PC gaming on TV - looking for an improvement over my Plasma 42' HDTV

[zdeno84]

Hi Everyone,
I currently pc game on Panasonic Plasma TV (42', 120ghz, 1920x1080) which is around 4 years old. Going to move to new appartment I am looking to buy new TV in the near future and also think about upgrading the pc rig...
I sit around 2m (6-7 feet) away from the TV while I play usually, sometimes I get closer to around 4-5 feet.
Few things I realize/know:
1. I know I need to look for the lowest input lag (ideally below 20ms), the TV should have a 'game' mode preferably
2. I want to up the size (at least 49', but not over 55') which means bigger pixels if I keep the same resolution (right?)
3. distance to TV won't change, ie I won't sit closer in the future, 6 feet on average, but not 3,2,1...
4. budget up to 1.000 EUR
5. stick to the main manufacturers (Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, LG)
6. I don't want/need any 3D, SmartTV or other nonsense... picture quality is the single most important aspect

Now, few questions I would love to get advice on:
1. what are the most important specs to look for to have the ideal PC gaming TV? (aside from input lag of course) for example I think I should be looking for some HDMI 1.4 or above, but don't know whatfor exactly.
2. now the Plasmas are more or less gone, should should I go for LCD, LED or any other?
3. 4K or am I fine with FullHD still? The thing is I have the 'feeling' I see quality difference if I sit 7 feet or 4-5 and it is a change for the worse as closer I am. I am afraid the quality of picture will drop on bigger screen even further if I stick to FullHD

thanks a lot

 

[ssddx]

1. you may want a tv which is based on an ips panel or other panel type which allows more bit depth (greater color accuracy and ability to display more colors, shades and hues). this would mean no banding in gradients that you may get on 6bit panels. you might also want to look into a grid-array style led backlighting option as this offers improved contrast over edge-lit led models.

hdmi 1.4 is more beneficial for 4k video than it is for 1080p. supposedly (according to blurbusters) some televisions can be hacked/modified to recieve a true 120hz signal (instead of just 60hz and faking in the extra frames). i'm not sure but hdmi 1.4 may be beneficial for this although personally i wouldnt suggest any sort of modification at all.

2. led televisions are lcd. the only difference is that models labeled "led" are led backlit while models labeled "lcd" are ccfl backlit. the only true "led" televisions are "oled" televisions which actually do use leds in the display.

3. you may have a hard time getting 4k for your budget if you want to go with a good brand. on a larger television you will notice the larger pixels and less clarity over your current television unless you sit further away to counter this. if you intened to sit about the same distance then 4k is definitely going to be a noticible upgrade however running games at higher resolutions also requires a more powerful system and more frequent upgades to keep decent framerate. either that or a drop in graphical quality. another thing to note is that 1080p video (blueray) will look best on a 1080p screen. seeing as how 4k video is a long ways off from being a daily thing if you're into watching movies you might just want to stay with 1080p and sit a bit further back than you do now (an additional foot or two is likely fine).

 

[zdeno84]

thanks for the answer.
Checked if I can easily find if the TV has an IPS panel and it's stated, so shouldn't be difficult to find.
I will stick to 1.4 HDMI, but don't really plan any 'modifications' and will stick to 60ghz. That's the sacrifice you have to make if you use TV as monitor...
they have here LG for about 1000 EUR, but I will likely wait until christmas when prices drop.