LCD or Plasma TV for PC Gaming...

[taltamir]

ok, now I understand what you were saying.
I am glad you are enjoying your plasma. I just wanted to make some corrections:
The plasma only has 60Hz refresh rate. the 120Hz TV should be better if it actually is running in 120Hz... which you need to actually select in the game options / GPU control panel.
I am also wondering about their relative response times.

Finally, "everything maxed out" has to do with your computer, mostly the GPU, followed by CPU.
It has absolutely nothing to do, at all, with your monitor/TV

 

[Anomaly1964]

ok, now I understand what you were saying.
I am glad you are enjoying your plasma. I just wanted to make some corrections:
The plasma only has 60Hz refresh rate. the 120Hz TV should be better if it actually is running in 120Hz... which you need to actually select in the game options / GPU control panel.
I am also wondering about their relative response times.

Finally, "everything maxed out" has to do with your computer, mostly the GPU, followed by CPU.
It has absolutely nothing to do, at all, with your monitor/TV

Say what you want, the 1080P Plasma BLOWS a 120hz LCD away in relation to mouse lag time...

We hooked up a PC to 5 different LCDs at 120hz from Insigna to Sony...the mouse lag time was TERRIBLE...

On the plasma, the mouse performs just as it would if using my 24inch Gateway HD monitor...

 

[taltamir]

Say what you want, the 1080P Plasma BLOWS a 120hz LCD away in relation to mouse lag time...

... you realize that I have been asking you for more information on what you are doing rather then passing judgement, don't you?

About every second statement you make is patently false, I believe you that it plays better in your current configuration but it is most likely not for the reasons you think it is.

 

[Anomaly1964]

... you realize that I have been asking you for more information on what you are doing rather then passing judgement, don't you?

About every second statement you make is patently false, I believe you that it plays better in your current configuration but it is most likely not for the reasons you think it is.

Oh no...not mad or defensive...lots is lost in translation in these little boxes...

What have I said that is false?

 

[taltamir]

Oh no...not mad or defensive...lots is lost in translation in these little boxes...

What have I said that is false?

lets start here:

As far as GAMING is concerned, the 42 Plasma TV is great! I can play Black Ops with everything maxed out, no mouse lag, no game lag...

You actually believe that the plasma TV has anything to do with "maxing out" graphics settings and game lag...
your TV/monitor CAN ONLY affects your mouse lag (and its not the only thing)

 

[Anomaly1964]

lets start here:


You actually believe that the plasma TV has anything to do with "maxing out" graphics settings and game lag...
your TV/monitor CAN ONLY affects your mouse lag (and its not the only thing)

Not telling you what I THINK...telling you what I have seen thru actually hooking up the pc to:

46 inch LCD, 120hz
42 inch Plasma, 720p
42 inch Plasma, 1080p

 

[Vdubchaos]

Thanks Shorty!

New twist...

I plugged my PC into my Panasonic 50" PLASMA TV and there was NO mouse lag. I set the HDMI 1 to "GAME" (options are cable, camcorder, etc.) I wonder if this is SIMILAR to GAME MODE on the Insignia. I am thinking the plasma being 600hz vs 120 is what helped the mouse lag (is that correct logic?) but...

Text didn't look very good (kinda like a printer starting to run out of ink).

Any thoughts?

Can't compare Plasma refresh rate to LCD....totally different animals

 

[Vdubchaos]

I have a 40" Samsung 60hz and I love it. It's awesome for FPS gaming.

Never experienced any lag. What I did have to do is adjust Mouse sensitivity setting IN GAME to adjust to bigger screen, but other than that I never experienced any refresh issues or mouse lag.

I prefer gaming on 40" over gaming on 24" Monitor. But that's just me.

 

[digitaldurandal]

If you sit far enough, the human eye can't see the pixels. Generally speaking, you aren't going to sit just 1-2 ft away from a 37-50 inch LCD/Plasma unless you want to go blind!

Going blind from sitting close to a television is a myth. When CRTs were around there was a fear that radiation was coming through the screen and people were encouraging their children not to sit close to them. However, with an LCD especially there is really no danger of radiation poisoning (in a crt it is technically possible if the inside of the machine is broken i suppose) because it does not use a cathode tube at all.

 

[jacktesterson]

I've games on my 50 plasma from a distance before and it looked excellent

 

[Vdubchaos]

Going blind from sitting close to a television is a myth. When CRTs were around there was a fear that radiation was coming through the screen and people were encouraging their children not to sit close to them. However, with an LCD especially there is really no danger of radiation poisoning (in a crt it is technically possible if the inside of the machine is broken i suppose) because it does not use a cathode tube at all.

Even sitting to close to 32" can give me a headache. I needed minimum 5-6feet or so.

But I have a friends that sits right in front of it....and likes it.

We are all different and we all have different eyes. You won't go blind, but you might get a headache or just feel sick from sitting too close.

