Ducati Monster Forum

Well I know where my money is going...  [thumbsup] Thanks again for the logos.

I'm trying to avoid Plasma because of the burn-in issues when playing video games (static HUD displays that don't move for hours on end, etc.) So LCD seems like the way I'm leaning.

Lets get the facts straight with Plasma, I have worked in the Television Industry for 7 years. (I have only just recently moved to run the photo lab in the same store, but I still get dragged down to sell TV's every now and then)
And I am a qualified Tech, I used to repair this stuff for a living.

* Burn in.
On new Generation panels now is very difficult to do (read: almost impossible for the average home user) to burn in a panel you would have to leave a static high, contrast image on a new generation panel for days before hurting them.
Older generation panels it was very easy because of the higher voltages, different gas and phosphor mix, and the panels higher operating Temps. Most people see burn in on old panels in displays, TV stations, airports and the like, These Panels have done tens of thousands of hours of work and are old generation panels and assume they are all like that.
I use a Playstation 3 for Movies/games and Cable TV on my older plasma (2 Generation old Panasonic), never seen a mark, I've dozed off for hours and left a still image on the screen for hours at a time, still no problems.
So what this means that for the home user, Burn in is really not worth worrying about, it is a non issue.
And as a side note you can screen burn an LCD!!

*Longevity
Plasma's for the last 4 to 5 years are rated for 60000 hours plus of life, The new Panasonics are rated for a staggering 100000 hours of life!!, the average LCD back light is rated for 60000 hours, A older tube TV is rated for 30000 hours and a CRT rear Projection TV is rated for 15000 hours, but lets put that into perspective..
Use your TV for 8 hours a day every day of the TV's life
15000 hours = 5 years
30000 hours = 10 years
60000 hours = 20 years
100000 hours = 34 years
So what does this mean for the home user?
Well, your TV might have to be buried with you when you check out!
I have panels I placed in a local hotel's Reception area 3 years ago, they run 24 hours a day (That means over 26000 hours non stop!!) and they still look very good, no burn in, and a nice clean bright picture.

*Contrast Ratio
It is a useless ratio, companies use different ways to measure it, and quite a few fudge the figures to get the figures they want, I advise customers to ignore it. Panasonic admitted this year they marked there new plasma's with the Million to one ratio just to piss off the Koreans (LG/Samsung) who always claim stupid ratio's on very average panels.

*Response time
Another useless figure, companies use all sorts of tricks to claim some amazing speed, if you avoid the no name brands they now are all pretty good.
Point of Interest, Plasma is much faster than the fastest LCD, so if you love your sport, you will get less motion blur on a Plasma.
LCD is measured in Milliseconds response time, Plasma is Tenths of a millisecond.

There is a lot of Misinformation on Plasma's and most of it comes from the early lives of plasma's, and yes I love Plasma's but I do own a couple of LCD's, but for the main room, it's plasma all the way. LCD has it's place, but for Sport Movies and watching TV, Plasma is still the superior picture.

Just make sure you are not mistaking Image retention with Screen burn, Screen burn on a Plasma now is very very difficult to achieve, The new generation of Plasma are almost as good as LCD for handling still/fixed Images, you would have to leave a high contrast image on a Plasma for days now before screen burn becomes a problem.
I have a 3 CRT gun Rear Projection 51" Sony TV, the CRT Rear Projection tv's are well known to be the easiest TV's to get screen burn on, I use it with my PS3 and play games like Warhawk and GT5 prolouge and so far have not had a mark on the screen. And I am very picky about my picture quality.

Image retention is just a case of a non moving Image leaves an excess charge in the Plasma pixels (And yes, you get this on LCD as well) and it leaves a shadow behind on the screen, use the TV as normal for a while or switch it off and the Image will disappear, this is normal on just about every TV design  (excluding DLP)

Currently I'm rocking a 400lb 36" "Flat Screen" (not flat PANEL) Sharp brand television. It's really nice, it has HDMI input, yatta yatta, blah blah.. It's an old HD tv, basically the precursor to the modern LCD/Plasma/DLP...

So i want a new one. It's not big enough, and doesn't satisfy me when it comes to playing xBox and watching hockey/football.

I'm looking for some educated opinions on what type/brand of TV i should buy.
I want something in the 46", 47" or 50" range, and my price range is between $1000 and $1200 bucks...
I'm not some crazy A/V guy, i just want a nice TV for playing video games...


I'm trying to avoid Plasma because of the burn-in issues when playing video games (static HUD displays that don't move for hours on end, etc.) So LCD seems like the way I'm leaning.


any help is appreciated!  [thumbsup]