Looks like a hot TV!  Mine is still in good shape (in fact, I've never really used its HD capability except 480p), but my next TV will definitely be a flat screen of some type.  Maybe OLED if it's affordable by then.

I've had a similar experience with my Sony LCD TV, which has basically the same feature (though due to the PAL standard it goes up 100hz, not 120hz). Most of the time it doesn't seem to make a significant difference, and in some of the cases where it does, the effect can be more distracting than satisfying. However, one case where it seemed to work well was with Paper Mario on the PAL VC. The increased refresh rate in this case made it noticeably more fluid, bringing out the natural vibrancy of the Paper Mario style a little more. For the most part though, I leave it turned off, as apparently it can cause a very slight lag which could be a problem for heavily timing-dependent games (my TV has a "Game Mode", which basically just turns off the Motion Enhancer function for that reason).

I never really thought about the 120Hz feature as being good for games but after reading this it makes sense since the animations in games would be more predictable compared to natural movement of filmed content.

Interesting read, TYP.  I recently hooked up my Wii to my 24" Dell HD monitor (2407WFP-HC) and I gotta say I'm not overly impressed.  My PS3 and 360 run in 1080p and look amazing on it, but the Wii's 480p looks "soft".  I haven't really toyed around with the monitor settings much (I did all that when I first hooked up the PS3/360 and have everything set perfectly, don't wanna jinx it), but I may try to improve the Wii picture.

I find that it's much better if I play from several feet away, rather than two feet away (or, your typical PC typing distance) like I do with the PS3/360.  Not that I'm complaining, since the Wii sensor bar pretty much makes playing from several feet away mandatory anyways.

What if you sit nearly normal distance from a monitor, but keep your sensor bar several feet back. :P  Shouldn't feel to bad.

Well yeah, I've hooked my Wii up to my LCD monitor too. That's why I wound up buying a GOOD TV. 480p looks all muddy on an LCD monitor; a nice HDTV will do a better job scaling the picture, although it will always look a little "soft." Also, you'll likely be sitting further away w/ a TV than a monitor.

I recently bought a new TV, and I specifically stayed away from this technology because it is supposed to contribute to lag, which is by far the greatest bane of playing games on an HDTV. I can recommend Samsung, though. I actually brought a Gamecube into stores and tested lag on several TVs, and Samsung LCDs in general seemed to have the lowest level of lag, along with the Toshiba LCDs. This is important for time crucial games like Guitar Hero or Smash Bros. There are some new technologies like strobing LED backlights that are supposed to give the same effect without the lag.

I really am not sensitive to the whole lag issue, but yeah, this feature inherently contributes to lag and can be turned off quite easily. Frankly, the introduction of a few milliseconds of lag really isn't a big deal for many games imo. Supposedly my particular model has a 4ms refresh rate, for what that's worth.

...Heck, it seems to me that most folks adjust just fine to Brawl's very noticeable lag when playing online--the real complaint is when things grind to a halt / you cannot connect.

Brawl plays like boxing gloves injected with peanut butter, anyway.

I just bought the LN52A550 (the 60hz version of the 52" model you linked to), and I like it better than the 120hz screen. 120hz just doesn't look natural, and nothing (besides your PC if you have a nice video card) supports 120hz. My TV has 5ms response, which is about as low as you can go - if you don't run the 120hz TV in game mode (which sucks), it runs at something like 16ms, which is pretty noticeable in games like Guitar Hero. Anyway, 120hz looks fake to me. It looks like slow motion video that's being played in fast forward, if that makes any sense.

You should also be aware that response time is not related to lag. It is confusing terminology, but response time measures how fast a pixel can change colors. A lower response time will thus supposedly cause less blurring. Actual lag is never reported by the manufacturer, from what I've seen.

Some HDTVs are really bad when it comes to lag, especially if you are using an SD input.

Gee guys, thanks for ruining my HDTV experience. Now I know about and see input lag.


...Well, actually, there were a few times when I got annoyed w/ being slightly off in my timing when playing--now I know why! I don't know if the 120Hz feature is contributing to or the reason for additional lag, even when turned off. The game mode gets rid of any perceivable lag at the expense of processing, making the picture a bit raw-looking. I guess that makes sense--rawer picture lag-free versus prettier picture slightly laggy is a fair trade. Different modes for different games.

My TV seems to handle SD / 480p just fine, without any additional lag problems. ....A shame I can't adjust contrast/sharpness/etc when in "Game Mode" on my TV--the setting is close to my desired setting, but, slightly off with Sharpness stuck at 50.

If it's a Samsung there should be 3 or 4 different game mode settings. My mom just bought a 61" DLP and it has 3 settings I believe, and the picture is actually pretty decent.