Why not use an HDTV for gaming?

Why not use an HDTV for gaming?

A Blu-Ray video looks great on an HDTV, but what  about video games? For first person shooter or other action games, an HDTV can  enhance your gaming experience.

Types of HDTVs
An HDTV’s gaming performance is largely based on the technology used to display the image. The three main types of HDTVs currently available contain plasma, LCD, or LED displays. A plasma screen uses tiny 'bulbs' between two pieces of  glass containing gases that emit light when they are ionized by an applied  voltage. Plasma screens are less prone to visible motion blur, the 'comet' effect that follows fast-moving object, and are capable of producing high  contrast images with a wide viewing angle. Early plasma screens were  susceptible to burn-in, when a still image that has been displayed on for a  long time gets 'stuck' on the screen, and these screens still use more  electricity than their LCD counterparts.
 
LCD (liquid crystal display) screens use liquid crystals to modulate light from  one or two fluorescent backlighting sources. These screens are light with  little or no visible screen flicker that, theoretically, have no upper limit to  their resolution. Brightness distortion can occur due to uneven backlighting  and dead pixels may occur due to manufacturing defects.
 
LEDs (light-emitting diodes) are the latest technology in the HDTV scene. These tiny light emitters are used to backlight LCD screens and give a brighter  display with improved contrast while using less power in a thinner panel.  Presently the main drawback to these displays is cost, which has yet to come  down due to economies of scale.
 
Gaming on HDTVs
One factor not usually considered for HDTV is lag time or how fast the TV image can respond to your commands. While not a major factor when just watching a movie, this can seriously detriment a gamer’s experience. Lag time is usually caused by one of two factors: native resolution mismatches and  image-enhancement processing. Most HDTVs can accept signals from consoles or computers not in their native resolution, but the signal must be scaled to the native resolution of the display. The way in which the pixels are shown,  whether they are interlaced or progressively displayed, may also have to be  converted between the source and the display. In general, progressive scanning  is considered the superior pixel display method. Image-enhancement processing refines the image to be displayed to improve standard definition content. These factors combined can cause latency in response time when gaming, and should be researched carefully when choosing an HDTV.
 

Many HDTVs are beginning to offer displays with refresh rates twice the  standard 60 Hz rate, meaning that the image is redrawn or updated more than 60  times per second. In order to sustain a higher refresh rate, the display must  also have a reduced lag time, improving the overall gaming experience on an  HDTV.
 

Video games become all-encompassing when played on a screen as large HDTVs sold  today, which combined with the high-definition image quality available, makes  them a must-have for die-hard gaming fans. For fast-action games and first-person shooters, a LCD display will be able to suit general all-purpose watching and gaming, but a plasma screen may work best due to faster response times. 

Many HDTVs have a 'Gaming Mode' which reduces some of the time delays  due to extra processing and optimizes display settings for video game display.  When investigating which type of display to purchase, it’s often recommended to  take a gaming console to the electronics store and try out a favourite game  before making a decision.