Gaming on a 50" TV -- Setting up the room!

[Vociferate]

Ho-kay, so...


TL:DR:

1) LCD vs Plasma, which would you get?
2) How would you set up a living room with said TV and a computer when you still use it daily?
2.1) Gaming chairs or desk type things, what do you suggest?

I am looking into buying a 50"-55" Television for gaming on my PC and watching DVD's and such. All through my desktop.

As far as what to purchase, I am still torn between going with either an LCD or Plasma.
Obviously with the LCD there is no chance of Image Retention (Burn in). But from what I have read, the plasmas from 2010 seem to have improved upon this issue significantly. But it's hard to find more reviews, because the arguments still seem very jaded (50/50 for what's better).

Anyway, as far as LCD vs Plasma, which would you go with?

--
Now the bigger problem...
--

Setting up the gaming room.

I cannot set the TV on a wall mount, sadly. So I need to look into getting it placed on a table or console. What should I do about comfort while playing?

I have never been a fan of the keyboard on my lap, and the mouse on the armchair, sort of thing. (IE: Laptop gaming.)

And I have grown quite accustom to playing at a proper desk with a chair. But since it's in my living room, I simply can't have a desk in the middle of the room.

How would you go about setting this up?

[Talos]

i cant find a quick picture to support this but i got an idea ive seen before and am thinking of myself.

if the room is big enough put a nice lounchechair in the center with 2 couches besides it.
than make or buy a turnable support-table next to or ON to the lounchechair to place keyboard/mouse on

room for your friends/family to cosy up on the couches to watch movies and stuff and the lounchechair in center for controls and gaming.

ill get back to you if i can find a nice picture to show this :D

edit: this is an expensive solution but you can easily make something 'like' this if you are a bit handy with wood or metals :D
http://www.unplggd.com/unplggd/seating/the-perfect-a-lounge-chair-to-surf-070489

[Vociferate]

Where the hell can I buy that? That chair is awesome!

[Hivetyrant]

The burn in will still be present, and with a game like WoW, it will be bad.

I know because I have a Sieres 7 Samsung and tried it myself to prove it to a friend.

However, the price and colour/brightness makes it a tough decision....

I'd still go with an LCD or LED if you can afford it.

As for the space issue, well..... if thats a concern, maybe you should spend the money on a 30" LCD monitor? (the Dell 30" screens are amazing, I have 3 and wouldn't change them for the world! )

[Owltoid]

I've owned one large screen plasma and two large screen LCD. I will never get another plasma and will definitely go for more LCDs (unless LED is good, which I haven't looked at at all). Plasma uses more energy (which matters if you're paying the bills) but the real downside is the glare. The only time I would recommend getting a plasma is if you're in a dark basement with no sunlight. If you're going to be playing in a room, and want some light, then I would definitely recommend LCD.

[ZorbaTheGeek]

If you don't mind setting up a room for light control consider a projector. I'd never go back as even the very largest displays in electronics stores look microscopic compared to my 120" screen in the living room.

Even better, for me anyway, is the screen rolls up into the ceiling and dissapears when I'm not using it. Turn the sofa 90 degrees and I've a living room for conversation rather than one focused around a screen. I watch no TV (occasional BBC iPlayer for my little boy) but I do run an Xbox 360 and I love my movies. The Xbox, blu-ray, amp, sub-woofer are neatly tucked away in a corner (gotta love wireless controllers) and the projector is on a high shelf out of casual sight.

[Bollwerk]

Get an LCD tv with LED backlighting (local dimming is better, but makes the tv a bit thicker)
I have an LG THX certified LED backlit LCD tv and I LOVE it. The quality is amazing. Was only $1400 at Costco for the 47"

[Slats]

This project soudns awesome and wahtever you decide to do pelase take photos.

I got booted out of my study when my 2nd boy arrived. We are looking to move out in the next few years and one of my wants/needs is a bug study for my computer setup. Your setup sounds pretty rad as well Zorba :)

[Vociferate]

I'm not sure if I can get the projector back far enough.
But I'll look into the measurements and have play with those.

And with more reading, LCD just seems the way to go. I can't see myself getting an LED. The price just seems a bit much for me.

Now I think I need to figure out how to set up the room! I'll take some photos today if anyone wants to play interior design.

[Sbrowne55]

LCD would be better, also one with a good connections on it. I've wanted to do that for a while with mine.

In regards to the projectors, don't use it, you'll burn the lightbulb out real fast. There not designed for it. I had a friend using his work one with wii, lol we fried that one really fast lol.

[Sam DeathWalker]

http://force-dynamics.com/

[Vociferate]

Legend SDW, legend.

However, getting one to the island in Australia I am living in, may be a tad bit excessive. :(

[mikekim]

the old debate about which one is better...

here are my thoughts on the matter..
(a bit of background on my experience. I am responsible for specifying AV eqiupment for around 250+ luxury houses in the UK with TV sizes ranging from 32" to 108" depending on room size)

LED: at the moment all the Large screen 46"+ LED models I have reviewed and tested (about 5 so far) suffer from various degrees of motion blur when connected to lower grade sources. e.g. try watching sports on Standard definition - feels like a 60's drug induced trip :P

LCD: are the best for gaming and give good response times, colours can look a bit washed out compared to a decent plasma. Have not yet found a good model above 47" though

PLASMA: the best picture quality for big screen 46+ HD and SD content. if you want to see what a plasma can do try and get a demo of the Pioneer Kuro PDP-LX5090 or 6090 (stunning is an understatement - shame they stopped production). Also take a look at the current range from Panasonic (widely regarded as the new high end quality manufacturer) - there must be a good reason that all of their range above 42" is Plasma.

My current TV= Panasonic TX-46G20B 46" Plasma, a stunning TV in every sense of the word.

As for your Gaming setup...

how about using a wireless keyboard and mouse and get a couple of TV dinner tables to run them from. (keyboard on one and the mouse on the other). the pc can then be installed in the AV rack by the TV.