What is the Best HDTV (Plasma or LCD) for the Ultimate Gaming Experience?

Greetings, all.

I'm in the market to purchase a new HDTV (most likely on Black Friday). I'm well versed in the technology that drives Plasma and LCD flat-panels, but my experience with gaming on LCDs and Plasmas are somewhat limited, and this is where I need assistance.

I know and understand the main differences between LCDs and Plasmas such as LCD is better in lighter areas and Plasmas are better in darker areas. There's no real differences between 720p and 1080p as long as the screen size is under 50in (you'd have to look HARD to notice any -- I'll be getting a 1080p just to 'future proof' it for a while).

LCDs consumes less energy and are lighter than Plasmas, but Plasmas are known to have better contrast ratios, better color saturation, and deeper blacks. Also, LCDs (even with 120Hz) still have a slight motion blur effect with fast-moving objects in some games if you look for it, where Plasmas response time is almost instantaneous.

From my limited experience with gaming on either of these two technologies, LCDs seem better for computer graphics (that is what they generally made for anyway) or for gaming and Plasmas are better for a theater-like experience with movies and TV, but I could be mistaken.

The HDTV I'm looking for MUST have 1080p (for reasons stated above) and it MUST be at least 50in. My only concern is with the dreaded 'burn-in' issues that past Plasmas experienced (although from what I've researched, even current Plasma displays still have the chance of burn-in). I'm leaning towards Plasma because of their overall quality over LCDs (although that gap is very small these days, I know) but if burn-in is still an issue I'd just assume get a good LCD to avoid any problems altogether.

Which leads me to my question:

Have any of you ever played your PS3/X360 on a large Plasma display, and if so, have you experienced any issues regarding burn-in when it comes to leaving static graphics (score, health, ammo count; e.g. Gears of War or Resistance Fall of Man) while you were gaming for a few hours?

I don't watch TV and a only watch movies once in a while, so gaming is priority for me. Any assistance with this would be GREATLY appreciated! Black Friday is coming up and I need to figure this out fast!

~ Ultra ~

Which leads me to my question:

Have any of you ever played your PS3/X360 on a large Plasma display, and if so, have you experienced any issues regarding burn-in when it comes to leaving static graphics (score, health, ammo count; e.g. Gears of War or Resistance Fall of Man) while you were gaming for a few hours?

UltraWoody

I play on a 50" Samsung plasma and get image retention. Worst image retention I had was the dial from Forza 2 (only game I was playing during a week period) and it took about 4-6 hours of playing other games and watch-in movies until it disappeared. I never play guitar hero or those types of games on my plasma. Although burn-in can happen it's takes alot , IR is the common issue and that goes away.

Most plasma have built-in burn and image retention features, the one I use if I play for a long period of time and can see some retention is a gradient display that goes across the screen, usually only takes 5 minutes and the screen is clean. Even if I didn't use that either loading up a movie or another game does the same thing.

So with the small extra care you might have to do, I feel plasma is more than worth it.

I also had a 2008 model 50" Panasonic Plasma. I don't game much but after the first week, Madden 09's scoreboard was already burned in. I now own a 52" 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV. Do yourself a favor and buy an LCD HDTV.DaGamingGod

No way you had "burn in". Not on a 2008 Pany. You probably had the contrast up too high and got IR.

[QUOTE="DaGamingGod"]I also had a 2008 model 50" Panasonic Plasma. I don't game much but after the first week, Madden 09's scoreboard was already burned in. I now own a 52" 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV. Do yourself a favor and buy an LCD HDTV.brian6751

No way you had "burn in". Not on a 2008 Pany. You probably had the contrast up too high and got IR.

As for your little 42" Plasma beating out every LCD you have seen, I guess you have only seen Vizio's.

The other reason I returned the 50" Panasonic Plasma is because of all the picture noise. The noise reduction feature is useless on the Panasonic's and it drove me crazy while watching certain content. The only mode that does not have much picture noise is Cinema mode and Cinema can't be edited for each input. Thanks but no thanks!

I just picked up a TH-58PZ800U from Costco and have about 20 hours into it...15 are from gaming and I have had zero problems..

