Ok this thread is not to start any war its just a comment and only my opinion.
From all the reading I have done on this forum it does seem that plasma takes some time and effort and precautions before you can just turn it on and watch it. I'm very interested in getting one as I have a samsung 5265 LCD that is going back due to HDMI issues. The issue is all the things that you need to have caution with when you first get a plasma? I'm torn on this I have seen the new pio 6010 the panny 58 750u and some others but I have also seen the new LNT series samsungs they are also very nice. When you view these sets it is very hard to see that much of a difference ( at least to my eye) I'm not an expert and I'm here just to read and listen to everyone on the forum I love the forum and I have gained a wealth of insight I just wanted to hear what some thoughts are on this subject. Please remember this is not something to start any wars just some comments. Thanks for all the great information on this forum ( the entire forum).:)

The "break-in" period of a Plasma goes by very quickly if you watch enough TV etc. I guess we all watch a lot of TV or we'd be on another forum. ;)

That being said, I wouldn't worry about it that much keeping in mind a few of the guidelines that have been repeated over and over again in these forums. Get what looks best to your eye. I think a lot of us are stuck on the numbers and not what is the best looking picture in our view. Good luck with whichever TV you buy.

theres no break in period for new plasmas. watch them at the settings you want, dont keep black bars on for long periods of time, dont keep station logos on for days and days and you are FINE.

theres no break in period for new plasmas. watch them at the settings you want, dont keep black bars on for long periods of time, dont keep station logos on for days and days and you are FINE.

Can you, or someone, define 'long periods of time'. Are we talking hours, tens of hours, hundreds of hours????? Is the effect cumulative.... er I mean, if you watch, say, 1 hour of 4:3 sdtv daily, that's 364 hours in a year. Is that problematic?

Just looking for some general guidelines regarding how obsessed I should be re: black bars on sdtv.

Plasma noob,
JMWhite

There is no “mandatory” break in. The pixels age faster at the very beginning, so there is some increased risk of some uneven ageing. A lot of people just prefer to accelerate the first couple hundred hours of usage to get into the time period where phosphor ageing flattens out more quickly, so they can feel more comfortable with station logos, black bars, etc.

Can you, or someone, define 'long periods of time'. Are we talking hours, tens of hours, hundreds of hours????? Is the effect cumulative.... er I mean, if you watch, say, 1 hour of 4:3 sdtv daily, that's 364 hours in a year. Is that problematic?

Just looking for some general guidelines regarding how obsessed I should be re: black bars on sdtv.

Plasma noob,
JMWhite

That would not be a problem at all.

I fully believe that the latest plasmas are nearly free of these issues. The latest Pioneer plasmas (one of which I own) are extremely resistant to image retention and the like. I did not even bother with a break in period.

I've owned two other plasmas in the past (upgraded for performance reasons, not because of problems) and both of them had IR issues, but this new plasma most certainly does not. I use it almost exclusively for gaming and that means lots of static HUDs. I also spend time using it as a PC display without any serious problems either.

If you decide on the Pioneer, there is a small (but necessary) trick that must be performed in order to use black side bars (it defaults to gray). If you do buy one, send me a PM (or post about it in a topic) and we'll have the answer for you (it's very simple). Black bars are not an issue.

I think the burn-in thing is highly over-feared. Read this
article about testing plasmas with static images. This
test uses a schematic that you will not approach while
watching real TV. I recently aquired a Samsung 5084 and
just hooked it up and have been watching it just like I
would a CRT. No problems. Just awesome viewing.
I am totally pleased.

http://www.plasmadisplaycoalition.org/results/image.php


And to answer your question - I think plasma is the way to
go right now if you want the best television. 2009 may
be different. LCD may improve to the point where it will
be tops. But right now, I believe plasma is King.

have fun, Chris

Can you, or someone, define 'long periods of time'. Are we talking hours, tens of hours, hundreds of hours????? Is the effect cumulative.... er I mean, if you watch, say, 1 hour of 4:3 sdtv daily, that's 364 hours in a year. Is that problematic?

Just looking for some general guidelines regarding how obsessed I should be re: black bars on sdtv.

Plasma noob,
JMWhite

It's not a question of "long periods of time", it's more relevant to the percentage of time. If you have black bars for 20% of your television viewing, you won't have an issue. If it's 80% of your viewing, then maybe in a year or two you'll see a brightness difference between the sidebars and the center of the screen.

As far as the break-in period goes, it's not mandatory. What everyone does agree on however is taking the TV out of "torch mode". All manufacturers set the TVs to the brightest setting so that they *POP* out at you when you walk into the store. However, in the home it's far too bright and it ages the panel more rapidly. If you did opt to keep the television on torch mode, then I would also recommend keeping it full screen for awhile, as a precaution.

I've never heard of anyone burning in their TV in the first few hundred hours, but I think we all like to play it safe with our investments, even if it's overkill.