Plasmas?

[masob98]

Im interested to know all the arguments against plasma. I saw some good prices today, but I have heard mixed things about buying a plasma. My friend preaches faithfully against them. I just want to know what the big deal is.

[dad2erin]

Own a plasma, love my plasma. The only negative that people seem to have is burn in, which is rare in most plasmas. Also Plasma uses more power than an lcd but with the right calibration I noticed little difference in my power usage.

[masob98]

What is the deal with a bulb going out or something like that. If that bulb goes out, does that mean that it is tooo much money to replace?

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by masob98

What is the deal with a bulb going out or something like that. If that bulb goes out, does that mean that it is tooo much money to replace?

bulb is an issue for DLP, Projectors, Rear Projection etc.

But not plasma or LCD. These have lifespans of 60-100,000 hours. (thats a long time in dog years!)

[My_Two_Cents]

Plasma myths and FUD:

1) Plasmas suffer burn-in - In the past, this was true, but is not the case with today's sets. You have to TRY and permanently burn-in a plasma by keeoing a static image on the screen for days. Some image retention (IR) may occur, but will quickly disappear after watching other content that fills the screen. Properly breaking-in the set for the first 100-200 hours will minimize the effects of IR.

2) If you want to play video games, don't get a plasma - See (1) above. Plasmas has an almost intantaneous response time, so they are the ideal set (next to CRT) for gaming. There will be no motion blur as you will get with LCD.

3) You can't watch a lot of content that doesn't fill the screen (black bars) - See (1) above.

4) Plasmas use SO MUCH more electricity - A 50" plasma will use approximately $53 more electricity per year than a comparable LCD when used 8 hours per day. See my post here.

5) You can only watch plasma in a completely dark room - Some plasma sets have a very shiny screen, which will reflect bright sunlight, but that doesn't mean you can only watch them in a dark room. If you have a room with lots of sunlight, then you may want to consider a plasma with an intireflective screen or an LCD (or get curtains!)

6) Plasmas generate SO MUCH heat you can cook on them - Plasmas use more electricity and do generate heat, but no more than a CRT. I've yet to read a review that definitively showed just how much heat a typical plasma generated versus other technologies.

7) The gas used in plasmas will eventually leak and your set will be worthless (or need to be refilled) - Completely untrue.

8) Plasmas are more expensive than LCDs - Look at comparably sized (and quality) plasmas and LCDs. You will see that plasmas are almost always less expensive than LCD.

9) Plasmas burn-out quicker - Again, untrue. The average number of hours before a plasma picture looses half of its brightness is 60,000-100,000 hours. This is the same as LCD (if not better).

10) Plasmas aren't as bright as LCD - Well, you've got me there. If you want to use your set as an overhead light, then LCD will win every time. As far as needed brightness, plasmas have more than enough light output needed for a proper picture setup, even if they are used in a bright room.

I'm sure there's more, but that's what I can think of off the top of my head.

[gearyt]

Originally Posted by masob98

Im interested to know all the arguments against plasma. I saw some good prices today, but I have heard mixed things about buying a plasma. My friend preaches faithfully against them. I just want to know what the big deal is.

unless your friend is a girl.. ditch him
you'll find lottsa opinions here

[brett_day]

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

Plasma myths and FUD:

1) Plasmas suffer burn-in - In the past, this was true, but is not the case with today's sets. You have to TRY and permanently burn-in a plasma by keeoing a static image on the screen for days. Some image retention (IR) may occur, but will quickly disappear after watching other content that fills the screen. Properly breaking-in the set for the first 100-200 hours will minimize the effects of IR.

2) If you want to play video games, don't get a plasma - See (1) above. Plasmas has an almost intantaneous response time, so they are the ideal set (next to CRT) for gaming. There will be no motion blur as you will get with LCD.

3) You can't watch a lot of content that doesn't fill the screen (black bars) - See (1) above.

4) Plasmas use SO MUCH more electricity - A 50" plasma will use approximately $53 more electricity per year than a comparable LCD when used 8 hours per day. See my post here.

5) You can only watch plasma in a completely dark room - Some plasma sets have a very shiny screen, which will reflect bright sunlight, but that doesn't mean you can only watch them in a dark room. If you have a room with lots of sunlight, then you may want to consider a plasma with an intireflective screen or an LCD (or get curtains!)

6) Plasmas generate SO MUCH heat you can cook on them - Plasmas use more electricity and do generate heat, but no more than a CRT. I've yet to read a review that definitively showed just how much heat a typical plasma generated versus other technologies.

7) The gas used in plasmas will eventually leak and your set will be worthless (or need to be refilled) - Completely untrue.

8) Plasmas are more expensive than LCDs - Look at comparably sized (and quality) plasmas and LCDs. You will see that plasmas are almost always less expensive than LCD.

9) Plasmas burn-out quicker - Again, untrue. The average number of hours before a plasma picture looses half of its brightness is 60,000-100,000 hours. This is the same as LCD (if not better).

10) Plasmas aren't as bright as LCD - Well, you've got me there. If you want to use your set as an overhead light, then LCD will win every time. As far as needed brightness, plasmas have more than enough light output needed for a proper picture setup, even if they are used in a bright room.

I'm sure there's more, but that's what I can think of off the top of my head.

nicely summed up!

[masob98]

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

Plasma myths and FUD:

1) Plasmas suffer burn-in - In the past, this was true, but is not the case with today's sets. You have to TRY and permanently burn-in a plasma by keeoing a static image on the screen for days. Some image retention (IR) may occur, but will quickly disappear after watching other content that fills the screen. Properly breaking-in the set for the first 100-200 hours will minimize the effects of IR.

2) If you want to play video games, don't get a plasma - See (1) above. Plasmas has an almost intantaneous response time, so they are the ideal set (next to CRT) for gaming. There will be no motion blur as you will get with LCD.

3) You can't watch a lot of content that doesn't fill the screen (black bars) - See (1) above.

4) Plasmas use SO MUCH more electricity - A 50" plasma will use approximately $53 more electricity per year than a comparable LCD when used 8 hours per day. See my post here.

5) You can only watch plasma in a completely dark room - Some plasma sets have a very shiny screen, which will reflect bright sunlight, but that doesn't mean you can only watch them in a dark room. If you have a room with lots of sunlight, then you may want to consider a plasma with an intireflective screen or an LCD (or get curtains!)

6) Plasmas generate SO MUCH heat you can cook on them - Plasmas use more electricity and do generate heat, but no more than a CRT. I've yet to read a review that definitively showed just how much heat a typical plasma generated versus other technologies.

7) The gas used in plasmas will eventually leak and your set will be worthless (or need to be refilled) - Completely untrue.

8) Plasmas are more expensive than LCDs - Look at comparably sized (and quality) plasmas and LCDs. You will see that plasmas are almost always less expensive than LCD.

9) Plasmas burn-out quicker - Again, untrue. The average number of hours before a plasma picture looses half of its brightness is 60,000-100,000 hours. This is the same as LCD (if not better).

10) Plasmas aren't as bright as LCD - Well, you've got me there. If you want to use your set as an overhead light, then LCD will win every time. As far as needed brightness, plasmas have more than enough light output needed for a proper picture setup, even if they are used in a bright room.

I'm sure there's more, but that's what I can think of off the top of my head.

This is very informative. Thank you for the info. Just might check out the plasmas on cyber monday and pick me one up. Well see how the prices go.