Best gaming TV deal?
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burritoman
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I was in the same situation as you about a month ago. I wanted the best deal for my money and I really wanted something bigger than 32". 32" just looked small in my gaming room. I upgraded from a 32" SD TV. There are no real TV shops anymore, so you're almost forced to buy from Walmart, Sears, etc.
I went with this 42" Panasonic Plasma. No input lag, very smooth picture, no motion blur and the colors look very nice. Some people say plasma is bad for gaming, but I find that on some LCD or LED TVs the input lag makes it almost unplayable. Input lag is one of the biggest things you are looking at for a gaming TV. The thing about a plasma is it's got a break in period of about 100-200 hours. I just stuck mine in a closet, turned it on 24/7, and got it out a week later. I think bang for your buck this is the best deal. It doesn't have smart TV functions and other crap that inflates the price.
Really the best advice is to go to the store, look around and pick the one you like the best. There is a Panasonic and Samsung plasma in that range, Vizio, Sanyo, and RCA have a couple in the range as well. I was not crazy about the rock bottom TVs like Westinghouse, Coby, and Element. They looked like crap. Insignia was pretty shitty as well because of the lag. Best Buy has their 360 display unit set up with an Insignia I couldn't play Tiger Woods on it because of the delay, it was horrid.
A floor model could be a good deal for you as well, my local Kmart has a 42" Sony floor model for $379, looks good and has the remote and all the papers, just was turned on for a year or so. I just didn't like that TV as much as the one I got.
Don't buy the extended warranty from the store, it's too damn expensive, get one from SquareTrade.
http://www.sears.com/panasonic-42inch-class-viera-reg-x60-series-720p-600hz/p-05771529000P?prdNo=7&blockNo=7&blockType=G7
I went with this 42" Panasonic Plasma. No input lag, very smooth picture, no motion blur and the colors look very nice. Some people say plasma is bad for gaming, but I find that on some LCD or LED TVs the input lag makes it almost unplayable. Input lag is one of the biggest things you are looking at for a gaming TV. The thing about a plasma is it's got a break in period of about 100-200 hours. I just stuck mine in a closet, turned it on 24/7, and got it out a week later. I think bang for your buck this is the best deal. It doesn't have smart TV functions and other crap that inflates the price.
Really the best advice is to go to the store, look around and pick the one you like the best. There is a Panasonic and Samsung plasma in that range, Vizio, Sanyo, and RCA have a couple in the range as well. I was not crazy about the rock bottom TVs like Westinghouse, Coby, and Element. They looked like crap. Insignia was pretty shitty as well because of the lag. Best Buy has their 360 display unit set up with an Insignia I couldn't play Tiger Woods on it because of the delay, it was horrid.
A floor model could be a good deal for you as well, my local Kmart has a 42" Sony floor model for $379, looks good and has the remote and all the papers, just was turned on for a year or so. I just didn't like that TV as much as the one I got.
Don't buy the extended warranty from the store, it's too damn expensive, get one from SquareTrade.
http://www.sears.com/panasonic-42inch-class-viera-reg-x60-series-720p-600hz/p-05771529000P?prdNo=7&blockNo=7&blockType=G7
burritoman
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You are in a bad spot price wise. At $500, you can buy a nicer, bigger one, but at $400 you can still get a nice TV. I went for the Panasonic because I liked it better than the other $300-$400 TVs. There are some nice Toshiba and Samsung TVs in that range.
Another thing--make sure the TV has enough of the right kind of hookups for you. All I needed was 1 composite and 1 HDMI plus one for Cable TV. If you need more, you may want to look into a switch box or a higher end smaller TV. Some have 2 or 3 composite/component and 2 or 3 HDMI. Some have 1 of each, some have HDMI and NO composite or component.
Most games (in this generation) are 720p. It really depends on if you are looking forward to the next generation of consoles now, or in several years. Personally, I am not going to be moving into the PS4 until closer to the end of the generation. I still play a lot of Wii and PS2.
