I am looking for a 50+ inch plasma tv for semi-retro gaming. I have some consoles that I want to hook up and I don’t want to deal with smart bullshit and I would like something semi period correct. Does anyone have a recommendation? I remember Pioneer being really nice back in the early 00s but I never knew anyone who had one long term. Is this a terrible idea?
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Plasmas were HOT, terrible black levels, burn in, burn out, and go dim.
You’d be better off with a CRT for vintage stuff, or an LCD with a game mode (no lag). As others have said, just don’t enable any “smart” features or connect to net.
I’m with others. An offline ‘smart’ OLED is a dumb one, and with game mode they have lower input lag than any plasma I’ve used.
They’re just obsolete.
And yes, modern TVs have features you don’t need. Just don’t use them; they’re basically zero hinderence.
Maybe plasmas are okay if you find one at goodwill/eBay for dirt cheap, but that’s about it.
I would not recommend an older flat screen, there is quite literally zero benefit for your described use case. Modern LCD/LED TVs provide much better image and features, and they can still be picked up for cheap.
Regardless, the TV won’t matter much for any of the consoles you mentioned that have native HDMI output, with the quality of the panel being the deciding factor and not the console attached to it.
For anything without HDMI just use a scaler such as a RetroTink2x (or the also very capable knockoff Retroscaler2x from Aliexpress) so you can both improve the image quality for a modern TV and get the HDMI output.
Yeah, I already have the hdmi scalers/adapters for the non modded consoles I have. I specifically don’t want a modern tv or the features on it.
Not all modern panels have ‘smart’ features, and those that do need not be used. Your use case is literally changing the source on the TV (smart or otherwise) to various HDMI inputs.
Older panels will offer worse image quality, be larger and heavier, likely consume more power (especially in the case of plasma TVs), and not have features that will improve gaming experience such as game mode to reduce input lag, upscaling to improve image quality especially for the X360/PS3 generation, and some sort motion-interpolation like Samsung’s Game Motion Plus especially for 30fps games.
There is no benefit to getting older panels for your use case, except perhaps cost benefits although modern panels can still be found for very low prices. An older panel will not provide any sort of gaming advantage simply because it was manufactured around the time of a PS3 or whatever.
I still have my Panasonic - TH50PX80U or one of the regional variants. Only does 720p/ 1080i.
Get a CRT, or buy a new TV and just don’t connect it to the internet.
The difference between a disconnected smart TV and a dumb one is basically zilch.
If you’re getting anything which has a native res higher than 480p, I’d recommend looking into up-scalers like the ossc or some of the offerings from Retrotink. Even modern TV’s have shit up-scalers.
Also make sure you’re using Scart/RGB or Component where possible. Composite, or even worse RF, looks like cookie in most places.
Even if you have to settle for S-Video through a koryuu, it will look better than composite for something like the N64 where RGB or component are unavailable for un-modded consoles.
Don’t forget to set it to gaming mode too. That will usually disable a lot of the smart features in the OS to boost performance.
I don’t think plasma TVs really did well long term. Iirc they had big issues with screen burn-in, so if you get one used there’s a chance of that being an issue.
Fair warning plasmas are really heavy, and they are susceptible to burn-in.
FWIW I had a 42" Samsung plasma from 2008 that I gave to a friend and is still working great, but it was only like 1024x768. Lots of ports though.
