Plasma TV pros/cons?

July 4, 2005 10:22 PM

I am looking to buy a new TV, I tried the 50-in Samsung and it was too large for the room. I am thinking about the Daytek 42-in Plasma Television, but I don't really know the pros and cons of Plasma TV's.

Google just seems to be full of other search engine results, so it is not very usefull for this search term.
I dont really think I need the full HDTV resolution, because I dont have HDTV, so thats not so much a problem.
I'm more interested in if they fail very quickly or other problems that might not be instantly obvious.

posted by Iax to Technology (10 answers total)

Plasmas need regassing, which is expensive. Have a look for large LCDs.
posted by krisjohn at 11:05 PM on July 4, 2005

"HDTV or not" is the wrong question. "LCD or plasma" is the one you should be asking. In general, compared to LCD, plasma TVs are more expensive, consume more power, burn out more quickly, are more susceptible to burn-in, and perform more poorly for low-contrast images.
posted by jjg at 11:12 PM on July 4, 2005

Ditto: plasma burns in.
posted by orthogonality at 1:31 AM on July 5, 2005

Google plasma vs. lcd and you'll have a lot of info at your hands. Here's one guide.

They're are advantages to both, and while I'd go with LCD, it isn't quite as black and white as jjg implies.
posted by justgary at 1:33 AM on July 5, 2005

Plasma isn't a great technology. The screens wear out relatively quickly and the picture quality isn't wonderful. I mean, they're adequate and a lot better than they were, and LCD is nowhere near perfect. DLP rear-projection is where it's at for now.

Meanwhile, the picture quality of an ordinary CRT can still outperform them all, if you have the space (which, apparently, you don't).
posted by cillit bang at 3:34 AM on July 5, 2005

I have an earlier generation of this Panasonic, and I think it's the greatest thing ever. It looks awesome, impresses guests, and can easily be moved by two people.

They do burn out, eventually. I think most are good for about 25,000 hours, which means you can watch for twelve hours a day, every day, for more than 5 years.

While burn-in is possible, I haven't had even the slightest problem in the last two years, and I play video games (with lots of static HUD-type data) for hours on end.

If you're looking for a vendor, I'd recommend buying from DTV City. They're cheap, very helpful, and mine came in about two days.
posted by Sibrax at 7:42 AM on July 5, 2005

Regassing? Um, no. First of all, that's impossible. Second, whoever told you that was either trying to scam you, or trying to spin you into buying a more expensive TV product. Total & absolute rubbish, no holds barred.

Having said that: plasmas do wear out over time. The listed "burn out" time is when the screen hits half of its original brightness. The TV will still work, but it's going to be dimmer. The listed times are not per-hour of existence, but per hour of use; so if you turn it on less, it will last longer. And vice versa.

Burn-in shouldn't be a problem on any modern set, because they all slide the image around the screen by a few pixels. The shift is too small to notice.

LCDs of course, have their own issues, mostly revolving around dead pixels.

Ultimately it boils down to size vs. cost. I'd suggest you geek out, and graph the unit-cost per inch and unit-cost per hour of life, put the two together & look for sets that exist in your personal sweet spot (plot multiple technologies, don't just stick with plasma or LCD)
posted by aramaic at 8:27 AM on July 5, 2005

Just bought a 42 inch LG plasma for my lab, and have a few comments. Plasma has come a long way, and there are quite a few new anti-burn-in technologies now packaged with the units. You should also buy an *extended warranty* that covers burn-in. The LG appealed in part because it was the only model I found with a 2-year warranty (and rave reviews for picture quality vs. price). I bought a 2-year extension of that warranty. In my lab environment, if we get 4 years out of this unit I'll be thrilled, and if we don't, I'll have a new one free. Paid $2300 total with the warranty (PCConnection) and a university discount, plus bought new cables and a wall mount kit for a couple hundred more.
posted by realcountrymusic at 8:45 AM on July 5, 2005

Response by poster: Thanks for your help.
I didnt know about the improvements in LCD tvs.
Ill look into both.
posted by Iax at 11:31 AM on July 5, 2005

FYI, if you live about 6 or 7 thousand feet, plasma is a bad idea. The lower air pressure up here means the fan has to work really hard to keep the TV at a safe operating temperature, which means you can hear the fan going all the time. Can't be very good for the fan, either.
posted by joshuaconner at 4:14 PM on July 5, 2005