I just bought a cheap ol' e-machine desktop and hooked it up to my 50 inch Plasma hdtv. everything looks good. The main purpose is really to just watch internet videos, email, etc etc. all online things and no gaming of any type.

If I use my tv as a monitor, will there be any burn-in on my tv? Something that I should be worried about? what can I do to prevent it?

The tv is a samsung hpt5034

I have the pixel shift activated, so Im not sure if this will help.

Can I use my tv as a monitor regularly like I watch tv?

Yes, you should be worried. Manufacturers warn in their manuals not to run static images.

You might want to be a little careful -- don't use the PC for hours on end I guess. Really as long as you mix up PC useage with standard TV, movies, etc. you'll be fine. The issue is with the fixed screen images like the close button, task bar, start button, etc.

I got one Similar to this at Costco a month or so back, it looks like they changed it a little bit. http://*******.com/62m9yq

It'll support up to a 60" LCD or Plasma up to 150 Pounds. It also will swivel from left to right. About the only time I do that is to get to the plugs behind my Panasonic TH50PZ85U easier. I can be way off on the side and still see the screen easily so there's really no need to swivel the screen on a Plasma much. Mine is up high enough that I can fit my Center Speaker right directly Under my TV. You can route your wires though the holes that are in the center post and kind of hide them behind it. I don't really notice mine.

The only Downside I had was because all my components are so low to the ground unlike before on my tall A/V rack that I would have to point my Harmony 1000 Remote just right for it to work correctly to turn everything on/off as needed. I'm about 7 feet away from mine, and with my feet up, it was a hassle. So I got the RF Extender. Now I don't even have to point the Remote at anything other then the TV it's self. I haven't made up my mind if I would to put a IR Emitter on the front of my new HDTV or not. But just having to point it at the TV now when I need to is good enough. My Left and right speakers are on Stands, and the rear are mounted on the Wall. The only thing I keep on the Top shelf is the Center Speaker and the Harmony 1000 Charging base.

I just bought a cheap ol' e-machine desktop and hooked it up to my 50 inch Plasma hdtv. everything looks good. The main purpose is really to just watch internet videos, email, etc etc. all online things and no gaming of any type.

If I use my tv as a monitor, will there be any burn-in on my tv? Something that I should be worried about? what can I do to prevent it?

The tv is a samsung hpt5034

I have the pixel shift activated, so Im not sure if this will help.

Can I use my tv as a monitor regularly like I watch tv?

This is purely anecdotal but I would not use a plasma as a monitor for computers. I think this is where LCD surpass even CRT. I've seen burn in even on crt when used as monitors. Plasmas will be even worse.

This is purely anecdotal but I would not use a plasma as a monitor for computers. I think this is where LCD surpass even CRT. I've seen burn in even on crt when used as monitors. Plasmas will be even worse.

This really makes no sense. If it was an issue, why would they have a dvi and vga connection as an option?

This really makes no sense. If it was an issue, why would they have a dvi and vga connection as an option?While I am a big advocate of using a TV as a TV and LCD monitors w/PCs, your observation is a good one.

It is rather incongruous that PDP markers warn against the prolonged use of static images w/their displays... as you said, why offer the connectivity option(s) that enable/support those kinds of viewing applications? :confused:

BTW... I'm not sure but I believe DVI has been dropped in favor of HDMI, however most PDPs do include an RGB interface.

Most likely PDP makers have made the "business" decision to include an RGB interface so they don't lose sales to LCD because of a missing feature.

While I am a big advocate of using a TV as a TV and LCD monitors w/PCs, your observation is a good one.

It is rather incongruous that PDP markers warn against the prolonged use of static images w/their displays... as you said, why offer the connectivity option(s) that enable/support those kinds of viewing applications? :confused:

BTW... I'm not sure but I believe DVI has been dropped in favor of HDMI, however most PDPs do include an RGB interface.

