I currently have a an opportunity to get a Panasonic Plasma 50". However, I'm not sure if it will work well with games (xbox 360 and PS3).
Anyone here on the forum play games on a plasma? Panasonic model? I understand the issue about burn-in (or is that moot?) as i don't leave game machine on and walk away for hour at a time.
The model I am looking at is a Panasonic TH-50PZ750U. It supposedly has great black levels but I can't watch a demo that uses a game machine (too bad stores don't give you all the options to watch to see what you will enjoy on it..)
TIA.

a lot of folks around here game on plasmas for hours and hours at a time with no problems, myself included.

2 of my friends have the 50" panasonic, and it's a spectacular display for gaming (and everything else, too).

good luck with the purchase.

What he said :)

The only time I would say to not get a plasma is if you are using it as a game display only (no movies or TV at all) and you plan to play 1 single game day in and day out for hours at a time. If you watch tv and movies on it and mix up what games you play, burn in will not be an issue and you will get about the best picture quality you can get for gaming.

Thanks for the replies, I've been wondering about this as well. Just to add, I've not seen very many 1080p Plasma sets, does this matter? At BB, there is a Panasonic plasma that's very reasonably priced but it does not say 1080p.

Well I'm gaming on a 42" Legend (Samsung panel) I got from the Brick up here in Canada. I did the 200hr break in period... Gaming heaven.. I love it. No burn-in at all. So I'm sure a top notch Panny would be way better then my budget one.

Nah 720p is all you need very few games actually support 1080p anyway they are all mostly 720p so no need to get higher res than that right now plus 1080p sets are a lot of extra money.

th-42px60u panasonic plasma owner here-play games for hours and no problems. Make sure you break it in first and you won't have any problems.

Thanks for the replies, I've been wondering about this as well. Just to add, I've not seen very many 1080p Plasma sets, does this matter?

I just got a 42" (700U) 1080p Panasonic Plasma (1800 shipped). Does 1080p matter? Yes. Here is why I think so:

Some games do support 1080i and more games will as time progresses. Also 1080i is a broadcast standard, so if you have only a 720p television you won't see the extra res. Upscaled content looks better in general anyway. Heck even 480p looks better upscaled to 1080p.

Of course HDTV and movies are as important to me as games.

People used to talk 720p vs 1080i and how 720p was better cause it wasn't interlaced. Well...1080p takes that away.

A 1080p set will do 720 fine. About the only thing 720 has going for it is price now.

Unless you are sit very close to the screen (less than 5 feet) you cannot see the difference btwn 720 and 1080 on screens less than 50".

So for less than 50" you will see everything that there is to see on a 720p as long as you are not sitting ultra close. You don't need to worry about not seeing the extra resolution.

Plasma is second only to CRT for gaming. It has no perceptible lag or ghosting. Newer models have very little risk for burn in.

Panny plasma owner here. Love it. 42". I also have a front projector at 110" and an 1080p LCD from Dell. The Plasma is hands down the best picture.

You need to break it in propery. And you WILL see image retention ( not burn in) the first few hundred hours. Games with Huds or scoreboards, driving games with speedo's etc will leave image retention that you will notice after hours of gaming with the same game. Mix it up, watch some tv every now and then, you'll be fine. remember image retention goes away once you start watching something else. Bad image retention, often confused with image burn in, will take days of watching other things to go away so do not panic if you see it.

Otherwise, there is simply nothing better for gaming then a plasma. Best picture around PERIOD.

Thanks all for your tips, suggestions and input!

I'm getting a deal on a Panny th-50pz750U. I currently have a Sammy DLP LED (56") and that 6" makes a big difference in playing too close (10'). I need to go smaller, and would like more contrast (black levels) during movie.

:)

Unless you are sit very close to the screen (less than 5 feet) you cannot see the difference btwn 720 and 1080 on screens less than 50".

So for less than 50" you will see everything that there is to see on a 720p as long as you are not sitting ultra close. You don't need to worry about not seeing the extra resolution.

Thats odd. I swear I can see a difference between 1920x1080 & 1280x720 even on my 20" CRT monitor from many feet away. I'd think 42" you could see a difference from futher than 5 feet out. I need to hook up my PC to the plasma and play with some different res settings.

