...And while plasmas still can be burned in if you're really stupid about it and play games leaving them on for 24 hours at a time, even a tiny bit of prudence renders this a non-problem. Life spans are conservatively rated at 25-30,000 hours. That equates to about 20 years use at four hours a day. At eight hours a day, it still gives you a good 10 years. I don't know about you, but I figure I'm good for a new TV before 10 years usually.
Re: the most important criteria, plasma still gives you the brightest, most vibrant picture by a long shot. Take alook at any LCD next to a plasma and it's a joke. It's also the only technology (othe than CRT) to give you virtually 180 degrees perfect viewing. Go off axis on an LCD or especially, DLP and it looks like someone shut the set off. Stick with plasma!
I'm thinking of purchasing a 42" plasma and have some questions -
I've heard some negatives about Plasma TVs, but I've also heard a lot of defenses for Plasmas. For example, I've heard that plasmas will burn-in easily. But newer models have much less of a risk to do it." "Older models have a life of about 3-5 years," but "newer ones may last as long as many CRTs (more than 7 years." Is there some truth to this? I'm sure older models have more negatives (older versions of any technology usually does), but I am curious about how newer plasmas have come along? Some clarification, experience, and education on these comments/misconceptions would really be appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
-Tony

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