Derek Kan

HELP... Delay on my new Sony XBR2 LCD HDTV when playing games

Hey ya'll. I've come across an issue that really is disheartening to me. Maybe some of you can advise me what I can do in this situation.

Last month, I bought a brand new Sony KDL-40XBR2 1080p LCD HDTV. It's a beautiful television and it cost me a pretty penny! Connected to it, I have:

- Sony Progressive Scan DVD Player, via HDMI
- Nintendo Wii, via Component

When I first popped in a DVD, I mistakenly was listening to both my surround sound setup, as well as the TV speakers. The reason I noticed this was because there was actually a very small delay (probably 20-30 ms) between my tv speakers, and my surround sound setup. What I did, was just lowered the volume of my tv to zero, and continued on with my life.

However, I was playing a video game on my Nintendo Wii and I noticed a delay much more apparent. I popped in Smash Brothers (which is a fighting game for those that don't know), and the delay between pressing the jump button, and then actually seeing the character jump on the screen was REALLY BAD. I mean, for certain games like racing, or rpgs, or anything like that, it's probably not noticeable. In fact, I was playing Zelda on my new TV for several hours and didn't notice a thing. But as soon as I put in a fighting game, it was so apparent, AND VERY DISHEARTENING.

I haven't tried any first person shooters yet, but I can just imagine how something like this can ruin a game. I'm going to call Sony tomorrow and see if my tv is a dud or something, but I've heard about lag issues before... I just can't imagine it being this bad. Granted, the lag is probably 20-30 ms or so, but it makes a huge difference when it comes to games!

Thankfully, for DVDs though, it's not very noticeable at all. I studied the lips of the people on screen, and the sound of gunshots and so forth, and there is no real problem (although I KNOW it's technically off-sync because if I turn up the volume on my tv speakers, I can hear the echo/delay sound).

Anyways, why is there a delay? Is it because my tv is a LCD? Or is it because my tv is an HDTV? I can't believe that such an expensive tv from such a reputable company has such a horrible issue like this...

PS, I also tried a few different games, and some games on my Xbox and Playstation, and the problem was still present. =(

PLEASE HELP.

Alon Goldberg

Re: HELP... Delay on my new Sony XBR2 LCD HDTV when playing games

Hi Derek - just curious, why are you outputting audio from the Nintendo Wii through your TV? I would suggest connecting the Wii directly to your receiver, then outputting video from your receiver back to your TV (eliminating the Bravia's built-in speakers altogether). The Bravia has two 11-watt speakers, I really wouldn't expect the world. It isn't unusual for the video processing required in digital displays to delay the image enough to put it out of sync with the audio.

Derek Kan

Re: HELP... Delay on my new Sony XBR2 LCD HDTV when playing games

Hi Alon,

Thanks for your quick response. The reason why I'm hooking up my Wii directly to the TV is because my receiver is pretty old, and it doesn't have any component video ins/outs. And, I already have so many devices hooked up to my receiver that I ran out. So I fed my Wii audio through my tv so I can get in 2 things with 1 connection. Anyways, right, you're right though, because I'm putting my Wii audio -> tv -> receiver -> speakers, there could be some delay, but my DVD player suffers from the same audio delay, but my DVD player is hooked up directly to the receiver.

Anyhow, unfortunately, it's not the audio delay that I'm quite as concerned about (because it's really not too noticeable when the TV speakers are muted), but it's the visual delay when gaming that is what bothering me. =(

(oh, and the reason why I have DVD audio coming out of my TV speakers is because I hooked up my DVD player with an HDMI cable, so the audio is fed through there anyways. I suppose I could alter a setting on my DVD player so it only outputs audio from the optical out, but I don't think that'll really change the fact that my tv picture is delayed.)