50" panny plasmite gamer here.

No burn-in, LOTS of hours of gaming and hd plasma goodness!! :D

42" Pioneer 940 Elite - working great with my Xbox 360.

I have a 42" Panasonic. I have to admit that I have seen burn-in on mine, but only from playing Guitar Hero (that black/white score bar on the left really does it). The retained image stayed until I ran my break-in DVD for around 24 hours straight, in torch mode. Now I'm a little more careful - just stretch the image sometimes (luckily this doesn't really hamper playing GH2) and vary up the content a little more.

I love the picture on my Panny - just be smart about how you use it and it should be fine.

I have a 42" Vizio plasma. A few times I've gotten little squares on my screen after playing Lumines for many hours (image retention). It really freaked me out, but it went away. I haven't had the problem lately. Pannys are obviously better quality than Vizio.

In the plasma v. LCD camp, I definitely go for plasma. In general, I find the picture to be much more vivid on plasma despite the higher resolution you can get on LCD. My father-in-law has a 42" Bravia, and while it's a great display, I still find that plasma has much more of a wow factor. My cousin has a 42" Panny and I think it is tough to beat.

50" Panny here. Didn't bother with break-in. Just vary your content the first couple hundred hours. After that, you're golden.

The first couple of weeks, I'd follow a gaming session with 15 minutes of so of Discovery HD. Had minor IR from GOW and RB6:V that would quickly fade w/i minutes.

Thats odd. I swear I can see a difference between 1920x1080 & 1280x720 even on my 20" CRT monitor from many feet away. I'd think 42" you could see a difference from futher than 5 feet out. I need to hook up my PC to the plasma and play with some different res settings.

Try it from about 5 ft away on your 20" screen. You should not be able to tell a difference. Try doing a blind test where someone else changes the res and see if you can tell which is the higher resolution. If you can tell, then you have eagle eyes for sure.

Thats odd. I swear I can see a difference between 1920x1080 & 1280x720 even on my 20" CRT monitor from many feet away. I'd think 42" you could see a difference from futher than 5 feet out. I need to hook up my PC to the plasma and play with some different res settings.

You have to consider the fact that displays will always look better at their native resolution. Your CRT monitor's native resolution is 1080.

Try it from about 5 ft away on your 20" screen. You should not be able to tell a difference. Try doing a blind test where someone else changes the res and see if you can tell which is the higher resolution. If you can tell, then you have eagle eyes for sure.
Sure, at 5' from a 20", but at 5' from a 42" the extra sharpness of 1080p is obvious to anyone with decent eyesight.

I have a 42" Panasonic. I have to admit that I have seen burn-in on mine, but only from playing Guitar Hero (that black/white score bar on the left really does it). The retained image stayed until I ran my break-in DVD for around 24 hours straight, in torch mode. Now I'm a little more careful - just stretch the image sometimes (luckily this doesn't really hamper playing GH2) and vary up the content a little more.

I love the picture on my Panny - just be smart about how you use it and it should be fine.
How long did you play GH2 for? My last GH2 marathon lasted 8 hrs on my 50" Panny. Sure there was some IR, but after a couple hours of Discovery HD it was gone.

When someone asks me what TV should I get, plasma or LCD. My first response is always i want to say plasma.

But I ask them this instead.

Can you tell the difference between say a RCA TV and a Sony? old style tv's of course..crt.

if they answer no, I ask this

Is it just for games. If the answer is yes, I say get an LCD.

If they answer no and say TV AND games, then I say plasma. LCD just doesn't cut it for normal TV viewing imho. You can get away with some HD content on a lcd, but plasma still looks far better due to a higher color count, and higher # greys which results in more realistic or true color images. Contrast ratio's are hard to judge, but obviously look better on plasma too. Plasma doesn't look artificial, LCD does. Games ( and animated movies or cartoons) are obviously artificial, hence they look good on a LCD ( still better on a Plasma) but have less burn in issues and if the owner doesn't see a difference between a RCA/Sony then color is not that big of an issue for them, and obviously they may not be the type to take care of a plasma...so LCD is for them. If their existing TV is a 20 year old RCA or Zenith 27" CRT, then anything is an upgrade for them really.