And it looks freaking good...I dont know how it stacks up to LCD's.....I don't care..Cnet said it was good..costco has a great price..and I am one happy camper

[QUOTE="brian6751"]

[QUOTE="DaGamingGod"]I also had a 2008 model 50" Panasonic Plasma. I don't game much but after the first week, Madden 09's scoreboard was already burned in. I now own a 52" 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV. Do yourself a favor and buy an LCD HDTV.DaGamingGod

No way you had "burn in". Not on a 2008 Pany. You probably had the contrast up too high and got IR.

As for your little 42" Plasma beating out every LCD you have seen, I guess you have only seen Vizio's.

The other reason I returned the 50" Panasonic Plasma is because of all the picture noise. The noise reduction feature is useless on the Panasonic's and it drove me crazy while watching certain content. The only mode that does not have much picture noise is Cinema mode and Cinema can't be edited for each input. Thanks but no thanks!

sorry to break it to you but Panasonic Plasmas are the second best TV you can buy and they come in a close second to Pioneers and no LCD comes close to this gen pannys what you should of done is got it properly calibrated I got mine done and I rarely get IR and I game for atleast 2 hours every day on it, I spend a lot of time on avforums and that doesnt make me a technician, also what you have stated does sound like a user related problem more than the TV. Up until recently I use to work in a electrical store for over ten years and in that time if you take sales ratio's into account I have seen a hell of a lot more LCD's (mostly sonys and lesser brands like matsui) returned over plasmas.

As for the picture noise issue have you even seen any LCD displaying SD content now that is picture noise. Please dont tell me you got a HDTV and not a HD receiver because my Skyhd on my 50" panny looks sweeeeeeet. and Im a picture quality fanatic.

Im sorry for the rant but it took me two years to decide on which TV to buy swinging between LCD and Plasma so I have seen a lot of TVs and for someone to come here and tell people that a panny plasma isnt worth it get an LCD is just an opinion the people that make these threads need to go out and do the research by actually looking at the TVs with good source content being displayed and make their own decision.

[QUOTE="DaGamingGod"][QUOTE="brian6751"]

[QUOTE="DaGamingGod"]I also had a 2008 model 50" Panasonic Plasma. I don't game much but after the first week, Madden 09's scoreboard was already burned in. I now own a 52" 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV. Do yourself a favor and buy an LCD HDTV.boyinfridge

No way you had "burn in". Not on a 2008 Pany. You probably had the contrast up too high and got IR.

As for your little 42" Plasma beating out every LCD you have seen, I guess you have only seen Vizio's.

The other reason I returned the 50" Panasonic Plasma is because of all the picture noise. The noise reduction feature is useless on the Panasonic's and it drove me crazy while watching certain content. The only mode that does not have much picture noise is Cinema mode and Cinema can't be edited for each input. Thanks but no thanks!

sorry to break it to you but Panasonic Plasmas are the second best TV you can buy and they come in a close second to Pioneers and no LCD comes close to this gen pannys what you should of done is got it properly calibrated I got mine done and I rarely get IR and I game for atleast 2 hours every day on it, I spend a lot of time on avforums and that doesnt make me a technician, also what you have stated does sound like a user related problem more than the TV. Up until recently I use to work in a electrical store for over ten years and in that time if you take sales ratio's into account I have seen a hell of a lot more LCD's (mostly sonys and lesser brands like matsui) returned over plasmas.

As for the picture noise issue have you even seen any LCD displaying SD content now that is picture noise. Please dont tell me you got a HDTV and not a HD receiver because my Skyhd on my 50" panny looks sweeeeeeet. and Im a picture quality fanatic.

Im sorry for the rant but it took me two years to decide on which TV to buy swinging between LCD and Plasma so I have seen a lot of TVs and for someone to come here and tell people that a panny plasma isnt worth it get an LCD is just an opinion the people that make these threads need to go out and do the research by actually looking at the TVs with good source content being displayed and make their own decision.

The picture noise on the Panasonics is a known issue. Like I stated before, the noise reduction feature is USELESS and burn-in is still possible. The Panasonics (other than the 800/850 models) do not feature accurate colors because they have a red push problem that can't be fixed. BTW, I properly calibrated my HDTV and even used a break-in DVD for the first 200 hours. Guess what? IR still occured and eventually burn-in.

