Plasma and console gaming???

Dream Weaver

Established Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2002
Messages
80
Reaction score
7
Points
42
Age
50
Location
Lancashire, UK
I've spent the past 3 weeks researching which new TV setup we should buy and after viewing sets, measuring the room etc I'd decided we should go for the Panasonic 37" Plasma - TH37PX70 along with a Panasonic 5.1 system of some sorts (450, 850 etc).

This would mainly be for watching Freeview via our current Topfield 5800 and for gaming using my 360. We watch the odd DVD but not many as we don't have enough time since our little lad arrived. :D

So I went to the local independant specialists on Saturday to have a look around, got some good prices for the kit and then asked if the setup would be OK for the Xbox. He said I should buy an LCD for gaming as the plasma sets still suffer from screen burn - he ran an Xbox on his own 42 plasma and told me that after an hour when switching back to Freeview he could still see his scores etc on screen.

He then showed me some Panny and Sony LCD's and the pictures were amazing - sharper and better than the plasma screens IMO.

So, now I'm back to square one and have no idea what to do. I wanted to stick with Panasonic as I rate them as a brand, but they don't do a 37" LCD setup.

So is it true that Plasma screen can't really be used with the latest consoles?
 
nah thats bull mate.... most new plasma's have in built software to protect from this and as long as you dont go contrast crazy it will never become an issue, i hammer my xbox 360 on my Samsung PS42Q97HD plasma and never have any issues.....:thumbsup:
 
So is it true that Plasma screen can't really be used with the latest consoles?

No. I use my plasma for gaming all the time and although I've had a slight bit of retention at times, it always disappears really quickly.
 
Its a little bit of a grey area this one to be honest, as soooooo many people have different opinions, but here's mine anyway.:)

The only plasma i have ever seen to burn in quickly was a pioneer (about 25 mins believe it or not) but i play my xbox 360 on my panny for hours and have never once seen any type of screen burn.
Alot of people dont seem to realise(or remember) that CRT tv's also screen burned but that never stopped them playin there megadrive, and if your crt has never screen burned there is a good chance that neither will your plasma.

And while its tru that LCD's dont screen burn they do have a problem with mild picture lag which when gaming can be a real pain.

Now im sure that there are many people out there who will say im talking rubbish and that lcd's are great for gaming, but when u know how lcds are made and what they have to do to make there picture it becomes apparent that they will probly never really be as quick as a plasma at refreshing its picture.

Hope this helps, if not sorry ;)
 
As long as you're sensible with run-in settings, and don't leave your console on a static screen for hours on end, you'll be fine.

No issues whatsoever on mine, and had none on my previous Panny PX60.
 
So, now I'm back to square one and have no idea what to do. I wanted to stick with Panasonic as I rate them as a brand, but they don't do a 37" LCD setup.

So is it true that Plasma screen can't really be used with the latest consoles?

Plasma's can be used with the latest consoles, they don't suffer from permanent screen burn, but some do exhibit temporary retention which wears off after a few minutes. Maybe the question is how much of the time will the TV be showing Freeview, and how much on the xbox. Which takes priority for you?

However, in Japan Panasonic have just released a 37" LCD for sale from September, and it is possible that they will announce a 37" LCD for Europe at the IFA consumer electronics trade fair that starts in Berlin at the end of this week. If you can wait a few days then you would know for certain whether you will be able to get the 37" Panny LCD.
 
Go and have a look at those LCD screens again from your viewing distance at home, and see how they handle all your sources : Freeview, DVD, 360 etc and run a respective comparison with a plasma if possible.

I think you'll find it won't be as sharp as you thought it was on a 37" screen past a few feet.

But hey, if your still happy with lcd and it gives you less worry - go for it
 
I'd rather go for Plasma myself as all the reading I've done has said that plasma is better than LCD.

The set will be used as such:

Freeview: 80% of the time
DVD: 10%
Xbox: 10%

I don't have much time for gaming these days, so it will be the odd 2-3 hour slot on a Friday night, or when the Mrs/Nipper is out.

Viewing distance will range from 1 sofa about 2-3 meters away and the other about 3-4 meters so I assume 37" will suffice.

Does anyone have a TH37PX70 and 360 combo? Any issues so far, and how is the TV in general? Seems to get good reviews.
 
I'd rather go for Plasma myself as all the reading I've done has said that plasma is better than LCD.

The set will be used as such:

Freeview: 80% of the time
DVD: 10%
Xbox: 10%

I don't have much time for gaming these days, so it will be the odd 2-3 hour slot on a Friday night, or when the Mrs/Nipper is out.

Viewing distance will range from 1 sofa about 2-3 meters away and the other about 3-4 meters so I assume 37" will suffice.

Does anyone have a TH37PX70 and 360 combo? Any issues so far, and how is the TV in general? Seems to get good reviews.

Deffo plasma mate. No burn with my set, (508xd), but remember to take it out of dynamic mode, and use movie mode, drop the contrast a bit, get it looking natural with freeview, (which is almost impossible on an lcd), then use the same settings for the 360. There will be owners threads to get advice with settings, whatever you buy.
 
