Plasma,LCD or LED big TV screen for gaming

For TV's the main rule of gaming is Plasma= big No No, LED is expensive but would most likely be the best. Get something with a good refresh rate... Also stick in the 32-55inch range. I'm no expert but that's what I recommend for gaming...

rule of thumb is up to 40" is 720p or 1360 x 768 resolution, above 40" and you get 1080p or 1920 x 1080 resolution. Some smaller screens do have 1080p but come with a higher price then other screens with same size.

[1] The main problem with gaming on a plasma is screen burn-in, also called image retention. This is caused when an image is left to display for too long on screen & subsequently remains as a "ghost" long after the actual image has changed. This might be a hindrance especially on games which have bright lighting or dense shadow effects.
Other than that, Plasmas could be great for gaming due to their incredible contrast ratios, near zero response times (due to instantaneous plasma shift) & their accurate & vibrant colours.
But their cost prevents them from being a mainstream gaming proposition.

[2] LCD & LED are two cousins really; sharing the same pros & cons. The only thing you could say about LEDs is that they consume lesser power, give slightly better colours & viewing angles.

If money is no issue, then by all means, get a plasma. But beware of the burn-in. You might have to run a screen referesher after every gaming session

Else a good LCD / LED will do the job.

If you really want a big screen for gaming, I suggest you consider a 1080p projector. Or you could go ahead & buy a second 5870, & then hook them up to 6 monitors for Eyefinity. This is by no means cheap, but if you can afford a good plasma or a big LCD/LED, you could afford these as well.

I use a 40" Sony Bravia at 1900x1080 and it's pretty amazing. Can't recommend it enough.

Plasma HDTVs can suffer from burn-ins, but are less likely to do so now then previous generations. They consume more power than LCD (and "LED") HDTVs. They do not suffer as much from ghosting as LCD HDTVs. They also have very wide viewing angles which means colors do not tend to shift the more off angle you are.

LCD HDTVs use less power than Plasma HDTVs. They have the same limitations as LCD monitors meaning some possible ghosting and some color shift the more off angle you are. Very inexpensive LCD HDTVs may use TN panels which have dramatic color shifts the more off-center you are.

"LED" HDTVs are LCD HDTVs that use LED backlight instead of traditional florescent backlight (CCFL). They use less power than CCFL. Do they produce better colors? Not likely, colors are determined by the panel tech and how "white" the backlight is. Cheap HDTV might use cheap CCFLs that are not very white, but that's the gamble you take for going cheap. I'm sure there are also cheap LEDs too.

On a LCD ("LED") HDTV be sure to set the HDTV to game mode or 60Hz. 120Hz/240Hz will create input lag because it refers to video processing not actual 120Hz/240Hz output like a 120Hz PC monitor.

I game on our Panasonic Viera 42" Plasma TV on a regular basis, i dont allow static images to stay for extended periods (like desktop work) but in some games like RTS the game interface stays static so a little bit of a worry.., but I cool it with screen input for a few secs if it has been a long time..

Besides, screen burnt in with Bloody SKY press red button and various channel images on top left and right of screen visible when displaying bright shades of white!!

I am not to worried though, next year is LED 3d TV upgrade time, and 42" is tooo small now its mounted on wall, need bigger, like 60"+..

If you are looking at buying a TV, go LED backlight LCD 1920x1080...

Samsung make some nice screens as well as LG

LED is LCD

Buy an LED LCD, makes sure its 1920x1080, bigger than 32" your not gonna want to sit too close.

That said, DO NOT get one of those super think screens, get an aquos or something with an LED array behind the screen, lights the screen more evenly ^_^

First of the whole 720 vs 1080 based on screen size alone is bunk. The real question as far as resolution you should be asking is 1) How far will you be sitting from the display and 2) how big of a display do you want / can you get.

I have a 50'' 720 Pio plasma and from the distance I sit (roughly 9 feet away, give or take a foot) you wouldn't be able to tell the difference from 720 vs 1080. I notice motion blur from the older LCD's a lot more than I ever noticed resolution differences. Ideally they say that if you are more than 4 feet from 40'' and under and 6 feet for 50'' you probably won't notice a difference. Although it looks like nowadays most displays are 1080.

As far as burn in, yeah there's some risk, you just have to vary things. In all honesty I'm more afraid of burn-in from DVD / Blu-Ray disc menus than I am from games...even FPS that have static HUDs usually have screen variances every minute or so.

