Fragility of Plasmas? - Blu-ray Forum

meloveHD · 03-11-2009, 01:25 AM

Ok so I used to sell TV's at Circuit City and we were always told to make it expressly clear to any plasma purchaser that these TV's were NOT to be laid down under ANY circumstance...so i was a little confused to see one of the tv's in what seems like an advertisement showcase of the '09 pannys [seen here: (scroll down)http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...1105773&page=4] laid on its back! Has plasma technology come forward in such a way that now these babies can be handled with less fear of ruining them? or is it maybe just supposed to look sexy in the picture?

sokrman14 · 03-11-2009, 01:28 AM

A TV should never be laid on its face because you may scratch the screen, not because its bad for the TV. It is always best to leave it upright when possible, but its really hard to mount a bracket when upright. It really isnt bad to lay a TV down on its back though.

meloveHD · 03-11-2009, 01:32 AM

i know not to lay a tv on its face, thats not what im asking. And yes its perfectly fine to lay an LCD on its back, but unless its recently changed (and thats what im trying to find out) it is NOT ok to lay a PLASMA on its back...so it seems curious that an advertisement for a plasma would picture it on its back.

brett_day · 03-11-2009, 01:34 AM

it is due to the internal suspension system of the panel in the tv. The glass screens of plasmas are very heavy and can crack under pressure.

Laying a plasma on the ground for a few minutes while you attach brackets to it so you can hang it on the wall is ok...laying a plasma down in the back of a vehicle on the way home from the store, driving down bumpy roads...not such a good idea. The extra stress on the panel will increase the chance of damage and cracking the glass.

maygit · 03-11-2009, 01:34 AM

See I was told the opposite. LCD's 37"+ shouldn't be laid down, especially on their front because the weight of the panel can cause the screen to crack. Plasmas on the other hand are sandwhiched between 2 panels of glass and shouldn't be affected. Reguardless, like mentioned, you shouldn't lay any tv down. However, my mom brought home our 42" Samsung Plasma on it's face along with my friends dad taking home his 42" ED Panny Plasma face down and both are still working great.

sokrman14 · 03-11-2009, 01:35 AM

I have worked in Home Theatre retail for 6 years, and I heard that when plasmas first came out, but never saw any problems when someone did that. I havent heard any manufacturers warn against it lately either. I can not say for sure that it is bad for a plasma, but I havent seen any problems when I did that in my store over the last 6 years, or when installers did that at a customers home.

JJ · 03-11-2009, 01:39 AM

I've laid an LCD on its front to transport it in my Expedition from BB to my house last year, and from a repair shop back to my house, and to wall-mount it as well, with no problems.

With my recent Plasma, I just laid it on its front to install the wall-mount, but that's it - no problems.

Sonny · 03-11-2009, 01:42 AM

I put my plasmas on the sofa hook the mount to the back & all is good after words.

meloveHD · 03-11-2009, 01:47 AM

ok so the issue with laying plasmas horizontally only has to due with the breaking of the glass? Because i had always heard it had sumthing to do with the gas inside, something about the horizontal orientation would affect the gas or sumthin. very interesting! thanks guys

brett_day · 03-11-2009, 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meloveHD

ok so the issue with laying plasmas horizontally only has to due with the breaking of the glass? Because i had always heard it had sumthing to do with the gas inside, something about the horizontal orientation would affect the gas or sumthin. very interesting! thanks guys

yes, it is only to do with the glass. Nothing else can get hurt from doing this.

allstar780 · 03-11-2009, 07:45 AM

biggest thing is the packaging. the TV box is built to be stood and stacked upright... any warnings on the packaging are really more for the warehouse workers... that being said, I have sold 300+ plasmas and i'd say probably half were transported by the customer laying down... never once had someone call to say the TV broke.

graf1k · 03-11-2009, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

I've laid an LCD on its front to transport it in my Expedition from BB to my house last year, and from a repair shop back to my house, and to wall-mount it as well, with no problems.

With my recent Plasma, I just laid it on its front to install the wall-mount, but that's it - no problems.

I'm not 100% sure but from what I remember it's not much of a problem with LCDs. In fact I have read multiple places that it's sometimes possible to unstick stuck pixels by laying an LCD face down (obviously making sure not to do anything to scratch the screen) and the weight of the internal components press against the screen uniformly and that can unstick pixels. Never done it myself but that's what I've heard.

LifeOfAPirate13 · 03-11-2009, 11:37 PM

When I move my plasma to my new location I had to lay it down on its back without the original box in the back of a Jeep I am 100% sure there were a few bumps it went over. Though this might have been really stupid of me to do at the time my tv is completely fine without any technical errors to the glass, screen, or anything else I can see with the naked eye from the exterior....But I mean if they tell you to avoid that I would agree with you guys and avoid it, it was my only means I had to work with at the time.

03-11-2009, 01:25 AM	#1
meloveHD Member Member since:Jan 2009 4K collection:52 Blu-ray collection:338	Fragility of Plasmas? Ok so I used to sell TV's at Circuit City and we were always told to make it expressly clear to any plasma purchaser that these TV's were NOT to be laid down under ANY circumstance...so i was a little confused to see one of the tv's in what seems like an advertisement showcase of the '09 pannys [seen here: (scroll down)http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...1105773&page=4] laid on its back! Has plasma technology come forward in such a way that now these babies can be handled with less fear of ruining them? or is it maybe just supposed to look sexy in the picture?

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03-11-2009, 01:28 AM	#2
sokrman14 Special Member Member since:Mar 2006 Location:Omaha, NE Home Theater Gallery:9 Blu-ray collection:32 Blu-ray reviews:1 Trading Score:1	A TV should never be laid on its face because you may scratch the screen, not because its bad for the TV. It is always best to leave it upright when possible, but its really hard to mount a bracket when upright. It really isnt bad to lay a TV down on its back though.

03-11-2009, 01:32 AM	#3
meloveHD Member Member since:Jan 2009 4K collection:52 Blu-ray collection:338	i know not to lay a tv on its face, thats not what im asking. And yes its perfectly fine to lay an LCD on its back, but unless its recently changed (and thats what im trying to find out) it is NOT ok to lay a PLASMA on its back...so it seems curious that an advertisement for a plasma would picture it on its back.

03-11-2009, 01:34 AM	#4
brett_day Blu-ray Guru Member since:Mar 2008 Location:Moore, Oklahoma Home Theater Gallery:18 Blu-ray collection:45 Blu-ray reviews:1 Trading Score:1	it is due to the internal suspension system of the panel in the tv. The glass screens of plasmas are very heavy and can crack under pressure. Laying a plasma on the ground for a few minutes while you attach brackets to it so you can hang it on the wall is ok...laying a plasma down in the back of a vehicle on the way home from the store, driving down bumpy roads...not such a good idea. The extra stress on the panel will increase the chance of damage and cracking the glass.

03-11-2009, 01:34 AM	#5
maygit Active Member Member since:Nov 2007 Location:Iowa Blu-ray collection:76	See I was told the opposite. LCD's 37"+ shouldn't be laid down, especially on their front because the weight of the panel can cause the screen to crack. Plasmas on the other hand are sandwhiched between 2 panels of glass and shouldn't be affected. Reguardless, like mentioned, you shouldn't lay any tv down. However, my mom brought home our 42" Samsung Plasma on it's face along with my friends dad taking home his 42" ED Panny Plasma face down and both are still working great.

03-11-2009, 01:35 AM	#6
sokrman14 Special Member Member since:Mar 2006 Location:Omaha, NE Home Theater Gallery:9 Blu-ray collection:32 Blu-ray reviews:1 Trading Score:1	I have worked in Home Theatre retail for 6 years, and I heard that when plasmas first came out, but never saw any problems when someone did that. I havent heard any manufacturers warn against it lately either. I can not say for sure that it is bad for a plasma, but I havent seen *any* problems when I did that in my store over the last 6 years, or when installers did that at a customers home.

03-11-2009, 01:39 AM	#7
JJ Blu-ray Count Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Miami, FL Home Theater Gallery:99 4K collection:619 Blu-ray collection:1293 DVD collection:31 Digital collection:5 Blu-ray reviews: 18 Trading Score:203	I've laid an LCD on its front to transport it in my Expedition from BB to my house last year, and from a repair shop back to my house, and to wall-mount it as well, with no problems. With my recent Plasma, I just laid it on its front to install the wall-mount, but that's it - no problems.

03-11-2009, 01:42 AM	#8
Sonny Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Aug 2007 Home Theater Gallery:8 Blu-ray reviews:6 Trading Score:1	I put my plasmas on the sofa hook the mount to the back & all is good after words.

03-11-2009, 01:47 AM	#9
meloveHD Member Member since:Jan 2009 4K collection:52 Blu-ray collection:338	ok so the issue with laying plasmas horizontally only has to due with the breaking of the glass? Because i had always heard it had sumthing to do with the gas inside, something about the horizontal orientation would affect the gas or sumthin. very interesting! thanks guys

03-11-2009, 07:45 AM	#11
allstar780 Special Member Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Mar 2008 Location:Grande Prairie, Alberta Home Theater Gallery:15 Blu-ray collection:115 Blu-ray reviews:2	biggest thing is the packaging. the TV box is built to be stood and stacked upright... any warnings on the packaging are really more for the warehouse workers... that being said, I have sold 300+ plasmas and i'd say probably half were transported by the customer laying down... never once had someone call to say the TV broke.

03-11-2009, 11:37 PM	#13
LifeOfAPirate13 Expert Member Member since:Oct 2007 Location:Chicago, IL Home Theater Gallery:7 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:18	When I move my plasma to my new location I had to lay it down on its back without the original box in the back of a Jeep I am 100% sure there were a few bumps it went over. Though this might have been really stupid of me to do at the time my tv is completely fine without any technical errors to the glass, screen, or anything else I can see with the naked eye from the exterior....But I mean if they tell you to avoid that I would agree with you guys and avoid it, it was my only means I had to work with at the time.

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