Repairability of plasma vs. lcd televisions

scottscreek0,

I remember the exchange.

Over the years, plasma technology has improved dramatically. For instance, the FilterBright Technology reduces issues with ambient light, and the panels have technology built-in to reduce burn-in and image retention - although, image retention and burn-in are still possible. Though, on the topic of ambient light, it's probably not best to watch television with the sun setting behind you - but that situation wouldn't also have favorable results for an LCD either.

There are some differences in the picture quality, and plasma technology is a great technology - some argue that it creates a picture more like a CRT-television than the comparative LCD technology, and the refresh rate is significantly faster.

It's worth considering, and the price points are generally lower. So I hope that helps with your inquiry. Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

--HDTech

Thanks for confirming my conclusions on the merits of modern plasma televisions. However, the main question is, how repairable are they? I understand Samsung plasmas are good for about 60,000 hours these days barring premature failure. Practically speaking, at 60,000 hours, technology will have advanced so far, I'll want to upgrade to something newer. However, how susceptable are they to early failure, what components most usually fail and can the TV's be repaired if these components do prematurely fail? Are there any known recurring problems with the PN50B650 series?

I saw a thread today that Visio has passed Samsung as the #1 flat panel TV. 600,000 for Visio and 400,000 for Samsung.

It looks to me like the failure rate is pretty small if they sold that many TV's and so few found there way here to complain about problems.

The same thread said that Visio sold so many because they are cheap, not because they have even as good a picture as Samsung.

The wonders of Wall-Mart marketing.

Reminds me of the IBM days of personal computers. IBM - Inadequate But Marketable.

Lacking any preponderance of specific credible advice against recent Samsung plasmas I decided to buy a Samsung PN50B650 that was being sold as a package deal with a Samsung BD-P4600 Blue-ray disc player from B&H Photo and Video. In the process of visiting local electronics stores to view various TV's, my wife and I were blown away by the clarity and detail of a "Dinosaurs" BRD being shown on a Samsung UN46B7000 LED LCD TV. At first we thought the picture quality was due solely to the LED LCD, but at another store we saw a different BRD animated movie being demonstrated on an LCD TV that showed the same quality and realized the stunning picture had as much or more to do with the BRD than the HDTV technology. So when I saw the deal for a TV and BRD player for a reasonable price I jumped on it. The LED LCD TV's are a bit too expensive for mmy budget and the largest LED LCD or LCD TV I can fit in my plasma lift console is 46" whereas I can fit a 50" Samsung plasma. Plasma is a mature technology that has apparently solved it's early problems. Reading the comments on both the CNET and AVS websites about the PN50B650 and the BD-P4600, I realize that both have a few issues, but nothing I can't live with. All modern HDTV's and BDP's seem to have issues due to their complexity. I'm looking forward to their delivery on Friday and the challenge of setting them up and incorporating them into my existing AV system, gaming computer and home wireless network which I expect will take several days to sort out and probably a few visits to the Samsung, CNET and AVS websites for advice.

scottscreek0,

Keep us posted. If we can help, let us know.

--HDTech