Hey guys. Im a long time lurker and respect many of your opinions. I'm buying a new tv next month and am trying to decide between the Samsung LN52b750 and the Samsung PN50b860. Which one would you guys reccomend for primarily gaming on my PS3 and 360 and watching blu rays? Thanks in advance!

the 860. plasma FTW!

i have the 58B560 Samsung and i really like it. a great display.

the 860. plasma FTW!

i have the 58B560 Samsung and i really like it. a great display.

So theres no lag or IR problems with plasma? I've only owned an LCD and DLP but I'm def. leaning more towards plasma for better blacks and PQ. I was just worried about gaming and I heard something about "phosphor lag". Thanks for your input!

So theres no lag or IR problems with plasma? I've only owned an LCD and DLP but I'm def. leaning more towards plasma for better blacks and PQ. I was just worried about gaming and I heard something about "phosphor lag". Thanks for your input!

older plasma tv's suffered from phosphor lag/ghosting and IR. i have never seen any phosphor lag or any kind of lag for that matter on this tv. i play lots of video games on it and have no issues. it plays just like the HD CRT it replaced, just bigger and with no overscan issues. i see very light IR at times, but it goes away within a couple of minutes. IR on newer plasma's is really a non issue. you may see it at times but it will go right away.

So theres no lag or IR problems with plasma? I've only owned an LCD and DLP but I'm def. leaning more towards plasma for better blacks and PQ. I was just worried about gaming and I heard something about "phosphor lag". Thanks for your input!

I have a 2 year old Panasonic Plasma and have zero problems gaming even 8 hours at a time. Remember that 99% of IR is temporary and goes away in 5 minutes.

If you're going to be smart and get a plasma, be smart and get a Panasonic or Pioneer.

LCD Sammy FTW!

If you're going to be smart and get a plasma, be smart and get a Panasonic or Pioneer.

nothin wrong with Samsung. the new 09 B series are great, they made major improvements this year. i'll take Samsungs more accurate colors anyday.

If you're going to be smart and get a plasma, be smart and get a Panasonic or Pioneer.

From my experience I'd have to agree with this statement.

Pioneer and Panny make exceptional plasmas that IMHO exceed the competition well conversely Sammy/Sony excel in LCD/LED displays. Again just my 2-cents.

But if I had to pack from the two...I'd have to go with the Samsung LN52B750.

nothin wrong with Samsung. the new 09 B series are great, they made major improvements this year. i'll take Samsungs more accurate colors anyday.

Quite true as well, Samsung has improved the B series over previous years...honestly, either display would be great for needs.

nothin wrong with Samsung. the new 09 B series are great, they made major improvements this year. i'll take Samsungs more accurate colors anyday.
More accurate colors? According to who?

More accurate colors? According to who?

according to every professional review i have ever read comparing panny's to sammy's. they all say Samsungs have better colors.

I would get a plasma before an lcd.

If you are debating brands (doesn't look like you are), I would get a Panasonic (or Pioneer if you have the $$ and ability to find one).

just look at the 2 tv's and pick the one that looks better to you... plasma v. lcd is all a preference anyway, you can't go wrong with either as long as you are satisfied with the picture

I see phosphor trails on ALL plasma HDTVs. If I didn't then I would totally own Plasma. As is though, I'm a Sammy LCD man instead.

If you don't see trails then GO FOR IT!

FWIW, I had a TERRIBLE experience with a Samsung plamsa a couple of years ago (5054 series) as it was plauged by a really bad case of image retention and even permanent burn-in. I don't know how their current models are but based on what I went thru, I'd opt for their LCD or a Panasonic plasma instead.

Thanks for all of your responses!

I have a Sammy LCD (the 71 which is similar to the 750 you are looking at). I love it. That said, if you are swaying toward plasma, I'd get a Panny. I spent many hours looking at sets in the store and was going to walk out with a Panny 50", but they were out of stock and I was jonesing for a new TV so I got the Sammy. I originally went into the store wanting to get a Sammy LCD... I'm a Sammy fan, but the Panny was a better plasma than the Sammys I saw in the store.

Avoid that Sammy for gaming, the input lag on Samsung LCDs is awful. (so many games are unplayable) I sent my 52a750 120hz LCD back for that and many other reasons, I'll be getting a Panasonic g10 Plasma once my card is credited back.

My LNT4671f is pretty much exactly the same TV as the 750, and I do not experience lag.

I will say a plasma is a better set for gaming than an LCD if IR is not a concern. I have seen IR on my friend's brand new Sammy plasma after playing a game for a long time. It goes away (not burn-in) but it does occur.

My LNT4671f is pretty much exactly the same TV as the 750, and I do not experience lag.

I will say a plasma is a better set for gaming than an LCD if IR is not a concern. I have seen IR on my friend's brand new Sammy plasma after playing a game for a long time. It goes away (not burn-in) but it does occur.

My 52a750 had about 70ms of lag on movie mode with AMP off (over 100ms of lag with AMP on at any level) Killzone 2 is completely unplayable (thanks to the built in lag combined with the lag of the display), as is any music game without the lag compensation activated. (Panasonic plasma sets don't need the lag compensation since they have very minimal lag, usually only 16ms at most. All of this is well documented in various lag threads spread throughout the forums.

Another happy Sammy LCD man here (A650, no perceivable lag in game mode, play lots of music-rhythm games), but I would agree with the "pick the one that looks best to you" posts.

I went with LCD because of brightness and sharpness, but you might like plasma for black-levels and smoothness.

it is also worth noting that plasmas are power hogs, so if you are sensitive to electric bills, plasmas are not for you. I think a 50" class is going to use 400W or so. An LCD isn't a whole lot better, but a LED LCD would be.

for power efficiency, DLP and LCOS are best.

