Topic: What are the downsides to plasma?

[BC]

I was reading through Moke's original thread, and from what I could glean:

1) Not good at high altitude
2) Might burn in if you are watching extended periods of programs with a black caption like ESPN.

Are there any long-term issues with plasma? My friend was saying something about the picture fading over time or having to "recharge" your plasma after a few years. Is this true? Sorry, I am a noob when it comes to TV.

Thanks!
Ben

[nickgregory]

originally plasma life was 20,000 hours, but most manufacturers now boast 60,000 hours...guessing the truth is somewhere in the middle and obviously dependant on your viewing habits

[OFOTD]

2) Might burn in if you are watching extended periods of programs with a black caption like ESPN.

Myth.  This actually may have been true several years ago but burn-in is not an issue anymore.  Most if not all plasmas have anti-burnin technology.   You can't go wrong with either plasma or lcd.  I have a Samsung 50" plasma and freakin love it.  I also have it hanging on the wall  which is one reason I went with plasma.

[dmonterisi]

the biggest downside is that you will find it difficult to get off the couch.   

plasmas do degrade over time because of the gases used in the pixels...but at this point, it's a ridiculously long time.  by the time it dims enough to be noticeable, you will likely be in the market for a new set anyway.

as for burn-in, the risk is extremely minimal these days.  I would say the risk is highest in the first 100-200 hours, so i'd set the contrast a bit low at the beginning and avoid watching a ton of content with black bars, so stretch the image to fit the screen.  this will help the pixels wear evenly. after 2-3 weeks, you should be good to go.

imo, plasma has the most realistic picture for HT.  if you are going to be gaming much, LCD may be a better option.  LCD's black levels cannot really compare to plasmas overall.  colors are more accurate and saturated on plasmas as well.  you will pay a bit of a premium for plasmas at 42".  at 50", plasmas seem to be more cost-effective than LCDs.  LCDs typically have higher resolution, but unless you are going massively big (> 60") or will be sitting absurdly close, you will not be able to resolve the extra detail in a 1080p set. 

[kgreener]

i've had my 50" plasma for a year now (Toshiba) and have had no issues whatsoever, however i've had mine set to stretch mode so when the kids watch, say, Disney or Cartoon in standard digital it won't have the vertical black bars as Damon mentioned (and it doesn't look too bad, at least Toshiba's version of stretch.  Characters don't look squatty like a lot of stretch modes in other sets). 

Having said this, a good pal of mine bought a 42" Hitachi plasma last February and unfortunately did not have his set to stretch, and with his young kids and wife watching more TV than him and watching mostly SD channels, his set now does have burn in, and you can see said vertical bars superimposed on the screen, and it's pretty darn noticeable.  it sucks cuz it's a really nice set but he didn't heed the warnings and now he's really bummed about it.  we tried doing the built-in "screen wipe" utility (or whatever it's called) multiple times but no luck. 

i guess my point is plasma burn-in is not completely out of the question, even with the newer sets, so still use caution.  but for clarity and a true HD, imo plasma really rocks.  It's literally a year later and I still find myself saying "wow, would you look at that picture?"

$.02

[Shawn]

i've had my 50" plasma for a year now (Toshiba) and have had no issues whatsoever, however i've had mine set to stretch mode so when the kids watch, say, Disney or Cartoon in standard digital it won't have the vertical black bars as Damon mentioned (and it doesn't look too bad, at least Toshiba's version of stretch.  Characters don't look squatty like a lot of stretch modes in other sets). 

Having said this, a good pal of mine bought a 42" Hitachi plasma last February and unfortunately did not have his set to stretch, and with his young kids and wife watching more TV than him and watching mostly SD channels, his set now does have burn in, and you can see said vertical bars superimposed on the screen, and it's pretty darn noticeable.  it sucks cuz it's a really nice set but he didn't heed the warnings and now he's really bummed about it.  we tried doing the built-in "screen wipe" utility (or whatever it's called) multiple times but no luck. 

i guess my point is plasma burn-in is not completely out of the question, even with the newer sets, so still use caution.  but for clarity and a true HD, imo plasma really rocks.  It's literally a year later and I still find myself saying "wow, would you look at that picture?"

$.02

he should be able to go into the menus somewhere and do a screen wipe sort of thing that will fix that. I've seen my brother do it with his samsung plasma set, and I've heard other manufactures can do that also.

I went with LCD because plasma sets are more prone to glare. I have my TV in a room that gets a lot of natural light and glare was a big problem during the day. since LCDs don't have glass screens they don't suffer nearly as much from glare as plasmas. IMO the only downside with LCD is black levels. My set simply can not produce the same quality of black that my brother's plasma can. It was a trade off I was willing to make.

[BC]

thanks for the replies guys! Very useful info, I think I am going to go plasma over LCD for the higher contrast and blacker blacks. I will make sure to stretch the screen sometimes so I don't get lines. I am not a fan of the way people look in stretched mode but maybe I can just do it once in a while. I mostly watch sports so maybe the bulk of my watching will be in widescreen mode anyway. +t's all around.

