PC'ing via Plasma vs LCD?

[Reflektion]

Real simple questions that should open up a can of opinions.

- Does anyone use a Plasma (average size 40" or <) or LCD Monitor (Television I guess is the right term) as their primary display device?

- Does DVI really make that much difference, to the average viewer, in terms of picture quality?

- How do they look for gaming purposes?

- Any suggested models or sites to develope a researched opinion?

 

[ponyo]

-Plasma will burn in so forget about using it as computer screen display. You can use 40" LCD but it's expensive at around $7-10K. Resolution on both is going to be about 1280x768.

-DVI does make notice difference.

-Big display gaming is fabulous and looks great. LCD will ghost just like all LCDs.

-Best site for information about big screens is AVSforum. Many users there do big screen gaming and can give you more opinions on the subject. Cheap setup should cost you less than $1000. Expensive setup can cost $30,000 plus. I personally recommend just using regular CRT or LCD for primary display and using separate DLP front projector for big screen gaming and movies.

 

[irwincur]

- Plasma does suck for PC display. But the cost for a LCD is not $7000+, you can get a decent 32" to 40" LCD for around $3500. There are 30" LCD models (probably the largest you want to go for PC display) for around $1300. Resolution on a Plasma varies and they do not use square pixels, so you will need to make custom resolutions. LCDs tend to be standardized at either 1280x720 or 1280x728. Both are supported by newer video drivers from the major vendors.

- DVI does not make a HUGE difference. You may notice it, you probably won't.

- Big diplays are typically slower panels, and they will probably ghost. However, most of the newer smaller models are decent. The larger models definitely still have problems. This is why a 27" or 30" LCD would be the largest that I would go.

- AVSforum is a great site. There is also a review here of the 30" Syntax Oleiva LCD that many people seem to like as a PC display.



There are a few caveats to using a large LCD as a PC display. They have large dot pitch measurements and relatively low resolution so you cannot sit right on top of them. For a 30" screen you probably want at least four feet of space between you and it, or expect it to look like crap. They are also relatively poor in terms of blacks, LCDs do not produce good black levels, it is a limit of the technology. So if you are looking for correct color, look elsewhere.

 

[TimBob5259]

Plasma does not suck at all as a PC display. I own a Panasonic 42 inch HD plasma and it looks excellent with my PC hooked up to it. Games look great although the rectangular pixels are somewhat annoying on the 42 inch so you can't go native resolution. Mine does not have DVI so I use VGA and run it at 1280x768 with some minor screen adjustments and it looks great. The newer models have DVI. Currently playing World of Warcraft on it and it's absolutely amazing!

I have had it for over 2 years now and have no sign of burn-in at all. I play PC games and xbox games on it fairly often for several hours at a time.

I can't really say if its better than LCD because I have no experience with an LCD. All I can say is that my plasma is an excellent computer monitor as well as an excellent HDTV. Do not believe most of what you hear regarding plasmas. If you own a plasma, you love it, if you don't own one then you say it sucks - that's just the way it is for some reason.

 

[Mr. Lennon]

If you want a nice large display, go with the 30 inch apple. You will need a 6800 gt or ultra though...

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: Naustica
-Plasma will burn in so forget about using it as computer screen display. You can use 40" LCD but it's expensive at around $7-10K. Resolution on both is going to be about 1280x768.

-DVI does make notice difference.

-Big display gaming is fabulous and looks great. LCD will ghost just like all LCDs.

-Best site for information about big screens is AVSforum. Many users there do big screen gaming and can give you more opinions on the subject. Cheap setup should cost you less than $1000. Expensive setup can cost $30,000 plus. I personally recommend just using regular CRT or LCD for primary display and using separate DLP front projector for big screen gaming and movies.

the 37 ich sharp aquos retails at $4999. you can get it cheaper if you shop around too...