[Lolicon]

Hi,


Can people with actual experience recommend a gaming TV? I have some strict requirements:

1) It HAS to be either Sharp or Panasonic brand.

2) Input lag is of utmost importance to me - it has to be as low as possible. Needless to say, response time also needs to be as low as possible.

3) It needs to handle SD signals as good as possible. This is also very important for me. And even lower resolutions than SD (for example, Virtual Console games for Wii).

4) The screen has to be as big as possible (at least 65"). I know older games and anime will be pixelated on a big screen, but that's not a problem for me.

5) I'm OK with expensive TVs - I don't need to go budget.


Now, here's my situation. I currently have a Philips PW9551 32" CRT TV, which has been extremely good for SD gaming and SD anime watching. It's actually "HD prepared", so it can handle HD signals via HDMI.


However, the Wii U (Nintendo's new HD console) will be out by the end of the year, and I believe I need a new TV since "HD prepared" is not true HD (but rather upscaling). I rarely watch movies or TV. I'm gaming a lot, and also watch lots of anime (SD resolution). I will watch Blu-ray anime in the future, but this TV needs to handle SD signals really well.


Thing is, I've already done lots of research about input lag, but the numbers (for the same TV models) seems to vary depending on the site. Some say this and some say that - it's a total headache. That's why I need to listen to people with actual gaming experience on LED and Plasma TVs.


Since the Wii is heavily based on motion control, low input lag is of even greater importance. As you know, my CRT has no input lag at all, and I want to emulate that experience as much as possible on a new LED/Plasma. I gladly take a bit of "bad colors" loss in exchange for low input lag. Also, since I'm gaming a lot, motion resolution and quickness is really important.


So, what is the best Sharp/Panasonic LED/Plasma for my needs? That is, the lowest input lag possible with great SD content viewing, without sacrificing too much on HD PQ (but I'm OK with some sacrifice of course, as the perfect TV doesn't exist).


Thank you very much in advance for helping me out!

 

[Omnicron]

I can't offer any comprehensive advice from personal experience on plasma or lcd input lag. I game on CRT, input lag from modern screens is a deal breaker and the no 1 concern for me. Upgrading to Plasma would be nice, just want to make sure I get a new panel with relatively low input lag, even at the cost of a little picture quality. Yeh so basically I'd like here the same advice your looking for Lolicon.

 

[vigp17]

Well as a plasma owner I can tell you I have never ever experianced input lag or motion problems of any kind that weren't inherent within the source itself. As far as LCD/LED goes it varies from set to set with the larger the tv the easier it is to potentially see blur, but a good rule of thumb with LCD/LED is make sure it has a response time of 6ms or less. Which now a days is pretty easy as long as your getting a name brand....Sharp, Samsung, Sony etc. I've never noticed anything more than very minor blurring and/or lag on LCD/LED tv's certainly nothing that ever spoiled a gaming or movie experience, however everyone senses motion differently. One thing to keep in mind though with plasma is 65" screens can't get as bright as smaller sizes, so if you'll be placing it in a well lit room it's something to be aware of. However. If you just want a good 2D LED tv I'd go with the 60"/70" Sharp LC-LE640U/LC-C6400U series(just make sure to turn off the film mode so you don't have that nasty soap opera effect also all energy saving modes including the ambient light sensor). However, since you mainly game and do little tv/movie watching I'd say stay away from plasma. Although plasma tv's have come a long long way since the very prone to burn-in days(I myself have never had anything more than temporary image retention, which all plasmas have) it still can happen(quite badly if you don't know how to protect your set from it) and thus plasma is a tv tech best for people who watch/use their tv for a variety of content. Plasma requires a 100-200 hour breakin period where it's best if you don't game much and make sure all content fills the whole screen. Once you get past those hours you can game and watch letterbox movies a lot more without too much worry, but I wouldn't game for hours and hours and hours or say...watch all 6 Star Wars movies in a row though. While I personally feel that Plasma is overall the best currently available HDTV tech and usually would encourage someone to buy plasma, given that you would use your tv for little more than gaming I'd say go with the Sharp.

 

[SCHLENKER]

My last TV was a Samsung 46" LCD (Yes I know its Sharp/Panny or nothing) and I had my Wii and DVD hooked to it over component and SD (via HDMI)/DVD’s/Wii looks and plays great on it. One of the reasons I got it was the reputation Samsung had in its video processing of SD sources and I was not disappointed. Having said that I just upgraded to a Sharp 60" LED/LCD this past weekend but haven’t had time to really test its Game Mode yet (most brand name manufactures have a video mode called "Game" that turns off most or all of the video processing that causes the lag). Plasma people will probably say plasmas are great for short periods of gaming but not good for extended times of HUD type static displays. And most think Plasmas do a great job with SD/DVD sourcing.