And now even more so when I see what could have been. Someone took one of those babbies and turned it into a projector that supports a whole slew of inputs including game consoles. That's right, you can play the Force Unleashed on a 260-inch picture coming from R2's head. Gets no cooler than that.

R2D2 DVD/games projector [Wonderland]

That stat was compiled over HDTV sales from only the last year, but the trend is contributed to the falling prices of HDTVs, allowing more of the 21-34 demographic to purchase sets—precious souls between 21-34 want to play their games in HD. And by "HD," we mean "huffing daffodils." It's the only way we'll play anymore.

Survey finds 18 percent of people bought a HDTV for gaming [Maxconsole][And yes, that image is real]

Best Buy is running a special this week that knocks $600 off the price of a special HDTV PS3 gaming pack.

The get the deal you need to purchase a $2,000 1080p Sony LCD TV, a copy of Motorstorm or MLB07: The Show, a copy of a Blu-ray version of Casion Royale, Open Season or Underworld Evolution and a Playstation 3. The whole kit and kaboodle ends up running you $2,089.... or maybe it's $2,689, depending on which page of the ad you believe. If I were you and wanted to get this deal, which runs through the end of the week, I'd bring the front page of their ad in with me when I went to go pick up the deal. Brian Crecente

[Thanks Michael]

Despite his vast knowledge of video games, Stephen Totilo is, it appears, a television newb. That's right, he owns a (gasp) SDTV.

Valiant in the face of overwhelming odds, Totilo went looking for kindred spirits on the cusp of Microsoft's big HDMI announcement.

He found an unlikely ally in Epic's Mark Rein:

"The amount of crap that can go on in the scene isn't defined by the monitor, it's defined by the graphics capabilities," he said. "I think Microsoft made a mistake when they tied Xbox 360 so much into HD TV. What they should have done — it's complicated jargon, but they should have talked about high-definition visuals and high-definition TVs as separate things. Yes, the high-definition TV will improve the look of the high-definition visuals, but you still get much higher-definition visuals on Xbox 360 than you do on Xbox or PS2. Much higher."

After that Rein started to spiral down into technical jargon and talk of down-sampling, losing both Totilo and my interest.

There's much more involving windows, Gears of War and ancient televisions over on Totilo's site. Me? I'm a big-screen high-def kinda guy. Mostly because I happened to be finishing our basement and needed a big TV to fill the entertainment center.

I do sort of agree. While a standard picture looks like crap on my big-ass TV, I suspect that's because it's so big. High-def looks like normal def to me when seen on a big screen. What do you think? Brian Crecente

Mark Rein says I'm right and Microsoft "made a mistake" [Player Two]

I'm not quite sure what this is all about, but the Korea Times is reporting that Korean company LG Electronics has teamed up with Sega to show off three new HDTV models at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show.

LG plans to introduce three new full HD TV models up to 60 inches in a joint-promotion with Japanese video game giant Sega. The company will display popular Sega games such as ``Virtua Fighter 5'' and ``Sonic'' on its full HD TVs at the expo.

``This joint promotion will give LG a great opportunity to highlight our advanced displays by showing Sega's full HD content on our full HD TVs," Kim Young-chan, executive vice president of digital display global marketing at LG, said in a release. ``Our customers demand the highest standards in technology, and we will continue to expand our offerings to meet everyone's needs from movie buffs to gamers to companies in need of digital displays.''

The article goes on to say that a general lack of HD content in Korea makes the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 the only viable options right now for true HD content.

I get that, but why wouldn't LG just team up with Microsoft instead of going with a third-party manufacturer? Brian Crecente

Samsung, LG Set Up Duel in Las Vegas [Korea Times, via Rocky Mountain News]

Are you looking to make the HD jump this holiday? If you're expecting an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 under the tree in a few weeks, you'd better make sure you have something awe-inspiring on which to play it. This is the kind of present you buy yourself.

Mercury News' Dean Takahashi has a good little primer up on his blog that might help you out if you don't know your HDMI from your DLP from your 1080i. The best part about this particular TV guide, is that it's targeted at the most important aspect of your television: how well it displays your games.