Same for my 40", I have to sit at least 6-7 feet away or my eyes hurt etc

 

[digitaldurandal]

Say what you want, the 1080P Plasma BLOWS a 120hz LCD away in relation to mouse lag time...

We hooked up a PC to 5 different LCDs at 120hz from Insigna to Sony...the mouse lag time was TERRIBLE...

On the plasma, the mouse performs just as it would if using my 24inch Gateway HD monitor...

This has to do with input delay and not to do with refresh rate. Your plasma may correctly read that it has a computer hooked to it and automatically bypass video features that are designed for decoding HD television etc, or perhaps its components are simply built better inside so that there is less delay between input and output.

 

[taltamir]

I have a 40" Samsung 60hz and I love it. It's awesome for FPS gaming.

Never experienced any lag. What I did have to do is adjust Mouse sensitivity setting IN GAME to adjust to bigger screen, but other than that I never experienced any refresh issues or mouse lag.

I prefer gaming on 40" over gaming on 24" Monitor. But that's just me.

oho, this might explain everything... what if his LCD had a greater resolution than 1080p? this would mean his "mouse lag" was actually mouse speed not being adjusted to higher screen (lag and slow mouse speed are completely different), and he can handle "maxed out graphics" now on COD because he is playing at a lower resolution. Little did he know he could have just set the output to 1080p anyways for the same results...

Well, that is just a guess... I will need to know the exact model of his LCD that performed poorly. It is pretty hard to diagnose when someone is actively hostile to any attempt at accurate data gathering.

 

[Vdubchaos]

oho, this might explain everything... what if his LCD had a greater resolution than 1080p? this would mean his "mouse lag" was actually mouse speed not being adjusted to higher screen (lag and slow mouse speed are completely different), and he can handle "maxed out graphics" now on COD because he is playing at a lower resolution. Little did he know he could have just set the output to 1080p anyways for the same results...

Well, that is just a guess... I will need to know the exact model of his LCD that performed poorly. It is pretty hard to diagnose when someone is actively hostile to any attempt at accurate data gathering.

Plus the fact that Game video settings have to be adjusted as well. I go from 16:10 to 16:9 and unless I adjust that and the resolution....it looks/plays weird.

But once adjusted correctly it is beautiful.

 

[Anomaly1964]

oho, this might explain everything... what if his LCD had a greater resolution than 1080p? this would mean his "mouse lag" was actually mouse speed not being adjusted to higher screen (lag and slow mouse speed are completely different), and he can handle "maxed out graphics" now on COD because he is playing at a lower resolution. Little did he know he could have just set the output to 1080p anyways for the same results...

Well, that is just a guess... I will need to know the exact model of his LCD that performed poorly. It is pretty hard to diagnose when someone is actively hostile to any attempt at accurate data gathering.

Hostile?

Hardly...calm down Tal...grin.

It was an Insigna NS-L46X-10A

 

[cheez]

Thanks Shorty!

New twist...

I plugged my PC into my Panasonic 50" PLASMA TV and there was NO mouse lag. I set the HDMI 1 to "GAME" (options are cable, camcorder, etc.) I wonder if this is SIMILAR to GAME MODE on the Insignia. I am thinking the plasma being 600hz vs 120 is what helped the mouse lag (is that correct logic?) but...

600hz plsma isn't necessary for gaming. My dual 50" pro class Panasonic Plasma screens have no lag in FPS gaming what so ever, and they are 60hz. Car racing games are no problem either. LCD's have known to have lags even though the late models have made improvements.. The only downside to the Plasma is the tendency of getting image retention, but then I don't play games much.

Text didn't look very good (kinda like a printer starting to run out of ink).

Any thoughts?

Texts in 2D desktop or in game? Maybe you need 1:1 pixel mapped screen for clean and sharp texts as that's how mine's setup.

 

[Throckmorton]

One problem is that your screen apparently doesn't support per-pixel mapping. It zooms in on the image, then resizes that to fit the screen. It's stupid, but some manufacturers still force that. That's why the image seems to be too big.

I would return the Insignia and buy a Sony or Samsung that supports 1:1 pixel mapping.

 

[Anomaly1964]

One problem is that your screen apparently doesn't support per-pixel mapping. It zooms in on the image, then resizes that to fit the screen. It's stupid, but some manufacturers still force that. That's why the image seems to be too big.

I would return the Insignia and buy a Sony or Samsung that supports 1:1 pixel mapping.

I'm PRETTY sure the 1080p version of the Panasonic supports the 1:1 pixel mapping cause we got it to look right in the store....

I'll let you guys know tonight but, I will make sure I ask...THANKS!

 

[Ross Ridge]

The TV we did it on in the store was 1080P NOT 720P...

The 1080P is $200 more, $699...Hmmmmmm

The problem with 720P plasma TVs is that they usually have a weird native resolution. I looked up the specs on your Panasonic TC-P42C2 and it's native resolution is 1024x768. That would be ok for a 4:3 display, but on a 16:9 panel means that pixel ratio isn't square. You might be able to get a 1:1 pixel mapping by setting your PC to 1024x768 and then fiddling with various options on your TV, but then everything would be stretched out.

