How much of a threat is "burn in" on plasmas now?

[Jack Hammer]

I bought the Vizio VX37L from Costco and am not happy with it. I'm considering getting a plasma screen instead, but I occasionally play games still on my PS2. Anyway, I was playing SOCOMII this morning and left the tv on when I died, then forgot and went out. The Tv's fine, its an LCD. But the stats screen was up for around 8 hours straight. Actually, I fall asleep watching movies all the time and wake up with the menu screen having been on all night and day. I'll probably keep doing this, it's been standard practice for as long as I've had a tv set.

Most of the searched threads seemed to say that plasmas handle burn in much better now, but it is still a potential threat. How long can they handle a signal? If I did this on the newer Plasmas, would I have ruined my screen? Should I stick with LCD?

Thanks

Jack

Edit: I meant to post this in the displays forum, sorry. Jack

 

[evilkat]

Plasmas are pretty unforgiving with burn-in. More often than not, when people report burn-in, it's actually a case of image retention (IR) and not burn in. Image retention differs in that, no permanent mark is left on the TV. Instead an after image is left on screen which eventually dissappears.

If you're a cosole gamer or plan to have static imaages up for a long time on your TV, then I suggest you shop LCD or some other tech than Plasma.

From all I've heard, plasmas have have a 100hr break-in period, during which time it's very bad to have static images on. There are special CDs/DVDs out there that are supposed to accelerate this process though, by showing random images in a loop forever. All u have to do is leave the set on for a long time.

Still, if you'd rather not deal with the risk of your TV retaining a HUD from a game , then my suggestion is to avoid plasma and go with some other tech.

 

[Jack Hammer]

Thanks, that's kind of what I thought. Like I said, I tend to fall asleep with the display on quite often.

Jack

 

[Sheep]

Well, if you're using it for TV and movies, you should be fine.

I however (when I go HD) will be using it as a computer monitor, so I need something with NO burn in.

SheepStar

 

[evilkat]

Honestly, I think they make too much fuss about this whole burn in thing. While I wouldn't recommend putting up a static image for a long period of time, if you have your contrast and brightness toned down from 'torch' mode, and take reasonable care of your display, I'm sure you can avoid burn-in relatively easily.

 

[agarwalro]

I have the Panny 50PH9UK which has been tested here to be very burn resistant. That said, one day I watched a Law and Order marathon on USA, maybe 5 hrs worth and the "USA" logo was temporarily visible on other stations, albeit very faint. I did the screen saver thingy immediately and it was gone... PHEW. Then again, I play Splinter Cell on the Xbox a lot and the static images from the game have never remained on the screen. I guess it is safe to assume that the amount of residual image depends on the brightness of the static image. So brighter the static image, the less time it should remain on the screen.

After the "USA" incident, I have made it a practice to leave Discovery HD on for 5 -10 minutes before turning the TV off. I think this is the only channel without a static image permanently on the screen.

 

[Jack Hammer]

I have the Panny 50PH9UK which has been tested here to be very burn resistant. That said, one day I watched a Law and Order marathon on USA, maybe 5 hrs worth and the "USA" logo was temporarily visible on other stations, albeit very faint. I did the screen saver thingy immediately and it was gone... PHEW. Then again, I play Splinter Cell on the Xbox a lot and the static images from the game have never remained on the screen. I guess it is safe to assume that the amount of residual image depends on the brightness of the static image. So brighter the static image, the less time it should remain on the screen.

After the "USA" incident, I have made it a practice to leave Discovery HD on for 5 -10 minutes before turning the TV off. I think this is the only channel without a static image permanently on the screen.

Well, I fell asleep last night while playing BattlefrontII. Apparantly I paused the game before I "rested my eyes," 'cause I woke up on my couch 20 minutes ago and it was paused, and on all day.

I think it's safe to say I'll have static images on it for hours at a time. I'm going to have to stick with LCD for now. The more I think about it, the less I'm willing to risk the possibility of ruining the display. Now if I can just find a good deal on the 37" Olevia locally...


Jack

 

[Sheep]

I think it's safe to say I'll have static images on it for hours at a time. I'm going to have to stick with LCD for now. The more I think about it, the less I'm willing to risk the possibility of ruining the display. Now if I can just find a good deal on the 37" Olevia locally...


Jack

Why are you sad? LCD's are still very nice TV's. Would you rather have my 27inch tube TV?

SheepStar

 

[Jack Hammer]

Why are you sad? LCD's are still very nice TV's. Would you rather have my 27inch tube TV?

SheepStar

I'm sad becauset I just bought an LCD and the picture is a downgrade from my 36" tubed tv. The first unit had a defective picture and the second one looks washed out. I'm going to try another brand, because I've seen good pictures on LCD's before. That and I wanted a plasma since they first came out, I really like the picture they have. I'm just not 'responsible' enough to not ruin one.

Jack

 

[agarwalro]

I think it's safe to say I'll have static images on it for hours at a time. I'm going to have to stick with LCD for now. The more I think about it, the less I'm willing to risk the possibility of ruining the display. Now if I can just find a good deal on the 37" Olevia locally...

I will have to agree. Better safe than sorry...

Look into the Westinghouse LCD's. I got the 27". Really good for the money. Only drawback is it has very limited options for image size. Stretch and original only.

 

[Sheep]

I really like the look of the Sony Bravias. Little expensive though.

SheepStar

 

[Jack Hammer]

I really like the look of the Sony Bravias. Little expensive though.

SheepStar

The Bravia's have some of the best pictures I've seen, but they are way out of my price range. The 32" Westinghouse has a great picture, but I haven't seen the larger one in person. I spent a grand on the Vizio and I can only come up with a couple hundred more, so I'm kind of limited. I really want to see the Olevia in person, and find a good deal where I can walk out with it.

Jack

 

[MichaelJHuman]

I have a Panasonic Plasma. I have had no issues with burn in (Which is simply uneven pixel wear.)

I did adjust the brightness and contrast using a standard setup DVD.

I play XBox 360 on it. I have left it on 6 hours with a static image on it with no obvious residual effects (blame alcohol on that one.)

I would not worry to much about it, but some TV's may be more susceptible than others.

 

[evilkat]

I have a Panasonic Plasma. I have had no issues with burn in (Which is simply uneven pixel wear.)

I did adjust the brightness and contrast using a standard setup DVD.

I play XBox 360 on it. I have left it on 6 hours with a static image on it with no obvious residual effects (blame alcohol on that one.)

I would not worry to much about it, but some TV's may be more susceptible than others.

Can you tell me what Panny model plasma you had and for approximately how long you had been using the TV (i.e. how old...more than 100hrs?) before you put up the static image by mistake?

 

[ctjoe]

I am curious too. also what set-up dvd did you use ? I just purchased the Th42px6ou and the dont want to set too high.

 

[MichaelJHuman]

I don't know the model number of the TV. It was purchased not long after the XBox 360 came out, so I bought it less than a year ago.

I was pretty careful with it for the first few months. If I had used it for at least an hour a day there would have been over 60 hours on it.

I believe the setup disk was the DVD Essentials one.

 

[thoward4444]

No problems with my TH-42PHD8UK and video games.

I have a Panasonic TH-42PHD8UK that i have owned for about a year, and the picture is still fantastic. I play a lot of XBox 360 and have Media Center (a lot of static images) on all the time and have never had any problems. I also own an Olevia 23" widescreen LCD and it is great but cannot compare to the picture of the Panasonic. However, the Olevia was only $400.

I think that when going with a plasma, it is really important to go with a top brand like Panasonic or Pioneer.