Dean covers many of the pitfalls you'll want to avoid when making your investment and writes frankly about what hot technology you might or might not benefit from.

I'm going to go give my Sharp Aquos LCD HDTV a goodnight kiss now. Michael McWhertor

Buying An HDTV: What Do Gamers Need To Know?

If you've been reading my last couple What Are You Playing This Weekend? posts, you might remember that I am without a television. Why? I'm homeless! Until today that is.

Two big ol' crates filled with overpriced furniture, mismatched kitchenware, hundreds of video games, and scores of t-shirts showed up at my new digs this morning. And tomorrow, I enter the world of HDTV ownership, when I finally pick up my Sharp Aquos 42" LCD TV. After taking it home and humping the box for a few, hooking up my consoles and the A/V tangle will be my number one priority.

Following that? Intense video game marathon! Final Fantasy XII. God Hand. Guitar Hero II. I have a whole month of gaming to catch up on. Maybe I'll even go CRAZY and pick up some new consoles. You know, really put that debit card into submission.

What are you kids playing this weekend? Everybody out there got their Wiis and PS3s yet? If not, don't forget that Sunday could be a very big shipment day, if our retail sources are right.

Let us know what's on the gaming menu in the comments. Michael McWhertor

Not content to give standard def TV users irreparable eyestrain merely with Dead Rising, Capcom has decided to turn the screws on the SDTV crowd once again. This time it's the Lost Planet multiplayer text.

The angry gamer at Angry-Gamer.net provided the internet surfing gaming crowd with the above pic from the recently released multiplayer demo, showing that the player list in a multiplayer match is nigh unreadable.

Wow, thanks, Capcom. Seriously, I'm no game developer, but how hard is this? Here's a solution I've been working on. See if this might help.

MAKE THE TEXT BIGGER.

Yeah, crazy, I know, but it might just be crazy enough to work. Michael McWhertor

Remember Dead Rising's Text Issue? [Angry-Gamer.net]

Here I am with your nightly bad news! Certain HDTV owners might not be in the for the high(er) definition visual experience they expected this weekend, as we're hearing rumblings that HDTV owners who don't have a 720p capable set are going to have to settle for less, nor scale up for more.

After a handful of forum posters discussed the issue last night, mega site IGN has done some testing to confirm the potential problem.

Gamers who own older HD sets that feature only 480i, 480p, and 1080i resolution input capabilities will have to settle for the display quality being downsized as the game boots in its 480p mode rather than upscaling the image from its more desirable 720p mode to the TV's 1080i. We tested this development on older HDTV sets with games designed for 720p but not 1080i — Resistance: Fall of Man, NHL 2K7, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07, and Need for Speed Carbon. Sure enough, the system downshifted all four titles to 480p rather than moving up to 1080i.

Bummer. I'm glad I'm going HDTV shopping now armed with this knowledge. Hopefully, Sony can address this issue with a future update. Michael McWhertor

PS3 Downscales 720p on Incapable TVs [IGN]

Fry's Electronics PlayStation 3 Bundle. Cheap at $1079.

Wal-Mart "Customer's Choice" PlayStation 3 Bundle. A steal at $1491.

CompUSA Screwjob PlayStation 3 Bundle? A minimum of $2300. Oh, the pain.

Found via blog Uninnovate (but scooped by the Cheap Ass Gamer forums), the current promotion running at CompUSA demands that, if you want to buy a PS3 from the retailer, you'll need to invest in a Sony branded HDTV, 40-inches or bigger. (I already ordered three.)

Also, according to Uninnovate, should you return the TV you "must also return the PlayStation 3 and pay a 15% restocking fee". I can't imagine anyone having a problem with that. You guys cool? Michael McWhertor

Sony taking Playstation 3 pre-order bundling to new lows at CompUSA [via Gamespot]

Update: Angry reader e-mail after the jump...

