How long do Plasmas really last???

Also, who is going to win the world series this year?

When is the next time my car will need service?

Where did the Cloverfield Monster come from?

And why did the Rocket on Lost take 31 minutes longer to get to the island than it should have?

It'll last as long as any other TV made in the same time period...

Most units will probably last longer than the point when you will want to upgrade to a newer more advanced model after a few years I bet.

Do you think it's made entirely of plastic and will break down in a year? I have a buddy still using a plasma he bought 8 years ago. Silly question.


Now that's a good question.

But i betcha the electronics on his old plasma are of better quality than the electronics on the more recent and mass-produced consumer models, especially if the old plasma is an industrial model (which is likely). What brand and model is it?

Modern consumer electronics are designed and manufactured to be just good enough to squeeze every last little penny out of the manufacturing cost, and as such have a higher failure rate through their lifespan which is often much shorter than the electronics of years past. In my industry (Electrical Wholesale), we see about a 5% failure rate within the first few years. This wasn't the case 10 years ago. Same thing in the automotive industry - most failures in the first few years are electronic or electrical.

Mine lasted 2 years.(Bought back in Feb.2006)
Worked great with no issues than the last couple of months, little issues started to occur than got the infamous TV shutdown with the front panel LED flashing/blinking red 7 times, which I've been told is a bad main power supply.
Since I have no extended warranty, it might cost me more to repair it than to buy a new TV.

Things have been made to last just long enough since the 50's. That is why our economy is almost totally consumer driven.

I'd be more worried about preceived obsolecense than actual. My XBR CRT is perceived to be obsolete even though it still works perfect.

Basically its a non-issue. As the consumer you are not in control of your wants and they'll make us all want a new one in 7 years time.

I have had one 3 years without issues (panasonic). In fact with no burnin/IR issues after three years I just bought another plasma to replace it (moving it to another room). The new plasmas have a lot better picture than 2004 vintage.

I have tube TVs that are 20 years old, I do not know if plasmas will last quite that long, but I suspect like with the old tube TVs in 20 years (actually probably around 5 years) the new TVs will have such an improved picture you will not want to watch your old TV any more.

I have a lot of TVs around the house. Each in turn has been the primary TV, gotten demoted and moved down the chain. Every 3-5 years a new TV is bought. Once it is no longer the primary TV its usage drops quickly. By the time they get to the spare bedrooms they are used so little they will probably never break. It will be a strange day 10 or so years from now when they get a 50" plasma in the spare bedroom.

My oldest plasma (Panasonic 37" consumer ED) will be four years old this coming July. It is still going strong with no burn-in, IR faded after a few months of use...and still is the best tv in my house for watching standard def broadcast tv. I also have a 2 year old 720p LG that has no issues, and a 4 month old Panasonic 1080p that I'm confident will last me until the upgrade bug strikes again.

My 2001 Panasonic is still good as day 1. About 6000 hours on it by now. The whole TV is just an assembly of circuit boards and computer chips. How long will a PC processor and motehrboard last? Quite a while I'd say... Seems the weakest link is the power supply...

I have a 4 year old Phillips 42" Plasma Television and honestly I have yet to see any depreciation in picture quality. I have purchased a newer 1080p display, an LCD, only because I had minor issues with image retention and ESPNs wonderful logo.

Either way, I would guess the newer technologies these panels are equipped with will allow them to operate much longer and allow you to avoid any issues with image retention or depreciation in PQ.

I have a 2001 Panasonic plasma - works as good as new. (And no burn in).

Same here except over 30k hours on mine. I payed more for it than my 4260 and my 5070 combined.

The things that break on computers are the disk drives, since they're mechanical, spinning mechanisms. The solid state components will probably last forever.

My Fujitsu plasma was purchased in February, 2002. It looks as good now as ever, though I probably will replace it this year with something quieter (loud fans on early plasmas).

Couldn't tell ya. I want to say Panasonic, but I could be completely wrong. If I think about it the next time I see him I'll ask him.

The plasma will last far longer than you will want to watch it....