Do Plasma TV's Have Issues When Used For Long Periods of Time?

Question

I've been looking at TV's lately, and I really wanted to get a 50" Plasma TV. However, after doing a little bit of research I heard some people mention a few problems that Plasma TV's apparently suffer from.

- If you leave the TV on the same channel for a long time the image can be irreversibly burned into the screen?

- They use more power and cause overheating?

- Pixels can be scattered after lots of use or simply not emit colour?

I tend to play my games console a lot rather than watching TV all the time (although I do still watch TV) and with this "same channel for too long" issue I didn't know whether it would affect me? If there's anyone who knows about Plasma TV's or has had one for a long time then your advice would be great! Thanks.

Answer 1

By "burn in" they mean leaving it on the same image for an extended period of time. Aka possibly leaving a game system on the home screen for hours. Leaving it on the same channel won't do anything because the image is constantly changing. So you could have it on the same channel all day long and it wouldn't make a difference.



Plasma technology is a bit outdated however. I would go with an LCD or an LED if your buying brand new.

Answer 2

I'll address your questions in the order you asked them:



If you leave a static, usually bright image on the screen and disable the power save options and auto-standby options, you might have a problem. If you use it normally and don't turn the brightness all the way up (why would you anyway?!), it really is unlikely to be a problem.



Yes, over an LCD or LED-LCD, Plasmas do use more power. But not much. I've seen a 50" Panasonic plasma with an average power consumption of just 123W. Now, that may be a fair bit more than an LED-LCD, but if the difference costs you more than a tenner a year, I'll pay for your electricity bill myself! ;)



As for scattered pixels? Not something I'm aware of or have come across.



Plasmas still tend to give the best picture, depending on what you think is a good picture! The reviews in magazines and online tend to rate Panasonic Plasma screens better than all other TVs. For that matter, so do I!



I've had one for 5 years (a Pioneer) and have had no problems. Since then, as with LCDs, plasma screens have come a long way. Much thinner, much better picture, lower power consumption and give off less heat. As on all TVs, sound has got worse, but you can't have it all!

Answer 3

"If you leave the TV on the same channel for a long time the image can be irreversibly burned into the screen?"

Total rubbish.

Plasma TVs only suffer screen burn if you leave a static image on the screen for many, many hours. For that reason, plasmas are not recommended for playing video games. They are excellent for everything else, though.



"They use more power and cause overheating?"

A 42" plasma uses barely more power than an equivalent LCD / LED. I have no idea what you mean by "...cause overheating", though?



"Pixels can be scattered after lots of use or simply not emit colour?"

Wow - people do make up some utter crap, don't they?

I have no idea where you heard such complete B.S., but whoever told you that knows absolutely nothing about televisions. Anything they ever tell you can be safely ignored. Plasma screens either work or they don't - there is no half measure (unlike LCD / LED screens which commonly suffer from dead pixels).

Answer 4

i have got a panasonic 3d plasma tv and i am a hardcore gamer playing over 10hrs a day on the ps3 and i dont have any issues with burn on, on my tv mind you i dont leave the game paused for 3+ hours on the screen to get burn in and plasma tv's give a better picture compared to lcd/led tv and they do not have motion blur like some lcd/led tv's especially when playing fast action based games

Answer 5

Newer plasma TV's have addressed the burn-in issue, and the average lifespan is the same as any HDTV... Approx. 60,000 hours.. I do not have any issues with mine.....Excellent, BUT, buy a brand name high on the list..Not a cheapo.. Actually, a lot of gaming is not good for ANY TV.....

Answer 6

Plasmas are a nightmare and run that hot you can get burnt off the screen, go for an LED screen, better picture quality anyway.