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Thanks to pixel shift technology, 4K projectors are now affordable. A native 4K projector still costs a fortune. Watching movies in our homes with 4K projectors is possible with several good options. Here’s a look at how these 4K projectors perform in terms of gaming.
You might be having a good configuration for PC gaming, but that’s not enough, your projector also needs to be compatible.
Screen Tearing
In PC Gaming with a standard monitor, you have an option to opt for monitors with G-Sync or FreeSync options that synchronize with the number of frames that are received from your PC/Laptop. However, projectors lack these G-Sync or FreeSync options, which is a big turn-off for serious gamers.
The G-Sync from Nvidia and the FreeSync from AMD help in reducing the screen tearing problem that is usually occurred with gaming.
When you see the screen tearing, it looks as though an image has been ripped horizontally across. Most often, tears are caused by a mismatch between your hardware’s frame rate and your display’s refresh rate.
In simple words, a mismatch between the number of frames your hardware is putting out and the number of frames your display is pulling is most commonly the cause of tears.
The G-Sync and FreeSync monitors are good at controlling this problem. Unfortunately, we are yet to see this revolutionary technology in projectors.
So, competitive games and visually demanding games might not work the best in 4K projectors, or even the Full HD projectors. You better go for the standard gaming monitor with G-Sync or FreeSync.
Input Lag
Now you can find many brands marketing their projectors calling them gaming and sports projector because they have the low input lag.
The input lag is the time a projector takes to display the signal once it is received from a PC/PS4/XBOX etc.
Many manufacturers marker their projectors as low input lag projectors when their input lag is anywhere below 40ms which is fair because input lag below 40ms is usually unnoticeable.
Though some projectors advertise by showing lower input lag numbers, in reality, you need to bring down the resolution to Full HD to achieve that input lag.
Response Time
Response Time is the time it takes for your action to appear on the screen after you press a button on your joystick.
It will be frustrating as the delay in registering the action might cause unanticipated results. If your projector has a high response time you will experience that the actions you perform on the joystick are not reflected immediately.
Many manufacturers use input lag and response time interchangeably, but that is wrong.
Conclusion
Playing games on a projector gives a great experience, but due to the current day limitation, serious gamers may not enjoy the 4K gaming experience. You need to turn down certain features and play on a Full HD to take advantage of lesser input lag.
If you are planning to play constructive games which don’t require a fast-twitch response, you can go for 4K gaming projectors, but if your plan is to play high-end graphics games with a 4K display, a projector might not be a good solution.