Another question I ask is, do you have kids, and want to leave the TV unattended for long periods of time? If so, LCD again. You do need to be "smart" with a Plasma, but if you are the pay off is a much better image. But if someone else in the house is not going to be"smart" with the plasma....then maybe LCD is the way to go to be safe in your investment, just end up with a not so good looking image.

I don't usually ask, how much light is in the room. I think this is overrated for the most part. LCD's having less glare is somewhat true. They deflect light and reflections differently, but it does indeed get effected by light and can kill your contrast issues on an already not so good contrast'ish TV. Besides, most of us watch TV after work/school right? Well, it's darker then isn't it? And you can place your TV away from a window most of the time, AND we are used to looking at Glass CRT's anyways, so why is plasma getting a bad rep for this reflection nonsense? The Viewing angle issue for LCD is far more of an issue then reflections imho. Samsung is famous for advertising around a ~180 degree viewing angle....which is BULL. Every samsung LCD or any LCD really, I have ever seen or owned loses its color and contrast once you move out of it's perfect little viewing cone. Again, this is something related to how good your eyes are, another fact often forgotten as your own eyes play a significant role in determining what is best for you....if 1080p is worth it etc. Hey, u 60 yrs old an got bi-focules? Don't laugh, I'm serious, but 1080p should not be important to you.

So what if the first question I asked, they say yes I can certainly see the difference between a RCA and a Sony? My recommendation to anyone that wants THE best pic quality is a Panny plasma. Having tried so many myself and returning so many...I settled on the panny. Pioneer is also very nice but I don't believe they are worth the extra $$$ to justify it most times. And if the person already had a nice TV to begin with, say a Sony Trinitron or other comparable CRT, i don't think they'll be happy with a LCD so get a plasma. That being said, some Sony LCD's are very nice, I don't what it is they do to them to make them different, but they do look better then most lcd's.

You have to consider the fact that displays will always look better at their native resolution. Your CRT monitor's native resolution is 1080.

I think he's talking about a CRT computer monitor, which wouldn't have a native resolution.

New, I'd agree with most of what you have to say except for the lighting issue.

If you know nothing about TVs and someone recommends a plasma because it is the hands down winner in a dark room and you think to yourself...this is awesome, I'm gonna run out and pick one up, will you be dissappointed? No...in the dark. But if you didn't know about the very real glare/reflective issues of plasmas and your room had lots of good and direct light (i.e. wife likes bright rooms and not dark home theater dungeons ;)) you would be VERY DISAPPOINTED having your buddies over for an afternoon football game and the screen had glare issues.

I say this because my current 50" plasma was practically unwatchable in my old house because the room received A LOT of direct lighting (through a stained glass window that could/should not be covered). In my current house it is situated perfectly and I am in TV nirvana.

I just think that for the average person that intends to have multi-uses for the TV that lighting is just as important a factor to consider, rather how well lighting can be controlled I suppose.

New, I'd agree with most of what you have to say except for the lighting issue.

If you know nothing about TVs and someone recommends a plasma because it is the hands down winner in a dark room and you think to yourself...this is awesome, I'm gonna run out and pick one up, will you be dissappointed? No...in the dark. But if you didn't know about the very real glare/reflective issues of plasmas and your room had lots of good and direct light (i.e. wife likes bright rooms and not dark home theater dungeons ;)) you would be VERY DISAPPOINTED having your buddies over for an afternoon football game and the screen had glare issues.

I say this because my current 50" plasma was practically unwatchable in my old house because the room received A LOT of direct lighting (through a stained glass window that could/should not be covered). In my current house it is situated perfectly and I am in TV nirvana.

I just think that for the average person that intends to have multi-uses for the TV that lighting is just as important a factor to consider, rather how well lighting can be controlled I suppose.

we have no sun here so it's a non issue with me :) serious, it won't stop bloody raining this year.

I can't see how anyone "wouldn't know" about the glare issue and plasma. We've been watching TV's with glass on them for most of the century have we not? Heck, most old Tv's were shaped like fish bowls and reflected everything in the room, then we got flat screens from Sony and JVC, etc that minimised the issue some. All Plasma is, is a flat piece of glass.