I was taken in by CompUSA's "buy a 40" HDTV", get a PS3 Reserve on Sunday. I called back today to find out that my PS3 will be delayed 4-8 weeks, and it would cost me 15% (about 300) to return the TV with restocking fees. If this was a Sony-CompUSA deal, what a joke. I ordered from the Schaumburg, IL store. Thanks for alerting other gamers to this despicable scam.

Ouch! Sorry, Jim! Keep your head up, rest of the console reserving public!

First the good news—yes, you'll be able to buy component cables for your Wii then proceed to bask in the non-interlaced glory of 480p resolution. The bad news? Hell, it's not so bad. You'll only be able to buy them online. Let's call it the "inconvenient news". From IGN:

A spokesperson for the company told IGN Wii this morning that the Wii component cables would be available for purchase with the launch of the console in November. The cables will cost $29.99 and will only be available through online retail outlets, including Nintendo's store, Best Buy, Circuit City and EB Games.

Come on, Nintendo. Why only online? Is it really going to sow that much consumer confusion to sell a single other set of cables for the Wii? Can we maybe just nudge the useless "Dog Tag"-calibre bullshit accessories out of the way just one peg so that HDTV owners (like my December self) can avoid having to wait for the UPS man to miss us while at work three separate days in a row? Wow, I'm angry about this. Michael McWhertor

480p a Go For Wii Launch [IGN]

He said, she said.

The she, in this case, is 1UP's hirsute Luke Smith, who took time out of poking around the hairy nest of his mustache for a stray piece of week old scrambled egg to au contraire an initial Gamepro report that Splinter Cell: Double Agent supported 1080p.

When we asked Ubisoft for clarification, company reps told us: "It's 1080i." Even if Double Agent supported 1080p right now — and it doesn't — there aren't any retail Xbox 360s that would support the feature. That update hasn't been released, yet.

Oh, but allow Gamepro to retort:

No word yet on whether it's an update on the game disc or a forthcoming Xbox Live download, but Ubisoft has confirmed 1080p support to us.

So who's got their head up their ass here? Probably the same guy with his head up Sam Kennedy's. Florian Eckhardt

Half of Team Kotaku is getting their game on in HD. Then, there's Florian whose "TV" consists of little more than a bedsheet stapled to the wall and a spotlight. Most HD owners swear by their purdy televisions and find it different to even *cringe* watch anything below 720p. Gamasutra rounded up a handful of pundits to get their opinions on how important HDTVs are and what this means for, well, Nintendo.

Michael Pachter: I think HD resolution is the essential difference between this cycle and the last. Although it is clear that there will be much more happening on-screen, with more independently acting characters, the visceral improvement in graphics is probably the first thing noticed by consumers. ... HDTV is the second fastest growing consumer electronics product (behind the iPod), and it's going to end up the household standard in a few years.

Mike Wolf: HDTV is a critical feature of the new generation of consoles, particularly down the road 2-3 years [from now] when adoption of HD TVs will be much higher than it is today. Sony is obviously using the same strategy it used with the PS2 by offering a low-cost version of the latest format for home video, which worked with the PS2 with regards to beating out the Sega Dreamcast.

...Ultimately, the gamer is looking for the best gaming experience, and HD is a part of that, but not the end-all. Equally important is inventive game play, which is the main focus of Nintendo with the Wii. I don't think Nintendo will lose out on customers by not offering HD.

Ben Bajarin: I do not think the gaming industry is jumping in prematurely at all. There is great demand among the early market that flocked to buy the Xbox 360 and that will flock to buy the PS3. It is definitely important to give the market a 720p and 1080i/p gaming experience, but I would never advise a game developer to not support standard definition TVs for the foreseeable future.

What about those in Kotaku-land? Who owns an HDTV? Is it a must have for next gen? And most importantly, how big is it? Brian Ashcraft

I Want My HDTV [Gamasutra via 1Up]

Following the Dead Rising tinytext kerfuffle, Epic Games has announced on their forums that they are specifically testing Gears of War on both SD and HDTVs.

