Plasma "Burn-in"

[Omega Supreme]

I have recently purchased a Panasonic TH-50PX50U (50" plasma) this weekend. I had to drop a substantial chunck of change for this thing so it has to last a very long time. I have always been leary of buying a plasma but thats what the wife wanted. I know that the higher the Contrast/Picture is cranked up that there is a better chance of burn-in. Every thing ive read has said it is best to turn your Contrast/Picture down to prevent this. Out of the box the Picture was set to +30 (-30 is lowest & +30 is highest). I now have it set to +13 which looks the best. So my question is: Is this still to high or should i leave it where it is. If there are any other Panasonic users what do you have yours set at and have you noticed any burn in. Also, I was thinking about mounting it to the wall and have noticed Panasonic's wall mount cost $500 & $600. Is there a diffrent wall mount that will work for this tv? $600 seems extremly over priced for a "wall mounting bracket". Thanks for any advise you have.

Omega Supreme

 

[MDS]

Read this whitepaper: http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/p...20- FINAL.pdf

Keep in mind that their goal was to make the case that plasma is as good or better than microdisplay (DLP) and LCD by dispelling what they consider popular myths of plasma technology. I think the paper is fairly balanced and informative nonetheless.

As far as the values for particular settings, there is no right answer. You should get a calibration disc like AVIA or DVE and try to calibrate the set to your liking and then just use common sense and avoid things like leaving static images displayed for days...

 

[Omega Supreme]

Thats pretty good info. but im not sure how much of it i belive. The test was done by Pioneer which only make plasma displays. Im usually not a skeptic but i disagree with some of there claims. From what i have seen and from all that i have read some of the info. seems skewed. 1st is brightness. Everything i have read and I have seen says that LCD's are brigher than Plasmas. 2nd is Blacks. Again from what I have seen and what i have read CRT is the standard to beat when it comes to black level. From this report Plasma beats LCD & CRT in every comparison (minus the burn-in which can be fixed over time). Maybe they got there LCDs from the dollar store and there CRTs from Food World. Thanks for your reply MDS. Maybe i shouldn't be as skeptical.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Yeah, burn-in is all about leaving static images up. Video games are a particular plasma killer. But, TV, if you watch in panorma (full-wide/wide/stadium) is a good way to avoid any issues. Turn on orbiters and other burn-in prevention items that the plasma has as well.

For mounts: You can go with an aftermarket mount for a lot less than what you are looking at. Universal mounts from Best Buy are like $250.00 and mounts on eBay and other places can be under $100.00

If you have zero interest in tilting the plasma down, then a super low profile Chief Mount can be had for about $150.00 or so from a well respected manufacturer.

http://www.chiefmfg.com

You can search to find the different mounts that are available, then Google for some pricing.

 

[Pyrrho]

Thats pretty good info. but im not sure how much of it i belive. The test was done by Pioneer which only make plasma displays. Im usually not a skeptic but i disagree with some of there claims. From what i have seen and from all that i have read some of the info. seems skewed. 1st is brightness. Everything i have read and I have seen says that LCD's are brigher than Plasmas. 2nd is Blacks. Again from what I have seen and what i have read CRT is the standard to beat when it comes to black level. From this report Plasma beats LCD & CRT in every comparison (minus the burn-in which can be fixed over time). Maybe they got there LCDs from the dollar store and there CRTs from Food World. Thanks for your reply MDS. Maybe i shouldn't be as skeptical.

No, you are right to be skeptical. Pioneer is interested in selling you a plasma TV, and therefore are not to be trusted. (Trusting them would be EXACTLY like trusting a used car salesman who says that the car is in great condition...) Any time someone has an interest in what they affirm (to borrow a phrase from Hume), there is a reason to be suspicious of what they are saying. Having a healthy skepticism about what people say is the most intelligent approach.

 

[Pyrrho]

Yeah, burn-in is all about leaving static images up. Video games are a particular plasma killer. But, TV, if you watch in panorma (full-wide/wide/stadium) is a good way to avoid any issues. ...

Which means that to avoid burn in, one should watch standard aspect ratio sources either cropped or distorted. This is not a good thing in a TV at all.

 

[Omega Supreme]

Thanks for the advise BMX. Those mounting brackets are more in my price range.

I agree about the aspect ratio. It would be nice if i could watch SD in 4:3 but I use "Just" which only stretches out the ends. This does not bother me too much because im more conserned about watching dvd's. This bring up another point. Has anyone had any problems caused by the black lines from watching a lot of dvd's?

 

[Aliixer]

Plasma.........

