Plasma vs LCD for Xbox 360

[spacehead]

I just can't make up my mind - aargh!!

Just as I think I've settled on which tv to get, I read something else in these forums which creates doubt in my mind. My original plan was to get a large screen LCD (40"+) as I am upgrading from a 42" toshiba rear projection. My lounge is 20 ft long and I usually sit around 10-15 ft away.
The shortlist came down to the new 40" sammie M61 or the 42" tosh wlt58. But I've read about some people's problems with LCD on the forums and worry that almost £2k is a lot to spend on "flawed" product.

I had discounted plasma until reading the forums views of the 43" XDE Pioneer. But then because I would use the set for xbox 360 I'm worried about screen burn. I also watch movies and sport so the PQ is important to me.
Has anyone been through the same dilemmas and come out the other side. At this rate I won't be buying anything and there's money burning a hole in my pocket. This indecision is making me tear my hair out.

Help

 

[Lin3ar]

I think that a lot of peoples problems that they have with LCD PQ stems from the fact that they sit too close to a big screen.I would say that from 15 feet a 42" lcd should look pretty good but picture faults might show from 10 feet.
As for using it with gaming, I would go for a LCD.My 360 looks superb on my Panasonic LCD and there is no chance of screen burn.

 

[andrewfee]

If you play games, plasma isn't an option for you really, it's as simple as that. People claim that their Panasonics are immune to burn-in, but if that was the case, why do Panasonic not guarantee against it?

Do you normally watch in a completely dark room, or have the lights on? If it's the latter, then I doubt you will have an issue with LCD technology. You may want to consider the Sony KDLV40A12; many people seem to rate these highly. (I would personally recommend against Samsung as DNIe cannot be disabled and is detrimental to image quality)

 

[spacehead]

thanks andrew. I usually watch with side lights on or at least an uplighter in the corner of the room. I looked at the sony you mention and also the w40a12u but didn't know the difference between the v and the w, and didn't know whether the price premium of the tosh was worth it. any thoughts?

 

[pixelated]

If you're careful to avoid Screenburn I think games look better on Plasma. No ghosting or anything like that to worry about. Generally, if you are careful, with modern Plasmas screenburn isn't as issue, or hardly an issue these days. Image retention can happen, but again, it isn't anywhere near what it is. People do claim their Plasmas are immune, they won't be immune, but just not easily affected.

 

[Sporran]

i think the W comes with a nice sub woofer yum yum. I got the V33 and its top dawg for 360 and ps2 tbh

 

[james_uk9]

DO NOT go for plasma if u spend long hours gaming on xbox360. I have to run screen saver daily in order to minimize burn from my 360 games.

 

[pixelated]

thanks andrew. I usually watch with side lights on or at least an uplighter in the corner of the room. I looked at the sony you mention and also the w40a12u but didn't know the difference between the v and the w, and didn't know whether the price premium of the tosh was worth it. any thoughts?

The V series and W series are the same I think, except the design of the W and the sound system it uses. But I think the picture is exactly the same. The S series is the same panel as the V and W, but without WEGA processing.

 

[bluevortex]

If you play games, plasma isn't an option for you really, it's as simple as that. People claim that their Panasonics are immune to burn-in, but if that was the case, why do Panasonic not guarantee against it?

Do you normally watch in a completely dark room, or have the lights on? If it's the latter, then I doubt you will have an issue with LCD technology. You may want to consider the Sony KDLV40A12; many people seem to rate these highly. (I would personally recommend against Samsung as DNIe cannot be disabled and is detrimental to image quality)

I have both LCD and Plasma. I agree that xbox 360 looks amazing on my samsung. However, it does not perform any where near aswell as my panasonic plasma for any other source. Which lets face it, if its your main screen you will be using it for Sky/Freeview and DVD aswell. I have had my plasma around 18 months and have never had any problems with screen burn. Im sure if it was sensitive to burn in i would have noticed it by now? I think this is a myth - has anybody actually experienced this on recent models??

Also there seems to be alot of people who don't rate plasma for gaming. I disagree with them. Its by far the best gaming experience i have ever had. The 360 through component looks amazing. I have played through COD2 twice on my plasma and it just doesn't get any better, the deep blacks and more natural colours make it a great gaming experience especially with home theatre hooked up. If i were you i would consider plasma, deffinately worth looking at.

 

[bluevortex]

DO NOT go for plasma if u spend long hours gaming on xbox360. I have to run screen saver daily in order to minimize burn from my 360 games.

I am an avid gamer and played many many hours on my panasonic plasma without a hint of screen burn. You advice is not strictly correct on all plasmas

 

[andrewfee]

The V series and W series are the same I think, except the design of the W and the sound system it uses. But I think the picture is exactly the same. The S series is the same panel as the V and W, but without WEGA processing.

I don't think that's the case - the V and W use S-PVA panels, but the S does not, as far as I am aware. (perhaps the 40" is an exception?)

In addition to a better panel, as you stated, they have the WEGA Engine.

Also there seems to be alot of people who don't rate plasma for gaming. I disagree with them. Its by far the best gaming experience i have ever had. The 360 through component looks amazing. I have played through COD2 twice on my plasma and it just doesn't get any better, the deep blacks and more natural colours make it a great gaming experience especially with home theatre hooked up. If i were you i would consider plasma, deffinately worth looking at.

