vaio on 28 August 2008
Top 10 gaming TVs
By Dave Jansen, 8/26/2008 11:00:15 AM
When it comes to HD TVs it's a hard slog finding one that fits your need. They are everywhere now, more common than socks from your grandparents on your birthday. Fear not though, if you're trying to track down a great panel for gaming there is sure to be something here that fits the bill.
Remember the good old days when poofy hair, happy pants and synth music were all the rage? Back then the Atari 2600, NES and Master System ruled our lives, all we needed was any old TV to draw us into the worlds they created. As parents everywhere lamented that their kids “don’t get enough fresh air”, our love affair with gaming grew and now the industry is bigger than Hollywood. Nowadays, simply hooking up an Xbox360 or PS3 to any old TV, especially a CRT, is almost criminal.
In the HD era, no self respecting gamer settles for anything but the best but with the wide variety of panels on the market, trying to find the best isn’t always easy. In an attempt to strip away the marketing, the buzz words and the hyperbole we’ve listed what we consider to be the top 10 gaming televisions on the market.
An exceptional gaming television doesn’t just offer excellent image quality. In addition, it needs to have smooth motion, high fidelity sound and enough connections to hook up as many gaming consoles as your heart desires. With the exception of a handful of models, we find LCD televisions outperform Plasma in this regard, although there are some amazing Plasma televisions available, if you can afford them.
10. Samsung LA40R81BDX (720p)
The image quality on the R8 series is quite impressive and the design is certainly eye-catching. We also loved the range of connection options and the price tag of this unit but it did have a few minor motion issues and its “MoviePlus” mode created a few more problems than it is supposed to fix.
Check it out here
9. LG 720p Scarlet (720p)
Like the 1080p version, the 720p scarlet offers great image quality and design but it mostly let down by its poor speaker quality. If you are on a budget and have a home theatre set up, this won’t be a major concern.
Check out the Scarlet range here
In the HD era, no self respecting gamer settles for anything but the best but with the wide variety of panels on the market, trying to find the best isn’t always easy. In an attempt to strip away the marketing, the buzz words and the hyperbole we’ve listed what we consider to be the top 10 gaming televisions on the market.
An exceptional gaming television doesn’t just offer excellent image quality. In addition, it needs to have smooth motion, high fidelity sound and enough connections to hook up as many gaming consoles as your heart desires. With the exception of a handful of models, we find LCD televisions outperform Plasma in this regard, although there are some amazing Plasma televisions available, if you can afford them.
10. Samsung LA40R81BDX (720p)
The image quality on the R8 series is quite impressive and the design is certainly eye-catching. We also loved the range of connection options and the price tag of this unit but it did have a few minor motion issues and its “MoviePlus” mode created a few more problems than it is supposed to fix.
Check it out here
9. LG 720p Scarlet (720p)
Like the 1080p version, the 720p scarlet offers great image quality and design but it mostly let down by its poor speaker quality. If you are on a budget and have a home theatre set up, this won’t be a major concern.
Check out the Scarlet range here
8. Sony KDL-37S4000 (720p)
Sitting at the high end of Sony’s 720p range, this unit uses the same Bravia 2 engine as the 1080p units and can even scale 1080p content when connected via HDMI. It’s the “1080p” Bravia for those that can’t afford a 1080p Bravia.
Check out the Bravia range here
7. Sharp LC37D53X (720p)
When it comes to 720p, this unit is the best on the market at the moment. It not only has excellent image quality but its subtle 100Hz mode smoothes out motion well and is ideal of gaming. Its only drawback is a little sound distortion at very high volumes.
Check it out here
6. Philips 42PFL9703D (1080p)
Philips televisions are always on the cutting edge and this unit is no exception. The image quality is exceptional and the design is very cool. It handles motion well and has great sound quality. While it has four HDMI ports, it only has one Component connection so if you are a console junkie, you may not be able to connect everything you own at once.
Sorry, no website to check out on this one.
