I noticed that the LCD 1080P panels from westy offer great resolutions and that the Plasmas have much lower resolutions. I would like to connect a computer to the panel so wouldn't it make more sense to go with a higher resolution LCD? I know with a higher resolution you can fit more onto the screen when using a PC so shouldn't his fact apply to plasma and LCD monitors? I mean if I went with the Plasma wouldn't my icons be overly large etc and my games look like total crap compared to the plasma? I am looking at the 42"+47" Westy or 42" Panny.

Well... that depends on what you want to use the panel for. Are you going to be doing spreadsheets or web browsing all day? Or do you want to use it for game playing or watching movies?

Remember, flat panels are best when displaying at their native resolution. Are there video cards that can run games at 1920x1080 and still maintain 60+ fps (without breaking the bank)? I think most cards go under 60fps @ 1600x1200. So it might not make so much sense to buy a 1080p panel only to play it at 1366x768.

So it depends on what you want to use the panel for. LCD would be good for office stuff, since you can get high res, and no fear of burn in. Plasma would be good for movies, maybe gaming for better contrast and less motion blur.

I have a x1900xt so no problems with running high res. I'd like to use my pc, 360, watch TV and movies. So I guess I wanna do it all.

Personally, I prefer not to use a plasma for PC use.

When using a plasma as a PC monitor it will use a lot more power than a LCD (because the APL isn't low), and of course, you run the risk of burn-in.

Not worried about burn in etc. I just want to know because of the resolution difference if the Westy will be able to fit more on the screen or can you force a resolution on the plasma?

Not worried about burn in etc. I just want to know because of the resolution difference if the Westy will be able to fit more on the screen or can you force a resolution on the plasma?

You can indeed "force a resolution" on a plasma. In general it is possible to feed a display resolutions that are higher than its native resolution. Of course which resolutions are accepted varies greatly between models.

Some plasmas will accept 1080p (1920x1080) even though they cannot fully resolve such a resolution. Panasonic plasmas fall into this category. So, you could feed one of these displays a 1920x1080 signal from your computer. What you would see is exactly the same size windows, fonts, icons, etc as you would on a true 42" 1080p display like the Westinghouse LCD. The difference would be that there would be loss in detail since the native resolution of the plasma is only 1024x768.

You can indeed "force a resolution" on a plasma. In general it is possible to feed a display resolutions that are higher than its native resolution. Of course which resolutions are accepted varies greatly between models.

Some plasmas will accept 1080p (1920x1080) even though they cannot fully resolve such a resolution. Panasonic plasmas fall into this category. So, you could feed one of these displays a 1920x1080 signal from your computer. What you would see is exactly the same size windows, fonts, icons, etc as you would on a true 42" 1080p display like the Westinghouse LCD. The difference would be that there would be loss in detail since the native resolution of the plasma is only 1024x768.
Great thats exactly what I wanted to know. Thnx a lot guys! :)

Beware of plasma's with non square pixels if you plan to drive it at native resolution.

Take it from a computer geek...the higher the native resolution, the better. 1920 x 1080 on a 46" LCD is awesome! :cool:

lcd better

The difference would be that there would be loss in detail since the native resolution of the plasma is only 1024x768.

Aka; text will look like crap. If you want to use your PC on your TV, get a 1080P LCD that supports "1:1 pixel mapping" or else you will end up with both the left side (start menu) and the right-side (clock) of the screen "chopped off" by overscan.

Not worrying about burn-in on such an expensive TV seems pretty silly to me, too. I have burn in from playing Halo2 a LOT for the past two years and it sucks; I really feel like I bought a "disposable TV" that I have to "throw away" every 2-3 years...

LCD is the only option for me this time around because I have 3 requirements that necessitate it:
1. No burn-in
2. 1:1 pixel mapping (because I, too want to hook my HTPC to my TV and use it "for everything"(at 1080p is just a bonus) )
3. Glare (I don't live in a cave, and I am sick of scooting down my couch 2 inches every 30 minutes to avoid the glare from the windows; why aren't all plasma screens coated with some sort of anti-glare coating, I have no idea!!)

Aka; text will look like crap.

No doubt - totally agree. But did want to know if it was possible.

LCD is the only option for me this time around because I have 3 requirements that necessitate it:
1. No burn-in
2. 1:1 pixel mapping (because I, too want to hook my HTPC to my TV and use it "for everything"(at 1080p is just a bonus) )
3. Glare (I don't live in a cave, and I am sick of scooting down my couch 2 inches every 30 minutes to avoid the glare from the windows; why aren't all plasma screens coated with some sort of anti-glare coating, I have no idea!!)

Well I've got a plasma now, and use it with my HTPC and also for console gaming. I've had no problems with burn in and my tv can do 1:1 just fine. Glare isn't an issue in my case, but there are anit-glare plasmas too, not just LCDs.

Everyone's experience is different, but in my case the plasma works great. LCDs are nice in that you can get 1080p at a reasonable price today. 1080p plasmas probably won't be under 3k until the end of the year at the earliest.

mkoesel- "Well I've got a plasma now, and use it with my HTPC and also for console gaming. I've had no problems with burn in and my tv can do 1:1 just fine."

I hope you never get burn-in because it really sucks. I'll admit that I probably fall into the "I abuse my TV" category. Because I DO probably play 10 hours of the exact same game every week, I did this for 2 years, and now my Halo2 Healthmeter and ammo meter are burned into my screen. If you rotate what you do on your TV quite a bit, or maybe you switch games, or you just dont' use it as much as me, you hopefullly won't have a problem. But it's one of those things, that you just don't know until it's too late. You see people say "i don't have burn in", a year later; "I don't have burn in", a year later "dang, burn-in sucks!"... I'd rather be safe than sorry; it's a "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me" -type of thing for me. I'd like to think that I learn from my mistakes.

What Plasma do you have that supports 1:1?

Adam

mkoesel- "Well I've got a plasma now, and use it with my HTPC and also for console gaming. I've had no problems with burn in and my tv can do 1:1 just fine."

I hope you never get burn-in because it really sucks. I'll admit that I probably fall into the "I abuse my TV" category. Because I DO probably play 10 hours of the exact same game every week, I did this for 2 years, and now my Halo2 Healthmeter and ammo meter are burned into my screen. If you rotate what you do on your TV quite a bit, or maybe you switch games, or you just dont' use it as much as me, you hopefullly won't have a problem. But it's one of those things, that you just don't know until it's too late. You see people say "i don't have burn in", a year later; "I don't have burn in", a year later "dang, burn-in sucks!"... I'd rather be safe than sorry; it's a "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me" -type of thing for me. I'd like to think that I learn from my mistakes.

What Plasma do you have that supports 1:1?

Adam
Your plasma sounds like its at least a few years old and older gen plasmas are prone to burn in more so than newer plasmas. I believe newer gen plasmas have probably introduced newer technologies to really hamper burn in problems.

[quote]What Plasma do you have that supports 1:1?

Panasonic commercial. It doesn't "lock in" for you though, you have to adjust using overscan controls. The new 1080p models have a mode that automatically locks in with a 1080p source.

Sorry to hear about your burn-in situation. I admit I don't play the exact same game over and over like that and probably never will.

Beware of plasma's with non square pixels if you plan to drive it at native resolution.

Crap! I just filed the corners off mine so that it fit in my cabinet :D

Rap