Another thing, it is said that the human eye can't tell the difference between 720p and 1080p at a normal sitting distance on screens smaller than 42". It really depends on how close you sit, and the size of your screen. I am personally about 10 feet or so from the TV. (I know people will disagree with me on that point.)
Really, you are going to be in shock at how good your games look when you first turn on a new game on a new HDTV.
In some stores (My local Best Buy) hook the TVs up using a coaxial cable, and it looks like crap, I found that Sears was fairly consistent in having their stuff hooked up correctly.
Here's another link that may help you some, it discusses resolution a little bit.
http://www.ehow.com/how_4705379_choose-tv-p-vs-p.html
There are thousands of articles online about TVs, but to be honest, we also bought a new 46" HDTV last week, and I told my wife to go pick which one she liked the best. We ended up with a Samsung LED, that was $600. It's really what you like the best and what is the size you need and want in your room. I personally have a room that is big enough that I can sit 10-15 feet away from the TV and play, not everyone has that option. Take your time, look around at your local stores and pick a good one. Most screens will last over 50,000 hours which is quite a few years. LED are very energy efficient.
Trust me though, ANYTHING will look better than your SDTV for modern games. If you got any questions, I'll try to help you as much as I can. Send me a PM, I'll get to it faster.
Another thing--make sure the TV has enough of the right kind of hookups for you. All I needed was 1 composite and 1 HDMI plus one for Cable TV. If you need more, you may want to look into a switch box or a higher end smaller TV. Some have 2 or 3 composite/component and 2 or 3 HDMI. Some have 1 of each, some have HDMI and NO composite or component.
Most games (in this generation) are 720p. It really depends on if you are looking forward to the next generation of consoles now, or in several years. Personally, I am not going to be moving into the PS4 until closer to the end of the generation. I still play a lot of Wii and PS2.
Another thing, it is said that the human eye can't tell the difference between 720p and 1080p at a normal sitting distance on screens smaller than 42". It really depends on how close you sit, and the size of your screen. I am personally about 10 feet or so from the TV. (I know people will disagree with me on that point.)
Really, you are going to be in shock at how good your games look when you first turn on a new game on a new HDTV.
In some stores (My local Best Buy) hook the TVs up using a coaxial cable, and it looks like crap, I found that Sears was fairly consistent in having their stuff hooked up correctly.
Here's another link that may help you some, it discusses resolution a little bit.
http://www.ehow.com/how_4705379_choose-tv-p-vs-p.html
There are thousands of articles online about TVs, but to be honest, we also bought a new 46" HDTV last week, and I told my wife to go pick which one she liked the best. We ended up with a Samsung LED, that was $600. It's really what you like the best and what is the size you need and want in your room. I personally have a room that is big enough that I can sit 10-15 feet away from the TV and play, not everyone has that option. Take your time, look around at your local stores and pick a good one. Most screens will last over 50,000 hours which is quite a few years. LED are very energy efficient.
Trust me though, ANYTHING will look better than your SDTV for modern games. If you got any questions, I'll try to help you as much as I can. Send me a PM, I'll get to it faster.
I ended up going with this
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Insignia%26%23153%3B+-+39%26%2334%3B+Class+(38-1/2%26%2334%3B+Diag.)+-+LED+-+1080p+-+60Hz+-+HDTV/7790041.p?id=1218860215454&skuId=7790041&st=*Insignia&cp=1&lp=5
Price was cheap and reviews seemed good. I wanted to avoid 120Hz because of soap opera affect so I am fine with 60 Hz. Gonna go pick it up tomorrow and see how it looks
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Insignia%26%23153%3B+-+39%26%2334%3B+Class+(38-1/2%26%2334%3B+Diag.)+-+LED+-+1080p+-+60Hz+-+HDTV/7790041.p?id=1218860215454&skuId=7790041&st=*Insignia&cp=1&lp=5
Price was cheap and reviews seemed good. I wanted to avoid 120Hz because of soap opera affect so I am fine with 60 Hz. Gonna go pick it up tomorrow and see how it looks
burritoman
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Cool. I hope your input lag is good on that one. It's hard to go wrong with most any TV out there.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
bread's done