Most likely PDP makers have made the "business" decision to include an RGB interface so they don't lose sales to LCD because of a missing feature.

Well LCDs are better as monitors for many reasons, burn in isn't the only factor. But I think it absolutely makes sense to include a VGA port. Casual PC use isn't going to hurt anything.

Well LCDs are better as monitors for many reasons, burn in isn't the only factor. But I think it absolutely makes sense to include a VGA port. Casual PC use isn't going to hurt anything.True enough, but how do you define "casual PC use?" Minutes at a time are one thing (maybe no worse than displaying a CATV program guide) but when do those minutes become hours?

Why buy a $5000 PDP to use as a computer monitor?

This really makes no sense. If it was an issue, why would they have a dvi and vga connection as an option?

It makes a lot of sense. Just because they provide a connector doesn't eliminate a common condition of all plasmas which is IR and Burn in from static images. They warn in the manual for a reason.

Your analogy is flawed. It's like saying that a car manufacturer with speedometers going to 140 mph endorse you driving 140 mph

True enough, but how do you define "casual PC use?" Minutes at a time are one thing (maybe no worse than displaying a CATV program guide) but when do those minutes become hours?

Why buy a $5000 PDP to use as a computer monitor?

I've used several plasmas as monitors for hours at a time. There was some brief IR, of course, but nothing serious.

I wouldn't say it's like driving a car at 140 miles per hour, it's not nearly that abusive. Just don't use it as your primary computer monitor.

Also, I seriously doubt that TV cost $5000.

there is a simple answer to the OPs question. Is using tv as a computer monitor harmful? No. Will IR happen? maybe, maybe not. But that is in no way harmful and at most bothersome and at least a non-issue, depending on how much you care and how much you look for it.

But harmful would require Burn-in. Lets explore the 2 ways to get this:

1. Real burn-in: This means you would have to turn your screen saver off and then leave your desktop continuously on the screen so long it gets etched into the glass (takes weeks)

2. Uneven wear: You would have to use your tv exclusively as a monitor with distinct dark and light areas and no moving content to get some uneven wear (takes months as it needs hundreds if not thousands of hours of abuse, and its not possible in the OPs case as he is watching videos and using his plasma for tv content as well).

Personally I would recommend making sure your desktop fits the entire screen, turn on the orbiter, set a short screen-saver interval on windows and don't use samsungs dynamic mode.

I use my samsung and my pioneer as part-time monitors with no problems and get excellent PQ when I run videos off my HTPC

It should be perfectly ok to use a PC as a media center hooked up to your plasma. I do it and many others do it. Just make sure you have a good screensaver and it is turned on. I have my screensaver set to 3 minutes on my media center PC. You could also set the taskbar to auto-hide so the start button doesn't sit there all the time.

I once used a program that disabled the screensaver without me knowing it did that (it was in the options but i didn't check that). My desktop was left up without movement for about an hour. The desktop icons IR'd pretty bad but they went away after running the scrolling pattern on my Samsung for a few hours.

Long story short, it shouldn't be a problem if you are careful. Just be really aware of not leaving things static on the screen for long periods of time.

Doesn't Windows Vista Ultimate have a feature called "dreamscene" where you can select a desktop wallpaper animation (like a pond with fish, a waterfall, or a spinning planet)?

You could turn that feature on, remove all desktop icons, make the the start bar only appear on mouse over and it would be like a screensaver on the whole time. You could hot-key popular programs like Internet and Winamp, too. What are your thoughts on this?

I've been thinking of doing this ever since I got my pz85 but I don't want to buy and deal with upgrading to Windows Vista Ultimate just for this.

im not familiar with the feature, but it sounds like it would look cool and eliminate any chance of even minor IR

Check out this thread started on the Home Theater Computers section about "plasma friendly desktop configurations"

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14228898

Someone mentions dreamscene there also.

There are ways to have dreamscene-like desktops without needing to have Vista Ultimate.

