I know this topic has been indirectly discussed before in the transcoder threads among other places, but I still can't believe PJs really look that great for gaming. Could somebody please comment on the following points?

1. LCD refresh time. Even if you're playing a 480 or 720 game off of your XBox360 or directly from your PC with a digital VGA cable, you WILL notice ghosting/blurring, correct? Compared to a CRT. I grew up playing FPS, RTS, and racing games on a CRT. No LCD I've seen can compare to a CRT.

2. PS2/Projector resolution. Most of my games are PS2 games and don't support 480 modes. I tried a PS1 VGA Box & CRT combo 3 years ago and it was absolutely terrible. Even with a $100 transcoder/scaler/whatever, it won't be the same as playing on a TV, correct?

I've found multiple threads where people admit there is ghosting in racing games and other "fast paced" games like FPSs, yet 90% of the comments are raves about how great Halo or PGR look. Somehow I feel these people are casual gamers or have used nothing but AV in on their old 13" TV. I grew up with a sharp 19" CRT. Somebody, please tell me I'll be able to see the difference?

try playing games on the LCD you plan to build with.. if you see ghosting then you'll see it when its projected. if you don't notice it when playing directly on the LCD then it shouldn't be a problem. i play games on mine all the time and i think it looks great i don't notice any ghosting but then again i'm not looking for it.

I own all 3 major consoles and a Dreamcast and I use my PJ to game ALL THE TIME using an N6 to input into my projector. I have NEVER noticed any problem with ghosting at all. I'm not a "casual' gamer.

I would rather play my games on my projector than on my CRT TV. The immersion factor is so much greater. I will admit to one downside to gaming on my projector - I have a small handful of games that are too dark to play on my projector. I'm not talking about dark scenes, which I can correct with a brightness/contrast adjustment, but the game as whole is too dark. The one that comes to mind right off hand is Return to Castle Wolfenstein on Xbox - it's playable, but just barely. Other games that you would think would be too dark are not - Halo, Halo 2, Riddick, etc... all look fantastic on my projector.

I dont think Ghosting is really a problem for our PJs.

I do very minimal gaming, but even with movies I notice an effect, and I think its from the front fresnel.

In any game, or movie where the screen Pans. I notice some blurriness, its only when the entire screen is panning that this occurs. I think it has to do with either the fresnel rings, or the fact that fresnel itself is not 100% perfectly crystal clear. I think this effect (which im sure many of you have noticed) will outweigh any ghosting issues

Scuba i noticed that too.. but i just thought it was my 25ms panel.. Are you sure its the fresnels doing the blurries on fast pans?

Thanks for the comments. Maybe I'll have to go down to the electronics store again and have another look at the LCD panels from the last year.

Also (I'll admit I haven't searched the forum yet), is there any benefit to LCD TVs over a computer LCD?

computer LCD's will only give you VGA or DVI input where as an LCD TV you can get VGA/DVI and composite / S-video and some even have Component.

If you need different types of input you may want to get a LCD TV or you can do what i (and lots of others) have done and use something like the ViewSonic NextVision N6.

what do you plan to hook up to your PJ? if you're just going to use a HTPC then you can save a few bucks and get a computer LCD. If you plan to use a stand alone DVD player or gaming consoles then you might want to go for the LCD TV (or add a transcoder like the N6 to your setup)