PS3, Blu-Ray, and Samsung "Game Mode" Questions

[SDon1969]

Hello all! I'm new to the forum and recently upgraded myself to hi-def & blu-ray. The TV is a Samsung 40" LN-T4061F, and the Blu-Ray player is the PS3, hooked up via HDMI. When playing the XBOX 360 or PS3, the TV goes to "Game Mode" (it remembers to switch to game mode whenever the PC or HDMI2 inputs are selected). I don't really know what Game Mode is doing, the manual is vague and only mentions faster response times.

1) When I use the PS3 for watching a Blu-rays, should I be switching Game Mode off, or does it not really matter? I confess that I can't seem to tell the difference whether it is on or off.

2) The PS3 seems like a pretty decent Blu-ray player so far, any secrets to share out there? I did go into the settings and set the BD playback to 24 Hz as someone recommended to me. Are there any known issues with the PS3 and certain Blu-rays not playing, any incompatibility issues?

3) Sometimes I wonder if the TV is tuned as well as it could be - in fact, I'm sure it is not! Out of the box it had two setup options, Home or Store, so of course I selected Home to keep away from super-bright store settings. I do not have a trained eye when it comes to evaluating PQ, but sometimes I think I am seeing too much grain in some scenes and occasionally I see a "ghost" blob in dark scenes (Saw IV comes to mind, when Riggs is walking through his dark apartment with gun drawn, a ghost images appears on his face - my standard DVD does the same thing). I still have my old DVD Essentials calibration disc, should I try to use that on this new TV even though it is very old?

[The_Hun]

What does Game Mode do?

[8] Game Mode is available on many current Samsung TVs. When you set a video source (input) to Game mode, your TV electronically bypasses two of the video signal processors in the TV, subsequently cutting down the amount of time the TV needs to process the video input from your game. You may notice a slight difference in the picture, but after you implement Game mode, the audio and video on your game should be synchronized.

[Klaus]

A friend of mine has a new Sony 120Hz 57in LCD and it has terrible stuttering and screen lag if "game mode" isn't turned on. Rock Band was un-playable until we found the setting in the menu. Now it plays great.

[Ascended_Saiyan]

Game Mode is suppose to bypass all processing done to the video signal before displaying it...like The Hun said.

[Mastrodisastro]

In Game mode you have different colors setup and faster refresh time
I like the Game Mode during game but I always turn it off during Bluray playback.

Strange you did not see difference on my M86 series it’s so clear.
Did you are using the default company settings?

And yes since TV accept 1080p24 input use this setting to AUTO on the PS3.
Alse set Colour Space to WIDE and xvYCC to ON on Detail setting and put OFF on Digital NR, Active Colour, DNIe and Movie Plus.

[WeApOn]

I have a Samsung, and this option on my TV.. but I completely forgot about it. I suppose it's no use now.. since I spent hours syncing up the AV lag on Rock Band.

How about for the mic though? In Rock Band if you have Dolby enabled there is a delay in the mic. I'm sure this won't affect audio, will it?

[Danv1369]

I have a 40' Samsung, when you turn on game Mode you cannot change the Picture settings, they default to a setting i think is too bright so I dont use it and have no issues with lag when playing games. I am not able to use the 24 input on my Samsung as it only supports 60. Not sure if they corrected this in the current models. Mine is a year old already...

[SDon1969]

Originally Posted by Mastrodisastro

In Game mode you have different colors setup and faster refresh time
I like the Game Mode during game but I always turn it off during Bluray playback.

Strange you did not see difference on my M86 series it’s so clear.
Did you are using the default company settings?

And yes since TV accept 1080p24 input use this setting to AUTO on the PS3.
Alse set Colour Space to WIDE and xvYCC to ON on Detail setting and put OFF on Digital NR, Active Colour, DNIe and Movie Plus.

Default setting mostly, yes, I still need some time to tinker with everything and see what looks best to me. I will check all the TV settings (or are those PS3 settings? I will have to check when I get home) you mentioned.

And when you say surprised that I didn't notice the difference, it might be that I am not sure what to look for - color? stuttering? I will check it out again and pay closer attention.

Thanks to all for the feedback today so far.

[SDon1969]

Originally Posted by Danv1369

I am not able to use the 24 input on my Samsung as it only supports 60. Not sure if they corrected this in the current models. Mine is a year old already...

Yes they must have, when I use the PS3 to play blu-rays I find myself checking the INFO button on the Samsung (LN-T4061F) and it usually says 1920x1080 @24 Hz with that BD 24 Hz PS3 setting on "AUTO."

[Blu-Beard]

Originally Posted by SDon1969

Hello all! I'm new to the forum and recently upgraded myself to hi-def & blu-ray. The TV is a Samsung 40" LN-T4061F, and the Blu-Ray player is the PS3, hooked up via HDMI. When playing the XBOX 360 or PS3, the TV goes to "Game Mode" (it remembers to switch to game mode whenever the PC or HDMI2 inputs are selected). I don't really know what Game Mode is doing, the manual is vague and only mentions faster response times.

