New in SA - Which TV for gaming

Hi guys,

I am new to SA, living in Cape Town area. I have an Xbox360 and lots of games. Unfortunately I do not have a TV or monitor decent enough to play with good quality.

I have noticed that here in SA, it's much more difficult to get a good screen for gaming. I have previously lived in Europe and USA and you can get more variety over there. This is why I need your help, because looking for good gaming TV's online will show TV's that usually are not available in SA.

Regarding where I will be playing, I have several options. I can play in the living room using a bigger TV or I can set a small gaming corner in a room. I play everything, from FPS to Kinect games.

With this in mind, I need your help suggesting me TV and monitor screens good for gaming with 4 different sizes:

1 - A computer screen that I can use as my gaming screen (22-26'')
2 - A small TV, that besides from being good for playing games is also decent to plug an usb flash drive and watch mp4, avi, mkv, etc. (22-26'')
3 - A medium TV that I can either use in the playing room or in the living room if I pull the couch closer to the TV (32''). Again, I should be able to plug an usb flash drive and watch mp4, avi, mkv, etc with good quality.
4 - A big TV for the living room (40'')

Money is a concern, since I am always moving and I may not be in SA in 2 years, so I would prefer not to make a huge investment.

Please keep in mind that the priority of this TV or monitor is playing on my Xbox, so I need something with high refresh rate (120hz or more), low input lag, good contrast and color, and maybe a game mode. If possible, I also want it to be good with videos.

Any suggestions?

I fell way behind in terms of monitors.
http://www.takealot.com/
http://www.kalahari.com/
http://www.prophecy.co.za/

You can try those sites though just to get an idea of what is available. Don't know you want to go 120hz though, because then it becomes an investment (and you never go above 60 fps with the Xbox360 anyways). 2 Ms response time should be enough.

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Originally Posted by hideinlight

I fell way behind in terms of monitors.
http://www.takealot.com/
http://www.kalahari.com/
http://www.prophecy.co.za/

You can try those sites though just to get an idea of what is available. Don't know you want to go 120hz though, because then it becomes an investment (and you never go above 60 fps with the Xbox360 anyways). 2 Ms response time should be enough.

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Thank you for your reply. How do the 60 fps relate to the 60Hz or 120Hz refresh rate? I've read some websites that say that a gaming TV should be 120Hz or better and I also read some that say that the console can not use more than 60Hz. What is the truth?

check this article about 120 vs 60 hz http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2379206,00.asp

I would just get any of the samsung smart tv's in whatever size fits your budget.

I have been reading a lot about the games only being able to use 60Hz refresh rate, but at the same time, there are lots of topics advising the use of 120Hz or better for gaming. I am a little bit confused on this one. Does refresh rate matters for gaming on a console?

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Originally Posted by JonhyRico

I have been reading a lot about the games only being able to use 60Hz refresh rate, but at the same time, there are lots of topics advising the use of 120Hz or better for gaming. I am a little bit confused on this one. Does refresh rate matters for gaming on a console?

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No, because a consoles FPS is mostly locked to below 60, so it won't make a difference. 120hz was basically meant for 3D it will display 2 images at 60hz and mesh them together.

Which of these 3 would be better for xbox360 gaming?

Samsung 32-inch Full HD LED TV 32EH5000

Sony 32-inch (81cm ) Full HD LED TV KLV-32EX330

LG 32-inch LED Full HD Smart TV 32LV3710

Unfortunately I'm clueless when it comes to LED screens, all those features like contrast rations etc is all pretty much useless since non of those has been standardized and are only for marketing.

Your best bet is just to go to a shop and look for blu-ray movies with lots of motion playing on the screens and get an IRL feel of it. Some people are more sensitive to ghosting than others though.

The best Tv for gaming would be a plasma still, faster refresh rate, less input lag, better colours and burn in is mostly a thing of the past.

LCDs - They are cheaper than LEDs and offer average to good picture quality, depending on the make and model.

LEDs - Expensive for really great units, and the true motion or motion smoothing can be a problem to some people. The LEDs you see in shops that look surreal, as if the motion is kind of TOO crisp, probably using a built in feature to smooth out frames to up the FPS. This causes movies to look weird on some sets but some games look better with it. All down to taste on this one.

Plasma - Has the best black levels, most gamers swear by them. They are heavy and power hungry, burn in can still be an issue if you forget to change channel for a week or play the same game for a few days. Most newer plasma sets have built in pixel shifting so burn in is less of an issue. Always read the user manual with a plasma screen, every manufacturer has their own way of approaching the burn in issue. They are cheaper than LEDs as well.

http://www.incredible.co.za/product/...l-215-monitor/

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Originally Posted by Lupus

The best Tv for gaming would be a plasma still, faster refresh rate, less input lag, better colours and burn in is mostly a thing of the past.

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Was just about to say, am I the only one that prefers plasma TV's?
Virtually no delay and insane contrast.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JonhyRico

Which of these 3 would be better for xbox360 gaming?

Samsung 32-inch Full HD LED TV 32EH5000

Sony 32-inch (81cm ) Full HD LED TV KLV-32EX330

LG 32-inch LED Full HD Smart TV 32LV3710

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I would go with Samsung very happy with my 3d 32" and 40" screen which I use with my laptop and can play any video/music format via the USB.