Just bought a new LG55" 120HZ LED Tv. It's great for tv and movies, but when I starting playing Skyrim I get this annoying pixelation effect when I make fast movements. I had a LG 32" before this and never had this problem. Is this effect some kind of motion blur? Is this common on HD tvs, or did I just get a crappy tv. Please bear in mind that I am not that tech savvy.

I'm assuming you're playing on a console. How is it plugged into the TV?

HDMI cord.

Hrm...is there an HDMI input on the TV that's specifically marked "Game" or "Console" or "PC"? Sometimes one of the HDMI inputs is set up to bypass some of the post-processing stuff the TV does because it can cause issues with lag and screen responsiveness.

If not, it's possible that the LCD panel in your new TV just isn't as responsive as the one in your old TV. That's not uncommon in larger LCD panels...especially the more reasonably-priced ones.

With 120HZ you should see nothing but crisp clear high fps. That's what I see on my 52 inch 120 hz.

Isn't it because, like... you're on the console?

Both HDMI ports are the same. Do you think a different brand would be better? Seems it would be a big hassle to exchange though.

Common misconception...that has nothing to do with the 120Hz refresh capability. Most input sources are 60Hz sources unless they're outputting for 3-D glasses. When watching non-3-D TV, DVD, or Blu-Ray the only way to utilize that 120Hz refresh rate is by enabling frame interpolation post-processing in the TV (which IMO is only good for sports...TV shows and movies look like crap with frame interpolation turned on). Most console games are frame-locked to 30fps, so the 60Hz limitation should be having absolutely no effect on framerates.

Panel response time actually can make a difference in visual quality when things are moving quickly in the video, but that has nothing to do with the refresh rate. Having the console framerate drop below 30fps can also cause visual problems (frame tearing) because it breaks the vertical sync with the display, but that's an issue with the game/console itself rather than the TV.

If it's the fault of the LCD response time then your only recourse would be to return the TV, unfortunately. In the settings for the TV is there a "Game Mode" setting? This could be a global setting or it could be on a per-input basis. If not you could check to see if "TruMotion" (LG's name for frame interpolation post-processing) is enabled and see if you can try turning it off.

Just to be sure..your console is set to display in 1080p, correct? It may have defaulted back, or been on 720p instead. That blurry/afterimage effect is usually caused by running in a lower resolution and/or "i", as I play PS2 games on my 26" and unless the game has a 480"p" setting, I get that effect. I'd imagine the bigger the screen, the worse that could get. I remember back when I had a 360, when I switched over to 1080i - the highest my TV can go - for Oblivion, the image looked more crisp, but I got that blur effect plus an input delay. My TV was designed specifically to run best at 720p, so be sure to check your console settings and confirm you're running what the TV needs.

Isn't 720p the resolution that the Xbox 360 renders at? I don't think the 360 has a native 1080p mode...I think it's up-scaled.

I saw a setting in the 360's visual options for 1080p, but it was grayed out for me. Now that I think on it, you may be right in that regard. I'm far from an expert and only have my personal experiences to go on. The OP's screen seems rather large for 720 res, though, if you ask me. I personally wouldn't get anything bigger than a 32" for a console, especially if the 360 can only render as high as 720.

Just as a test, OP..if you're on a 360 and running in 1080, try downscaling to 720 and seeing how it runs for you. I'm curious to see what happens. If you're already at that, then nevermind.

Tried several settings on my xbox, but still get same results. Tv doesn't seem to have a game mode, or true motion either.

No game on console goes over 30 FPS.

Hmm...that's all I got, unfortunately. It's possible that there's something else going on, but it's also possible that the LCD panel in your TV just isn't great for gaming due to slow response time. Like I said, this isn't uncommon in large LCD TVs toward the lower-end of the price range. Fast LCD panels with good viewing angles and color reproduction are obviously more expensive, and that tends to grow exponentially with the panel size. A 55" LCD with good contrast, color, and response costs a pretty good chunk of change. Depending on your price range you might need to go to a smaller size to get the quality you're looking for. You might also consider a plasma TV...they have drawbacks of their own, but typically don't have response time issues even in the lower pricing tiers.

That's my understanding as well. You might get some free anti-aliasing out of the up-scaling process, but it's still rendering at 720p.

The 360 is native 720p. You can set it to 1080p if your television supports it, but the games will only be upscaled and the difference will be pretty marginal.

You must be wrong simply due to the fact that when I use my Xbox on my 32 inch with 60hz, then on my 52 inch with double the refresh rate, the difference is so noticeable it's like I'm playing a new game. Your "facts" be damned, no offense, but my entire family has commented on the difference. It's there, not anyone's imagination.

This is very odd. What exactly is the name of the TV model so we can look in the online manual for the settings?

That happens because the TV guess the inbetween frames by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_interpolation, the input signal is still 60Hz, and then the TV do the guessing for the other missing 60Hz. There are many different brand names for this. LG use TruMotion, Samsung use Auto Motion Plus and Clear Motion Rate, Sony use MotionFlow and so on. However, this feature is often not seen as a good thing for as the TV then show frames that doesn't exist and sometimes to a very poor job at guessing the frames (which very well could be the issue here), many people turn off this interpolation feature right away. Especially those who want a "pure" viewing experience without guessed frames.

Well it makes Skyrim look like its running at 60 fps, and it's phenomenal.