High definition television is relatively young. Unlike many new technologies which never rise above niche product status, or worse yet die stillborn, high definition consumer displays have been adopted by the mass market relatively quickly.
Just a few years ago we all had standard definition CRT-based televisions. Maybe you still do, and are wanting to replace your old set with a new, high definition television to take full advantage of the next-gen graphics that your Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 can produce. There are many display technologies being used in televisions today, and some may be better than others if you are an avid console gamer.
Plasma televisions have that crystalline, liquid image that stops you in your tracks when you walk by one at the store. The way plasma displays work is there are hundreds of thousands of tiny cells sandwiched between two glass plates. The gases contained in the cells are electrically excited, producing the desired color per cell. Plasma displays are thin and can be wall mounted, and since they take up less space, may be better suited to smaller rooms.
One of the drawbacks of plasma especially important to gamers is burn-in. Burn-in is when a static image onscreen leaves a ghost of itself if it’s been onscreen for a long time. The effect can be temporary or permanent depending on the contrast level and the amount of time the static image was onscreen. Old fashioned rear projection televisions had this problem, and in that case, the damage was permanent.
While plasma is still prone to burn-in, manufacturers are claiming that on newer sets the effect is temporary and can be remedied by watching content with no static images for an extended period of time. They’ll have to convince me on this point as in the past plasma was very susceptible to permanent burn in. This is a dealbreaker for gamers, and plasma is not be your best choice.
DLP stands for digital light processor, and is a proprietary technology of Texas Instruments. DLP produces an image with hundreds of thousands of tiny mirrors. Each mirror is actuated, and over the range of movement possible, 1024 shades of gray can be reproduced. All DLP televisions use a single chip, and color is achieved via cpu and a mechanical color wheel. At any given time all colors are being displayed in a given pixel, even though the human eye perceives the assigned color.
Because of this, a small percentage of people experience a visual artifact called the rainbow effect, where they see rainbow colored irregularities in moving images. Sensitive people are likely to also encounter eye strain and perhaps headaches. Again, the number of people who are affected by this is small, but if you are one of them this is definitely a deal breaker for DLP.
One of the advantages that comes from being a single chip solution is that no convergence issues are possible. Convergence is the alignment of three separate images, red, green and blue, to form the image displayed. CRT rear projection, LCD rear projection, and LCoS all achieve an image this way.
The problem with this is that often times due to manufacturing or wear, perfect alignment of the three images isn’t possible over the entire viewing area. For example, the television is displaying a grid of vertical white lines. One area of the screen has a slight ghosting effect where there is a green, blue or red line on one side of the white line, or even both sides.
DLP is not susceptible to burn-in, at all, making it perhaps the single best choice for the console gamer. There is no visual degradation over time with DLP like can be noted on LCD displays. On the downside, every couple of years you’ll need to replace the lamp.
LCoS stands for liquid crystal on silicon. The way LCoS differs from LCD rear projection is that while light is transmitted through LCD rear projection, LCoS is reflective. LCoS is capable of higher resolutions than LCD rear projection and is inexpensive to produce. Because of the reflective approach, LCoS has a much longer life span until visual degradation is noticeable. Like DLP, LCoS is not susceptible to burn in.
Direct view LCD televisions of any size have been prohibitively expensive, until recently. LCD has made great strides in doing away with many of the issues that made it a poor choice in the past. LCD displays are fast enough now that motion blur is a thing of the past.
LCD is susceptible to burn-in, but only temporarily. Cycling away from the static image for a while will eventually make the ghost go away. The one drawback is still that LCD can not do black, only very dark gray. Don’t raise your eyebrow at me. It may look black to you, but it’s not. Trust me. Going along with the lack of true black, dark detail is not as good as other display technologies.
That is about my only big gripe with LCD. Everywhere else they are vastly improved, and in price vs. performance are beating plasma. I don’t have too much reservation recommending direct view LCD to the console gamer, but first person shooter aficionados may be disappointed with the dark detail. The best choice if you absolutely have to have flat panel.
Verdict: DLP and LCoS
I cheated and picked two. Here’s why:
- I think DLP still offers the best image for the money if (big caveat here) you don’t see the rainbows. Nothing should ever wear out, besides the lamp, and the image is wonderful. DLP has inky blacks, great dark detail and is fast, making for a display that is exceptional for gaming. LCoS is my second pick, and is my first choice for those who experience the rainbow effect with DLP.
- The needs of the console gamer differ from the person who is only watching movies and television on their display. At this time, DLP and LCoS are the two technologies that provide the console gamer with pristine image quality for movie viewing and freedom from the fear of burn in. Prices on both technologies have decreased substantially since they were introduced, and they represent the best combination of performance and price.
