What's The Right TV Set For Gaming?

Thanks to GameSpy for its article discussing the choice of TV sets that are best for playing videogames. The piece points out: "It is also important to keep in mind that bigger isn't always better, and that some types of displays aren't so game friendly", before analyzing the options, including Direct View CRT screens ("Affordable; good resolution... [but] Very large sets; limited progressive scan options"), DLP ("Immune to burn-in; reasonably affordable... [but] Doesn't work as well as CRT in bright conditions"), Plasma screens ("Wall-mountable; bright picture... [but] Phosphor burn-in; expensive") and Front Projection ("Big display; portability... [but] No speakers; depends a dark environment.")

Comments

DLP

[Segaholic2]

My 61" Samsung DLP is pretty sweet for games... I like it a lot. Component video cables are definitely a requirement, though. The regular RCA cables make things look like total crap at that size.

Re:Interesting to note

[Goyuix]

It is also interesting to note that Nintendo never once pushed the component video cable as any relevant accessory to the gamecube. I looked far and wide back in the day but they were not available in retail stores. No third party had decided to manufacturer their own version either. The only place was the Nintendo online store, which had it perpetually back ordered.

Not that I am wearing a tinfoil hat, but by severly limiting the distribution of a peripheral, then axing the port it requires all together, seems to smell a little funny to me.

Re:Interesting to note

[Babbster]

You know why I (and many others) haven't used it? Because they make you special-order the damned component cables from their website. You simply can't buy one in a local store. As a special bonus, they want to charge you $30 (plus shipping) for the privilege of them cutting out the middle peoples. The same functionality for the Xbox and PS2 can be had for $20 and under.

Typical GameSpy excuse for selling ads

[Cecil]

Ah, the usual fluff without any conclusion from GameSpy, full of common sense advice, blatant truisms, and technical inaccuracies. I liked this gem:

• LCD Rear Projection
  
• Pro for Gamers: Reasonably affordable; immune to burn-in.
  
• Con for Gamers: Phosphor burn-in; limited brands.
  

So, does it burn in or not? (The answer is no) Therefore... the only con you could come up with is that there are limited brands (also not really true)? In other words, this display type is excellent for gaming.

Yet it gets a single paragraph hidden away at the end of the rear projection section where they explicitly avoid saying whether it's good or bad. DLP, on the other hand, gets one and a half sections devoted to it (The DLP section and the rear projection section. uhh...)

Meanwhile, a shitty 800x600 projector with a bottom-of-the-barrel 1200 lumens seems to be their choice for gaming, their primary reasoning apparently being "it was designed by Italians!"

• Recommended LCD Projector: 3M S10 Bravo Home Theater Projector; Price: $1400.
  
• Features: Crafted by Italian design firm Pininfarina, 1200 lumens; digital keystone correction; HDTV support; 800x600 native resolution.
  

GameSpy continues to live up to their traditional standard of inspid and useless ad-copy disguised as articles. It's odd how people still find them relevant enough to be submitted to and accepted by Slashdot, though.

Re:Typical GameSpy excuse for selling ads

[hawkstone]

Sorry, no Mod points today, but you deserve 'em. At least you saved me the trouble of typing it all up myself. And just to reiterate, because this is often debated and often gotten wrong: LCD Rear Projection TV's do not burn in. (Excessive heat buildup might cause some temporary afterimages, but that is rare, minor, and temporary, and is thus not burnin.
)
And why on earth did they put LCD rear projection with CRT rear projection, but leave DLP off by itself? LCD RP and DLP (RP) are so much more similar than CRT RP is to either one. I'm tempted to send the author a nice polite note with some educational material.

That being said, there are downsides to LCD RP that the author didn't mention. Specifically, slightly worse contrast ratio and a slightly higher dead pixel ratio than DLP. Also, an SDE (screen door effect) is more likely because of bigger gaps between pixels.

However, I bought an LCD RP because these disadvantages were far less intrusive than the disadvantages I saw with DLP. Specifically, some DLPs had dithering that was very disturbing, the price was far too much (relative to LCD RP), and the moving parts were a slight maintenance concern.

What I use

[Student_Tech]

NEC MultiSync 4PG 27" monitor. CRT, direct view weighing about 120 pounds. Specs say it can handle 15-50 KHz Horizontal, 40-120 Hz Vertical. Has composite and S-Video connectors(and switch to go NTSC and PAL), and 5BNC and 15HD RGB connectors. Combined that with a transcoder to go from component on games/DVD to RGB and I can do 480i,480p,1080i,720p.

Best part, the price. $150 at a University surplus sale.

My brother had me get one for him as well, he uses it at 1024x768 on his computer, and sometimes a game system through the s-video.

This article has many mistakes

[swat_r2]

It's a long read, but this is the most informative thread on Rear Projection CRT vs DLP vs LCD I've seen. Apparently the worst thing you can do is buy LCD, RP CRT has an absolutely amazing picture after tuning, and DLP has some strong points as well as some negatives. A must read for those (like myself) who are looking for a set and have been overwhelmed with choices. I'll probably end up with a Toshiba or Hitachi CRT RPTV, as they are highly regarded by the videophiles.

CRT

[Rew190]

Get a high definition projection CRT. If you're buying a new TV, at this point you probably want to have the capability to do HD.

CRT projection isn't going to burn-in on you if you're even the least bit aware that it can happen.

Excellent image quality (I worked in a high-end consumer electronics store at one point, and given the choice between any TV set I would definitely go with a 5 lens CRT).

Cheap! You can purchase one of these bad boys for less than 1500 bucks.

Technology is tried and true.

Not as deep or heavy as you would think - a 46" weighs about 150 pounds and is easily less than 20" deep.

At any rate, I'd say it's the best bang for the buck. I'm THRILLED with my Toshiba 46" cinema series.