Best Plasma TV For Gaming Around $2000?

The TV you're looking at is the one I bought. It works great for games. Amazing for blu ray and has very little input lag for guitar hero.

Go get it and enjoy.

I'd get that Panny, or the Sammy PN50A550S, or the Sammy FPT5084 -- all of which have great prices at the Big River.

Although if you're a "hardcore" gamer, you might want to just get one of the new Sammy LCD's.

He did say he didn't want motion blur and LCD tvs are infamous for just such a thing. As a matter of fact the Sammys are known for this very thing. I would stick with a plasma for gaming and not worry about IR. As long as you turn your settings out of torch mode, you should be fine.

I have the 50pz85u, and other than phosphor trails, which I barely notice anymore, it has been great for playing COD4. Spent about 4 hours (eek!) playing last night, and I noticed a faint hint of IR in places, but after about 5-10 seconds on a full screen program, it was completely gone. There is no motion blur that I see, at least with this game. Don't notice any input lag, but I don't have a way to test it.

Just a thought, but the 5080 and 1150 768P sets from Pioneer are options as well even though they are 768p and not 1080p.
They seem to suffer from less phosphor lag as well.

I agree. Look at the 768p Pioneers. 1080p is not nearly as important as TV manufacturers would like you to believe.

I would look at TH-50PF10UK and definitely the TH-50PZ85U that you mentioned, the 5080's are pretty much impossible to find.

I forgot they they are pretty muh gone. But they are still out there a little.
The 1150 would be a great option.

I have been playing ES4 Oblivion for about 5 hours every night for the last week or two and it only takes about 30 minutes of normal content to get rid of the IR, and Oblivion has a static cross hair and life bars on screen 98% of the time. I am trying to play trough all the guild quests (already did several so I knew what the loot was and I am now replaying them at a much higher level than my first playthrough) so I still have quite a ways to go (completed the thieves guild up to the boots, and I am working on the Dark Brotherhood right now, then onto the fighter's guild)

I have had zero burn-in problems and after I am done with all the quests I will post on my results with burn-in. (I don't expect any, but this is probably the best stress test that a normal person might put a plasma through so it should be a good indication of how the average plasma responds to lots of static bars)

honestly if your a hardcore gamer...no big TV's are the way to go...you have to move your eyes to much..smaller screens around 20" to 24" are the best and make sure you get one with a low response time....8ms response times and higher (black to white) are horrid for shooters that require accuracy and timing (they're prolly fine for games like CoD though where aiming isnt a big deal)

50PZ85u, hands down!

i have a Samsung PN50A450 and i am a really avid gamer, i Play FPS like halo 3, cod4 ,gears and other games that require quick split second reactions and i love this tv... it has a game mode that really does the trick theres NO LAG what so ever i went from a size 32" to a 50" and i love it so much better. i got this tv on sale at circuit city it costs around 1500 .

Some people might see a difference at 6 feet but not all. The 5080HD has better black levels but again right now I would go for the 85 because of factors like availability and it is a great unit!

Concern about Samsung LCD gaming is TBE. Also the input lag can be a problem with shooters. Samsung also suffer from flashlighting which I notice when I tested the A550 in Best Buy. Here is a good review of the 42'' Panasonic 85U:

http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/panas...0080414104.htm

This is the UK version so IFC is not included in the US version. I think their review is pretty accurate on what most people here are saying and they provide you with a video of green phosphor trail that all plasmas suffer from. It seems 60fps content is where you see most of the green phosphor trails.

I would have already bought the 85U if not for the 800U that has 24p playback which from the UK review sounds like Panasonic can implement it properly.

I would not buy a TV with any resolution other than 720p or 1080p for gaming, because the native resolution for games on PS3 and 360 are 720p and the native resolution for Blu-ray disc and HD(ead) DVD are 1080p. If you get a 768p set you will be sentenced to scaling everything output from PS3 and 360 for all eternity whereas if you get a 720p or 1080p set, you will be able to view SOMETHING in native resolution, either games or hi-def movies.

What TV has a native resolution of 720P? I think you are a confused individual.......

Sentenced?
Please, almost all games are 720p and I bet you to find a 720p display that can even touch a Kuro.
More information being scaled down isn't that bad at all.
Now as far as the select 1080p games, sure if you are within say 7' a Pioneer 1080p would be benficial....but if you are ~8'/9' or further basically no difference.
This arguiment is about as pointless as someone saying, "How could you not get a 1080p?"
Maybe because resolution is far from everything or even the most important thing.
Overall PQ is what matters, no?
If we can agree yes, then I dare you to find a 1080p non Pioneer that makes 1080p or 720p games look as good let alone better than my 768p Elite 1150HD that is currently out on the market.




OP....that said, you would love the 85U, but it is not what I would reccomend.

That is up to you.
If you want the 5080, then yes ask what he can do.
If you want the Panasonic, that is a good price and you should get it.
You'd be happy with either.

I find it hard to believe that you got someone down that low on a 50pz85. If you did, jump on it and let me know how you did it, please. If you are talking about the Samsung 5084, that is still a good price, and I'd consider it, but would likely spend a couple hundred more for the Panasonic 50PZ85.

Cool....maybe I can use that as a bargaining chip at my local BB.

Seriously, what did you do or say to get him that low? Do you have pictures of him doing illegal or immoral things? That is 750 bucks less than the price listed on BB.com.

here you go
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/annou...hp?f=167&a=119

Speak to a manager at BB and negotiate. I coached a member who asked me that very same question and he bought his 5080 just $50 more than that PLUS got a free Sanus mount valued at $170 and I believe free delivery as well. I negotiated a similar deal but mine was bit more complex and involved several different products and services. BB managers have a great deal of leeway on pricing. The discount shows up as "valued customer" on the receipt. 5080's are bascially on clearance now, even if they are not advertised as such. Dealers have incentives to clear their stock.

P.S. You local BB store and BB.com are seperate organizations.