LCD or Plasma (mainly for gaming)

minibbb

Hi

I bought an LG LED tv last week but im getting rid as the input lag is pretty poor and I want the TV for gaming use as well as watching sky

Ive found a nice looking Panasonic Plasma for only £450 for a 1080p 42 inch model. Would this be a good choice or should I go for a better LCD?

Never had a plasma before but have heard the screens are very shiny, not sure if this is a bad thing!

Any opinions would be great!

Richie(UK)

Hi,

I have a Sony LCD that is used for watching TV and also for PS3/Wii. My brother-in-law has a Panasonic plasma that is used for the same purpose. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses but we're both happy with our respective sets because they are the ones that we decided upon after our review processes.

Look at the reviews in the home cinema type magazines to get an idea of the 'best buy' and 'recommended' models. Then go to a retail outlet and ask to compare the TVs side by side (its quite difficult to accurately compare TVs if you have to walk to the other side of the store to see the comparable set(s) - you want to be able to see the same display side by side). You may even wish to take in a favourite Blu-ray or DVD to test on the prospective purchases. It probably won't make you very popular but if they want the sale they ought to be willing to put in the effort.

Ultimately its then a matter of picking the TV that you prefer looking at (and listening to).

jimtrent

i would go for an LCD, my friend has a plasma (samsung) and he has accumulated a few different burn points after having played pro evo/fifa (as the icons are in the bottom left hand corner) not a massive problem, but it is noticeable when watching normal tv.
You could try an LED !

BM-AK

Yup, Plasma screens are notorious for screen burn. Especially if you regularly pause a game and go off.

A high end LCD would probably be a safer option I'd say.

Hammyman

BM-AK wrote: »

Yup, Plasma screens are notorious for screen burn.

..a decade ago.

If you buy a cheap one it'll have an old type panel. The newer ones have things built in to make this virtually non-existent.

aliEnRIK

Goto HDTVTEST
Its the only place I know of where they test input lag
Plasmas used to have the lowest input lag, but 'last' years (not the newest) panasonic plasmas had awful input lag, so be careful which model you buy

minibbb

Thanks for all the replies!:)

I think Ive decided to give plasma a go, the salesman in Comet has assured me that if I dont get on with it I can swap it for something else within 28, a refreshing example of customer service which is rare to find these days.

Ive based this decision on hopefully having a low level of input lag and also good value for money. If it turns out to be a lemon ill just have to cough up more money for a better LCD!!

Thanks again

Phils_debt

Ive had my panasonic plasma now 3 years and havnt got any screen burn and the kids leave it on pause for ages
Comparing blackops on plasma and lcd as my brother has a samsung lcd,i think the plasma wins hands down

aliEnRIK

Phils_debt wrote: »

Ive had my panasonic plasma now 3 years and havnt got any screen burn and the kids leave it on pause for ages
Comparing blackops on plasma and lcd as my brother has a samsung lcd,i think the plasma wins hands down

You cant possibly compare ONE LCD against ONE plasma and say for certain that will always be the case with every LCD and Plasma. They all work differenty. Even some of the same models have exhibited differences

As it stands, samsungs in particular have had some AWFUL input lag up until about a year and half ago when they flipped it on its head and came out with one of the lowest input lag figures for any tv

almillar

One person has actually seen screen burn on this thread, doesn't mention how long a static image was on the screen, or how old the screen is.
Modern plasmas simply do not suffer from screen burn any more than CRTs (big glass tube!) do - have you ever wrecked one of those?
Yes, the screens are shiny, they're made of glass. They will reflect stuff. That's the same for any glossy screen, like maybe the laptop you're using now, or also some LCDs. If you've got a matte screen and put it in the same place, you'll not get a reflection, just a big bright blob, so I don't see why people think plasma is a problem here - pub folklore I reckon.

aliEnRIK

almillar wrote: »

Modern plasmas simply do not suffer from screen burn any more than CRTs (big glass tube!) do - have you ever wrecked one of those?

Some very old machines at work have CRT screens, and the screen burn on them is terrible
Though of course, the amount of time the screen was static could have run into months at some points