Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Plasma TV

Hello Everyone. I'm looking for a new TV and was wondering what are your thoughts on Plasma? Do you fell that burn in is still a problem? Thank you for your time and responses. Have a great day!!!!

Hi George, my personal preference is plasma. The gap between LCD/LED and plasma is always narrowing, but I personally still prefer the look and (usually) deeper blacks from a plasma set. While the possibility of burn in still exists, I think it's much less of an issue with today's sets. I have had a Panny plasma for the past 3 years and no burn in issues at all.

Thank you for the fast reply. What precautions have you taken to prevent burn in? I read that there contrast and bightness should be turned down for the first 100 to 200 hours.

I have not taken any special precautions. I simply make sure to turn on burn in protection if it's available on connected devices (i.e. PS3 and even within specific game menus). Also I have the TV auto power off if no signal change for extended period of time. I have had once or twice very faint temporary imprints that were hardly noticeable and were quickly removed with a the TV's built in 'screen wipe' functionality. I forget what Panny calls it but it basically sweeps a super bright white stripe across the screen to clear any image ghosts. I also have calibration discs that activate all 'pixels' to achieve the same thing. I think temporary image retention is possible but you'd have to work hard to get a permanent burn-in issue.

I'm sure some other opinions will be along soon.

i would say the same thing as cb919 and add that LCD's are also subject to burn-in, just like CRT's and Plasmas, but the recent tv's are much better in this regard than in "old times".

one just has to not keep a static image on the screen for hours on end (or days), and also use the side masks when watching 1.33:1 programs (Std TV).
my kuro also has what they call an "orbiter"; it makes the image move around (in a circle) by very small amounts, a few pixels.
one is not aware of it working, but it softens any line or transition in the image that could "imprint" the panel.

the "calibration disc" can be had by asking in the Plasma thread in AVS forum. it's a "burn-in" disc. i don't remember the name, but if you ask they'll tell you where to get it. you just dl it and burn it to CD or DVD.

a plasma tv is more sensitive to image retention and/or burn-in when it's new. lots of people recommend running this DVD for around 200 hours at night or when no one is watching tv.
manufacturers are neutral about it.

Edit: just found the address for the burn-in disc in AVS:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=949107

Plasma also doesn't suffer from off angle viewing problems that the LCD'S do with blacks getting lighter. I'm not sure if LCD with LED backlit has this problem.

I do know that Visio LCD that I've looked in the stores has a wider viewing angle.

Just for reference I have the Disney WOW calibration BR disc. The feature i refer to they call a 'pixel flipper'. (Hmmmm... is that a good band name - The Pixel Flippers'?)

Hi hybrid,

I'm a guest of fellow Axiom colleagues Debbie and Jeff and I'm watching a stunning-looking Samsung 50-inch plasma well off-axis as I write this. If it were an LCD, there would be contrast and color changes at this angle of off-axis viewing.

I've been recommending Samsung and Panasonic plasmas for some years now.

Just don't run a specific channel with a constant logo on a plasma all day long and you should be fine.

Alan

my mistake, i should have written: it's a break-in disc.

Another panny plasma fan. On my 2nd Panasonic, loving my 55" VT30.

Thank you everyone. I knew I could depend on getting good info from the Axiom Forum. Great bunch of people here. Thanks again.

I bought a cheap Panasonic 42" plasma as a secondary TV and I can't believe how good the picture is.

Plasma also handles motion better than LCD, by a long shot. They are energy hogs though.

'merica.

on standby, my Kuro uses 32 Watts, and running averages at about 185 Watts.
if you check your LCD's, you'll see that a plasma is not an energy hog compared to them.

True, the gap between is always narrowing - on both sides of the fence.