I'd rather go for Plasma myself as all the reading I've done has said that plasma is better than LCD.

The set will be used as such:

Freeview: 80% of the time
DVD: 10%
Xbox: 10%

I don't have much time for gaming these days, so it will be the odd 2-3 hour slot on a Friday night, or when the Mrs/Nipper is out.

Viewing distance will range from 1 sofa about 2-3 meters away and the other about 3-4 meters so I assume 37" will suffice.

Does anyone have a TH37PX70 and 360 combo? Any issues so far, and how is the TV in general? Seems to get good reviews.


You won't have an issue with this plasma and that amount of gaming, given the distance you'll probably be better of buying a 42" or even a 50" (I only sit about 4 metres from my 50" and wouldn't have bought anything smaller).
 
At that distance I would definately go for a 42" at least. My mate has a 50" and at 2 meters it seems normal to us :¬)
 
As long as you're sensible with run-in settings, and don't leave your console on a static screen for hours on end, you'll be fine.

No issues whatsoever on mine, and had none on my previous Panny PX60.

I'm looking at getting a plasma, and while obviously I won't leave a game on the pause screen for a long time, I am worried about games with a HUD. Take Pro Evo or Bioshock for example. Will I have to worry about then corners of my screen? As sometimes me and my mates play Pro Evo for hours it does have a lot of static imagery such as the outline of the clock, teams, score, player name and map. Does anyone play Pro Evo on their plasma for hours on end? Any problems?
 
I'm looking at getting a plasma, and while obviously I won't leave a game on the pause screen for a long time, I am worried about games with a HUD. Take Pro Evo or Bioshock for example. Will I have to worry about then corners of my screen? As sometimes me and my mates play Pro Evo for hours it does have a lot of static imagery such as the outline of the clock, teams, score, player name and map. Does anyone play Pro Evo on their plasma for hours on end? Any problems?

To be honest with you I can't say I game for hours on end but I've been known to have the BBC HD channel on for upto 7 hours continuous with the logo in the corner and not had any problems. You might get some retention but I doubt you'll get any permanent screen burn.
 
I play Pro Evo a little bit on plasma, but I switched off all static imagery (HUD) in menu. I plan to switch it back on when I'll get to 300h
 
If you do what i said, i be very, very surprised if you had any probs.
 
I'm looking at getting a plasma, and while obviously I won't leave a game on the pause screen for a long time, I am worried about games with a HUD. Take Pro Evo or Bioshock for example. Will I have to worry about then corners of my screen? As sometimes me and my mates play Pro Evo for hours it does have a lot of static imagery such as the outline of the clock, teams, score, player name and map. Does anyone play Pro Evo on their plasma for hours on end? Any problems?

Precisely my worry with Plasmas.

I game a fair amount and use the TV for Sky Sports News and footy mainly outside of that. Worries me that these are the perfect conditions to ruin it.

I watch a lot of movies with the misses, which does make them sound appealing.


Can I ask a question without being stoned? lol

If Plasma is so clearly superior to LCD, why do so many people purchase LCD's for equal or een more money than Plasmas seem to be?
 
Precisely my worry with Plasmas.

I game a fair amount and use the TV for Sky Sports News and footy mainly outside of that. Worries me that these are the perfect conditions to ruin it.

I watch a lot of movies with the misses, which does make them sound appealing.


Can I ask a question without being stoned? lol

If Plasma is so clearly superior to LCD, why do so many people purchase LCD's for equal or een more money than Plasmas seem to be?

I may be making a generalisation but more people buy LCD's because,

a) there are far more manufacturers making LCD's than plasma (probably due to less expense) and,

b) the retailers in the 'chain' stores tell potential buyers that LCD is the way forward in technology and plasma is a dying breed. The staff in my local C**** store swear by Samsung LCD's. I have been in there 2 times in the last 4 weeks and I have asked whether they will pricematch Pioneer and Panasonic plasmas, but both times they have tried to sway me over to buying their way overpriced Samsung M87 (£1200) telling me I am future proofing myself with this tv. Yeah ok.

I have taken absolutely ages deciding on the tv to buy. I was all set out to wait for Panasonic's upcoming 37" 100hz 1080p lcd, and then I saw the Pioneer 428(0)XD plasma which I will most probably buy. The only reason I was holding out on buying a plasma previously was due to gaming and screen retention and burning. As this tv has not had any reports of either, I am gonna save a little bit more money and take the plunge.
 
Can I ask a question without being stoned? lol

If Plasma is so clearly superior to LCD, why do so many people purchase LCD's for equal or een more money than Plasmas seem to be?

Most folk don't want a 42" plasma TV clogging up their lounge. You'll find that many people are happy to make their purchases in the sub 32" category. This is where the LCDs reign as plasma manufacturers do not make panels smaller than 37". It's only natural that the technology that is used to replace our traditionally sized CRTs would be promoted as better than plasma.