I know a bunch of Plasma fanboys that claim that their Panny Plasma looks better than every LCD that they have seen. Well, I owned a Panny and no, it's not better than every LCD that I have seen. That's my opinion along with Cnet's + other review sites. Should I believe you or them? Hmmm.....

TC, it's really up to you. I think that LCD's are safer to game on than Plasma's. It's less of a hassle as well since you don't have to worry about breaking in the HDTV in fear of IR and burn-in. It's obviously still an issue (although not as big as before) because boyinfridge had to lower the contrast on his HDTV for a reason.

I have a 1080p 42" plasma. Smokes any LCD I've seen. (Panasonic TH-42PZ85U). It has pixel orbiting to prevent IR and I have not had any problems even after playing Fallout 3 for hours and hours. You just have to keep the CONTRAST down till after its broken in. Also has a less reflective screen than my old CRT (Sony XBR970). Plasma is the way to go for sure. Dont forget that Plasma does not have the viewing angle issues that LCD and DLP have as well.brian6751

It's funny you say that because I was at Best Buy last night talking to the salesman about the Panasonic (it was an early 2008 model) hanging on the wall, replaying the same clips over and over. Looking somewhat close you could make out the black bars from the widescreen movie on the top and on the bottom. I, of course, brought this to his attention. He said it can be fixed with most Panasonic models AND that it only happened because it is running from 9:30am to 9:30pm (EST - I'm in NH) -- that's 12 hours a day, non-stop! -- for the past 8 months. Considering what they put that flat-panel through only to barely see the black bars is remarkable, esp from the older models. As for myself, I only game a maximum of 3 hours a day, every other day.

[QUOTE="brian6751"]I have a 1080p 42" plasma. Smokes any LCD I've seen. (Panasonic TH-42PZ85U). It has pixel orbiting to prevent IR and I have not had any problems even after playing Fallout 3 for hours and hours. You just have to keep the CONTRAST down till after its broken in. Also has a less reflective screen than my old CRT (Sony XBR970). Plasma is the way to go for sure. Dont forget that Plasma does not have the viewing angle issues that LCD and DLP have as well.UltraWoody

It's funny you say that because I was at Best Buy last night talking to the salesman about the Panasonic (it was an early 2008 model) hanging on the wall, replaying the same clips over and over. Looking somewhat close you could make out the black bars from the widescreen movie on the top and on the bottom. I, of course, brought this to his attention. He said it can be fixed with most Panasonic models AND that it only happened because it is running from 9:30am to 9:30pm (EST - I'm in NH) -- that's 12 hours a day, non-stop! -- for the past 8 months. Considering what they put that flat-panel through only to barely see the black bars is remarkable, esp from the older models. As for myself, I only game a maximum of 3 hours a day, every other day.

I'm not against Plasma's. I would love to own a Pioneer Plasma if I could afford one. It just bugs me when Plasma fanboys claim that Plasma's look better than any LCD on the market. The only Plasma that I would consider better than any LCD is probably the Pioneer Elite Kuro. In the end, it's all a matter of opinion. Both have their pro's and cons.

There are definitely pros and cons to each. I have a plasma, in fact a very good plasma (TH-50PZ800u) and I had some IR from playing Rock Band, but I believe it is gone now (actually just checked before posting). If you aren't interseted in even the possibility of IR then go LCD, but know there are drawbacks with those sets as well.

No TV is perfect.

[QUOTE="UltraWoody"]

[QUOTE="brian6751"]I have a 1080p 42" plasma. Smokes any LCD I've seen. (Panasonic TH-42PZ85U). It has pixel orbiting to prevent IR and I have not had any problems even after playing Fallout 3 for hours and hours. You just have to keep the CONTRAST down till after its broken in. Also has a less reflective screen than my old CRT (Sony XBR970). Plasma is the way to go for sure. Dont forget that Plasma does not have the viewing angle issues that LCD and DLP have as well.DaGamingGod

It's funny you say that because I was at Best Buy last night talking to the salesman about the Panasonic (it was an early 2008 model) hanging on the wall, replaying the same clips over and over. Looking somewhat close you could make out the black bars from the widescreen movie on the top and on the bottom. I, of course, brought this to his attention. He said it can be fixed with most Panasonic models AND that it only happened because it is running from 9:30am to 9:30pm (EST - I'm in NH) -- that's 12 hours a day, non-stop! -- for the past 8 months. Considering what they put that flat-panel through only to barely see the black bars is remarkable, esp from the older models. As for myself, I only game a maximum of 3 hours a day, every other day.