Out of pure random curiosity, how much energy can a sub draw when belching out canon shots and the like? I love that the Sub2 can be configured for a 240V line to achieve maximum output. Nothing like overkill - still, if I had the means....

a few weeks ago i watched Master and Commander on DVD and afterwards checked my Blue Planet Watt meter.
the loudest parts were cannon shots, i believe.

the max Wattage was 605 Watts, but this includes the front and back speakers (amps) who also were contributing to the sound, and more importantly, my Hafler amp is not as efficient as the sub's amp or the QSC.

the loudest i've heard was the tripod coming out at the beginning of WOTW; at the time, i had set the sub's gain by ear on tv programs, which proved to be about 6 dB hot.

when the tripod put it's foot down, the sound coming out of the sub was so loud that after resisting the idea for a couple of minutes, i could not refrain from getting up and checking to see if there was a hole in the floor in the vicinity of the sub.
floor was ok, and the sub did not bottom, but i was shaken and had to take a breather.
it must have been near the max output.

Another vote for the Panasonic plasma, we've had a 42" Panasonic plasma hanging on our bedroom wall for several years now and the picture is as good as the day we bought it. This is our second plasma, the original Sony didn't last nearly as long as the Panasonic.

often, the Sony's are overrated in people's minds because they often cost more than the direct competition; so people think "if it costs more, then they must be better".

answer: false.

Generally plasma has better blacks/contrast and LCD may get the edge for color "pop". Plasma is better for off-angle. LCD is much better in a sunny room. Really is that simple.

For me, plasma wins hands down for PQ. Panny in currently the best (I am NOT a big fan of Samsung quality - 3 failures in the family in with < 3 year old Sammys).

A hint. Take a look at Panny's "Professional" monitors. No tuner and no speakers - less expensive. If you are hooking up to a cable or Sat box and a receiver/5.1 setup, you don't need (or need to pat for) a tuner/speakers in the TV. Plus, the Professional models tens to have more adjustments/controls for calibration. The Visual Apex website provides a list of the Professional monitor model numbers and you can Google the prices online.

Whatever you decide to get, the TV will come set to "nuclear torch" mode. Get on the internet and search for settings people have done for the model number. You will want to change from "Vivid" (or whatever they use to describe sunburn mode) to something a bit less drastic.

Good luck.

at the time i was gathering info towards buying a new tv, after a while i had settled on a Pana pro monitor and the necessary modules.
then i discovered the Kuro...

I keep hearing this about sunny rooms.
Why is a LCD better than a plasma in a sunny room?
I presently have a Phillips LCD, that is destined for the bedroom, but sits in our living room. With the blinds open, i can't see the screen because of the light glare.
How is a plasma any worse?
Virtually all the LCD, LED and plasmas i've seen in the stores have high gloss finishes which no doubt would make any viewing with a light source a problem (our present Phillips actually has a non glossy surface which still has the aforementioned issue).

I don't own any LCD's to check. Well other than a couple computer monitors. I really just threw that whole energy comment out there for the greenies and bunny huggers who frequent this sight. I have not put a lot of effort into comparing energy usage.

I love my Panny plasma. It has a better picture than my projector.

some people are so stuck on the fad regarding energy conservation that they wish the 7 small led's on their A/V gear could all be switched off when not needed. heck, a Watt meter would not even show a difference!

they then would be able to save 1 cent's worth of electricity after some years...

Great!!!

it would be so much better if they would hang their clothes to dry outside than using the clothes dryer 3 times a week; or lower the thermostat by a degree or so.

hint: selling the whole A/V system would be a very nice energy saving too... :-)

Your cable/satellite box uses only 1-2 watts more while 'on' as it does on standby. It uses as much juice in a year as your refrigerator. Europe already has boxes that come on only for "record" commands and use far less energy.

I read a story where a woman with an avg. elec. bill of well over $200, unplugged everything that had a standby mode. Her bill dropped to <$70.00.

I wonder how much my dsl modem uses. It's always hot to the touch. Same with the battery backup unit on my computer. But, if I unplugged that, the cat would be unhappy. It's her tummy warmer on cool nights.

Cat, is your new avatar an original Brian?

Several months ago I was against plasmas but last month I picked up a 51 inch Samsung plasma and am pretty happy with it. I compared its power consumption to an equiv LED LCD and figured it would take almost 8 years to recoup the cost of electricity that the LED LCD would save.

I do have one gripe about it thou, during the day I call it our 51 inch mirror. Wish they'd stop using that glossy glass. My friends Samsung LED LCD has the same reflective issues however.