We have been testing GOW quite a lot on small, non-HD TVs to make sure you can read the writing. blockquote>

Heck yeah. Although, as one of the 1up commentors responded, "gotta love when standard test parameters become news." Eliza Gauger

More here [1up]

We've gotten a number of emails from myopic, stigmatized gamers that Dead Rising has a bit of a blurry text problem. And in that regard, my homoerotic, velvet-swishing soul mates over at Gay Gamer have some bitching to do:

Dead Rising has the smallest text I've ever seen. I'm playing on a 36" TV and I have to sit on the floor up near the screen to see anything. I absolutely can't play for a long period of time because my eyes start to strain themselves and hurt. This has never happened to me with a game before. Is anybody else having this problem?

In all seriousness, even using component cables the picture is sharper, but the text is still like reading a font at size 12 from six feet away. There is no option to increase the text size - talk about stupid things ruining the game experience. I'm begging for a text size adjustment patch to be uploaded to the marketplace for download - oh, and for free! Look for our full review of Dead Rising as soon as I stop massaging my eyes to make the pain go away.

Which just goes to show that my mother's curious aphorism was right: too much wanking off to imagined gay video game characters will make you go blind. Florian Eckhardt

I have to admit, ever since I remodeled our basement and put in a big-ass HD television, I've spent a bulk of my gaming time playing on the 360, mostly because it's the only one with high-def support. (Yes, I know about the GameCube, shut it!)

I mostly played on the PS2, Xbox and GameCube when I was reviewing a game or when I had an itch for a particular title, like Guitar Hero.

But the thing is, on the big screen I really suck on Guitar Hero. That isn't to say I'm normally any good, but I don't usually suck. It's been driving me nuts. Then last weekend I plopped in Karaoke Revolution and came voice to voice with my problem. The damn sound system was adding a tiny delay, like half a second, to the audio. No wonder.

The delay was sort of throwing off my Guitar Hero playing, but it totally wrecked my KR experience.

I tried tinkering with the receiver and TV to no avail. How many other HD owners have this problem? If it's widespread does it mean that music games are on their way out? I;m certainly jumping the gun here, because a lot of people don't have HD, but as more next-gen systems hit pushing high-def more people are going to adopt. And then what? Please tell me they figure out a work around for Guitar Hero 2. Brian Crecente

Kotakuite Kevin sent us this clip of a PS2 and a GameCube on the same display. Or, as we like to say, harmony. Kevin got Gran Turismo 4 and Wario to output Picture-In-Picture on his Toshiba HM195. How'd he do it? The floor is yours, Kevin:

If you want to do PIP between two video inputs, the selected inputs can not be on the same video chipset. Since my cable/ant inputs don't interfere with the component/composite/hdmi inputs, I just put my gamecube to my VCR's aux inputs and fed it to the TV via coax. In PIP, my TV will only put the primary picture's audio to its own speakers, but the secondary pictures audio is still sent out the audio outputs that lead to my receiver. Voila, two audio outputs with PIP!

And yes, both are playable at the same time. Brian Ashcraft

Photo Here [Kevin's Page]

By: Brian Crecente

Back in December I wrote up a guide for picking out an HDTV for your gaming needs. I decided to write the story at the time because I was in the process of choosing one for my basement, which was getting a major overhaul and being turned into an entertainment room.

After much procrastination, and harassing the executive of a multinational corporation, I decided to completely ignore my own advice and buy a 50-inch plasma from LG.

The TV was delivered a few weeks back to a half completed basement. Over the following weeks I worked on getting cables, choosing my surround sound system and hooking everything up while the contractors finished up their work.

Yesterday, the crew came in and installed the last set of cabinet doors in the entertainment center and The Lounge is now officially completed.

The unfinished basement was converted into an office/bedroom, bathroom, two storage rooms, library and wet bar, but the biggest chunk of the 1,000-square-feet of space is devoted to the television room

Here's how we designed it.

We opted to have one wall of the room turned into an in-built entertainment center. The entertainment center is mostly taken up by the 50-inch television. On either sides of the TV is a cabinet with shelves for holding electronics. The right side holds an Xbox, Gamecube, PS2, PS2 debug unit, Xbox 360 and Xbox 360 debug unit and there's still an empty shelf. The left side has my audio system and cable box.

