I am looking for a 50+ inch plasma tv for semi-retro gaming. I have some consoles that I want to hook up and I don’t want to deal with smart bullshit and I would like something semi period correct. Does anyone have a recommendation? I remember Pioneer being really nice back in the early 00s but I never knew anyone who had one long term. Is this a terrible idea?
Not all modern panels have ‘smart’ features, and those that do need not be used. Your use case is literally changing the source on the TV (smart or otherwise) to various HDMI inputs.
Older panels will offer worse image quality, be larger and heavier, likely consume more power (especially in the case of plasma TVs), and not have features that will improve gaming experience such as game mode to reduce input lag, upscaling to improve image quality especially for the X360/PS3 generation, and some sort motion-interpolation like Samsung’s Game Motion Plus especially for 30fps games.
There is no benefit to getting older panels for your use case, except perhaps cost benefits although modern panels can still be found for very low prices. An older panel will not provide any sort of gaming advantage simply because it was manufactured around the time of a PS3 or whatever.