[equimarginal]

I know there's been discussion on this in the past and "the best TV for gaming" is slightly subjective. However, I'm hoping to get some solid recommendations from you hardcore A/V folks on what purchase I should make, based on my requirements and wants.


First of all, I am not averse to buying an A/V receiver. My understanding is that I can just plug everything into a receiver that has the proper ports and then just run one wire to the TV. So I don't really care about the ports on the television as long as it accepts HDMI. I'll be using the TV for PC (VGA), Xbox360 (HDMI), PS3 (HDMI), Wii (component), and a DVD player (component). I have a few composite devices that I may want to hook in from time to time. That said, is there a receiver suggestion?


I've got audio covered. I don't see the point in more than a 5.1 surround system and that's what I have and will continue to use.


So now the 600-pound gorilla, the display unit. The information on display units is overwhelming. It seems that every unit has cons. I will say up front that I don't think I can justify spending over $1500 on a tv. Luckily for me I don't see the point in huge displays. I want a display that does 720P and does 720P extremely well. Anything more is wasteful in my opinion. I don't want to watch blu-ray movies or have a movie-theater experience, I just want a great display for games. It doesn't need to be hang-on-the-wall thin, either. Its not moving anywhere for 3 years once it gets here.


My last TV was a 37" olevia LCD. It was cheap, but in short, it sucked. There was always some glare on the edges, the color temperature was just 'off', and when I was supposed to be looking at a black screen I saw what was quite clearly, unmistakably, gray. Most games get a lot of use from deep blacks, and this is important to me. Granted, that particular set only had a 800:1 contrast ratio. I think I could be satisfied with 2500:1.


I'd like to go bigger, but not much. 50" would be my upper limit. The room is not that large and I don't see the benefit of displays that are too large for the output source (720P in this case). Ghosting, banding, burn in, delay, and all the major cons that affect gaming are all unacceptable to me. I'm sacrificing size so I can get display quality at a reasonable price. But I refuse to go down to something like 30" for a CRT, and I need widescreen format.


So what's the best TV for me?

 

[calv1n]

Myself I went with Samsung DLP's for a couple of my gaming set ups (1 of which is in my upstairs HT now) bang for the buck they are tough to beat IMO.

Good luck.

Cheers

Calvin

 

[Trebuken]

You are contradicting yourself a bit. You don't want the Blu-ray home theatre experience, fair enough, but you want the gaming. HD gaming is to standard gaming as Blu-ray is to DVD. An Xbox 360 is an entirely different beast on a big screen. I'll grant that 720p may be good enough for you, but I would suggest setting 50" as your target size (no smaller). Gaming on a big screen is a big deal once you get down to it unless you a casual gamer, but a casual gamer would not have a PS3 a 360 and a Wii...


I would go DLP for cost vs. size, but you can get an Sony Aquous in your price range, though it would be smaller than the SLP. The Samsung is a good suggestion, but the Toshibas (which I have) are also cost effective. The Sony and JVC's are good and you might be able to find a good price on them; I think the 720p models are essentially clearance; possibly even look at floor models. Be aware that you will probably want to fork over some cash for an extended warranty (not cheap).


I have a Sony SR674 receiver that gets the job done fir my switching, though in a perfect world I could hope for more than two HDMI slots. I have my PC going to my TV (DVI- to HDMI) as well as my receiver, than I have my cmoponent/composite connections going to my receiver with a pelican switchbox.


Be sure to check what resolution is accepted over the VGA connection of any set you buy, sometimes it sucks, which is why I am using the DVI to HDMI on mine.


Good Luck with your choices....

 

[Mindwarper]

I have a 360 elite going into a sharp 46 (92 model) via hdmi. It looks great. The contrast is much higher then the 20" with hdmi next to it. I am using 1080p and love it. I don't know of a sub 1500$ tv that will fit what you want. I just put it on my credit card. I have friends over almost every night. Lots of fun.

 

[bbexperience]

I would second or third the motion for a Samsung DLP. The '06 models can be had for pretty cheap right now at retail locations. The following is Best Buy's list of Samsung DLP projection TVs. As you can see, they have the 56" 720p from 2006 for right at your $1500 limit, but the 50" ones are similar in price. I'm not sure how that works. Remember that these are retail prices and you could probably do better from an online vendor.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....cat95100050039


Edit: I see that the 46" 720p is on sale for $1,100. That may be the way to go for what you want.


Edit2: I also just noticed that this list includes LCD as well as DLP.

 

[jasonstiller]

I will 4th the DLP option. I picked up Samsung 61 in 1080p set for just under 2200 Back in january and it is superb for gaming. Bang for your buck w/o compromising quality. the 51 incher can be had for 12-1400 too!

 

[vihak]

I know there's been discussion on this in the past and "the best TV for gaming" is slightly subjective. However, I'm hoping to get some solid recommendations from you hardcore A/V folks on what purchase I should make, based on my requirements and wants.


First of all, I am not averse to buying an A/V receiver. My understanding is that I can just plug everything into a receiver that has the proper ports and then just run one wire to the TV. So I don't really care about the ports on the television as long as it accepts HDMI. I'll be using the TV for PC (VGA), Xbox360 (HDMI), PS3 (HDMI), Wii (component), and a DVD player (component). I have a few composite devices that I may want to hook in from time to time. That said, is there a receiver suggestion?


I've got audio covered. I don't see the point in more than a 5.1 surround system and that's what I have and will continue to use.


So now the 600-pound gorilla, the display unit. The information on display units is overwhelming. It seems that every unit has cons. I will say up front that I don't think I can justify spending over $1500 on a tv. Luckily for me I don't see the point in huge displays. I want a display that does 720P and does 720P extremely well. Anything more is wasteful in my opinion. I don't want to watch blu-ray movies or have a movie-theater experience, I just want a great display for games and concrete staining cape coral. It doesn't need to be hang-on-the-wall thin, either. Its not moving anywhere for 3 years once it gets here.


My last TV was a 37" olevia LCD. It was cheap, but in short, it sucked. There was always some glare on the edges, the color temperature was just 'off', and when I was supposed to be looking at a black screen I saw what was quite clearly, unmistakably, gray. Most games get a lot of use from deep blacks, and this is important to me. Granted, that particular set only had a 800:1 contrast ratio. I think I could be satisfied with 2500:1.


I'd like to go bigger, but not much. 50" would be my upper limit. The room is not that large and I don't see the benefit of displays that are too large for the output source (720P in this case). Ghosting, banding, burn in, delay, and all the major cons that affect gaming are all unacceptable to me. I'm sacrificing size so I can get display quality at a reasonable price. But I refuse to go down to something like 30" for a CRT, and I need widescreen format.


So what's the best TV for me?

I have a Acer Predator 17.8" laptop that I am currently playing on. I have vision issues and was looking into getting a larger monitor. Does anyone know if I (1) connect a monitor to my laptop (2) if i connect one if I can use it as split screen or if it will only mirror the laptop screen. If I can use a larger monitor, any recommendations for size and specs to look for? I have no clue what I am looking at. Thanks!