Plasma TVs started to replace with LED, QLED, and OLED in 2016. Before the invention of these modern TVs, Plasma TV was the only best source of home entertainment with their excellent picture quality.
However, LCD TVs are cheaper to manufacture, and they come out with extra features and better viewing experiences which ultimately reduce the popularity of the Plasma TV.
If you still have one, you may wonder about, are Plasma TVs good for gaming?
Ok, it can be a decent choice for you unless you are a pro gamer. You can enjoy standard games but make the game resolution, and the refresh rate is not more than the TV capacity.
Refresh Rate on Plasma TV
Though Plasma TV comes with old technology, the refresh rate is still standard on this. Generally, most Plasma TV comes with 60Hz refresh rate support, which is still good enough for gaming.
Even most modern TVs also come with a 60Hz refresh rate. There are only a few televisions that offer a 120Hz refresh rate. Only a few games require a 120Hz or at least 90Hz refresh rate.
But as most common games require only the 60Hz refresh rate, you can play the games with a smoother experience.
However, there is no comparison between modern TV and the Plasma TV, as modern TV has an updated processor and picture transition technology, so they are obviously superior in terms of refresh rate as well as a smoother gaming experience.
Are Plasma TVs Good For Gaming?
Plasma TVs are not the best choice for the pro gamer as they have some limitations while gaming especially modern games.
But if you are an irregular gamer, you can still enjoy a decent gaming experience because of it’s clear, sharp & better image and color quality. In some cases, they are better for gaming than the 1st generation or early LCD and LED TVs.
However, Plasma TVs have some limitations that can be questionable in terms of gaming. So I am going to discuss them in the below section.
Resolution
Most of the plasma TV from the past come with 1080p resolution. This HD resolution is decent enough to play common games under 1080p resolution. However, you cannot play modern games that come with a higher definition, like 4k games.
Nowadays most of the popular games come with 4k resolutions. However, from your gaming console or PC, you can modify settings that will allow you to play the 4k games on your Plasma TV.
Still, the resolution reduction will be visible clearly, which will ultimately degrade your gaming experience on your Plasma TV rather, we suggest you should find a game with 1080p resolution and enjoy the exciting gaming experience on the TV.
Input Lag
Plasma TVs come with higher input lag compared to modern LCD, LED, and OLED TVs on the market. Where the ideal input lag is 30ms or below for gaming, most of the Plasma TV’s input lag is 34.4ms.
So the overall gaming experience on a Plasma TV won’t be as satisfying as you expected from it. But from an old machine like Plasma TV you are still getting enough.
On the other hand, some Plasma TV with higher specification offers below 30ms input lag. If you already have a Plasma TV, search on the internet about the input lag of your TV.
If your TV offers 30ms or below 30mas input lag, you will have a good gaming experience. But if your Plasma TV comes with more than 30ms input lag, don’t worry; you can still play the games, but there should be a slight delay that you probably will not notice.
Dedicated Gaming Mode
Most Plasma TV does not have any dedicated gaming mode, which is a feature that can improve the video gaming performance by reducing the input lag. Dedicated gaming mode offers fewer delays in terms of moving through the game.
It is a good feature to have where some of the TV’s processing power is dedicated to the image quality to improve the input lag, which will allow you to enjoy the almost latency-free gaming experience.
However, some Plasma TV with higher specifications allows the feature to ensure optimum video gaming performance. So check your Plasma TV setting now; if you have the dedicated gaming mode option,
you are lucky; it will let you play with lower input lag with a smoother gaming experience. In case you don’t have it, still, you can manage to play the lower specified games.
PlayStation and Xbox Compatibility
If you already have a Plasma TV and want to play games on it, you might be confused if it is compatible with modern gaming consoles like PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox.
Yes, the TV can manage to connect with these gaming consoles. And you don’t have to face many problems with it but remember it will only support the games with 1080p resolution and 60Hz refresh rate.
HDR games with 4k resolution and 120Hz refresh rate won’t be paly with these gaming consoles on your Plasma TV.
Probable Drawbacks While Gaming with Plasma TV
Playing Video games most of the time won’t be a problem for your Plasma TV, but there is a risk of burn-in. If you are a pro gamer and play a specific game repeatedly, it will create a screen burn-in issue.
When a particular image is left on the screen for a longer time, like pausing something and leaving it there for a while, it will cause the burn-in issue. So when the faint image burns onto your TV screen, it is called Burn-in.
To avoid the problem, make sure you do not leave anything on the screen for a more extended period. But if you play games randomly and there is no fixed game, you are paying, again and again; you don’t need to worry about it.
Final Words
Playing games on a Plasma TV was a popular choice for people from the past when it was the latest technology.
Nowadays, modern TVs offer more, and with the improvement of technology, modern games come with higher graphics that require higher resolution and refresh rate supported screen for smoother experience.
However, most of the common games are still playable with 1080p resolution and 60Hz refresh rate. All the popular games have several variants for different resolutions and graphics.
When the question arises, are Plasma TVs good for gaming? The answer is yes; though it is not the best, still, you can enjoy gaming with your Plasma TV.