I probably should have reworded it. It is an important issue if your room is the extreme case with direct sunlight for sure. But, i do believe it's an overblown issue around here. And most of us are watching TV's at home, commercial use is another beast. My shiney new Dell for example, in my computer room at home, it's an LCD, I have to turn off my ceiling light to see it correctly as the light hits it and screws up all my blacks, and made it look washed out. Not the dell's fault, every lcd I've had does it. MY office montor at work, lcd as wel, same thing. With a plasma you get a reflection, with the LCD the light gets diffused over the screen messing with it's colors. I'm not saying light should not be an issue or a consideration when buying, just don't believe that light does not effect LCD's as it does indeed. Turn on your lcd, or better yet make it black somehow, point a light at it, notice how your once black screen is now grey. This irks me to no end if I'm playing a dark game and I have a light shining on my lcd as it kills the contrast.

This is where LCD's often catch peoples eyes at the BB's and CC's of the world as well. The LCD's look better on the show room floor sometimes as it's brighter in well lit rooms. And brighter = better right??? Um no, and when you get it home you realize, if you know the difference at least, that your colors just aren't that good as your old CRT....but it's hella bright. Another win for plasma.

To me it boils down to this for home use

1. If you care about pic quality, Plasma hands down.
2. If your tv is no more important then your toaster and you'll never care about it, LCD. turn it on, leave it on, forget about it being on...who cares, it works...done.

LCD is the toyota camry or Accords of the world. And plasma is the ferrari.


back to your football scenario. I can see what you are saying. But, i would much rather just close the curtain and live with the better PQ of the plasma, then to cuddle up with a bunch of guys in the center of the room in order to be in the sweet spot for a LCD to look good :) Viewing angle owns as the kids would say.

New, you're obviously preaching to the choir as I OWN a plasma. :D

I'm just pointing out my REAL WORLD experience that lighting is important for people to consider because as you stated, picture quality IS affected by lighting... so they are really intertwined.

IMO there is a place in my house for different types of TVs based on their locations.

New, you're obviously preaching to the choir as I OWN a plasma. :D

I'm just pointing out my REAL WORLD experience that lighting is important for people to consider because as you stated, picture quality IS affected by lighting... so they are really intertwined.

IMO there is a place in my house for different types of TVs based on their locations.

Yeah me too.

Plasma - Living room
Front projection and 115" screen - theater
Dell LCD - Office. with 2 other lcd's as well.
Sony CRT, yup still got one - Spare bedroom. And another CRT in another spare bed

Can never have enough TV's, or speakers....and I won't list them :)

Yeah me too.

Plasma - Living room
Front projection and 115" screen - theater
Dell LCD - Office. with 2 other lcd's as well.
Sony CRT, yup still got one - Spare bedroom. And another CRT in another spare bed

Can never have enough TV's, or speakers....and I won't list them :)

newfmp3: thanks for the reasoning. I agree.

I do appreciate the pic quality of hd. I enjoy movies, HD programming and can enjoy the sharp resolution of 1080p (I think some awful programming is sustainable in HD...because it looks good...the information may sound silly...but the picture content hides the poor writing or lack of research/information).But with lighting issues, not everyone understands viewing angles, light sources and reflections until the unit is installed, then viewed. I have 9 "cans" (halogen Par30 black baffles) recessed in the ceiling. If I were on the floor, below the set, looking up, I might see one or two of them reflected. However, the edging of my glossy DLP set's case will show some reflection. Distracting? Not at all, and only noticeable it you look for it. Plus I've had these lamps running since 2002, always at 1/3 wattage via 1000W dimmer (about 25-30watts running per bulb). I also have 4 sconces (halogen and dimmable). These provide wonderful bounced light off the ceiling-white paint. Subdued and never harsh.
I've found a new home for my DLP so hopefully, I'll get the Panny within 2 weeks. Then a nice stand (no wall mount--I did metal studs and not reinforced for a 100+lb screen).
I'll now research the "plasma" forum and FAQ on best practices.
TIA! :)