Buy PLASMA OR LCD?

[humansoul]

i'm looking at purchasing a monitor for my computer but i would like to play games(computer and playstation) and watch movies on it aswell. i've been doing a lot of looking around at the lcd screens and i'm well aware of their capabilities(they're somewhat lacking). knowing what i know about lcds, i was wondering if i would be better off getting a plasma screen.

i also wanted to know if the plasmas have any defects as far as pixelation(like a regular tv), ghosting(like the lcd), etc.

 

[kinetic_tw]

I havent seen any plasma screens smaller than 32 inches (Though they may exist). I cant imagine they'd be anywhere near as cost efficient as an LCD in that size range. Exactly what size are you looking for?

 

[picture_perfect]

i'm looking for a home theater tv to double as a pc monitor too but from what i've seen, the home theater market still hasn't devoted itself much to pc users. my standards are high though. for instance, i wont have a monitor with resolution less than SXGA (1280X1024) and right now i dont think any home theater plasma, lcd, or dlp can deliver anything better than XGA or 1024X768 when hooked up to a pc. an hdtv will never be able to display UXGA (1600X1200) which i prefer. (when comparing widescreen resolutions to a regular pc monitor, use vertical resolution comparisons only; to get the equivillant of 1280X1024 in a widescreen you need 1812X1024: the closest thing being an hdtv with 1920X1080i interlaced. progressive is better. i seriously doubt there is a 1080p (progressive) hdtv out there but there may be.)
if you dont mind the lower resolution, then get either a plasma,lcd,dlp, or digital crt:

plasma - burn in for plasma's seems to be a reality especially if you play games. some experience it, some dont but you will probably always have to worry about it. read what gamers say in the AVS forums:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=990219f47e4c74ff3107722413a62c6f&forumid=40

ghosting on plasmas i havent heard to be an issue. it can be present but not nearly as bad as lcd's.

LCD's - ghosting is the main problem (slow pixel response time) and the fact that they are more expensive than plasmas. ghosting on computer-made lcd's is bad enough (some gamers say acceptable) so i can only imagine it is worse in the home theater market which is not devoted as much to pc users. LCD's are forecast to soon displace plasma's and the new batch comming out next year are supposed to be awsome. ghosting may be improved:
http://www.plasmacity.com/lcd_vrs_plasma.htm

DLP - will never burn in and i havent heard anything about them ghosting. they also have a good pixel fill which apparently makes their resolution seem much better than it is. the problem with dlp is brightness and the cost of replacing the bulbs ($200-$500 a pop). depending on how much you use it (you should use it alot if it doubles as your tv), bulbs will last about 1 - 2 years before replacement time.

digital crt - i think these have the higest resolutions (i think some display 1080i) but they use hdtv timings of 60 hz. since crt's flicker at 60 hz i would soon go blind. the picture will probably be interlaced also which is bad especially for games. manufacurers dont encourage pc usage on them either as they arent really made for it. you will have to adjust the overscan/underscan when hooking up to your pc with a thing called a "powerstrip". another thing to check out in all these displays is if you can get true 32-bit color which im not sure any can do.

i have gathered this reading around the last 6 months or so. if anything here is false my apologies. for now im sticking with my 21" crt for computer. (1600X1200 multi-scan progressive resolution @ 85hz and true 32-bit color. no ghosting, no noise, 180deg viewing angle, excellent grayscale, and cheap) and a 27" sony for tv/movies. this website has alot on connecting home theater tv's to pc:
http://www.digitalconnection.com/Default.asp