This thread on another message board (is that allowed here?) has some links.
http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=12435

I'm going to try the one that lets you install dreamscene on Vista Home Premium.

I don't think that burn in potential is great enough to bother with all this stuff. If you're worried, set taskbar to autohide, run applications in full screen mode if available (it's F11 in IE and also Firefox, I believe), and put the screensaver on an agressive schedule. Unless you're writing your term paper on the plasma, that's good enough.

there is a simple answer to the OPs question. Is using tv as a computer monitor harmful? No. Will IR happen? maybe, maybe not. But that is in no way harmful and at most bothersome and at least a non-issue, depending on how much you care and how much you look for it.

But harmful would require Burn-in. Lets explore the 2 ways to get this:

1. Real burn-in: This means you would have to turn your screen saver off and then leave your desktop continuously on the screen so long it gets etched into the glass (takes weeks)

2. Uneven wear: You would have to use your tv exclusively as a monitor with distinct dark and light areas and no moving content to get some uneven wear (takes months as it needs hundreds if not thousands of hours of abuse, and its not possible in the OPs case as he is watching videos and using his plasma for tv content as well).

Personally I would recommend making sure your desktop fits the entire screen, turn on the orbiter, set a short screen-saver interval on windows and don't use samsungs dynamic mode.

I use my samsung and my pioneer as part-time monitors with no problems and get excellent PQ when I run videos off my HTPC

Agree 100%

Well, I agree with omeletpants and optivity.
I'll just add, you pays your money, you takes your chances :cool:

Well, I agree with omeletpants and optivity.
I'll just add, you pays your money, you takes your chances :cool:

How many times do we see posts where guys complain about burn in from using as a monitor? I think it's bad advice to tell others it will be fine when the manufacturers say different.

How many times do we see posts where guys complain about burn in from using as a monitor? I think it's bad advice to tell others it will be fine when the manufacturers say different.

I don't really ever hear about burn in. There are a lot of posts from people worried about burn in, or who have some temporary IR, but actual burn in seems to be mostly reserved for antique plasmas in bars and airports.

How many times do we see posts where guys complain about burn in from using as a monitor? I think it's bad advice to tell others it will be fine when the manufacturers say different.

It would be fine to use a PC hooked up to plasma if it were exclusively for gaming right?

I was planning on hooking up my gaming computer to my new pioneer and just use it strictly for fullscreen gaming while I surf and do work on my macbook...

It would be fine to use a PC hooked up to plasma if it were exclusively for gaming right?



Noooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:eek:

i think he meant that is the only computer application he would use on the tv, not that it was the only thing he was going to use his tv for.

Same precautions as several people have stated apply. Burn-in will not happen (without pausing for days etc.), but IR may or may not occur. Mix it with some other content, make sure to fill the screen fully (try not to have unlit pixels on the side or top and bottom), and turn on the orbiter.

Gaming on a plasma whether console or PC looks fantastic, people do it all the time whether or not they frequent avs forum. The benefit of asking here is that you become aware of some good precautions that will help you avoid IR.

I don't really ever hear about burn in. There are a lot of posts from people worried about burn in, or who have some temporary IR, but actual burn in seems to be mostly reserved for antique plasmas in bars and airports.

Very true, people throw the term around everywhere but real burn-in (etched in to the glass) is very very rare. Self-correcting IR is what actually occurs.

i think he meant that is the only computer application he would use on the tv, not that it was the only thing he was going to use his tv for.

Same precautions as several people have stated apply. Burn-in will not happen (without pausing for days etc.), but IR may or may not occur. Mix it with some other content, make sure to fill the screen fully (try not to have unlit pixels on the side or top and bottom), and turn on the orbiter.

Gaming on a plasma whether console or PC looks fantastic, people do it all the time whether or not they frequent avs forum. The benefit of asking here is that you become aware of some good precautions that will help you avoid IR.

Just goes to show that post count doesn't mean anything :)

And yes, ercc you knew exactly what I was saying..