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General discussion

Gaming tvs

Mar 2, 2011 9:30PM PST

Hi guys! I'm new here. Thought i'd try this place because no other sites are helping!
I'm looking for a tv to solely play games on.
I've got about

Discussion is locked

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Re: gaming TV
Mar 2, 2011 9:54PM PST

So you need a monitor to connect to your laptop/PC/Mac/PS3 (you didn't tell).

What size (inch) do you want? What dimension (4x3, 16x9, other)? What resolution (800x600, 1920x1080, other)? What connections (VGA, DVI, HDMI, optical)?

Kees

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tvs
Mar 2, 2011 9:59PM PST

Ah my bad.
32"+
Xbox 360
Full HD
2+ HDMI
Mainly looking for an LCD tv

Not sure of resolution. Just one that makes games look ace and not too dark etc

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Re: resolution
Mar 2, 2011 10:09PM PST

Full HD = 1920x1080. That's easy. So you're looking to a 32" 1920x1080 LCD TV/monitor with 2 HDMI connections.

Any requirements about contrast ratio, response time and frequency? You might want to have a look at the TV/monitor and how it shows your favorite games in the shop in stead of buying unseen.

Which ones did you find using the usual review sites or the comparison sites for your country (which compares prices for your shops and webshops)?
I mean sites like http://www.kelkoo.co.uk/
Most likely such a site exists where you live also.

Kees

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Tvs
Mar 2, 2011 10:15PM PST

I have no idea about the res or response times. Just one that's a good clear picture, looks awesome on games, and is in my price range. I could stretch to

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I'd save your money
Mar 2, 2011 10:32PM PST

I'd save your money and wait until you have a couple hundred more to play with. Right now, anything you get with your budget is likely going to be a disappointment.

And I wouldn't really worry about the whole frequency thing on some TVs. After 120Hz, which honestly I cannot see an appreciable difference on over 60Hz, they start using a bunch of funny math to reach numbers like 240Hz or even 480Hz, 640Hz, etc. They break the screen up into sections, and each section has a frequency of some Hz, then they add those up for a total of YHz which is what you see on the box. Even 120Hz sets aren't immune to a few little tricks to get that number.

What I would strongly suggest holding out for is LED backlighting. That can make a HUGE difference on image quality. You can control the backlighting of the entire screen much more precisely that way, giving the resulting image a much more natural appearance. If you want to get some idea of the difference, go to an electronics store that sells Apple computers. Start by looking at any random PC monitor which will likely be using CCFL backlighting, then go look at an iMac screen which has LED backlighting. The quality difference should be very noticeable.

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hmmm
Mar 2, 2011 10:36PM PST

Thing is i have no tv to watch or play anything at all. I just used my laptop to watch stuff.
Kinda need one asap. Waiting for the LEDs to drop could take months

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Up to you
Mar 3, 2011 9:40AM PST

Up to you ultimately. Considering you may have this TV for years to come, it's not something I would sell myself short on. And there's hardly a national holiday left that retailers haven't glommed onto as an excuse for some kind of special sale. "This is the only March 4th of the year, so come check out our amazing deals!"

I'd really strongly suggest sticking it out a little longer. A little suffering now to avoid suffering over the next couple of years.

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tvs
Mar 3, 2011 11:32AM PST

Yeah you got a point. I just want it asap. Cutting into my gaming time