These two glassed in cabinets do get a little warm, but most of that seems to dissipate through the cut-outs in the back of the cabinet.

Along the bottom of the entertainment center are four more cabinets, two of which are for storage. The center two cabinets each have three pull out drawers which hold my games and our videos.

Along the top of the entertainment center are three built in speakers, a left, right and center channel.

There are two other speakers mounted in the ceiling above the couch and a plug behind the couch for a subwoofer.

The contractor, a really clever guy, knew I was putting a crap load of electronics in the entertainment center, so he did a couple of cool little things for me.

First, when the electrician installed the new sub-panel, he made sure to give the entertainment center outlet its own breaker.

The coolest thing, however, is in the closet in the bedroom, which shares a wall with the entertainment center. The contractor built a 2-foot crawl space behind the entertainment center and you can access it by a little trap door built into this closet.

The space gives me access to cut-outs for the cabinets and the back of the TV as well as the plugs for all of the speakers in the room.

I was able to install a huge APC back there, and I can't actually slither into the space and tinker with wires when I need to. It's fantastic.

Two weeks into using the television on a daily basis and I'm still quite happy with it. There are only two things I don't like about the LG. First, you have to cycle through all of the inputs, no matter how many are in use, to get to the one you want. Second, while there are a ton of inputs, I wish there were more.

I'm fairly happy with the rest of the entertainment room's set-up, though I've been having some strange surround sound issues.

I purchased a Yamaha HTR-5860 for my sound and a Yamaha'sYST-FSW100 subwoofer. The surround sound seems a little muddled to me, it's not nearly as surround as I would like it to be, but worse still, I can't get the subwoofer to make any sound whatsoever.

The 5860 comes with a microphone and a mode that automatically goes through the speakers to set up the levels and such. When that runs the subwoofer makes noise, but I've never heard it in a game or when watching a movie.

I've tried cranking up the balance both on the unit and in the settings and still nothing.

Any suggestions?

Apparently, Humphrey Cheung over at TGDaily.com noticed during the conference that the PS3 couldn't do 1080p. When emailed about the problem, Sony rather weakly explained that HDMI-equipped televisions were rather difficult to get ahold of. Yeah, okay, then why did all the televisions at the Sony booth have HDMI inputs?

When this indiscrepancy was pointed out to Sony, they claimed they didn't have any HDMI cables. Yet supposedly several individuals and companies offered Sony spare HDMI conferences at GDC. We've said it before, but you guys should probably expect another PS3 delay. This is starting to smell like an epic Sony fubar.

PS3 Can't Do HDMI? [Game Cloud]

Cesarmenendez posts that there are three reasons why HD is better than Blue:

Price. One company out there has a $1,800 Beta-ray player (no release date) one that doesn t even play CDs! For 1,800, you could get a $500 Toshiba player, and about 40 HD movies. Industry support: Looks like the pendulum is swinging back in HD-DVD s favor. As an analyst quoted in the article says: It's only a matter of time before people start backing out of the Blu-ray camp." If that s the case, it might be because of. . . Beta-ray s own difficulties: Microsoft had serious doubts around the technical feasibility and pricing of Beta-ray for some time and our fears now seem well founded. Sony is hinting PS3 will be delayed because of Beta-ray, and that s with Sony driving the Beta-ray standards. If even Sony can t get it to work right, it raises lots of questions. A little reported fact (and one that the New York Times was confused about) is that the first Beta-ray discs will actually hold less: only 25GB compared to HD DVD s 30GB. That means less room for high definition extras and interactive features, which HD DVD says they fully intend to support.

Why Microsoft supports HDTV [Gamerscore]

Geez, all this story is missing is a murder. Ready to reinforce negative gaming stereotypes? Anyhoo, here goes:

A California doctor banned a 9-year-old boy from playing PlayStation after the child experience uncontrollable head jerking (read: Welcome to Spazzville). During the recent Christmas holidays, the boy gamed "constantly" and noticed that his head started jerking back and forth (read: Population — this kid).

"I would do funny things with my head," he said.

His mother promptly freaked out and took him to the family pediatrician, who ordered the kid to stop playing the PlayStation. After that, the twitching stopped. The mother, being the mature rational adult she is, blamed video games.

"All the head jerking is gone and his eyes are completely back to normal," the mother said. "I think it's a direct connection to the PlayStation and the amount of time he spent on it."

According to the San Diego Epilepsy Foundation, certain video stimulation can lead to epileptic-type seizures. Doctors also recommend to limit game time, keep the lights on while playing and make sure children are more than two feet from the screen. Duh.

Hey lady, don't blame Sony for the days on end your kid spent alone, inches in front of the TV screen. Blame yourself.

Full Story Here [Local 6 News] Thanks Jekichu!

With all this talk of Crecente and the giant HD gaming TV he bought (congrats), I thought it might be interesting to trade notes. Here in Japan, we're currently in the transition phase, and analog broadcasting will cease by 2011. When I was back in the States over Christmas, I saw there was a keen interest in digital sets. And apparently, the US Gov't has laid down a 2009 deadline. Realistic or not?

Digital TV Organization [D-pa] via Ponishi Blog

Well, I did it. I bit the bullet and bought an HDTV yesterday. I settled on the 50-inch Plasma from LG, mostly because we liked the colors a little better than what we saw on the Panasonic. That and I never could nail down the whole Zenith rumor.

I got it for about $3,200 after some sales and discounts, so I'm feeling OK with the decision. It's not showing up 'til late February when our basement is done, so I have plenty of time for regrets and teeth gnashing.

Now that I have that figured out, I have to start figuring what cables to buy to hook up all of my consoles to the thing, and planning the sound system for the entertainment room. We're going to have built-in ceiling speakers, so all I need is a bass speaker and some sort of audio component, I suppose. Any suggestions? I want to have kick-ass surround for gaming, but would rather not have to sell my non-existent spleen to get it.

Team Xbox has eight nice high-definition screens of the upcoming Burnout Revenge Xbox 360 up on their site. One very good reason to run out and buy an HDTV, as if I needed a reason.

Burnout Revenge [Team Xbox]

As I mentioned earlier, I almost bought an HDTV over the weekend. Despite having completely ruled out Plasma for my gaming TV needs in my buying guide, I somehow got convinced that Plasma is now the only way to go.

Best Buy personal shopping assistant Lesley was pushing for us to buy a 50-inch LG, but I quickly dismissed that when I realized it was the built-in DVR model. Who wants to pay an extra $1,000 for a DVR you can't replace?

The LG model one step down seemed nice, but I told Lesley I needed to get to my computer and do some research first. After running through the options I narrowed my selection down to the LG 50PX1D, a Zenith (Z50PX2D) or a Panasonic (TH-50PX50U).

In my research I discovered a handful of people claiming that the LG and Zenith models were in-fact identical. LG, it turns out, bought out Zenith last year.

I went back to Best Buy late Sunday thinking I'd buy the Zenith, but the new PSA had such an adverse reaction to my decision (I don't even want to help sell you that.) that I decided to come back and hit John B, from our very own Gizmodo for help. I ran the rumor past him and he hooked my up with LG's veep of marketing.

Yes, that's right, I'm talking to the vice president of a multinational company about which of his TV's I should buy for my basement. In my defense, I am blogging about it, so I think it's fair.
No word yet, but if it turns out that the Zenith is really just an LG in disguise I'm going to pick it up because it's $800 cheaper. If not, I'll probably buy the LG or spend an extra $200 and get the Panasonic, which offers 1080i support. I know, I know. I'm going to regret not having 1080p when the PS3 hits, but I just don't make 1080p money.

Flat Panel HDTVs [Best Buy]

After helping us pick out some appliances for the bar, I mentioned I needed to show my wife some HDTVs while we were in the store and she offered to help. I politely declined, thinking that someone who sells dishwashers and refrigerators probably isn't up on the latest HDTV technology. It must have shown on my face, because she said she didn't work in appliances, that she was a personal shopping assistant. Wha?

Apparently Best Buy, well on its way to Fry's like bad customer service, realized they were heading in the wrong direction and decided to launch this shopping thingie.

The service sounds like what was started for the Xbox 360 launch, where employees walked customers around after buying their console, showing them all the other stuff (HDTV) they could (HDTV) buy (HDTV), if they were so inclined.(HDTV)

It sorta sounds like a dream job to me. Basically, Lesley walked us around the store helping us find things to buy. She walked us over to under-the-counter televisions, talked games with me, found somewhere safe for my son to play and even ran down HDTV specs over in the store's home theater area.

It was sorta like a concierge service for shopping. A few hours later, after almost plunking down way too much money for a 50-inch Plasma HDTV with a built in DVR, Lesley walked us to the door with our purchases. (She was even able to ring them up without sending us off to Best Buy's new and confusing maze of money spending.)

I hopped into the car with my wife and as we drove off, looked back at the double doors wistfully and asked my wife: "Do you think I should have tipped her?"

Match TV size to your room

• 26" widescreen should have a min of 3' between you and the TV and max of 6'


• 42" widescreen should have a min of 5' between you and the TV and max of 10'


• 50" widescreen should have a min of 6'; between you and the TV and max of 12'

Other buying tips


• Brighter rooms should opt for LCD, DLP or CRT


• For wall-mountable TVs you’ll need to go with either LCD or plasma


• Get widescreen to make the most of 16:9 format of games


• The Xbox 360 does not support the HDMI standard, but upcoming devices (possibly the PlayStation 3) will, so consider buying an HDMI TV
  
• Look for front panel inputs and component-video inputs


• Consider the risk of burn-in on plasma or CRT with games that have static graphics, or if you tend to leave your console and TV on for long periods without playing


• DLP and LCD are both dropping in price and will probably be the two to consider in the long-run

Advantages:

• Often best picture of all


• Less expensive


• Longer lifespan than plasma


• Deepest black levels

Disadvantages:


• Bulky and heavy


• Bright rooms will wash out picture

DLP Rear-Projection

Advantages:

• Faster refresh rates than LCD


• Last longer than plasma


• Last slightly longer than LCD


• Smaller than CRT rear-projection


• Deep black levels (second only to CRT)

Disadvantages:


• More expensive than plasma


• Slightly more expensive than LCD


• Use of color wheel causes rainbow effect in some models

Flat-panel LCD

Advantages:

• Excellent color reproduction


• Thin


• 10 to 15 percent lighter than plasma


• Long life


• No screen burn-in


• Run cooler


• Some offer 1920 x 1080, which is highest available for HDTV


• Better in rooms with more light


• Better for smaller screens (less than 40")

Disadvantages:


• Poorer contrast


• Difficulty with reproducing black (but now approaching plasma quality)


• Slower refresh rates than plasma


• Scan rates not as fast as DLP (but improving)


• Largest common size is currently 46" (57" has been announced but not yet available)


• Best picture is when viewed straight-on


• More expensive than plasma

Plasma

Advantages:

• Good contrast


• Excellent color reproduction


• Thin


• Less expensive than LCD or DLP


• Available in larger sizes than LCD currently


• Better for larger sizes (over 40")

Disadvantages:


• Heavy


• Danger of screen burn-in


• Screens tend to become dimmer over time


• Washed out picture in bright rooms

It must've been the umpteenth time I heard that stupid fight song. Doesn't it annoy the sales clerk, hearing this blasted tune all day? The clerk's standing before us, decked out in a Hanshin Tigers baseball jersey. His hair is coifed just so that it doesn't fall over the bandanna wrapped tight around his forehead. The kanji on his tag says, "Ogawa." He flashes a toothy grin and points to another HDTV. Nope, I decide. There is no way in hell the song bothers Ogawa-san.

My wife waffles, going back and forth between the Sharp Aquos and the Panasonic Viera. Here's a quick rundown: Both are 37 inchers, but the Sharp is outfitted with Liquid Crystal Display. The Panasonic is pure Plasma. Everything had been talked through and settled. With all these rumors of Plasma screens getting "burned" and leaving ghost-like images, we were going with the burn-free Sharp Aquos. The 360 Japanese launch is weeks away, and I'm in the home stretch. I can taste hi-def next-gen goodness in my living room. Better make that, could.

"See?" my wife says.
"What?"
"They're different."
"What's different?"
"The screens."
"Of course they're different," chimes in Ogawa-san. "The plasma has much richer and deeper colors than the LCD television. It's better for watching movies."
Crap.

For years, my better half and I have toughed it out on a tiny 13-inch cathode ray tube. We gathered around that glowing box like a heater in winter. But, it was time to move on. Beckoned by the promise of beautiful gaming up and beyond what was currently available, I decided to go hi-def. Next step: convincing the misses.

Easier said than done.

My wife does not hate gaming. She actually bought me a Mizuguchi game on our second date. But, being passively into gaming and agreeing to shell out several thousand dollars for a television were two different things all together. But, I had a way in: this is for my job. The good thing about being a real, live game journo is that buying tons of software is not only a tax write-off, but a necessity. She wouldn't stand in the way of a man and his work, would she?

Han-shin Tigers!

"Watching regular TV or movies shouldn't burn the screen," Ogawa-san says with a smile.

I look at his Rolex and wonder if it's fake.

"Don't you think 24 would look so much better on the Plasma?"
"Anything'll look better than what we've got now."
"The LCD TV makes colors look too light."

Definitely a Rulex.

"If you're planning on watching movies," Ogawa-san says, "Plasma is the way to go."
"What about playing video games?" I ask.
"Video games? You hafta be careful, or you'll burn it."

Play! Play, Play, Play!

There's that damn song again. I can hear it, but I can't. It's slipped into my subconscious and is festering. I decide that no matter which television we get, I hate the Hanshin Tigers.

"Yer not planning on using the TV only for gaming?" my wife asks.
Minefield. Be careful.
"Uh, yeah."
Idiot!
"Then what's the point?"
"What we talked about right? My job and video games and um..."
Geez, shuddup man.
"We should buy a TV that we can all enjoy. I don't want you playing video games on it all the time anyway. Can't you use the TV we have now for that?"
Arrrrrrrrrrgh.
"And today, Panasonic and our store are offering a special discount on the Plasma," Ogawa chimes.
You are so not helping things, I think.

A smile creeps across my wife's face. How much? A six-hundred dollar discount. And that, the salesman points out, is for the latest model. This stinks. The whole situation is rotten. Panasonic, the Hanshin Tigers and this store are in cahoots. They're plotting to deprive me of next-gen gaming. I try to say something, direct attention back to the LCD TV or send my wife some sort of ESP email that this a conspiracy, but she and Ogawa-san are already picking out the stand for the Plasma.

My wife drags me over, inquiring, "Aren't you happy?"
"Yeah. Happy." Wahoo.
"This TV's great for watching sports," Ogawa says, bowing for no apparent reason whatsoever. "Action-type video games look great too. But, don't play them too long or you'll burn the screen."
"That's okay. He's going to play them on the set we have now. Aren't you honey?"

Han-shin Tigers!

This year, the Hanshin Tigers lost the Japan Series to the Softbank Hawks. Hopes were high going into the Series, but it ended up a blow out. I wonder if the players were disappointed. Tigers fans were. I wonder this as I make my way out of the store holding the receipt in my hand and passing a small blue radio playing the team's fight song. I restrain from bashing the shit outta it. My new Plasma TV will be delivered tomorrow.

Play, Play, Play!

See Panasonic's PDP Here [Journal Du Geek]

It's funny, I had no interest whatsoever in getting an HDTV when the 360 arrived, but now that I've been playing these games on my crap TV I suddenly have this urge to run out and buy one.

I swear the 360 games make my TV's picture look like shit. It's probably all in my head, but it certainly says something about Microsoft's ability to push early adopter technology. I wonder how many people ran out and got high speed internet when the Xbox came out?

What are you planning on doing? Do you already own an HDTV or do you plan on getting one for next-gen?

Official HDTV Thread [GAF]