However, LCD's definitely look better to me nowadays and the weight difference is huge. My Pio wieghs somewhere around 90lbs...you can get LCD's the same size at less than half the weight.

it's not for the 720p or 1080p, it's the resolution he will run at, like 1360 x 768 or 1920 x 1080, if he want's the bigger resolution then looking for a 1080p screen is easier then looking at all screens and checking each on for resolution size. 99% of 1080p screens run at 1920 x 1080, 99% of 720p screens run at 1360 x 768, so I was giving the quick and easiest way to pick a screen, that's it. As for which kind and size, well that's up to you, I own 2 Sony Bravia LCD TV @ 40" and 46", plus a Sharp Aquos 42", all 1080p or 1920 x 1080 resolution. My 32" Samsung is 1360 x 768 and is 720p. Of all of them, the sharp has crisper colors then the rest, but I love my Sony 40" better then all with it's no reflective, 178 degree viewing, 120Hz speed matte finish, everything is nice, and HD is much nicer on the Sony's, samsung is nice, but not as good as the others. A consumer report about LCD's says that up to 55" Sony XBR is the best for all around quality, then says Sharp, followed by samsung/Lg...But above 55" they say Samsung has best quality. Now I don't know if the guys doing the report are reputable but it was in Popular electronics magazine and I believe several online reorts about this, can't confirm it's true though. Just read the articles, but I game on the Sony's and WOW, it's amazing with NO burn in image.

I gotcha...considering that my el cheapo freebie 19'' monitor runs at 1280 x 1024 I assumed that the resolution would not be too much of an issue as far as what TS can run. In all honesty with his specs he *should* be able to run 1080 without an issue IMHO.

That said, if he doesn't need 1080 based on seating distance, since you will almost always sit closer to a monitor than you will a TV I was more concerned with the fact that he would be wasting money to specifically get a 1080 over a 720.

There are two major problems with all non-CRT display technologies, especially on modern TV's:

1: Pixel Response Time: Pixels take a specific time to change from one state to another. If this takes too long, you will see a trailing image as part of the screen will update faster then other parts of the screen. (Commonly referred to as "ghosting"). Myself, I avoid all moniters where this value is listed above 5ms, and most current TV's have values below 3ms, so this is not much of an issue.

2: Input Lag: Due to internal post-processing (This is ESPECIALLY true for TV's), there will be a delay prior to an image being displayed on the screen. Some TV's do horrendous in this category (I've seen 2010 LED models from LG and Samsung with measured Input Lag of over 100ms...in Game Mode!), and is quite noticable when playing games.

Also note: all "120 Hz" TV's use interpolation, which adds even more delay. And none of them can actually accept a 120Hz input signal...

I've been going through the process of getting a new TV for gaming, and frankly, only the Sony Bravia series fit my needs (In particular, the Sony KDL-40HX800) in regards to input lag...

As for Plasema vs LED: LED's are MUCH better with blacks then their LCD backlit cousins, which takes away Plama's primary advantage. And throw in power consumption, and LED's end up far cheaper to operate over the long run.

If your looking for a new TV, I HIGHLY recommend going to www.avsforum.com and asking the experts there.

From What I have Done with Demo-Sales Rep. I think that Panasonic is the Best For Plasma Due to its Sub-Field 600hz Drive Access Time is under 1MSper second. Orbit mode helps From images burned in when gaming because the screen shifts constantly similar to refreshing. Also More of Pansonic's Phospher have gone from a powder to more of a liquid crystal type substance similar to LCD's. Best Blacks due to phospers not used due not emit as much light when brightness isn't needed, unlike some lcd'swhich have their backlighting constantly on giving more darker vibes for color.

Sharp Aquos Viper Gaming Lcd Looks pretty cool to me for gaming with Viper Fast gaming mode. I have sold older Sharp Aquos that looked good for the price-had a freeze pause button-quick shoot zoom in mode at 4ms per second & 6 ms per second out of zoom mode. Extra Circuitry like crimson red or
dark green helps enhance dark colors vs. plasma for gaming. Check out to see if extra circuits are included besides r-g-b.

exactly jamus, thank you. wasn't trying to be sarcastic or anything, I have learned in my many years of tech support in the DSL world and also in repair world that the simplest explanation is the easiest for everyone, LOL. I am a very technical person and everyone I dealt with said I was speaking a whole new language, so I now try to simplify knowing not everyone has 20+ years experience with PC's.

Yeah man...all of my experience comes at the hobbist level, going back to programming in BASIC and ML when I was a kid (I said this before...you want to see the definition of frustration, sit an 8 yr old or so down at a PC and have him program in ML).

Doesn't It had orbit mode to help image shift for no image burn ins? Plus newer one has more crystaline based phospors similar to lcd rather than a powdery grain material? What year is your gear from panasonic?

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey