Are my Plasma concerns worthy of consideration? - Blu-ray Forum

Zman2k2 · 03-31-2010, 03:18 PM

I've been contemplating getting a new HDTV, and plasma's have been in the forefront. However I have some concerns that I'd like an answer to. My big question, how important is break-in? Reason I ask is that this would be the main TV in the house, and I'm not sure I can convince my 6-yr-old to watch out for things like image retention. I work until 6:45pm, by that time, my wife and daughter have had dinner. According to my wife, my daughter pauses LiveTV in order to eat. Then she comes back later, about 20-30min. Also, the programming she watches isn't full screen, but rather 4:3. It also has a station ID image in the bottom right corner. My concern is, that on a new plasma, all this together is just begging for burn-in or serious IR. Are these really concerns, or should I not worry?

kpkelley · 03-31-2010, 03:48 PM

New plasmas handle burn-in and IR much better than older models. There are settings which can be activated to alleviate the issue, pixel orbiter, changing the side masking color to gray and/or stretching 4:3 material. If properly calibrated you shouldn't experience significant IR after the first few hundred hours, unless the tv has been broken in prior to purchasing. That being said, your concerns are legitimate and should be taken into account.

If you can purchase from a store which will calibrate and break-in prior to shipping, I think you would experience fewer issues. They tend to only provide this service for more expensive models however. I know that ValueElectronics has done this for Pioneer Kuro models in the past.

Odin75 · 03-31-2010, 04:23 PM

Well, that really depends on the brand you are going for, as not all plasmas are created equal. Panasonic is regarded as the best with anti IR and burn-in.

I myself owned a Panasonic S1, and burn-in wasn't really a problem. Sure, there was IR, but that always went away after a few minutes of the Scrolling Bar.
I was using it as a monitor, playing World Of Warcraft every other night for about 4-6 hours, with a constant UI. Even after a month of doing that, the TV never had any IR that didn't go away after running the anti-IR Scrolling Bar. Sure, sometimes I had to run it more than 1 time, but that was normally after long sessions of playing the same game.

I really think Panasonics are bullet proof about actual burn-in. But IR you will always find in all plasmas.

progers13 · 03-31-2010, 04:27 PM

Hey Zman, why are you going plasma? Why not go bigger....?

uniquetreatone · 03-31-2010, 04:27 PM

I actually had the same concerns as you.With my first plasma(Vizio 60" for a experiment of what plasma can do) I did no break-in and I have no problems. Right now my young kids use it and it stays on the Noggin kids channel with the logo always in the bottom corner for atleast 10 hours a day with a break for a movie every once in a while.There is no hint of burn-in or IR on it at all.Most days I forget to turn it off and it will stay on for 24 hours.When I brought the Pioneer I actually only ran the break-in dvd at night for a couple of days and my wife watched anything she wanted during the day(like I'm going to tell her don't watch the tv for a week because I want to run a break-in dvd for 150 hours straight).Again no problem with IR and burn-in.Also 2 months ago I brought my mother a Panasonic plasma and I would not even fix my mouth to tell her to run a break-in dvd before she used it.With her it's just plug and play.With all the safety features on plasma today you should have no problems with the issues everyone experienced from way back in the day so buy your plasma and enjoy it.

Zman2k2 · 03-31-2010, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by progers13

Hey Zman, why are you going plasma? Why not go bigger....?

Don't tempt me Paul.

I really appreciate the comments guys. I'm just trying to make sure I have all my questions answered before I commit to buying anything. I still haven't even gone out shopping yet. I'm just thinking things through at this point.

Kyzer the Medic · 03-31-2010, 10:57 PM

I've been having the same thoughts and concerns. In talking to high end audio/video salesman they have really quelled my fears as far as plasma. As a matter of fact the store I went to has a PS3 hooked up to one running Just Cause that had been paused for quite a while. He swapped channels and showed me that there actually was no IR or burn in. I hear more horror stories than people telling me to relax (as is human nature ) but after seeing what I have I'm much more at ease. They also said that the break in period for most new TV's over the past year is "almost" non existent. In his own words, "why pay $3000 for something you can't use"

bizarro · 03-31-2010, 11:18 PM

i think you have to be lucky , i bought a panasonic v10 last summer and have horrible ir

oppopioneer · 04-01-2010, 05:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Odin75

Well, that really depends on the brand you are going for, as not all plasmas are created equal. Panasonic is regarded as the best with anti IR and burn-in.

Pioneer Kuro's are regarded as the best plasmas for anti-IR according to CNET, UltimateAVMag, HomeTheaterMag.

Odin75 · 04-01-2010, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oppopioneer

Pioneer Kuro's are regarded as the best plasmas for anti-IR according to CNET, UltimateAVMag, HomeTheaterMag.

Sure, but the Kuros stopped been produced when? 2008?
I'm talking about stuff that is decent priced and available.

langn08 · 04-01-2010, 02:22 PM

My concern lays with the fact that if you are purchasing a Plasma other than a KURO (most likely Panasonic) you have to deal with the fact that the “fantastic” black levels are only temporary & potential IR…. Plasma just keeps making it harder for me to invest… The Solution? Find a Kuro a fork out an Arm and a Leg for it.

fatediesel · 04-01-2010, 02:28 PM

I've had a Panasonic TH-50PZ800U for almost 2 years and have never dealt with IR or burn-in. I did run the burn in DVD for about 50 hours before I started using it, but that was primarily because I didn't have a stand for the TV at the time so I couldn't watch it yet.

oppopioneer · 04-01-2010, 08:40 PM

What is the best method to break-in a plasma? Is it one long constant break-in with a dvd to leave the tv on for a week straight or is it with cyles, like leave it on for a few hours then shut it off and repeat?

qwknuf6 · 04-01-2010, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Odin75

Sure, but the Kuros stopped been produced when? 2008?
I'm talking about stuff that is decent priced and available.

Run, do not walk ,run and get the Pioneer 101 @ BB for 2500.00 (while you can )
Kuros were produced till April 2009

Mark

blu_world · 04-02-2010, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by qwknuf6

Run, do not walk ,run and get the Pioneer 101 @ BB for 2500.00 (while you can )
Kuros were produced till April 2009

Mark

+1 i got burned buying a 54'' V10 Panasonic in the living room & noticed the black level's have dropped some what After i bought it brand new close to last year,Sold it,i was watching Dark Knight and it just didn't Look the same and i thought it was just seeing thing's Till i put on "Underworld".....Grey Like black's

Reminded me of my LCD in the bed room....Damn your Panasonic!,you lost all my respect & regards on your products in the future and there's nothing you tried to do to help me.

Grif32 · 04-02-2010, 01:13 AM

Break in will NOT prevent IR/Burn-in. Break in is to age the panel quickly to get it calibrated faster.

Also even if the Panny's Black level double they are still a ton better then LCD's black levels. So don't let that scare you away.

If you are that worried then buy something other than a Plasma. You will get IR but it will go away. Don't get stressed buying a new TV.

Whatever you buy just enjoy it and DON'T worry about "Breaking" it in.

Good luck.

Grif32 · 04-02-2010, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oppopioneer

What is the best method to break-in a plasma? Is it one long constant break-in with a dvd to leave the tv on for a week straight or is it with cyles, like leave it on for a few hours then shut it off and repeat?

Best way is to watch TV. Not some stupid DVD that you have to leave on for 24hrs a day.

Just watch HD or SD TV and enjoy it. People get caught up in the Break in period which is not needed IMHO>

Disciple of Vedder · 04-02-2010, 02:09 AM

I had similar concerns but ended up getting a 50" Samsung about a month ago. The IR is sometimes annoying, but I turn on the Scrolling function and it disappears fairly quickly. I think the longest I've had to keep it on to completely nullify the IR was about 20 minutes, and that was to get rid of the fret board on the Rock Band video game. For normal stuff like widescreen bars and channel logos, it only takes about ten minutes. Let me also say that I had a 42" LCD before this and this plasma completely blows it out of the water.

Hammie · 04-02-2010, 02:12 AM

I have a Panasonic 50PZ850u. I never did any break-in other than playing some color slides when I went to bed every night.

Got the slides from an AVS member (webapalooza). Saved them to an SD card. set the sleep timer on my TV. Played the color slides. Did this for a week or two.

I never stretched the screen . Never worried about the black bars on any other sides.

I've never worried about the Station logos because everytime a commercial is played it is gone.

I've had the occasional IR, but has always gone away after a minute of putting on another program or something.

The FUD about plasmas are not as bad as they try to make them out to be.

As Flavor Flav said backin the late 80's, "Don't Believe the Hype!"

Zman2k2 · 04-02-2010, 04:51 PM

Alright, thanks all for your comments. I think I'm going to jump in the deep end soon, and get me a plasma.

Only question now is which one?

I'm considering waiting it out for a bit longer, and seeing what the final word is on the new Panasonic's coming out this year. Waiting never hurt anyone, did it?

03-31-2010, 03:18 PM	#1
Zman2k2 Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Jan 2008 Location:Calgary, Canada Home Theater Gallery:5 Blu-ray collection:136 Trading Score:54	Are my Plasma concerns worthy of consideration? I've been contemplating getting a new HDTV, and plasma's have been in the forefront. However I have some concerns that I'd like an answer to. My big question, how important is break-in? Reason I ask is that this would be the main TV in the house, and I'm not sure I can convince my 6-yr-old to watch out for things like image retention. I work until 6:45pm, by that time, my wife and daughter have had dinner. According to my wife, my daughter pauses LiveTV in order to eat. Then she comes back later, about 20-30min. Also, the programming she watches isn't full screen, but rather 4:3. It also has a station ID image in the bottom right corner. My concern is, that on a new plasma, all this together is just begging for burn-in or serious IR. Are these really concerns, or should I not worry?

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03-31-2010, 03:48 PM	#2
kpkelley Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Aug 2007 Location:Framingham, MA 4K collection:385 Blu-ray collection:2478 Digital collection:113 Blu-ray reviews: 152	New plasmas handle burn-in and IR much better than older models. There are settings which can be activated to alleviate the issue, pixel orbiter, changing the side masking color to gray and/or stretching 4:3 material. If properly calibrated you shouldn't experience significant IR after the first few hundred hours, unless the tv has been broken in prior to purchasing. That being said, your concerns are legitimate and should be taken into account. If you can purchase from a store which will calibrate and break-in prior to shipping, I think you would experience fewer issues. They tend to only provide this service for more expensive models however. I know that ValueElectronics has done this for Pioneer Kuro models in the past.

03-31-2010, 04:23 PM	#3
Odin75 Active Member Member since:Nov 2009 Home Theater Gallery:30 Blu-ray collection:3	Well, that really depends on the brand you are going for, as not all plasmas are created equal. Panasonic is regarded as the best with anti IR and burn-in. I myself owned a Panasonic S1, and burn-in wasn't really a problem. Sure, there was IR, but that always went away after a few minutes of the Scrolling Bar. I was using it as a monitor, playing World Of Warcraft every other night for about 4-6 hours, with a constant UI. Even after a month of doing that, the TV never had any IR that didn't go away after running the anti-IR Scrolling Bar. Sure, sometimes I had to run it more than 1 time, but that was normally after long sessions of playing the same game. I really think Panasonics are bullet proof about actual burn-in. But IR you will always find in all plasmas.

03-31-2010, 04:27 PM	#4
progers13 Blu-ray Baron Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Aug 2009 Location:Tampa, FL Home Theater Gallery:83 Blu-ray collection:337 Blu-ray reviews: 3 Trading Score:2	Hey Zman, why are you going plasma? Why not go bigger....?

03-31-2010, 04:27 PM	#5
uniquetreatone Active Member Member since:Dec 2007 Location:N.Y. Blu-ray collection:560	I actually had the same concerns as you.With my first plasma(Vizio 60" for a experiment of what plasma can do) I did no break-in and I have no problems. Right now my young kids use it and it stays on the Noggin kids channel with the logo always in the bottom corner for atleast 10 hours a day with a break for a movie every once in a while.There is no hint of burn-in or IR on it at all.Most days I forget to turn it off and it will stay on for 24 hours.When I brought the Pioneer I actually only ran the break-in dvd at night for a couple of days and my wife watched anything she wanted during the day(like I'm going to tell her don't watch the tv for a week because I want to run a break-in dvd for 150 hours straight).Again no problem with IR and burn-in.Also 2 months ago I brought my mother a Panasonic plasma and I would not even fix my mouth to tell her to run a break-in dvd before she used it.With her it's just plug and play.With all the safety features on plasma today you should have no problems with the issues everyone experienced from way back in the day so buy your plasma and enjoy it.