Pioneer has made other tv sets in the past. They are not biased, so please forget the notion. They have made projection big screens.

I have panasonic plasmas in my home for the last three years, no burn in problem to date. CNN is a regular on every morning for 3-4 hours and the occasional video game sometimes 6 hours straight. Yes I have fallin asleep and left the tv on for my than two days. burn in(not yet) knock on wood.

BURN IN OCCURES ONLY FROM WEEKS TO MONTHS OF STATIC IMAGES.

Please look around the next time at a bus station, airport, and or casino. They are all using plasma tvs now and are on 24/7. These are the tv's that experience burn in. For the average consumer, I guarantee you will not see burn in the life of the tv.

There has been no study's done or record of consumer burn in with residential plasma's. If it were not for commercial use of plasma technology for the last ten years burn in wouldn't even be an issue. its just taboo.

 

[voriand]

It takes some serious effort to burn a modern plasma. I have had mine for a year now and have no burns. And I play video games on it more than i watch tv.

 

[Ax-man]

It takes some serious effort to burn a modern plasma. I have had mine for a year now and have no burns. And I play video games on it more than i watch tv.

We've had a plasma for a couple of years now and treat it just like any other television (common sense!) with nary any problems. We love it.

 

[Vancouver]

I have recently purchased a Panasonic TH-50PX50U (50" plasma) this weekend. I had to drop a substantial chunck of change for this thing so it has to last a very long time. I have always been leary of buying a plasma but thats what the wife wanted. I know that the higher the Contrast/Picture is cranked up that there is a better chance of burn-in. Every thing ive read has said it is best to turn your Contrast/Picture down to prevent this. Out of the box the Picture was set to +30 (-30 is lowest & +30 is highest). I now have it set to +13 which looks the best. So my question is: Is this still to high or should i leave it where it is. If there are any other Panasonic users what do you have yours set at and have you noticed any burn in. Also, I was thinking about mounting it to the wall and have noticed Panasonic's wall mount cost $500 & $600. Is there a diffrent wall mount that will work for this tv? $600 seems extremly over priced for a "wall mounting bracket". Thanks for any advise you have.

Omega Supreme

I have TH-42PX20 and have played lots of video games and watch movies with black bars 2-3 times/week. I have not noticed any signs of burn in and I am able to do some tests with and external processor. Just get used to watch all of your tv in "full screen" mode. As for your picture I would recomend setting it where you have it and you can even turn it down further for night watching. You may want to by a DVE disc to calibrate it.

 

[Duffinator]

Pioneer has made other tv sets in the past. They are not biased, so please forget the notion. They have made projection big screens.

And now they only sell plasmas and are VERY biased. How can you say they are not? Pioneer has bet the farm on plasma technology, something that has already hurt them financially to the point where they closed a PDP manufacturing plant due to cost concerns and profitability. This was disucssed on Audioholics several months ago. On the flip side of this is Sharp. Here's a link to their website and their biased analysis of LCD vs. Plasma.

Click on the LCD vs. Plasma box on the left.

http://www.sharpusa.com/products/TypeLanding/0,1056,s67,00.html

So if Pioneer is not biased then neither is Sharp as they have made other types of TV's in the past as well. Plus Sharp is making DLP RPTV's as well so that makes them even less biased. So if Pioneer isn't biased then Sharp isn't either.

 

[Aliixer]

Thats marketing for you. However I don't read everything individual manufactures write. If I do I take it with a grain of salt. I do my research here lol. I was just stating a few facts I know to be true regarding plasma tvs. Pioneer and sharp have gone flat panel, because in the near future thats all we will see in stores. Once prices fall and real estate prices escalate even more. geez I bought a plasma in my first condo because I couldn't fit a big screen in there.

As for burn in, I love running the fish tank screen saver on my plasma for parties.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Thanks for the advise BMX.

Has anyone had any problems caused by the black lines from watching a lot of dvd's?

Your welcome... And, no, I have a cheap 50" plasma that I've had for a year with no issues. DVDs w/black bars just aren't on long enough to cause issues. Most current plasmas specifically address that type of issue, which makes them even less prone to those issues.

Just a touch of common sense will do it for you with few worries. I always keep it in my head, so I avoid prolonged single, high contrast images. But, DVDs, which almost always have those bars, I've never acted on, and have no issues on my cheap display.

Yours would be better than mine for sure.

 

[kdiddy]

Thats pretty good info. but im not sure how much of it i belive. The test was done by Pioneer which only make plasma displays. Im usually not a skeptic but i disagree with some of there claims. From what i have seen and from all that i have read some of the info. seems skewed. 1st is brightness. Everything i have read and I have seen says that LCD's are brigher than Plasmas. 2nd is Blacks. Again from what I have seen and what i have read CRT is the standard to beat when it comes to black level. From this report Plasma beats LCD & CRT in every comparison (minus the burn-in which can be fixed over time). Maybe they got there LCDs from the dollar store and there CRTs from Food World. Thanks for your reply MDS. Maybe i shouldn't be as skeptical.

Just to shed some light, the test were conducted by IDC and The ISF, not by Pioneer themselves. Even though they did sponser the test I find it to be very credible. They didn't just make claims, they backed them up with scientific evidence, which to me is refreshing. Also, if you actually read the full article, it proves to be very informative. It doesn't claim Plasmas are the end all be all of TV's, they really just give the pro's and con's, and the best environment for the sets to give you the best picture. Also, the Plasma did not beat the LCD's and DLP's in every comparison, you should read over the article again. Plasmas were topped by RPTV's and LCD's in the brightness test(read test results on page 10). The test Plasma won was the brightness aging test(p.6), which basically is saying they didn't lose as much brightness over a period of time as the LCD and RPTV's, but that doesnt mean that the Plasma's are brighter overall. They also won the viewing anlge tests, which isn't hard to believe at all. I'm probably not going to be buying a Plasma in the near future anyways, mostly because I can get a simialr sized,or often times larger DLP for less money. I'm not concerned about viewing anlges, because only a few people will be watching the set at a time, and ambient light is near non existent in my living room, so any set can be made to look its very best. But I do believe that most higher end plasmas can give you an excellent picture, most of the time besting whats out there now.

 

[Tsunamii]

(Knock on wood) I also play alot of games on my Plasma and have not had any burn in. If there is an image on there for awhile you might see a ghost image for a few seconds when you switch the source but it goes away quickly.

 

[Moonraker]

Your welcome... And, no, I have a cheap 50" plasma that I've had for a year with no issues. DVDs w/black bars just aren't on long enough to cause issues. Most current plasmas specifically address that type of issue, which makes them even less prone to those issues.

Just a touch of common sense will do it for you with few worries. I always keep it in my head, so I avoid prolonged single, high contrast images. But, DVDs, which almost always have those bars, I've never acted on, and have no issues on my cheap display.

Yours would be better than mine for sure.

I have an even more basic problem... why doesn't a 16:9 plasma TV display DVDs as 16:9? Why must we have the stupid bars above and below the image to begin with? isnt' this kind of the whole point of getting a wide screen TV?

I just purchased a Panasonic 42" 500U plasma and while some DVDs do play full screen, most play with the bars above and below... I hate that!

 

[MDS]

I have an even more basic problem... why doesn't a 16:9 plasma TV display DVDs as 16:9? Why must we have the stupid bars above and below the image to begin with? isnt' this kind of the whole point of getting a wide screen TV?

I just purchased a Panasonic 42" 500U plasma and while some DVDs do play full screen, most play with the bars above and below... I hate that!

Is the DVD itself widescreen or is it 'fullscreen' (4:3)?
Did you tell the dvd player the type of TV? There are settings for Fullscreen, Pan & Scan, and Widescreen.

The short answer is if the DVD itself is not widescreen and the player's settings are not set to widescreen, then the tv will display the 4:3 image as it is. You probably have a zoom or wide zoom type setting on the plasma to stretch it to 16:9 though.

 

[Moonraker]

Is the DVD itself widescreen or is it 'fullscreen' (4:3)?
Did you tell the dvd player the type of TV? There are settings for Fullscreen, Pan & Scan, and Widescreen.

The short answer is if the DVD itself is not widescreen and the player's settings are not set to widescreen, then the tv will display the 4:3 image as it is. You probably have a zoom or wide zoom type setting on the plasma to stretch it to 16:9 though.

I did set up the DVD player for a 16:9 TV, and it's not playing 4:3 but rather 16:9 but there are still black bands above and below the image... I'll play with the settings, but is my situation atypical? or do most ppl watch DVDs with the black bands above and below?

 

[BMXTRIX]

This is normal.

Your TV is 16:9 (1.78:1)

Movies are typically 1.85:1 or 2.35:1 both of which put black bars above and below the 1.78:1 screen area you have. Quite often, 1.85:1 images are slightly overscanned so you don't see any black bars.

2.35:1 movies (most) will always give you black bars. But, compared to your old 4:3 TV, the black bars are nothing. They are greatly reduced by the use of your widescreen TV.