5. LG Scarlet 42LG61YD (1080p)
When it comes to design, this is one of the sexiest TVs on the market at the moment with its ultra thin panel and glowing red “eye”. As it so happens, it also has top notch image quality and its 100Hz mode is implemented well.
Check out the Scarlet range here
4. Samsung 46A650A1 (1080p)
When it comes to four and five on our list there is very little to set each other apart. From a design perspective they both offer unique and attractive design elements and they both perform at the same calibre. However, The Samsung series 6 handled motion just a little better and only just edged ahead of the LG.
Check it out here
3. Sharp LC42PD7X (1080p)
With attractive design and excellent image quality, this Sharp unit worked brilliantly when hooked up to a HD console.
Sitting at the high end of Sony’s 720p range, this unit uses the same Bravia 2 engine as the 1080p units and can even scale 1080p content when connected via HDMI. It’s the “1080p” Bravia for those that can’t afford a 1080p Bravia.
Check out the Bravia range here
7. Sharp LC37D53X (720p)
When it comes to 720p, this unit is the best on the market at the moment. It not only has excellent image quality but its subtle 100Hz mode smoothes out motion well and is ideal of gaming. Its only drawback is a little sound distortion at very high volumes.
Check it out here
6. Philips 42PFL9703D (1080p)
Philips televisions are always on the cutting edge and this unit is no exception. The image quality is exceptional and the design is very cool. It handles motion well and has great sound quality. While it has four HDMI ports, it only has one Component connection so if you are a console junkie, you may not be able to connect everything you own at once.
Sorry, no website to check out on this one.
5. LG Scarlet 42LG61YD (1080p)
When it comes to design, this is one of the sexiest TVs on the market at the moment with its ultra thin panel and glowing red “eye”. As it so happens, it also has top notch image quality and its 100Hz mode is implemented well.
Check out the Scarlet range here
4. Samsung 46A650A1 (1080p)
When it comes to four and five on our list there is very little to set each other apart. From a design perspective they both offer unique and attractive design elements and they both perform at the same calibre. However, The Samsung series 6 handled motion just a little better and only just edged ahead of the LG.
Check it out here
3. Sharp LC42PD7X (1080p)
With attractive design and excellent image quality, this Sharp unit worked brilliantly when hooked up to a HD console.
Its only drawback was a slight fluctuation in brightness when transitioning from light to dark images but on the whole it is a great TV.
You could check it out if Sharp actually bothered to put it on there website!?
2. Sony Bravia 46W4000 (1080p)
Easily one of the best Bravias in recent years, this unit is almost perfect. When it comes to performance, this is easily the best LCD TV on the market at the moment. It’s only drawbacks are its lack of calibration options and a very minor level of backlight bleeding.
Check out the Bravia range here
1. Pioneer Kuro PDPLX508A (1080p)
The Kuro series is expensive for a reason. This Plasma television avoids all the pitfalls of plasma with incredible clarity, smooth motion and unbelievable black levels. It blows away the competition not only with its quality but also because when you buy a KURO, a technician is sent to your home to install and calibrate the TV for optimal performance.
Check it out here
You could check it out if Sharp actually bothered to put it on there website!?
2. Sony Bravia 46W4000 (1080p)
Easily one of the best Bravias in recent years, this unit is almost perfect. When it comes to performance, this is easily the best LCD TV on the market at the moment. It’s only drawbacks are its lack of calibration options and a very minor level of backlight bleeding.
Check out the Bravia range here
1. Pioneer Kuro PDPLX508A (1080p)
The Kuro series is expensive for a reason. This Plasma television avoids all the pitfalls of plasma with incredible clarity, smooth motion and unbelievable black levels. It blows away the competition not only with its quality but also because when you buy a KURO, a technician is sent to your home to install and calibrate the TV for optimal performance.
Check it out here
Vaio - "Bury me at Milanello" R.I.P AC Milan
In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird.
Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.
If laughing is the best medicine and marijuana makes you laugh
Is marijuana the best medicine?
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
“If any creator has not played Mario, then they’re probably not a good creator. That’s something I can say with 100 percent confidence. Mario is, for game creators, the development bible.