03-31-2010, 10:57 PM	#7
Kyzer the Medic Active Member Member since:Jan 2008	I've been having the same thoughts and concerns. In talking to high end audio/video salesman they have really quelled my fears as far as plasma. As a matter of fact the store I went to has a PS3 hooked up to one running Just Cause that had been paused for quite a while. He swapped channels and showed me that there actually was no IR or burn in. I hear more horror stories than people telling me to relax (as is human nature ) but after seeing what I have I'm much more at ease. They also said that the break in period for most new TV's over the past year is "almost" non existent. In his own words, "why pay $3000 for something you can't use"

03-31-2010, 11:18 PM	#8
bizarro Expert Member Member since:Sep 2008 Location:Belgium Blu-ray collection:4 Blu-ray reviews:2	i think you have to be lucky , i bought a panasonic v10 last summer and have horrible ir

04-01-2010, 02:22 PM	#11
langn08 Expert Member Member since:Jan 2009 Location:Fox Cities WI Home Theater Gallery:14 Blu-ray collection:373 Trading Score:6	My concern lays with the fact that if you are purchasing a Plasma other than a KURO (most likely Panasonic) you have to deal with the fact that the “fantastic” black levels are only temporary & potential IR…. Plasma just keeps making it harder for me to invest… The Solution? Find a Kuro a fork out an Arm and a Leg for it.

04-01-2010, 02:28 PM	#12
fatediesel Blu-ray Count Member since:Nov 2007 Location:Iowa Blu-ray collection:410 Trading Score:47	I've had a Panasonic TH-50PZ800U for almost 2 years and have never dealt with IR or burn-in. I did run the burn in DVD for about 50 hours before I started using it, but that was primarily because I didn't have a stand for the TV at the time so I couldn't watch it yet.

04-01-2010, 08:40 PM	#13
oppopioneer Special Member Member since:Mar 2010	What is the best method to break-in a plasma? Is it one long constant break-in with a dvd to leave the tv on for a week straight or is it with cyles, like leave it on for a few hours then shut it off and repeat?

04-02-2010, 01:13 AM	#16
Grif32 Expert Member Member since:Oct 2007 Trading Score:1	Break in will NOT prevent IR/Burn-in. Break in is to age the panel quickly to get it calibrated faster. Also even if the Panny's Black level double they are still a ton better then LCD's black levels. So don't let that scare you away. If you are that worried then buy something other than a Plasma. You will get IR but it will go away. Don't get stressed buying a new TV. Whatever you buy just enjoy it and DON'T worry about "Breaking" it in. Good luck.

04-02-2010, 02:09 AM	#18
Disciple of Vedder Blu-ray Guru Member since:Jun 2008 Location:Los Angeles, CA 4K collection:1284 Blu-ray collection:4400 DVD collection:116 Trading Score:601	I had similar concerns but ended up getting a 50" Samsung about a month ago. The IR is sometimes annoying, but I turn on the Scrolling function and it disappears fairly quickly. I think the longest I've had to keep it on to completely nullify the IR was about 20 minutes, and that was to get rid of the fret board on the Rock Band video game. For normal stuff like widescreen bars and channel logos, it only takes about ten minutes. Let me also say that I had a 42" LCD before this and this plasma completely blows it out of the water.

04-02-2010, 02:12 AM	#19
Hammie Blu-ray Champion Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:May 2008 Location:Washington, DC Metro Home Theater Gallery:53 Blu-ray collection:545 DVD collection:12 Trading Score:12	I have a Panasonic 50PZ850u. I never did any break-in other than playing some color slides when I went to bed every night. Got the slides from an AVS member (webapalooza). Saved them to an SD card. set the sleep timer on my TV. Played the color slides. Did this for a week or two. I never stretched the screen . Never worried about the black bars on any other sides. I've never worried about the Station logos because everytime a commercial is played it is gone. I've had the occasional IR, but has always gone away after a minute of putting on another program or something. The FUD about plasmas are not as bad as they try to make them out to be. As Flavor Flav said backin the late 80's, "Don't Believe the Hype!"

04-02-2010, 04:51 PM	#20
Zman2k2 Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Jan 2008 Location:Calgary, Canada Home Theater Gallery:5 Blu-ray collection:136 Trading Score:54	Alright, thanks all for your comments. I think I'm going to jump in the deep end soon, and get me a plasma. Only question now is which one? I'm considering waiting it out for a bit longer, and seeing what the final word is on the new Panasonic's coming out this year. Waiting never hurt anyone, did it?

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