WHAT IS "BURN-IN"
Typically, "burn-in" is defined as an uneven wear of a phosphor based display unit (Plasma and CRT for example). It is the phenomena of being able to "see" the remnants of something that was being "displayed" even though you are watching totally different content. It is not image retention which goes away.
HOW DOES IT OCCUR
It occurs due to content being viewed not in the aspect ratio of the display unit thereby aging phosphors in the display differently. For example, 4:3 content is being viewed as 4:3 content on a 16:9 display device with the side bars as "black". Viewing in this way for extended periods of time (not defined) will cause the phosphors in the middle of the unit to age faster than the phosphors in the black side bar. When phosphors age they decrease in brightness.
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF PLASMA OWNERS EXPERIENCE "BURN-IN"
Although there is no, as yet, survey of all plasma owners, many owners of such devices have not experienced it. Rough guess, less than 1%. The few that have would, IMHO, be guilty of "abusing" the display.
IS THERE ANYTHING THAT CAN BE DONE TO CIRCUMVENT "BURN-IN"
Absolutely, the list is as follows:
1) Get your display "calibrated". Now if that entails a professional ISF calibration (~$400) or a calibration via Avia or DVE (~$40). That's your call. Alot of "damage" can be curtailed by dialing down the brightness and contrast from the get go.
2) Put some sort of "color" on the side bars when watching 4:3 content in its native aspect ratio. If you absolutely
hate stretching 4:3 content, that is filling the 16:9 aspect ratio of the unit, then make sure that the side bars are set to either "gray" or some other color than "black".
3) Did I mention to dial down the contrast and brightness?
4) Vary your viewing habits. In this day and age of 16:9 DVD's, HD content and SD content this should not be difficult to be achieved.
5) Dial down the contrast and brightness, are you getting this part yet?
6) Plasmas are very susceptible to "burn-in" when in their infancy as the phosphors have not had a chance to age. A few hundred hours of watching varied material to age the phosphors is not unrealistic and will probably due a lot to curtail possible damage.
7) TURN DOWN THE CONTRAST AND BRIGHTNESS OF THE DISPLAY. Sorry, but I firmly believe that this is
crucial to preventing burn-in damage.
OKAY, I'M A (put your own explicative here), I HAVE "BURN-IN" IS THEIR ANYTHING THAT CAN BE DONE
Are you sure it is "burn-in"? It may be "image retention", which is different. Image retention is the phenomena of being able to "see" what was just on the screen prior to turning off the unit. Image retention goes away and has no effect on the display. It may, however, be a sign that your contrast and brightness are too high. Burn-in stays on the screen forever, never disappears and really bad burn in can make text unintelligible.
Back to the question, is there anything that can be done to fix burn in? Yes, there is. As stated before "burn-in" is the uneven wear, or aging, of phosphors in the panel. You can reduce it by reversing the image of the screen. For example, let's say that you have the middle of the screen burned in because you used black bars when watching 4:3 content. Just put up grey bars or white bars for the side and don't display anything in the middle. How? Just unplug your STB from the unit when in 4:3 mode. The time it takes to "erase" the burn-in will be in direct proportion to the amount of time that was spent watching 4:3 content with the black bars
I WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BURN-IN
There is alot of information concerning this topic. A "Google" or "Yahoo" search will yield more results
AVS Forum Burn-in FAQ
Fujitsu Burn In Prevention
Extron Device to Help With alleviating Burn In
IS A PLASMA THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR ME
Unfortunately, no one can tell you definitively whether a plasma, or any viewing device for that matter, will be the best choice for you. There are too many considerations to take into account. Plasma displays offer one of the best pictures that can be found today. Only you are aware of what you would use the display for. Only you know what your budget is. Only you can make that choice.
CONCLUSION
Plasma displays can offer the viewer a very clean, detailed and saturated picture.
Here are some shots from a fellow poster who was kind enough to show us his picture quality from his Panasonic 42" ED unit. A "looking through the window" type of experience. As with any technological device, Plasmas can also be a very expensive wall hanging if "abused".
MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
After perusing this forum for several months and visiting several stores to see several different plasmas. We ended up "settling" for the Panasonic 42" ED unit. I must say that this unit displays one of the finest pictures that I have ever seen, probably not saying much
, from
any type of display device. I base my personal preferences after owning a 50" 4:3 Mitsubishi Diamond Screen rear projection television as well as your average run-of-the-mill 27" and 32" 4:3 devices and viewing a FP in a dedicated theater. My wife, not being as enthusiastic about this purchase as myself, has even stated that the PQ is much better with the same source (DVD's). We have enjoyed this unit now for close to one year and it has ~2,000 hours with, I am happy to report, no sign of "burn-in" and no sign of the display starting to dim.
My father, who is a technical writer for a subcontractor that does work on submarine antennae for Raytheon has always told me, "Be kind to your electronics and they will be kind to you." I am happy to report that his credo is doing very well by us.