Rule of thumb is still buy LCD for sub 37" and Plasma for 37" plus. Yes some of the manufacturers are making bigger LCDs but they still have a long way to go.

Best advice, decide your criteria and set a budget, do some research on here, then most importantly get out there and see the sets themselves demoing material in conditions as close to yours at home as possible. Once you've decided what you like and it fits your budget...ignore any more "advice" and make your purchase and simply enjoy ;)
 
I may be making a generalisation but more people buy LCD's because,

a) there are far more manufacturers making LCD's than plasma (probably due to less expense) and,

b) the retailers in the 'chain' stores tell potential buyers that LCD is the way forward in technology and plasma is a dying breed. The staff in my local C**** store swear by Samsung LCD's. I have been in there 2 times in the last 4 weeks and I have asked whether they will pricematch Pioneer and Panasonic plasmas, but both times they have tried to sway me over to buying their way overpriced Samsung M87 (£1200) telling me I am future proofing myself with this tv. Yeah ok.

I have taken absolutely ages deciding on the tv to buy. I was all set out to wait for Panasonic's upcoming 37" 100hz 1080p lcd, and then I saw the Pioneer 428(0)XD plasma which I will most probably buy. The only reason I was holding out on buying a plasma previously was due to gaming and screen retention and burning. As this tv has not had any reports of either, I am gonna save a little bit more money and take the plunge.

It's sad we're all about to 'take a plunge' wth these panels, eh? Nerve-wracking trying to pick the right one! It's such an important decision1

I was told that as a gamer and sports watcher the lcd's would be a wiser choice because of the screen burn issues - but then again, I watch a lot of movies as well :(

My friend, who is an avid gamer (TV is used solely for gaming and movies) is telling me to get a pioneer kuro and that shocked me because he knows about the burn issues of plasmas past etc. It's left me even more confused then I was.

On the problems with staff in stores. I was told by a saleman in Empire Direct, no less! That the TV's I was enquiring about were trash and I should get a "Sony" (no brand, just, a Sony) so I tend to think places like here are the best for research ;) I've never asked in-store about which is best between LCD and Plasma, come to think of it. I'll test your theory out next time :)
 
Hi just to try and reassure you about screen burn in plasmas.
I have had a Panny pe50 plasma for 18 months and have had an xbox360 for 12 months, and have not had any retention at all.
I have played my 360 for hours on end with no probs at all.

And as a side issue, my sreen is SD and the picture is brill with 360, and I would imagine that newer HD Panny`s will be awesome (in fact I was thinking of upgrading but we paid £1300 for current one, and wouldn`t get much for it now)
 
Again, just to reassure people, I have a panny 42PX70, bought mainly for my PS3. Resistance, pro evo, ghost recon 2 - after playing all of them for hours and hours on end I have had absolutely no burn in whatsoever. I can't remember who said it, but yes, use the movie/cinema setting for games, this no doubt helps reduce retention. I do, however, get a little bit of image retention after I've left the pause screens on for a while, but this is only ever visible when then turn off the TV and the room is very dark, but this disappears within about 10-15 mins.

So basically I'm a happy chappy! Great SD picture, films looks amazing, I don't have any motion smearing and the HD picture is the best for the money! So hesitate no longer about screen burn and gaming!:smashin:
 
Hi , did a lot checking before I went for plasma , Had a friend round last week who had just got a 37 Sony, he was supprised at how good the picture was on the plasma (Freeview) I think it depends a lot on the source and if you watch a lot of Freeview my vote would be to go with plasma.

As for screen burn, over the last ftwo months , the kid has been playing his PS2 football game for hours on end. No ill effects. In fact I found it stunning it was close to watchinga football match on TV.

But like some else said - set a budget , go for 42in at least with your room size room (many people get worried about the size, had great problems convincing our lot 50inch was the right size, and now it looks too small !)
 
I second that - I sit about 2 metres away from my 42 and it now seems ridiculous to think that before it i had a 28" CRT!
 
I was told that as a gamer and sports watcher the lcd's would be a wiser choice because of the screen burn issues - but then again, I watch a lot of movies as well :(

If you watch alot of sport take a very good look at any LCD sets before you buy. I was undecided between plasma and LCD until I watched some HD football in a shop on multiple screens. To my eyes, LCD has a big problem with fast moving objects and camera pans. The picture is pin sharp until the camera moves at speed and there is a dramatic loss of focus. This is not something I've seen with plasma and made my mind up for me.

I've played my 360 for hours on end (especially with Bioshock) and had no problems. As long as you run the set in properly and then don't leave it on pause for hours at a time you should be fine.
 
Some good advice thanks :)

I will probably stick with 37" as the TV sits in an alcove next to the chimney breast and between the dining room/lounge. I measured up and a 42" will stick out of the lounge and into the dining room when placed at an angle (which it needs to be).

Its a rectangular lounge with the screen on the left of the chimney, a large sofa about 6 feet away from the chimney and a small sofa in the bay window which is about 9 foot from where the TV will be.

We currently have a Panny 28" of 10 years so 37 will seem big to us :)
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom