The Gizmodo Gallery that took place here in NYC over the weekend played host to many strange, custom electronics and gadgets. But the one thing I just had to see for myself was the 103-inch plasma Panasonic TV running Xbox 360 games. Attendees were able to compete for prizes in head-to-head match-ups in games such as Call of Duty 4 and Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking.

As you can see, it's very awe-inspiring. It's almost unbelievable that such a thing even exists.

Seeing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare four-player split-screen on this behemoth made me remember how much fun this style used to be. Nowadays, though, most developers complain they can't do it or they'll give excuses about how no one will use it. I tend to agree, taking into consideration the growing budgets and shorter deadlines.

But this. This TV could spark a renaissance.

Check out the rest of the pics from the day below!

(Note: Gizmodo's Matt Buchanan lost to a 15 year old at COD4)

Poor mobile games. Always the hope for the future! Always the laughing stock of the present. And fair enough, too. Cheaply made, rubbish to control, the vast majority of mobile games are a waste of everyone's time. Oh, unless you're Japanese, and pick up a Panasonic p906i. If you do, well, you'll be able to play Professor Layton. In widescreen, no less! And if you can't be arsed counting matchsticks, there's a nice-looking Gundam game on offer as well. Can have in West, please? Kind of bored of my 4th successive phone with a Worms clone.

Panasonic P906i [Product Page]

Verdict? It's 1960s Playboy magazine centerfold sexy: a bit dated for real use, but alright to look at for its historical significance.

eBay Listing [via gamelife]

Panasonic had their PT-AX200U high-def projector set-up off in a corner of their CEDIA booth. The projector has a 1280 by 720 resolution, 2,000 lumens brightness and 6000:1 contrast. More importantly the projector has a gaming mode which optimizes frame response to improve signal processing by a third. The setting also tweaks the contrast settings bringing out darker scenes and images that are typically over saturated.

To promote the projector, Panasonic flew in Major League Gamings Tom Taylor, aka Tsquared, to beat up on people in matches of Halo 2. I sat down with him and talked about the television and pro-gaming, peppering him with questions as he peppered me with pwnage. Seriously, it was embarassing.

Taylor said that he loves Halo 3, he seemed generally excited about the flexibility of map set-ups and the ability to capture replays in game. He plans on using it to help teach at his school for pro-gaming. He said there hasn't been any real talk yet about replacing Halo 2 with Halo 3 on the pro circuits, but that it's sort of a no-brainer because the two games online are so very similar.

The screen we were playing split-screen on seemed pretty crisp, but since it was Halo 2 it was hard to judge what a high-def game would look like.

Walking through the Panasonic booth at CEDIA, I saw plenty of Playstation 3's being used to demonstrate the high-def screens. Panasonic is all about the Blu-ray so they nixed the Xbox 360 I was told... yes, I know that make no sense. As I rounded a corner I saw this, two guys playing Wii tennis on a 103-inch high-def television. My perspective is all screwed in this shot, but trust me it was impressive. Nearby a Panasonic rep fidgeted.

"I thought you were just using PS3s in here because of the whole Blu-ray thing?"
"Yeah, we have a PS3 hooked-up to it too, but everyone wants to play with the Wii on this television."
"Are you worried about people accidentally throwing their remotes into that screen?"
"Yes, but that's why they're wearing the straps."
"That would really suck."
Sickly smile.

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.

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]