LCD's are best for gaming.
So you've bought yourself a spanky new PlayStation 3 or Wii, and you're thinking about upgrading your droopy CRT for something better. But what should you choose?
There are two dominant technologies in modern televisions — LCD and plasma — but the one you should be looking for is LCD. There is one main reason for this: plasma burn-in. While there are several technologies that are supposed to prevent this, it's still an issue. As a result, if you need to display static screens for a long time — such as in puzzle games or computer desktop graphics — go for LCD.
Of course, the problem with LCD is that it's a "laggier" technology, and features such as 100Hz that were invented to alleviate this symptom actually make it harder for gamers. Post-processing increases lag times, so there may be a distinct gap between your control movements and what happens onscreen. As a result, 100Hz is one of the first things you should turn off.
Another issue is "blur", as liquid crystal is unable to turn and off instantaneously and so may blur a little on moving images. The most common LCD type is called a "TN Panel" which offers very good response times between 2 and 5 milliseconds (ms), which makes blurring almost undetectable. However, the tradeoff is that off-axis viewing is usually poor. But things aren't all that bad, as essentially all flatscreen PC monitors are LCD-based, and PC gamers have been enjoying this technology for years.
In addition, some televisions have a dedicated "Game" mode which turns off a lot of unneeded processing, and increases settings like Brightness to increase shadow details. Also, "handy-to-have" is a VGA input — playing a PC game like World of Warcraft on a 50-inch is a great experience.
At CNET Australia, we include games testing on the televisions we put through our Labs, and have found the following models to be the most complementary to gamers. Also, as many people are looking for a TV that will fit in a bedroom or gamesroom we've included mostly smaller-sized TVs as well.
Sharp LC32D53X
We quite liked the Sharp LC32D53X as a whole, and with many other 100Hz televisions causing more problems than they fix, it was good to see something less intrusive and pleasing to the eye.
Panasonic VIERA TX-32LXD80A
The Panasonic VIERA TX-32LXD80A is a strong performer for the price in terms of picture quality, but it's let down slightly by its lacklustre sound.
Samsung LA46A950 
The Samsung LA46A950 is without a doubt the best LCD television we've seen up until this point and proof that the technology has some fire left in it yet.
Sony Bravia KDL46W4000
The Sony Bravia 46W4000 offers exceptional image and sound quality at a reasonable price.
Samsung LA40A650
The Samsung LA40A650 is a very good all-rounder which particularly shines in high definition, but it's facing some talented competition.
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azador
19/11/2008 09:33 PM
LCD?? then you tell me all the reasons not to get one.
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Slam
20/11/2008 02:31 PM
Must be a slow news day at CNET regurgitating old reviews that were not done for gaming with the message they were reviewed for gaming. *sigh* I am very happy with my plasma and ps3...I just make sure the darn thing is off when I am not playing. Don't get any burn in then. Looks bloody fantastic compared to my mate's Sony LCD which dries out your eyes with the amount of light the thing emits...and that's on game mode!
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crunchtime plummet
20/11/2008 09:24 PM
we've got a bravia and it is bloody brilliant. crystal clear and not delayed...not like our other tv. grrr... nintendo4lyf
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kermuffle
27/11/2008 01:42 PM
burn in issues with plasma tvs were settled in previous iterations of plasma generations.... it's been a few years since this was a problem.. never had an issue with mine
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mikey74
05/12/2008 09:19 AM
Very poor Article. I have a new Panasonic TH-50PZ800A 50" Full-HD Plasma TV and dont experience any burn-in at all. Recently my fiance accidentally left the XBox 360 running Pacman CE on for a few hrs with NO BURN-IN effect whatsoever...
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