Plasma TV Question

[Acrylic]

Hey all, long time no talk!

 

I hope everyone's alright, and all that. =)

 

Anyways, I have a story, then a question.

 

Me and my dad ordered the Samsung HP-S4253 Plasma TV, because of the good price, and the great quality. Anyways, we were warned about burn-in.

 

How weary should we be of this?

 

Every station I turn to, I see their little logos on the bottom right, or bottom left. And I am really scared about that.

 

I dont want an NBC logo burned into my screen forever, because of their need to imprint their station's logo.

 

So please help me out here, on what to do, thanks all. =)

[coupes.]

You sould be more careful in the beginning... I beleive the first 100 or so hours are the more "dangerous" because the screen is not totally set yet, so you might want to be extra careful until the screen sets itself. Lowering the contrast levels for a while might help avoid burn-ins, also you shouldn't play video games for too long, because the hud might case a burn-in as well.

 

However, I do beleive your new TV has a pixel shift feature, wich is basically a burn-in counter measure, so you shouldn't be too worried. I'd still suggest being more careful in the beginning though, and avoid leaving the TV on for nothing Better safe than sorry.

[TiE23]

Pros

• Slim, wall-mountable design
  
• Larger maximum practical size than LCD screens
  
• Wider viewing angle than LCD screens and better color consistency throughout this range
  
• Better contrast ratio than LCD, though LCDs are improving rapidly
  
• Faster response time than LCD, though LCDs are improving rapidly
  
• Able to achieve darker black than LCD
  

Cons

• PDPs are fragile, making them difficult to ship and install.
  
• Expensive, although currently cheaper than LCDs per unit of size at larger sizes.
  
• Older panels were notoriously subject to burn-in, although due to improvements in phosphors, in modern PDPs the effect is largely caused by polarization of the gas particles and can often be reversed by leaving the screen on a "snow" or static channel for an hour. Some home theater afficionados claim that, while burn-in is less likely now than in the past, it is still possible in some circumstances, and many plasma televisions have functions (such as "orbiting", in which the image is periodically moved imperceptibly) to minimize the problem. In any case, LCDs are not susceptible to permanent burn-in.
  
• The display is brightest during its first 2000 hours. Thereafter, the display gradually dims. LCD backlights exhibit dimming as well, but they are replaceable, while a plasma display has reached the end of its life when its brightness has declined enough. A plasma display cannot be recharged since the panel is a fixed pixel device with each pixel etched into the glass substrate. However, as the phosphors in a modern panel have a 60,000 hour half-life, most users will never see a plasma reach the end of its life.
  
• At higher elevations, usually 6000 ft (1,800 m) or higher, PDPs exhibit noticeable humming or buzzing.
  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_tv

[Datheus]

I've heard that the burn in issue with plasma is much less of a problem than it was one, two, three years ago.

 

CRTs used to have the exact same problem--hence, screen savers. So taking that into consideration, I don't think you need to worry too much.

[abespam]

I heard Samsung's suffers lag when u run games. That may be some of the older models though.

[Acrylic]

Alright, you guys helped a bit. See, we were at Best Buy for 2 1/2 hours, looking for TVs, discussing them, the guy walking us through it, ya know.

 

So, do I really have to be careful with the channels that have the little logos in the bottom corner? (Basically 99% of all channels out there?)

 

And what channels do I absolutely positively want to avoid? Like, I know my mom can't watch her QVC or Home Shopping Network for a while, because of those stationary boxes...

[TSR]

 

my mom can't watch her QVC

Lol, QVC. A.K.A Quality Varies Considerably...

[jon_hill987]

A lot of the logos are semi transparent anyway, though the logo is there the colour is changing all the time anyway, it is just slightly brighter than the rest of the picture. I don't think you need worry about these logos. But I would say leaving it on QVC all day would be a definite no no (and not just because of the burn in). Some of the news channels may be bad as well.

[MTV2]

i have a like 7 year-old CRT, and the only thing that is burned-in is the time since it is always there, and it barely is burned-in (like it doesnt annoy me or anything). so you shouldnt really worry about a channels logo get burned-in since they go off on commercials.

[Acrylic]

Alright, so let me get this straight:

 

If the logos are semi-transparent, then, its probably alright then?

 

And yeah, about QVC and stuff...my mom watches nothing but QVC, Home Shopping Network, and the Bachelor. It's really sad actually. Haha.

 

Okay, and one more question. When theres the black bars to the side, if I make it a non-widescreen image, or if theres black bars on top of some movies, will that burn into the screen?

[Datheus]

http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatv/plasmatv-burnin.html

[MTV2]

Alright, so let me get this straight:

 

If the logos are semi-transparent, then, its probably alright then?

 

And yeah, about QVC and stuff...my mom watches nothing but QVC, Home Shopping Network, and the Bachelor. It's really sad actually. Haha.

 

Okay, and one more question. When theres the black bars to the side, if I make it a non-widescreen image, or if theres black bars on top of some movies, will that burn into the screen?

dont think it would burn-in since an image isn't being displayed there, and i dont think light even goes there.

[Datheus]

dont think it would burn-in since an image isn't being displayed there, and i dont think light even goes there.

 

Unfortunately, that's not quite true. See the link I posted above.

[Acrylic]

Unfortunately, that's not quite true. See the link I posted above.

 

So, does that pretty much mean I can't watch movies with the bars on top for the first 200 hours?

[Kurgan]

Probably too late now, but I would avoid plasma at all costs. Get LCD instead.

 

If I could afford such a TV, I would want to use it to play video games and stuff, which would mean burn in would be a huge danger. PLUS, the plasma screens have the unfortunate problem of fading with time.

 

I'm not the kind of person who can afford to replace a 2K TV every couple of years. It's supposed to replace your old one and look great indefinately right? What's this "buy a new one every couple of years" crap? Get LCD and it'll look just as good and last.

 

BUT, I'm in no hurry to get HD. Once we're forced to get it, the prices will come down and then I may consider it. But honestly I don't even watch much TV, I mostly just rent/buy/download movies/tv shows.