60Hz on average frame wait.
- Colour format: set RGB Full in the NVIDIA Control Panel (Change resolution → Output colour format) or AMD Adrenalin. Fixes fringed text and confirms the PC path is active.
- VRR / G-Sync Compatible: enable it if the TV supports it — it removes the V-Sync frame queue without tearing. Follow our G-Sync/FreeSync setup guide.
- Cap your frame rate a few FPS below the refresh ceiling so VRR stays in range instead of falling back to V-Sync. See how to cap your FPS correctly.
- Enable a low-latency mode — NVIDIA Reflex in supported games, or NVIDIA Low Latency Mode otherwise.
What to realistically expect
After all of the above, a good 2020-or-newer TV sits around 9–15ms of display lag at 120Hz, and a recent OLED can reach single digits. That is genuinely fine for most games. It is still meaningfully behind a competitive monitor at 1–4ms, so for ranked FPS play a monitor remains the better tool — but a configured TV is nothing like the sluggish default.
If it still feels laggy after this, the delay isn’t in the display. Work through the full input-lag chain and check whether your frame rate is stable, since erratic frame pacing feels worse than a few extra milliseconds of consistent display lag.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
How much input lag does a TV add compared to a monitor?
Out of the box, a lot — a TV in a standard picture mode commonly adds 40–100ms or more of display lag because of motion interpolation, noise reduction, and upscaling. With Game Mode enabled, a good modern TV drops to roughly 9–15ms, and the best OLEDs land near 5–10ms at high refresh rates. A dedicated gaming monitor is typically 1–4ms, so a well-configured TV is playable but still behind.
Does Game Mode actually reduce input lag?
Yes, and it is by far the single biggest win available. Game Mode bypasses most of the TV's picture-processing pipeline — interpolation, noise reduction, and dynamic contrast — which is where the bulk of the delay lives. Turning it on routinely cuts 30–80ms in one step, far more than any other setting on this page.
Should I use ALLM for PC gaming?
If your TV supports it, yes. Auto Low Latency Mode switches the TV into Game Mode automatically when it detects a gaming source, so you never accidentally play in a high-lag picture mode. Some PC GPUs don't signal ALLM reliably, so it is worth manually confirming Game Mode is active rather than assuming it engaged.
Is 4K 120Hz better than 1440p 120Hz on a TV for latency?
Latency is effectively the same at the same refresh rate — the frame rate is what determines how long a finished frame waits. The practical consideration is that 4K 120Hz needs HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on both the GPU and the TV, and driving 4K costs FPS. If a lower resolution lets you hold a higher and more stable frame rate, that reduces total latency more than the resolution choice itself does.
Why does my TV look blurry or have fringed text when connected to a PC?
The TV is almost certainly running chroma subsampling (4:2:2 or 4:2:0) instead of full RGB, or it is treating the input as video rather than PC. Set the HDMI input label to PC or Game on the TV, and set the output colour format to RGB Full in the NVIDIA Control Panel or AMD Adrenalin. This is a picture-quality issue, not a latency one, but the same input-label setting often gates the low-latency path too.