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Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: SoCal
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Can you control light in the room? Will there be a lot of viewing from far off-axis? Do the games tend to have a lot of static content (like persistent menus, scores, etc)? Is Dish HD, and do you have an upscaling DVD player?

Welcome to the slippery slope. Here's my advice in no particular order:

The general rule is LCD is better for games, plasma better for movies. LCD has gotten better over the past few years, but the blacks still aren't that black and it just doesn't look "filmic" to me. Others have different opinions, but I have a pretty strong feeling on this one. If you want to watch DVDs, a Kuro will crush any LCD out there. Other good plasmas will beat them as well imho. For TV viewing it is more of a wash.

If you can't control light in the room, and LCD will fare better. I have a pretty dark living room and am able to keep it that way during the day. Plasma works great under those conditions, less so if you have a lot of ambient light.

With an LCD you can't sit way to the side and get a good picture. Plasmas tend to have a wider viewing angle.

Games often have persistent things on screen, and these will "burn in" to a plasma screen. This is a temporary thing, but you will notice it. Not a deal breaker, but it is something to be aware of, and I am rather careful about not leaving a static image up on my screen for long periods of time.

Don't underestimate the sound side of things. Most current movies are at least 5.1 surround, and having a decent sound system makes a BIG different in the experience. Even a good 2.1 or 2.0 system will help a lot. There are all-in-one surround systems but I personally wouldn't go that route. I think the minimal setup is:

decent AV receiver (I have Cambridge Audio, like NAD but Denon, Marrantz, etc will work fine)
good upscaling DVD player (I have Oppo 981 and love it - oppodigital.com)
good main speakers and sub, but if you can swing it, a 5.1 setup. Check av123.com, ascendacoustics.com, or any number of other online places

Then you're all set. Plus you can listen to music using the DVD player and the stereo setup. For the life of me I don't understand why someone will spend $2K on a tv and then just listen to the built-in speakers. Sound provides about 60% of the "experience", so you budget should reflect that at least to some degree. With my setup I have about 80% of my budget in the audio side of things, but I'm picky that way.
Old 12-18-2008, 10:41 AM
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