I've never owned a plasma TV, but I'm considering getting one. I'm currently debating the Samsung 46" DLP v. any 42" plasma in the $1500 price range. I like that the plasmas have better contrast, but I'm concerned about burn in and dimming.

Are these issues real problems? I'll be using it for mostly watching TV/HDTV, but maybe some DVD viewing too. It's the DVD viewing that concerns me as most are in 2.35:1 which will not fill the screen (leading to burn in right?).

Anyway, could someone give me an overview on the burn in and dimming problems with today's plasmas?

Thanks for your help.

With today's name brand plasma's burn-in is virtually a thing of the past as long as you don't abuse it. Such as pausing a movie/game for several hours at a time.

Don't worry about getting burn-in with movies that have the black bars. Unless you watch these movies over and over again with out switching up the content to something full screen for a while you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

One thing you will have at some point is Image Retention. However, this is not a big deal though as it will go away with in seconds or minutes of switching to a full screen channel. In most cases, if not all cases in my own personal experience the only way I can see the IR is with all the lights turned out in my house and with the TV on a blank input. I have never been able to see it when something is being displayed on the screen. Even after playing xbox 360 for 4 or 5 hours at a time and watching movies with black bars, back to back.

Take it out of Vivid mode and do the break-in that is talked about in many, many places on this forum. Break it in properly and you will have a TV that will last you a long time to come.

The worst of todays Plasma's that I see are the Philips.

If I leave a set run for an hour or so on something like MSNBC's weather plus the damn thing is burnt and then it takes around 2 hours with a white screen video in-source to burn it clean.

Image Retention will be something you will experience during the first 1k hours of the TV. Just don't panic when it happens.

Get some type of DVD you can loop overnight at high settings to keep your pixels as close together in brightness as possible. There's one on the flat panel forum that works quite well. Run it once a week over night, more or less depending on how much IR you encounter.

Common sense is your best ally in preventing IR and BI.

Stupidity and oversight is what led to most IR and BI years ago. Since forums like AVS began to disseminate their knowledge throughout the universe, fatal cases of IR and BI have fallen by 90% or more. :)

New to plasma: Burn in? From the Video Purist Perspective, you will minimize the risk of burn-in & long term uneven phosphor wear by following the break-in recommendations that are specified in Panasonic's White Paper:

Plasma Facts and Myths Panasonic Presents Advice From the Video Purist Perspective (http://www.dynamicdigital.ca/documents/Plasma%20Facts%20and%20Myths.pdf)

Also, I recommend reading the owner’s manual for your PDP (e.g. TH-50PZ700U page 57).

"Limited Warranty Limits And Exclusions

This Limited Warranty ONLY COVERS failures due to defects in materials or workmanship, and DOES NOT COVER
normal wear and tear or cosmetic damage, nor does it cover markings or retained images on the picture tube
resulting from viewing fixed images (including, among other things, letterbox pictures on standard 4:3 screen TV’s,
or non-expanded standard 4:3 pictures on wide screen TV’s, or onscreen data in a stationary and fixed location)."

http://mysite.verizon.net/vzequg9f/th-50pz700u-notes.JPG

http://mysite.verizon.net/vzequg9f/pdp-side-bars.JPG