"Let our rigorous testing and reviews be your guidelines to A/V equipment – not marketing slogans"
Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar

HOW LONG does plasma/LCD last?

  • Thread starter Thread starter omac
  • Start date Start date
O

omac

Audiophyte
Aug 23, 2004
8
0
0
Metropolis
Having read hundreds of reviews and articles online, theres one thing that no one ever mentions and that is the life of a plasma screen.

I want to buy a high end dvd player with hdmi BUT im currently using my 32" panasonic about 3-4 hours a day but SHOCK i hear some plasma wouldnt last a year ???? :mad: on everyday duties.

can someone please tell me if this is true and/or why is every good hifi magazine "avoiding" the subject? (apart form scaring customers) :eek:


Thanks!
 
From what I have heard recently - plasma screens are something like 50,000 hours or some crazy number like that. About 10 years with heavy use. You are much more likely to break the electronics inside before that I would imagine. Most manufacturers also offer extended warranties (I got a 4 year plan w/Best Buy) for peace of mind.

LCDs I believe are rated typically at 70,000 hours. So, they are longer lasting than plasmas... but still, anthing over ten years is pretty significant for a piece of electronics. You gotta switch out your PC every 3-5 years.
 
Plasmas are currently rated to between 50,000 and 60,000 hours to half-brightness. That is, after that amount of time the screen will be half as bright as it was when it was new. Remember that these are average figures - your lifetime may be longer or shorter, depending on usage. LCDs are about the same.

That is still quite a long time...
 
Plasma vs LCD re - long life

From what I've been gathering from many conversations, people are touting the LCD because the bulbs that light the LCDs can easily be replaced, bringing the monitor back up to spec, while the plasma is actually loosing it's gas charge...

Can anyone comment on these explanations? I too am in the market, and I still think the Plasma's outperform the LCDs, especially in action scenarios, such as sports and action movies, but I hate to drop a bundle on a product that isn't projected to have a long life.

Pat :cool:
 
I personally don't care for LCD projection TVs, the bulb averages a life span of approx. 2.000 hours about one and half years of normal usage of the TV and they cost about $ 250 each.

One of the things that disturbs me is the noise coming from the cooling fan, especially when watching a quite scene on a movie.
Plasmas on the other hand is not a bad choice but they're still so darn expensice, especially the 42" and 50" HDTV resolution.

Check out the LCOS HDTVs coming down the pike, they are much less expensive in comparison and they deliver a brighter picture with a terrific color reproduction and best of all the price is half as much as the Plasmas.

If you want to read more about LCOS technology from "Intel" go to www.google.com and search for LCOS Technology, you will find articles fron Intel and other sources.

Mr.T
 
PAT: I believe that you are more likely in the rear projection LCD field instead of the FPD LCD world. Though not 100% positive, I do think that it is possible to replace the light engine on a FPD LCD screen much more easily than what happens with plasma TV's. But, similar to your laptop, it may not ever burn out while you own it.

Mr.T - Any experience with Flat Panel Display LCD technology? Every store is hyping rear LCD and DLP technologies with zero mention that you will need a new $300.00+ bulb a couple of times a year if you leave it on half the day every day. This is why I went with plasma myself. The problem isn't fixed by LCoS either which is just another projection technology at this point. Love my projector, but for daily watching FPDs are the way to go!
 
The Lcos sets sure look good on paper (for the last couple of years at least) but nobody seems to be able to produce one without major problems.....see Toshiba and Philips. Burn in on plasma is more Halloween scary than reality ;)

Mort
 
You just have to be AWARE of plasma burn in... Then take steps to avoid it. We use stadium viewing all the time on SDTV and we change channels pretty regularly. We have almost no worries on burn-in. Just don't sit on a 4x3 image for to long or leave the PS2 on overnight or you may wake up to a burnt-in plasma. I have seen at least half a dozen plasmas with burn-in. It is reality to those who don't pay attention in class.

But those are the D- students. ;)
 
Mr.T said:
I personally don't care for LCD projection TVs, the bulb averages a life span of approx. 2.000 hours about one and half years of normal usage of the TV and they cost about $ 250 each.
Mr.T
Click to expand...

The average life on an RP LCD bulb is closer to 8000 hours, which is between 3-5years usage depending on how much you watch.

I have my Sony LCD up to about 4200 hours from my math and I have owned it for a bit over a year. I'll admit my TV is on over 10 hours a day so it gets lots of use. The color has yet to start fading and still looks great.

I personally would take an RPLCD over a plasma anyday for size vs price and the ease of replacing bulbs for what I consider to be cheap.
 
Markus,
I have had a great amount of Sony and Panasonic LCD Projection TVs coming into the shop with lamp burn out within the 2 years period and Lamp problems even before the manufacturer warranty had expired.

There is many complaints about LCD Projection TV Lamp life span that don't match to the manufacturee's claims and specifications.
We all know that the life span of a projection lamp is effected by many different factors, like room temperature, periodical cleaning of the air filter is very important and the cooling fan performance. I am also a firm beleiver that amount of times of turning the TV ON/OFF effects the life span of the Lamp as well.

It is possible for a projection Lamp to last over two years period of time, it all depends on the brand and model of the TV and the environmental conditions where the TV is located, including the way the TV is used.

Mr.T
 
Mr. T, I completely agree with you...

I also believe that the amount of times the TV is turned on or off has an effect by like I said in my prior post, My TV is left on almost always. I have not have the TV cleaned at all yet but it is in a temperature controlled theater and the cooling system seems to work well after the TV is finally powered off. Expected life is 8000 hours but as with any light bulb you never really know when it is going to blow out.

All this aside I am very happy with the TV and the picture is stunning to watch...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top
Back