I'm not against Plasma's. I would love to own a Pioneer Plasma if I could afford one. It just bugs me when Plasma fanboys claim that Plasma's look better than any LCD on the market. The only Plasma that I would consider better than any LCD is probably the Pioneer Elite Kuro. In the end, it's all a matter of opinion. Both have their pro's and cons.

If you admit that its just your opinion then why are you arguing about it?I never said "any LCD on the market". I said any LCD that I have seen.I prefer the better black levels, great viewing angles, more realistic skin tones, and lack of motion blur that my plasma delivers. Many people agree with me. As for your comment about my "little 42", its the right size for my room. I could've bought the 65"er if thats what I wanted. And no, I'm not comparing it to Vizio's. I'm comparing it to sets like my XBR970 CRT, and my friends 120Hz Samsung LCD. Being in the AVS forums a lot does'nt mean squat. I'm there a lot as well and Im far from the end all expert you claim to be. Theres a handful of folks in there that really know their stuff and neither one of us are one of them. I just appreciate a good picture. Thats all. Im sure your MASSIVE!!! Lcd is a great set with all your buying knowledge from the AVS forums.

[QUOTE="DaGamingGod"][QUOTE="UltraWoody"]

[QUOTE="brian6751"]I have a 1080p 42" plasma. Smokes any LCD I've seen. (Panasonic TH-42PZ85U). It has pixel orbiting to prevent IR and I have not had any problems even after playing Fallout 3 for hours and hours. You just have to keep the CONTRAST down till after its broken in. Also has a less reflective screen than my old CRT (Sony XBR970). Plasma is the way to go for sure. Dont forget that Plasma does not have the viewing angle issues that LCD and DLP have as well.brian6751

It's funny you say that because I was at Best Buy last night talking to the salesman about the Panasonic (it was an early 2008 model) hanging on the wall, replaying the same clips over and over. Looking somewhat close you could make out the black bars from the widescreen movie on the top and on the bottom. I, of course, brought this to his attention. He said it can be fixed with most Panasonic models AND that it only happened because it is running from 9:30am to 9:30pm (EST - I'm in NH) -- that's 12 hours a day, non-stop! -- for the past 8 months. Considering what they put that flat-panel through only to barely see the black bars is remarkable, esp from the older models. As for myself, I only game a maximum of 3 hours a day, every other day.

I'm not against Plasma's. I would love to own a Pioneer Plasma if I could afford one. It just bugs me when Plasma fanboys claim that Plasma's look better than any LCD on the market. The only Plasma that I would consider better than any LCD is probably the Pioneer Elite Kuro. In the end, it's all a matter of opinion. Both have their pro's and cons.

If you admit that its just your opinion then why are you arguing about it?I never said "any LCD on the market". I said any LCD that I have seen.I prefer the better black levels, great viewing angles, more realistic skin tones, and lack of motion blur that my plasma delivers. Many people agree with me. As for your comment about my "little 42", its the right size for my room. I could've bought the 65"er if thats what I wanted. And no, I'm not comparing it to Vizio's. I'm comparing it to sets like my XBR970 CRT, and my friends 120Hz Samsung LCD. Being in the AVS forums a lot does'nt mean squat. I'm there a lot as well and Im far from the end all expert you claim to be. Theres a handful of folks in there that really know their stuff and neither one of us are one of them. I just appreciate a good picture. Thats all. Im sure your MASSIVE!!! Lcd is a great set with all your buying knowledge from the AVS forums.