If you want to connect your PC to a plasma TV, you really want to get one with a 1080P display. Those have a normal 1920x1080 native resolution with the square pixel ratio PCs expect.

 

[Throckmorton]

The only screen I would buy now is an LED backlit LCD. Plasma is an outdated tech that doesn't last as long, uses more power, and prone to burn in from static images (ie computer)

 

[cheez]

The only screen I would buy now is an LED backlit LCD. Plasma is an outdated tech that doesn't last as long, uses more power, and prone to burn in from static images (ie computer)

LED's from what I heard still have viewing angle problems... I have seen one (Samsung) myself and looked pretty damn good, but not as good as Plasma screens.

Plasma screens are now good till 100,000 hours of use with full brightness and after that they start to lose half brightness whereas the LCDs will have bulbs burned out completely. Losing half brightness is better than losing pixels completely. LCD's also have tendency to have pixels burn out prematurely within a matter of weeks or months which is a major downside. I find the plasma superior tech. Yes it's old but well 'matured'. Plasmas rarely get burn-in...even with the early models (2004~2007). The only thing it can give is the image retention if still images are displayed for a long period of time. Plasma screens provide even brightness across the screen whereas the LCD's have uneven brightness which I hate... But I don't disagree that the plasma is generally not an idea use for gaming 24/7... It has different target demographic, not necessarily because of the technology is obsolete, as some people claim.


()

 

[Patrick Wolf]

When you compare the immersion factor of the larger monitor, then it can to make a lot of sense. Don't forget, the black levels are far superior on Plasma TVs to any computer LCD monitor and the refresh rate is far faster too. I think 2560x1600 30 inch vs. a 37-40 inch 1080P is debatable, but 50 inch is just a completely different experience. I can definitely see how playing a game on a 50+ inch plasma is prefereable compared to a tiny 24 inch LCD.

Don't you mean Plasma TV's have a faster response time? Which isn't true. Even 8ms IPS panels don't have noticeable ghosting. Moving image resolution may be superior though... maybe. A 50" would totally be better than 24 only if you sit far away enough for the pixels to disappear and you have no trouble reading text or viewing small icons/images. Otherwise you could just sit closer to the 24" which makes the image seem bigger.

And a 50" vs 19" is a rather extreme comparison as very few gamers use a 19" and even fewer people will put a 50" on their desk, course wall mounting may be an option.

 

[cheez]

Don't you mean Plasma TV's have a faster response time? Which isn't true. Even 8ms IPS panels don't have noticeable ghosting. Moving image resolution may be superior though... maybe.

The plasma screens are getting 3~ 4 ms if not faster. Motion handling isn't a problem at all nowdays as the only bottleneck is the video card not able to produce high stable framerates.

A 50" would totally be better than 24 only if you sit far away enough for the pixels to disappear and you have no trouble reading text or viewing small icons/images.

Once you setup the display to 1:1 pixel mapping the texts in 2D desktop is perfect, dot by dot. I have no problem reading texts only 1 foot away from the 50" screen. I honestly think the texts look nicer than the LCD computer monitor.

Otherwise you could just sit closer to the 24" which makes the image seem bigger.

Playing games on a 50" screen is no way same as sitting close to a 24" computer monitor. The experience is totally different.

And a 50" vs 19" is a rather extreme comparison as very few gamers use a 19" and even fewer people will put a 50" on their desk, course wall mounting may be an option.

I used to have two 50" plasma screens configured for split and clone mode for 2D desktop and gaming. It's a great experience.

The problem with 720P plasma TVs is that they usually have a weird native resolution.

Some 720p screens have 1366 x 768 physical resolutions, coupled with DVD-D connection and you get perfect squal pixels.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

The plasma screens are getting 3~ 4 ms if not faster. Motion handling isn't a problem at all nowdays as the only bottleneck is the video card not able to produce high stable framerates.

I was talking about motion resolution, which has nothing to do with the video card and is not determined by response time.

Once you setup the display to 1:1 pixel mapping the texts in 2D desktop is perfect, dot by dot. I have no problem reading texts only 1 foot away from the 50" screen. I honestly think the texts look nicer than the LCD computer monitor.

You're 1 ft. away from a 50" screen?

Playing games on a 50" screen is no way same as sitting close to a 24" computer monitor. The experience is totally different.

This is true if you're 1 ft. away from each screen.

I used to have two 50" plasma screens configured for split and clone mode for 2D desktop and gaming. It's a great experience.

Expensive and far from the norm. Did you game with the bezels splitting right thru the middle of the image?

 

[Anomaly1964]

Well I got it to work, the desktop fit the screen correctly but...

1. Web browsing is NOT good, the font is weak...
2. For the $800 plus I spent, I can probably buy a TRUE, larger PC MONITOR and not a television...

I suppose it was worth the effort though...