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Plasma TV - Purchase Issues


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Old 15-09-2003, 21:09
SkyWatcher
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Hi, I was wondering is anybody could give me some advice concerning Plasma TVs. I thinking of buying a 32” plasma TV, but I’m concerned about the resolution options available and how much difference it makes. I’ve also read some info concerning HDTV, currently I have Sky, does anybody know if that will be high definition one day, if so would it be worth taking that into account when buying a plasma TV?
Another problem I’ve heard is that Plasma TV suffer from screen burn more than a standard CRT TV, does anyone know more about this?
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Old 15-09-2003, 21:50
wubbs
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I can help you with the screen burn.I work in an electrical store and we left a dvd disc running on a 42" hitachi plasma.At the end it reverted back to the menu.A few hours later we noticed no one had started the movie again and the menu had already burned into the screen.It wasn't obvious but you would be well peeved if you had just spent £3500 on it!
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Old 15-09-2003, 22:21
anill2
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does the screen burn disappear after a while or is it a permanant mark on the screen???
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Old 16-09-2003, 00:19
Nichotj
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Hi SkyWatcher,

Have a look at the av forum, link and in particular this forum.

Have fun.
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Old 16-09-2003, 12:10
GaryB
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You will find some useful stuff on AV Forums but a couple of important points are:

Plasmas are more susceptible to burns for the first 100 hours or so. Make sure you don't have any still pictures on the screen during that time and keep the brightness and contrast low. Minor burns will disappear with use and some sets have either a white out mode or random noise to help with this. You can get the same random noise effect by displaying the screen that you get when the set is not tuned to anything. Major burns will never go away.

They can also have bad pixels which can be either on, off or flashing. Get the shop to test your particular set for a few hours before you take it to make sure it is OK. A limited number of bad pixels are considered acceptable and you will have trouble getting it replaced after you have taken it home for one or two bad pixels as this is considered within spec.
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Old 16-09-2003, 14:22
Orbitalzone
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Also when watching 4/3 pictures for a long time (in 4/3 mode) I've heard of the black side bars getting burnt into the screen causing annoying darker sides than the middle...

Onscreen red dots could be a potential problem, so change channels peridodically or turn off when not required.

I'd imagine it's important to keep brightness and contrast levels as low as possible, that can apply to any TV set too....
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Old 16-09-2003, 15:04
GreenTurd
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Originally posted by Orbitalzone
Also when watching 4/3 pictures for a long time (in 4/3 mode) I've heard of the black side bars getting burnt into the screen causing annoying darker sides than the middle...

Onscreen red dots could be a potential problem, so change channels peridodically or turn off when not required.

I'd imagine it's important to keep brightness and contrast levels as low as possible, that can apply to any TV set too....
Is any one else thinking its not really worth the extra money? ide rather get me a nice projector for the same money.
What about the viewing angle as well? most ive seen on display you have to be sat fairy center on to get a good picture. Is this always true?
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Old 16-09-2003, 17:58
clockworks999
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2 problems with projectors:

Fan noise
Running costs- lamps don't last long, and are outrageously expensive (£400 for a lightbulb )

Personally, I will stick with CRT, until LCD TVs get bigger and a lot cheaper. I can't see plasma being developed much further (LCD is a better technology for the future), but they should become more competitive on price.

Cheers
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Old 16-09-2003, 18:51
Nichotj
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GreenTurd,

Viewing angle? The viewing angle is about 160 degrees.

I think you must have been viewing a rear projection TV!
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Old 16-09-2003, 23:22
monkeysoup
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Is any one else thinking its not really worth the extra money? ide rather get me a nice projector for the same money.
Just a thought, but you could always run two sets - a CRT for normal use, and a projector with a screen above/drop-down-in-front for special occasions (eg. football and movies and things which will drown out any fan noise). Might work out cheaper than a plasma as well.

Screenburn/underuse due to letterboxing/pillarboxing is enough to make me worry about plasma. But a year or two's worth of spec improvements and price drops and I could be very tempted by the whole big LCD idea...
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Old 17-09-2003, 11:49
GreenTurd
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Originally posted by monkeysoup

But a year or two's worth of spec improvements and price drops and I could be very tempted by the whole big LCD idea...
I think ide have to agree with you there. Either way both of them are still a bit outa my current budget! beign just about to start uni and all!
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Old 17-09-2003, 21:02
SkyWatcher
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Thanks for the advice, I think I'll wait and see what comes out after Xmas in the sales.
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Old 01-11-2003, 15:00
Jim Rae
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We have debated screen burn on these pages at length and I have always taken the view that it should not be a problem in a domestic situation.

But I have just encountered my first case of screen burn today on a domestic RP set.

No it's not an MTV logo or a DOG...

It's our old friend which is very hard to avoid using - the Sky EPG!

It's clear as day when the set goes to blue screen and shows as a yellowish square with a dark border on the TV picture.

The family have a habit of flicking through it between programmes - and leaving it on during tea beaks!

So you have been warned - don't leave the yellow and blue thing on your screens for too long.

I'm going to try and burn it out.

The TV is still under warranty which will not cover screen burn - so I have to find some other way of getting a new projection unit if I can't get rid of it....
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Old 01-11-2003, 16:40
neltoe
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the technology for plasma isnt developed enough to successfully remedy these problems, though i suspect in a couple of years plasma will reach a point where its technology is at the end of the line and the quality of there specs should be much better, also LCD should take over at that point.
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Old 01-11-2003, 21:28
GaryB
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I work as Technical Manager for one of the main manufacturers and I have so far seen 6 plasma sets with burns. Most of these have DVD menus burnt into them. One had the infamous Sky red dot. I have found that the random noise displayed when a set is not tuned to a channel is better at getting rid of burns than the traditional white screen so Jim it may be worth trying this on your RP.

I think LCD will take over in the longer term but they can't yet match a good plasma for picture quality.
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Old 02-11-2003, 09:28
Jim Rae
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What surprised me about this case, is that most people have been worrying about screen DOGs and red dots, but the EPGs - I guess both Sky and Freeview - could be worse than any of the them.

They are displayed in high contrast bright colours and it's virtually impossible to avoid using them at some point when viewing.

I normally use a pure white raster to burn out tubes, but Gary's advice of the random dots might be easier on the innards - we'll give it a go...
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