A few years ago, I wrote a column called What’s the ultimate HDTV for gamers? Chalk it up to the pitfalls of good Google optimization, but ever since that column was published, it seems that people have been stumbling upon it in their searches and wishing my old advice was more current. Practically every week I get an e-mail or two requesting that I update it–and so I will attempt to do so.

In three years, a lot has changed in the gaming landscape vis-a-vis HDTV. Back when I wrote the first column, the Xbox 360 and PS3 hadn’t arrived yet (the Wii wasn’t around either, but that console isn’t about HD). And people weren’t making a big deal about consoles with HDMI connectivity and 1080p output. Nor did you have many TV manufacturers touting newfangled gaming optimization technology.

The other big difference is that large flat-panel displays have become affordable–or at least more affordable. The high-end, 45-inch Sharp LCD TV I mentioned in my original column cost around $10,000 in 2004. Now you can pick up a similar-size model (say, the Sharp LC-46D62U) for $2,500. And 50-inch plasmas are also way down, and you still have plenty of front- and rear-projection sets to choose from–whether they use DLP, LCD, or LCoS microdisplay technology. In other words, the range of large-screen gaming options has increased dramatically over the last few years, which means we get more e-mails from anguished gamers on the fence about what model they should buy.

Well, before I try to help narrow down your choices, let’s get a couple of things straight: first and foremost, the majority of TVs we test do just fine when it comes to gaming. Any highly rated set on our top products list is generally going to match up well with your gaming console. If you’re a PC gamer looking to pair up your computer with a TV monitor, having a set with support for 1080p resolution will have a noticeable impact on your picture. Older LCD TVs–and some of today’s superbudget LCDs–have a response time of 16 milliseconds or worse. However, the standard for LCD is now 8 milliseconds, and higher-end LCD TVs are able to cut that number in half (to 4 milliseconds) by increasing the refresh rate from 60 hertz to 120 hertz. Today’s run-of-the-mill LCD TVs, for example, have improved their screen-refresh rates to the point where motion blur (a sort of comet effect where light trails fast-moving images) has become less of an issue. Perhaps the ultimate bottom line is this: stay away from low-end flat-panel displays, which, not surprisingly, have the biggest performance issues, whether it comes to gaming or movie watching.

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