Power consumption/price is overblown, especially if you don't watch on vivid/dynamic (which no one with eye-sight should anyway). Plasma's generally do a little worse, but it's not the huge amount of money people may think.

http://reviews.cnet.com/green-tech/tv-consumption-chart/?tag=contentMain;contentAux

plasma's use more power the brighter the image is. if you have it properly setup it won't be that bad. how often is the image really that bright? most tv shows or movies aren't overly bright.

lcd's use the same power no matter what image is being displayed.

the wattage listing you'll see in the specs is MAX. average consumption on a plasma should be nowhere near max.

Power consumption/price is overblown, especially if you don't watch on vivid/dynamic (which no one with eye-sight should anyway). Plasma's generally do a little worse, but it's not the huge amount of money people may think.

http://reviews.cnet.com/green-tech/tv-consumption-chart/?tag=contentMain;contentAux

I completely agree with you on the power consumption/price being overblown. However looking through that chart quickly, I noticed that the panny 50 800u costs over $100/yr while the 58" 800u costs only $42/yr. Is that an error or is there some significantly different tech in the exact same model line? Just found that interesting. So as not to hijack the thread, I suggest a panny/pio plasma. Got a panny 42" plasma and it worked great for gaming until i got my fp set up in the basement. Now there's a trip, playing resistance 2 or halo 3 with a couple friends and everyone's basically got a 42" or bigger screen in the same room. LOVE IT!!

The OP should check the results of the HDTV Shootout that occurred this past weekend.

The champ by a mile is the Pioneer KRP-500M. And these are Industry experts (ISF Calibrators) looking at ISF calibrated sets.

I say plasmas for the win. Plus you get an incredible (Best TV out there) Pioneer for an inexpensive price.

The OP should check the results of the HDTV Shootout that occurred this past weekend.

The champ by a mile is the Pioneer KRP-500M. And these are Industry experts (ISF Calibrators) looking at ISF calibrated sets.

I say plasmas for the win. Plus you get an incredible (Best TV out there) Pioneer for an inexpensive price.

hmmmm... I'm sure the KRP-500M is the best picture, and I would trust the calibrators... but I'm wondering how 720p PS3 games are on this 1080p display-only set? :confused:

I would love to try out that Pioneer, but without a tuner or speakers and still over $2000, it sounds like it's designed to fit into a good pre-existing system and might not be the best choice for everyone.

hmmmm... I'm sure the KRP-500M is the best picture, and I would trust the calibrators... but I'm wondering how 720p PS3 games are on this 1080p display-only set? :confused:

I would love to try out that Pioneer, but without a tuner or speakers it sounds like it's designed to fit into a good pre-existing system and might not be the best choice for everyone.

Valid point on the later statement. But why would there be any problems on the with 720p games. All Plasmas and all LCDs that are 1080p are fixed pixel displays. It all takes the 720p and upconverts it to 1080p to be displayed.

What are you getting at?

Valid point on the later statement. But why would there be any problems on the with 720p games. All Plasmas and all LCDs that are 1080p are fixed pixel displays. It all takes the 720p and upconverts it to 1080p to be displayed.

What are you getting at?

You answered what I was getting out (scaling), thanks.

You answered what I was getting out (scaling), thanks.

Well your use of the underlined 1080p "display only" set makes it sound like all the TVs you guys mention are anything but 1080p only or there would be an issue to this particular TV. Every and all 1080p sets are going to have scaling and I'm sure everyone knows that already.

Higher end TVs most often than not scale better than their low cost counterparts. But one has to look at it first.

But I'll say scaling of HD content is one of the strengths of this set. I should know I own it. ;) It's better than the Samsung DLP I owned two years back. And that was excellent in it's own right.

Well your use of the underlined 1080p "display only" set makes it sound like all the TVs you guys mention are anything but 1080p only or there would be an issue to this particular TV.

Sorry for the confusion -- I was trying to condense a question (how does it scale) and an important consideration (lack of tuner and speakers) into one sentence.

I probably would have been clearer if I had made the two points separately. :o

Sorry for the confusion -- I was trying to condense a question (how does it scale) and an important consideration (lack of tuner and speakers) into one sentence.

I probably would have been clearer if I had made the two points separately. :o

Not a problem. And your right the more important thing is that it doesn't have the tuner or speakers. I would go out on a limb and say that not having speakers or a stand is more important that the tuner. Everything nowadays uses some digital box unless someone wants to get free locals and thats it.

I threw mine on the wall and got the speakers on eBay of $25. :D

Not a problem. And your right the more important thing is that it doesn't have the tuner or speakers. I would go out on a limb and say that not having speakers or a stand is more important that the tuner. Everything nowadays uses some digital box unless someone wants to get free locals and thats it.

I threw mine on the wall and got the speakers on eBay of $25. :D

So, I found a great deal on the KRP 500 and was wondering how it handles gaming for ps3 and 360. Any phosphor trailing, IR, odd frames, etc? Thanks a lot!

If I weren't trying to purchase a house right now, I would buy this in a heart beat; free $$ for a blu-ray player or lumix digital camera:

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-VIERA-TC-P54G10-54-Inch-Plasma/dp/B00267PY6K/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1246755392&sr=1-4

I've heavily gamed on my Panasonic plasma and a Samsung plasma, and there are minor phosphor trails that diminish to nothing after some time. There was no noticeable lag on either (I do more fps than music beat games though). The Pioneer would be the same if not better probably...they don't seem to make many mistakes. My Panasonic has little to no IR (it gets better and better as it ages), the Samsung did get heavier IR and I eventually got rid of it. From what I've read, the Pioneer is even better than Panasonic with IR, so you won't get much at all, and it would leave rapidly.