[QUOTE="brian6751"][QUOTE="DaGamingGod"][QUOTE="UltraWoody"]

[QUOTE="brian6751"]I have a 1080p 42" plasma. Smokes any LCD I've seen. (Panasonic TH-42PZ85U). It has pixel orbiting to prevent IR and I have not had any problems even after playing Fallout 3 for hours and hours. You just have to keep the CONTRAST down till after its broken in. Also has a less reflective screen than my old CRT (Sony XBR970). Plasma is the way to go for sure. Dont forget that Plasma does not have the viewing angle issues that LCD and DLP have as well.DaGamingGod

It's funny you say that because I was at Best Buy last night talking to the salesman about the Panasonic (it was an early 2008 model) hanging on the wall, replaying the same clips over and over. Looking somewhat close you could make out the black bars from the widescreen movie on the top and on the bottom. I, of course, brought this to his attention. He said it can be fixed with most Panasonic models AND that it only happened because it is running from 9:30am to 9:30pm (EST - I'm in NH) -- that's 12 hours a day, non-stop! -- for the past 8 months. Considering what they put that flat-panel through only to barely see the black bars is remarkable, esp from the older models. As for myself, I only game a maximum of 3 hours a day, every other day.

I'm not against Plasma's. I would love to own a Pioneer Plasma if I could afford one. It just bugs me when Plasma fanboys claim that Plasma's look better than any LCD on the market. The only Plasma that I would consider better than any LCD is probably the Pioneer Elite Kuro. In the end, it's all a matter of opinion. Both have their pro's and cons.

If you admit that its just your opinion then why are you arguing about it?I never said "any LCD on the market". I said any LCD that I have seen.I prefer the better black levels, great viewing angles, more realistic skin tones, and lack of motion blur that my plasma delivers. Many people agree with me. As for your comment about my "little 42", its the right size for my room. I could've bought the 65"er if thats what I wanted. And no, I'm not comparing it to Vizio's. I'm comparing it to sets like my XBR970 CRT, and my friends 120Hz Samsung LCD. Being in the AVS forums a lot does'nt mean squat. I'm there a lot as well and Im far from the end all expert you claim to be. Theres a handful of folks in there that really know their stuff and neither one of us are one of them. I just appreciate a good picture. Thats all. Im sure your MASSIVE!!! Lcd is a great set with all your buying knowledge from the AVS forums.

I am not siding with anyone... but take a look at what yea just said

"I just think you're crazy if you think your 42" Plasma is better than any LCD that you have seen. Hilarious in fact"

You're trying to debate someone's opinion with their own experience...Your experience might be different. ...and I am sure it is because of the stance you are taking.....but that does not change the fact in his experience he has not seen a better performing LCD set..

What is Temporary Image Retention?

One of the advantages of LCD displays (compared to Plasma) is the fact that LCD do not
suffer the problem of permanent burn-in when a static picture is displayed for a long time
(for example a company logo that is always present at a particular spot on the screen).
But you may have heard that LCD displays also suffer from a similar type of image
retention. The image retention that may appear on LCD displays is called Temporary
Image Retention, and as the term implies, it is a condition that is not permanent (unlike
the image burn-in that is experienced with Plasma and CRT displays).

TIR occurs on LCD displays when ionic contaminants in the panel migrate to the surface
(usually caused by electromagnetic interference) and accumulate to areas in the panel
where a static image is displayed. This will cause a drop in the drive voltage in that area
and the static image remains visible even after the particular image is changed. Once the
image is changed, the impurities will, with time, migrate out of the area and the TIR
image should disappear. The time it takes for the TIR image to disappear depends on how
severe it was in the first place, and in some cases it takes so much time and effort that for
all practical purposes it could be called permanent.

The best way to avoid TIR is to first start out with a high quality panel and drive
electronics (in other words, a quality display). This will reduce the occurrence and
severity of TIR, and would make it easier to remove should it occur. Other steps that can
be taken to avoid TIR is to turn off the display when not in use, change the image with a
screen saver at intervals (for example a scrolling image), or inserting an all-white and all-
black image at some intervals (this can be very quick; 1/60 of a second and would be the
best way to address TIR in a 24/7 application). In short, a small effort in software can go
a long way in preventing TIR.

Temporary image retention can occur on any LCD display. However, the quality of the
panel (MVA technology is the best for reducing TIR occurrence), and the careful
selection and placement of the electronics (magnetic interference is a major cause) that
drive it have a significant effect on the occurrence of TIR, and of the time and effort
required to get rid of TIR once it happens. In other words, once it occurs, TIR is very
difficult to remove from some panels, and much easier from others.