Need help on which HDTV to buy for gaming

abes24

I am currently in the market for a new HDTV, I am mainly going to use it for gaming and watching sports. I have been looking around and I really don't know if I should get a plasma or an LCD and what brand? If anyone could help me out it would be much appreciated

Nexgenrulz

I personally would steer clear of plasmas. Most of the guys here will disagree, but I had one and they're a big pain in the ass (IMO). I don't have time to 'break in' a tv. I prefer LCD. I'm also biased towrds Sony. I have 3 Sony LCD's which all work flawlessly. This is my latest purchase.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...52921666077655

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abes24

looks like a nice tv and thanks for the advice, so why did you have problems with ur plasma?

DreGun

I am biased toward LCD, but the reason you don't see all the MHz ratings on Plasma is because they refresh FAR faster than any LCD. How big of a TV are you looking to purchase?

Is it in a dark room, or is there a lot of natural light?

abes24

somewhere in the range of 40 to 50 inch and its going to be in the garage , thats where I do all my gaming and watching sports , I guess I would say the lighting is fair at best

Nexgenrulz

Bought a 42" Samsung plasma back in '06. Wasn't educated on the 'break in' period for a plasma. Bottom line, had nothing but screen burn in that ultimatley burned my ass! I sold it to a buddy after 6 months and bought a Sony. Never looked back.

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KEEBS1984

I'm gonna have to agree with Nexgen here (). Plasmas just aren't worth the effort, imo. Also they are huge energy hogs compared to LCDs. So if your electricity bill matters to you at all, you may want to steer clear.

Like Nexgen said, Sony's are top of the line LCD TVs. I think the only better brand would be Pioneer. If you got the money, a Sony is well worth it.

That said Samsung, LG (my current TV), and Toshiba all make fine models are usually cost less than the equivalent Sony. It's my opinion that you can't really go wrong with any of these brands.

Hope this helps.

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abes24

ive heard that the burn factor technology on plasmas is greatly improved now days but I could be wrong, ive heard pros and cons to each one, so its kinda confusing

Loves2Watch

Plasma technology has greatly improved from 4 years ago.

1. In a room with average and/or low ambient light, plasma gives a much deeper black level which means more saturated colors and detail in the picture. Set up properly you will see a sharper and more 3-D looking image because plasma has more dynamic gray scale range (depth). More steps in tonal range as the difference between black and white is greater. A plasma TV is brighter than any CRT (tube) TV so the brightness issue many talk about is a moot point.

2. Plasma's have much better off axis viewing picture quality as opposed to LCD that degrades quickly when viewed from the side, above/below the screen.

3. Plasma delivers far better color accuracy as it can render deeper, richer colors and can blend tones better than LCDs and generates a larger color pallet.

4. Plasma TV's do not suffer from motion blur as they have 600 Hz sub-fields so the image can maintain its quality longer than LCDs which degrade immediately after being charged. (that is when the image signal is sent to the panel). The response time of a plasma display is measured in microseconds rather than milliseconds, that is at least 1000 times faster, hence another reason for no motion blur/smear.

5. In larger display sizes, plasma TV's cost less, sometimes much less yet still deliver a better picture for all of the above mentioned reasons.

6. Plasma TV's look more like your old CRT display rather than a computer monitor.

7. Plasma TV's have long life, most are rated at a 60,000 hour half life. Panasonic projects their plasma TV's will last at least 100,000 hours.

8. The myths surrounding plasma TV's like the gas has to be recharged, they have short lifespans, they are power hogs, they burn in easily and the like are just that, myths and are in fact not true at all.

9. Plasma TV's are much, much better for gaming due to the rapid response times, better color gamut, better back levels and shadow detail.

10.Plasma TV's have 1080 lines of moving resolution. Let's see a LCD display do that.

So there you have it – Plasma is superior in black levels, color saturation, shadow detail, screen uniformity, off axis viewing, motion resolution(full 1080), color depth, and in reproducing everything as it was intended to be seen.. Don't let the bright, high intensity lighting in the stores fool you into thinking that LCD panels look better, if you had that type of lighting in your home they would, but no one does. Besides, having that bright ambient light makes the shadow detail and black levels suffer. Once in your home though, the picture becomes clear, plasma excels where LCD fails. If you are replacing a CRT display with a new TV then plasma will deliver everything you are used to from your CRT display only much, much better.

A gamers delight...

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marcallo

The SECOND I saw L2W come into this forum for this topic I knew what his answer was going to be. i probably agree, but I have a 46" Samsung A650 and it works just fine for everything I do. I have trouble with the lighting in my viewing area though. Lots of ambient during the day so LCD was the better choice. If you have FULL control over the lighting and are willing to do the burn in time then a plasma is PROBABLY better.

You might wanna post in the actual flat panel area the gamers here are all going to steer you towards LCD for the most part. The Flat Panel guys are all going to say Plasma.

abes24

Thanks keebs I went to best buy the other night and to me the LCD picture quality looked alot brighter than the plasma

abes24

so you have to break in a plasma ive heard, what's that all about? And ive heard most people say plasma is better for gaming, but what about sports?

Bigloww

All I can say is I have both LCD and Plasma for many years and love both. But I have been gaming on my plasma for over 4 years now and it is better. Plasma is the choice for gaming IMO. Wih your garage being a man cave, it will fit quite well with lighing as well.

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abes24

thanks bigglow any suggetions on brands? Ive heard panasonic alot, I went to best buy the other day and I was blown away by an insignia plasma I saw, even thought havent heard much about that brand what so ever

Bigloww

Insignia..... Hmm, not my brand of choice. It is a Best Buy bargin store brand and low tier. Not horrible and they are nicely priced, just not what I would recommend. Panasonic would be what I would recommend. Their new models should be hitting the shelves in a week or 2 I think. Samsung also makes very good plasma and worth a look..


But stores are clearing out last years models to make room for the new sets. So you can find some good deals if you are on a strict budget..

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Panasoni...asma&cp=1&lp=3


Oh and plasma + fast action sports = ...

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