[dmonterisi]

thanks for the replies guys! Very useful info, I think I am going to go plasma over LCD for the higher contrast and blacker blacks. I will make sure to stretch the screen sometimes so I don't get lines. I am not a fan of the way people look in stretched mode but maybe I can just do it once in a while. I mostly watch sports so maybe the bulk of my watching will be in widescreen mode anyway. +t's all around.

i think the only real risk with burn-in is if you watch 4:3 material unstretched for very long periods of time without filling up the whole screen.  if you watch 4:3 for an hour then fullscreen for an hour, you will have no problems whatsoever.  additionally, discoveryHD is considered to be the best programming for breaking in your set since the screen is pretty much always full and they don't leave the super-imposed logo down in the corner on all the time like some networks do.  they only have it there for like 15 seconds at a time, so it's not an issue.  I actually just ran the discovery channel for long stretches (overnight typically and when i was going out for a while) to get through the burn-in time as quickly as possible.

[John Kelly]

thanks for the replies guys! Very useful info, I think I am going to go plasma over LCD for the higher contrast and blacker blacks. I will make sure to stretch the screen sometimes so I don't get lines. I am not a fan of the way people look in stretched mode but maybe I can just do it once in a while. I mostly watch sports so maybe the bulk of my watching will be in widescreen mode anyway. +t's all around.

i think the only real risk with burn-in is if you watch 4:3 material unstretched for very long periods of time without filling up the whole screen.  if you watch 4:3 for an hour then fullscreen for an hour, you will have no problems whatsoever.  additionally, discoveryHD is considered to be the best programming for breaking in your set since the screen is pretty much always full and they don't leave the super-imposed logo down in the corner on all the time like some networks do.  they only have it there for like 15 seconds at a time, so it's not an issue.  I actually just ran the discovery channel for long stretches (overnight typically and when i was going out for a while) to get through the burn-in time as quickly as possible.

I have a DVD you can play on a loop to get through the first 100 hours (considered the break-in period) if you want it.  It's just a 15-20 second loop of a few colors fading in and out.  I played it while I was at work or while I was sleeping to break the tv in.  Then I calibrated it and I've got a badass picture now.

[sygdwm]

can you explain the calibration process? tia

[John Kelly]

can you explain the calibration process? tia

I have a friend who works with video, and he brought over a device that analyzes the color on the tv and tells you the results via a computer.  I think they're cheap, only a couple hundred bucks.

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

I am not a fan of the way people look in stretched mode but maybe I can just do it once in a while. I mostly watch sports so maybe the bulk of my watching will be in widescreen mode anyway. 

When you shop for a set, check the different modes offered by the models you like.  Some sets have a mode that, instead of a linear horizontal stretch, will mildly crop the top and bottom and add more stretch on the sides of the image so that the objects in the middle of the screen are not obviously deformed.

I had a link that describes this but can't find it.  hopefully the description is clear.

[dmonterisi]

can you explain the calibration process? tia

you can either use a dvd to calibrate or have a professional come in and do it.  basically, you need to set the black level (called brightness in the picture menu) at the point where it is as close to black as possibly but you can resolve detail in dark areas and the white point (called contrast or picture in the menu) where you see detail in white scenes but the whites are not blown out (ie you want to see detail in a white shirt for example, not just all white).  you also need to adjust the color so that the overall tone of the picture is accurate.  basically, out of the box factory settings have the settings all jacked so they look brighter/more vivid under the lights at a store.  professionals do this with devices that read the color output of your set and then go into the service menu to make adjustments.

the problem with using a calibration dvd such as Avia or Digital Video Essentials to calibrate the HD inputs is that SD dvd's use a different colorspace than the HD colorspace so the colors cannot be as finely tuned as a professional can.

[Stagger]

Man, if I had a dollar for everytime one of my customers "expert" friends told him he would have to have the gas in his plasma recharged in 3 years I would have retired long ago. Seriously. The main reason you would want to get LCD over plasma is if you are going to get a PS3, other Blu-Ray, or 2nd gen HD-DVD player. Basically anything with 1080p. While you can get a 1080p plasma you are talking serious $$. The only model we cary is the Pioneer Elite ProFHD1. It is, with out a doubt, the best looking TV I have ever seen save for various 3 chip front projectors but it goes for about 8 grand.

That said, 1080p is worth it. You are physically doubling the resolution of your screen. While nothing is broadcast in 1080p, the set is still upsampling to its native resolution. When one of my customers buys a normal plasma, I always tell them to set the output on their cable/sat box to 720p as that is really all the resolution they are going to see. You could run 1080i but then you are dealing with all sorts of deinterlacing issues (that I don't want to go into here). On the other hand, if you have a 1080p set you can feel free to set you box to 1080i. It is much easier for a set to deinterlace from 1080i to 1080p.

Now I will readily admit that plasma has a much more vibrant, tube like picture and a faster refresh rate. Also, you will certainly get more screen for your money with plasma. On the other hand, if you are looking for the most future compatable and flexable tv in terms of usage, LCD may be the way to go.

[John Kelly]

That said, 1080p is worth it.

That is *completely* dependent on viewing conditions.  In the room where my 42" plasma is I'd have no benefit by going to a 1080p television.