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General discussion

TV for gaming - Mom getting bday gift for son needs help :)

Jan 30, 2011 2:06AM PST

I am trying to surprise my son for his birthday. He has XBox 360 60 gig HDD and does a lot of gaming with Call of Duty and such type games. Currently has a 17-inch computer monitor screen that he uses. We want to get him a TV that he can use for a better screen and will obviously also be able to use as a TV. I went out looking yesterday and realized I am way, way over my head! Happy Need to stay within the $500 range and am overwhelmed with things like 720 vs 1080 and LCD vs LED vs plasma. Everyone I talk to gives a different opinion. A lot will be determined by price obviously. I am assuming we'll end up with a 32" - don't want to go smaller but probably can't afford to go higher. Also since he will have in his room I think bigger than 32" is probably overkill anyway. Then in reading forums there are many other details and numbers that are way over my head. I would like just some simple input about 720 vs 1080 and also about LCD vs LED vs plasma. One other thing is that he ultimately wants to do some gaming, etc. on the computer - the computer will come later but need to take that into consideration when getting the screen. I don't know if there are things I should be considering about that aspect as well though I assume all of the new TVs will have a PC connection.

Thanks to all who can can give some pointers / advice. I am clueless! Happy

Discussion is locked

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Which 360?
Jan 30, 2011 2:16AM PST

If the 360 has HDMI my son loves to play on his 1080p HDMI connect 23 inch Samsung. We did get it on sale and it gets triple use as a PC display and TV.

He didn't know it but it's sized so that he can take it with him to college or an apartment.
Bob

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My thoughts
Jan 30, 2011 5:17AM PST

My thoughts on the matter.

I'd say definitely go with 1080p over 720p. Without getting overly technical, all other things being equal, 1080p will be a better overall image quality compared to 720p.

If you can find LED backlit sets for under $500, definitely go for one, but odds are you won't. So on the LCD vs Plasma, go with LCD. Plasma gives a better picture, but they don't tend to last as long, use significantly more electricity, and also generate a lot of heat as a result of all that electricity they use. So unless you want to get him an in-window AC unit to go along with the TV, stick to LCD.

And personally, I have a pretty basic 60Hz TV, and I use it for gaming. Works perfectly well for me. Don't get sold on all this 120/240/680Hz crap. Most of it's a gimmick anyway, and they get those numbers with a bit of funny math. If you can find two otherwise equal sets, except one is 120Hz and the other's 60Hz, and the price difference is negligible, then definitely go for the 120Hz. Otherwise, it's far better to spend money on a set with a good quality display as opposed to one with all the whiz-bang features.

The one little snag here is that TVs tend to make for lousy computer monitors. They just aren't designed to hold a static image for long periods of time. So, first you need to make a choice between TV or monitor, and then you can go from there. If you go monitor, your screen size will probably be a bit more limited, and you'll pay a little more, but the display panel will be designed with computer use in mind as opposed to TV. I might suggest going the TV route, and then when you get around to the computer part of things, you can look for some kind of computer/monitor bundle.

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Thanks very much ...
Jan 31, 2011 4:02PM PST

The information you have provided coincides with conclusions I have been coming to meanwhile. I think I've found a good deal on an LCD 1080 120 Hz - that goes on sale later this week. I've found that the salesmen often serve to confuse me more as there are so many different opinions. However, have most recently talked to a guy who impressed me that he knew what he was talking about, and his thoughts also were very similar to yours. I feel pretty comfortable now that I've made a decent choice at a good value for the price range. Now for the fun of the big surprise - he's gonna love it!!! Happy Thanks again.