1) When I use the PS3 for watching a Blu-rays, should I be switching Game Mode off, or does it not really matter? I confess that I can't seem to tell the difference whether it is on or off.

2) The PS3 seems like a pretty decent Blu-ray player so far, any secrets to share out there? I did go into the settings and set the BD playback to 24 Hz as someone recommended to me. Are there any known issues with the PS3 and certain Blu-rays not playing, any incompatibility issues?

3) Sometimes I wonder if the TV is tuned as well as it could be - in fact, I'm sure it is not! Out of the box it had two setup options, Home or Store, so of course I selected Home to keep away from super-bright store settings. I do not have a trained eye when it comes to evaluating PQ, but sometimes I think I am seeing too much grain in some scenes and occasionally I see a "ghost" blob in dark scenes (Saw IV comes to mind, when Riggs is walking through his dark apartment with gun drawn, a ghost images appears on his face - my standard DVD does the same thing). I still have my old DVD Essentials calibration disc, should I try to use that on this new TV even though it is very old?

I have the exact same t.v. and I'm guessing that you can't tell the difference because you probably have yours in Dynamic mode maybe? I never use the game mode I think it makes things too bright and since I always game and movie in the dark, I watch everything in movie mode and here are my settings, try them if you like:

Contrast: 85
Brightness: 42
Sharpness: 0
Color: 45
Tint: G50-R50
Backlight: 02 (adjust to your taste if you don't like. But works for me)
Color Tone: Normal
Size: Just Scan
Digital NR: off

DETAILED SETTINGS
Black Adjust: off
Dynamic Contrast: off
Gamma: 0
Color Space: Wide
White balance: haven't adjusted
My Color Controll: haven't adjusted
Edge Enhancement: off
xvYCC: off

With these settings my games and Blu's look amazing.

Lately I'm actually considering turning Game Mode on and and making all the same adjustments just to see what that looks like. I'll update you and let you know.

[SDon1969]

Originally Posted by Blu-Beard

I have the exact same t.v. and I'm guessing that you can't tell the difference because you probably have yours in Dynamic mode maybe? I never use the game mode I think it makes things too bright and since I always game and movie in the dark, I watch everything in movie mode and here are my settings, try them if you like:


Lately I'm actually considering turning Game Mode on and and making all the same adjustments just to see what that looks like. I'll update you and let you know.

Excellent, that will be great to try your settings, and I will.

Also regarding setting the TV up all over again in game mode, someone above posted that with game mode set to "ON", you cannot adjust the settings any more. I have not confirmed this yet.

[ground chuck]

i have a different sammy, but i game and watch movies with it on. i'll be honest i forgot how to turn it off, but its not like i've really tried to look for it too.

[Blu-Beard]

Originally Posted by SDon1969

Excellent, that will be great to try your settings, and I will.

Also regarding setting the TV up all over again in game mode, someone above posted that with game mode set to "ON", you cannot adjust the settings any more. I have not confirmed this yet.

Well I just tried it and it lets me adjust everything except for the detailed settings. But I know it has something in there(detailed settings)set differently 'cause I can see a difference in the color tone. It seems like it's warmer and that makes me feel like it's altering(enhancing)what it should look like.

I think I'll stay away from game mode myself. I play everything from Halo3 to Bioshock to Motorstorm and alot of the demos in psn and the way I have it looks great IMO.

Just to let you know, I made my contrast, color, brightness and backlight adjustments from the Sony calibration easter egg. All the others were made per recomendations in the a/v threads from the mods. And when you first adjust it, it will be dimmer than what you're used to from the factory settings so give your eyes time to get used to it, maybe watch your favorite blu in the dark

[SDon1969]

Originally Posted by Blu-Beard

Just to let you know, I made my contrast, color, brightness and backlight adjustments from the Sony calibration easter egg. All the others were made per recomendations in the a/v threads from the mods. And when you first adjust it, it will be dimmer than what you're used to from the factory settings so give your eyes time to get used to it, maybe watch your favorite blu in the dark

Very good info, you may have saved me a couple hours of looking up old threads. I look forward to getting out of work soon to try these recommendations. Thanks again.

[Blu-Beard]

Originally Posted by SDon1969

Very good info, you may have saved me a couple hours of looking up old threads. I look forward to getting out of work soon to try these recommendations. Thanks again.

Glad to help, let me know if you like 'em. Even tho I'm happy with 'em I still plan on getting the "a/v essentials" when it comes out on Blu to see if it will improve the image even more.

[SDon1969]

Well I tried the settings, and I am happy to say that the "ghosting" I was seeing in dark scenes is completely gone. I admit that I couldn't quite get used to the backlight at 2, so I bumped that up a couple notches. And you were right, it was in dynamic mode.

[Blu-Beard]

Originally Posted by SDon1969

Well I tried the settings, and I am happy to say that the "ghosting" I was seeing in dark scenes is completely gone. I admit that I couldn't quite get used to the backlight at 2, so I bumped that up a couple notches. And you were right, it was in dynamic mode.

Glad to here it, enjoy

[Havok83]

I honestly dont see any difference when I turn Game mode on or off. All it appears to be is a different picture setting thats less vibrant