I'm sure it can look as good as any image does on a Plasma, but games are full of static images, which are a no-no with Plasma screens.

 

[james_uk9]

I am an avid gamer and played many many hours on my panasonic plasma without a hint of screen burn. You advice is not strictly correct on all plasmas

Perhaps im just unlucky then, speaking from personal experience i would advise against plasma for HD gaming.

 

[stevelup]

Hi

Not all Plasma's are equal.

We spent a whole day playing PGR3 the other week on our Panasonic PWD6 and there was absolutely no evidence of screen burn at all - not a jot.

Personally, I think LCD still has a way to go before it matches Plasma for sheer image quality - I find every LCD I've looked at appears overprocessed and unnatural to look at. They also smear with fast moving content.

Eek, I've just noticed which forum this question was asked in - no doubt I'm going to get hung drawn and quartered by the LCD advocates

Steve

 

[Lin3ar]

Hi

Not all Plasma's are equal.

We spent a whole day playing PGR3 the other week on our Panasonic PWD6 and there was absolutely no evidence of screen burn at all - not a jot.

Personally, I think LCD still has a way to go before it matches Plasma for sheer image quality - I find every LCD I've looked at appears overprocessed and unnatural to look at. They also smear with fast moving content.

Eek, I've just noticed which forum this question was asked in - no doubt I'm going to get hung drawn and quartered by the LCD advocates

Steve

Where are the knives

 

[jpb82]

plasma displays produce a better picture than lcds.
however if you plan on using the tv for alot of gaming you should go for an lcd
because no matter how good a plasma is the risk of screen burn is just to high
thats why ive decided to go for a top quality lcd instead of a plasma.
but if you have a lot of money and dont mind taking the risk of screen burn go for a plasma the choice is yours.

 

[jaybv6]

I bought a Sony KDLV-40A12 LCD Tv and use my 360 on it. The picture is superb in High Def, infact see for yourself, this is Marble Blast Ultra in 720p.

 

[frund]

I must say I agree with the lcd being over processed. When you compare a lcd with a good ol crt, the crt has a clearer more nanatural picture [SKY]. I really fancy a new screen [footy and films] 32" something, but when I read these posts I'm less than convinced.

 

[jay_edinburgh]

Go for a LCD if you want a Tv mainly for gaming, its the safest option in my eyes. I have a Sony Bravia V40 and the XBOX360 is simply amazing on it, worth a look I think.

 

[jay_edinburgh]

Jaybv60 you need to take the stickers off your TV, looks much better without them. I just stuck all the stickers on the back of the TV where you cant see them

 

[bluevortex]

Xbox 360 is going to look good regardless of wether its on plasma or LCD if you use component or VGA leads. I agree that if it was soley for xbox 360 i would buy an LCD. The 720p games do look frickin good

 

[Play_It_Loud]

I religiously ran my plasma in on the low settings for 300 hrs and have had a 360 for a week now with some monster sessions 12hrs+ on it. Guess what? Not the slightest hint of image retention/screen burn or anything else you wish to call it.
LCD's are guaranteed to be better at coping with retention and burn. However, the image quality just isn't there yet. You don't get the levels of detail in dark images/scenes. Put on a copy of Sin City and this fact jumps out at you.

I say go with what you feel offers the best image. The 436 XDE is simply awesome on any source. Don't be swayed by doom mongers. If I listened to some of the negative guff spouted on this site I'd never of bought anything.

As Yoda says 'Chuffed with my system, I am'

 

[Gavin83]

I'd always recommend checking out the sets for yourself.

When I was looking around, I mostly had plasma advised to me due to the improved image quality. After checking them out I decided I really didn't like the picture the plasma produced for the sources I needed and opted for LCD instead, which for me had the better quality out of the two. You always have CRT to consider, but having dealt with all 3, LCD is my personal preference at the moment. Just take a look around at the recommended sets from each category, since every technology has its advantages and disadvantages. It all comes down to what bothers you the most.

 

[spacehead]

Thanks Gavin - out of interest which LCD did you go for?

 

[jaybv6]

Jaybv60 you need to take the stickers off your TV, looks much better without them. I just stuck all the stickers on the back of the TV where you cant see them

They have been removed, cheers for pointing that out . That pic was taken the first night the TV was on the wall. I removed them the next day and also placed them on the rear.

 

[Steve.EX]

Just my tuppence worth.
I have spend much too much time recently really looking at large panel sets. My conclusion:
All things being equal, at SD and HD and at the 'good' end of the market LCD doesn't touch plasma - end of.
Whether it's movies or xbox360 the image quality offered by the usual suspects (Panny pv500/Pioneer436) is so much better than equally priced lcd's that i really don't know why anyone would have to consider it. The only 'weakness' that i have observed with current quality plasma is if you are going to connect your pc to it. The image doesn't 'do it' for me.
When you come to true hi-def images again, it is so much better on plasma for so many reasons.
As has been stated so many times over on other forums if you don't run contrast and brightness at 80% then screenburn won't be an issue. If you had a rear pro lcd (as i had for many many years without any issue whatsoever - complete with xbox Halo addiction) then you know what to do.
Have a good look for yourself.
I am in no way biased, i do not own a plasma, but i soon will. I own a mid-sized LCD and was/am looking for something larger.
I have seen the error of my ways (PQ wise)
Again, good lcd is not nearly as good as good plasma.
just my less than casual (furtive in-fact) observations.

Steven