60hz VS. 120hz for gaming with xbox360??

[Boondox_Saint]

Which one would be the best? I've searched the forums and there is lots of help when considering sports and dvds and bluray.

I play a lot of different games, mostly shooters like Halo and Call of Duty but play an array of games besides those.

Which would be best for my situation? 60hz or 120hz? Keep in mind my only concern is for my xbox360....

 

[Zookster]

None of the above. Go plasma if you're into gaming and you don't have to worry about motion blur. I've got a Panny plasma last year that's excellent for reproducing the deep blacks on games that have dark or high contrast settings like Bioshock. If you stay away from the Samsung and LG plasmas, you don't need to worry about IR either.

 

[dont24]

No burn-in worries with today's Plasmas? I'm looking to upgrade my 37" Toshiba lcd in the bedroom. Maybe hang a 46" on the wall.

 

[lakebum431]

I've done quite a bit of gaming on my 60" Pioneer plasma and seen no IR or burn-in. I've played games with fairly large HUDs including CoD, inFamous and Fallout 3 for hours on end with no issue.

 

[Ilya]

Welcome to the forum, Boondox_Saint!

As Zookster mentioned above, LCD flat screen may not be the best choice for gaming, due to the motion blur. On the other hand, plasma sets may exhibit burn-in, especially if you often play the same games.

If you do go with LCD, then 120 Hz (or even 240 Hz), might be a better choice for motion blur reduction, but don't go by the specs alone - those numbers are often misleading. Instead, spend some time in the store watching different TV sets: pay attention to motion blur in fast action scenes. Choose the set that you can live with. Good luck!

 

[Ilya]

As a side note: the biggest advantage of 120Hz TV sets vs. 60Hz Tv sets is for playing movies shot at 24fps (because of the 5:5 pulldown, if done correctly). Games, on the other hand, are usually produced at 30 fps and have no pulldown issues when converted to 60 Hz.

Still, 120Hz TV sets may offer some advantages for playing games, if they utilize intelligent video processing.

 

[Zookster]

Just as when you are building a gaming PC, you want the best TV quality possible to maximize the experience. Though I'm partial to plasmas, I agree that 120Hz isn't the be all end all for LCD displays. More important, for gaming anyway, is response time, contrast ratio, and color accuracy. Nowadays, the best quality in those areas is typically found in the higher end sets which also offer 120/240Hz.

On the plasma front I would like to clarify the distinction between IR (image retention), which is temporary, and burn-in, which is permanent--for the most part. And to get burn-in on most new plasma displays, you'd have to seriously abuse the set, especially within the first few hundred hours of using it. If you research forums like AVS for specific plasma models, you'll find the general consensus is of the two major plasma display manufacturers, Samsung and Panasonic (Pioneer no longer makes them, though you can still find some "in the wild"), Panasonic is the safer bet to ensure no burn-in. You may get some IR, especially at first, but it isn't very visible unless you have the set on in a dark room and the input source is powered off giving you a blank screen. However, the IR will always go away after watching another full-screen image with no static graphics for an hour or so. I've played Madden 09 and Bioshock, to name a couple, for hours on end and have no IR/burn-in to show for it on my 46" Panasonic 800u. YMMV.

Another advantage of plasmas is that you generally get more screen size bang for the buck than with LCDs.

 

[mike123abc]

It depends on who is going to be using the xbox. If it is kids I would go with LCD. All you need is for them to push pause and leave the image up on the screen while everyone is away on a weekend. If you are the only user and you are responsible enough to not leave a still image up on the screen a long time, then plama is OK.

 

[Boondox_Saint]

oh wow, thanks for all the input guys and thanks for the warm welcome!

I'm going to put some links down of tv's I'm seriously thinking about getting. If someone would tell me what maybe the pros and cons would be would be great.

BTW, I'm a very responsible user of my electronics, no kids, just friends that act like them lol. After reading about the plasma, I'm liking the sound of it. I do plan on using the tv also for a computer monitor, however I'll definately be careful not to leave the desktop or other static image up on the screen.

These are the tv's I was looking at (cheap brands I know but I'm a relatively poor college student)

Sanyo 50 in 720p plasma: (please cut and paste, I don't have 3 posts lolhttp://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10929993

Vizio 42 in LCD 1080p 60 hz(please cut and paste, I don't have 3 posts lolhttp://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10993796

Another question. Would a xbox 360 look better running on HDMI or VGA cables?

I just want to get the most bang out of my buck considering I'll use this tv for games, tv, and watching download/net surfing. I can deal with the plasma only being 720p because its bigger and would have less motion blur. I like the fact that the Vizio is 1080p because it will make my PC look better. I appreciate your help!

 

[teachsac]

For plasma, you might consider the Panasonics.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-VIERA-TC-P50U1-50-Inch-Plasma/dp/B001Q376DY/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=tv&qid=1249348512&sr=1-4"]Amazon.com: Panasonic VIERA U1 Series TC-P50U1 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV: Televisions & Video@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51nnz98NzeL.@@AMEPARAM@@51nnz98NzeL[/ame]

S~

 

[Boondox_Saint]

For plasma, you might consider the Panasonics.

S~

I really don't want to spend over 900 dollars on a tv. That Sanyo plasma is really pushing how much I care to spend.

Thanks for the advice and your avatar is awesome

 

[teachsac]

No prob. Check out these. You'll get a lot more from the Pansonic within the same price.

42" 1080p for $858

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-VIERA-TC-P42S1-42-Inch-Plasma/dp/B001UE6M8O/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=tv&qid=1249353656&sr=1-5"]Amazon.com: Panasonic VIERA S1 Series TC-P42S1 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV: Televisions & Video@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/515pBel7HDL.@@AMEPARAM@@515pBel7HDL[/ame]

50" 720p for $844

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-VIERA-TC-P50X1-50-Inch-Plasma/dp/B001SN7QUU/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=tv&qid=1249353656&sr=1-6"]Amazon.com: Panasonic VIERA X1 Series TC-P50X1 50-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV: Televisions & Video@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Wwv%2BNNUmL.@@AMEPARAM@@51Wwv%2BNNUmL[/ame]

S~

 

[Zookster]

As much of a fan of plasmas I am, I personally would go for a Vizio LCD over a Sanyo plasma. Read this recent thread from this forum on Sanyo plasmas: http://www.satelliteguys.us/television-sets-projectors/166546-sanyo-plasma-tvs.html.

Those Panny plasmas teachsac linked are definitely in your price range, but even if you had to pay a couple $100 more, it would be worth it in the long run.

Also, if you can be a bit patient, prices should come down even more around holiday time. What I did last summer was put all the TV models I liked and researched in my Amazon cart under "Save for Later" and monitored the prices there and in my local Fry's and Best Buy ads, until one day a week before Thanksgiving the price on my favorite model was just too good to pass up, so I pulled the trigger. Saved over $1000 off MSRP.