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Cautious viewing after break-in period?

post #1 of 8
4/3/10 at 3:58pm
Thread Starter 
Call me lazy or whatever, but I just couldn't get through all the threads and pages regarding break-in and BI/IR. A lot of the posts were from '07-'08.
Anyhow I just got a G10 last week and have been running the break-in images on an SD card almost non-stop for 80 hours now.
I plan to run the break-in for 200 hours just to be safe I guess.

I can't seem to find answers to some of my questions so I figured I'd ask in a new thread. Point me to a thread if you know of one offhand, kindly.

People say break-in is and isn't necessary since it's the newer technology...from posts I've read as late as 2008. Does all this talk about IR/BI and break-in still apply to my late(r) model tv? I'd assume so since the phosphors are still fresh and need to be aged to their plateau mark, but then people bring up the argument of it being newer technology.

After the break-in, do I have to be careful to follow those commandments found everywhere? (low contrast, no black bars, no static logos, mixed viewing) I feel like I just bought myself a high maintenance toy that's not so much a toy anymore. I CAN follow those commandments but that is so lame to have to be cautious of your viewing pleasures. I plan to watch movies but, unfortunately, some movies don't fill up the whole screen so am I ALWAYS going to have to zoom in to get rid of the black bars? Same with tv shows, zoom in to avoid black/gray bars? Are the gray bars a good alternative to zooming in?

Almost all the channels have static logos...do these semi-transparent logos still cause IR?

With all this said, will I be able to watch my 2009 tv worry free after break-in? Or will the level of worry only be slightly relieved after break-in?

Thanks in advance for any input.
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post #2 of 8
4/3/10 at 4:07pm
I am also new to the HDTV thing and recently bought a 58" V10. I am not breaking it in with the slides, instead I am just using it to watch movies/TV that is zoomed to fill the screen and have lowered the contrast/brightness. I am also not going to do any gaming on my set until after the 150 hour mark. The schools of thought on the break in procedure goes both ways.

Anyways after your set is broke in 150-200 hours you should be fine to watch content with black bars/game/ static logos' etc. Just switch it up, don't leave the same image on the screen constantly, watch stuff zoomed once in a while or if your gaming with a static HUD for 4 or 5 hours at a time, take a break and run the IR eraser screensaver for a few minutes.

Maybe I am being overly cautious as well? Others that are more experienced can probably give more info, but that is how i plan to treat my plasma anyways.
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post #3 of 8
4/3/10 at 7:46pm
Seems to me that while some IR is unavoidable from time to time, you'd really have to go out of your way to get permanent burn-in.
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post #4 of 8
4/3/10 at 8:19pm
Just watch it.(tm)
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post #5 of 8
4/4/10 at 7:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ddlaz View Post

Call me lazy or whatever, but I just couldn't get through all the threads and pages regarding break-in and BI/IR. A lot of the posts were from '07-'08. Anyhow I just got a G10 last week and have been running the break-in images on an SD card almost non-stop for 80 hours now. I plan to run the break-in for 200 hours just to be safe I guess.

There's no need to "be safe" and you're just wasting your time. Break-in does virtually nothing to reduce or eliminate IR or Burn-In and hasn't for several years now. Nowadays, break-in only serves to stabilize the panel sooner so you can make your final picture adjustments or get the TV ISF Calibrated. Just watching the TV normally from hour one will break the TV in all by itself.


Quote:


I can't seem to find answers to some of my questions so I figured I'd ask in a new thread. Point me to a thread if you know of one offhand, kindly.

People say break-in is and isn't necessary since it's the newer technology...from posts I've read as late as 2008. Does all this talk about IR/BI and break-in still apply to my late(r) model tv? I'd assume so since the phosphors are still fresh and need to be aged to their plateau mark, but then people bring up the argument of it being newer technology.

Break-In hasn't been necessary for like 5 years now on the Panasonics. The newer ones are even more resistant to IR and Burn-In than the older ones.


Quote:


After the break-in, do I have to be careful to follow those commandments found everywhere? (low contrast, no black bars, no static logos, mixed viewing) I feel like I just bought myself a high maintenance toy that's not so much a toy anymore. I CAN follow those commandments but that is so lame to have to be cautious of your viewing pleasures. I plan to watch movies but, unfortunately, some movies don't fill up the whole screen so am I ALWAYS going to have to zoom in to get rid of the black bars? Same with tv shows, zoom in to avoid black/gray bars? Are the gray bars a good alternative to zooming in?

You don't really need to do any of that when the TV is new or even after it's a year or two old.



Quote:


Almost all the channels have static logos...do these semi-transparent logos still cause IR?

I keep an obnoxious bright white circle 7 logo in the bottom right corner of my G10's screen for a total of 4 hours per day every day (local news) and after 9 months of this abuse it quickly fades away within a few seconds when i change the channel and has not burned into the screen (i check the screen from time to time with my lighter colored break-in images on SD card). I also have Speed Channel on for anywhere from 8 to 20 hours on any given weekend and the SPEED logo is always in the same spot for the whole time, yet is not burned into the screen at all. Zip. Nothing. Zero. And those are only my two biggest offender channels. I get logos on all the other channels i watch and throughout all of this logo crap i can see no evidence of their existence when i check the screen with the light colored images. Even after 9 months of logo hell. And the same goes for my 2007 PZ700U and my even older PX50U (which has over 10,000 hours on it, with the last two years of Cathy having the Food Network logo on the screen for several hours every afternoon in her den). Neither of these TVs have any Burn-In despite a lifetime of excessive logos and black bars. I don't know why i even bother to check them anymore.


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With all this said, will I be able to watch my 2009 tv worry free after break-in? Or will the level of worry only be slightly relieved after break-in?

Based on your IR and Burn-In concerns above, if you can't bring yourself to believe that IR and Burn-In are things of the past on the Panasonics then i don't think you'll be able to relax and enjoy your new TV. Too many people focus on the negative and intentionally look for problems or issues and that takes away from actually enjoying the TV for what it is - just a TV.
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post #6 of 8
4/4/10 at 3:43pm
Thread Starter 
Got it! thanks folks and RW, especially. I noticed slight IR last night when I watched food network from commercial to commercial (10-15 mins?) and I turned off the lights and went to an input with no signal and I could see the food network logo and the input name at the top left corner. I almost freaked out and turned the Anti-IR feature on for a few secs to see if it clears and it did.

I'm turning off this darn break in procedure and only avoiding bars in the slammer.
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post #7 of 8
4/4/10 at 7:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ddlaz View Post

Got it! thanks folks and RW, especially. I noticed slight IR last night when I watched food network from commercial to commercial (10-15 mins?) and I turned off the lights and went to an input with no signal and I could see the food network logo and the input name at the top left corner. I almost freaked out and turned the Anti-IR feature on for a few secs to see if it clears and it did.

Actually that isn't really IR. Here's one of the better threads about the ghost images on a blank input screen:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=#post16164661
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post #8 of 8
4/4/10 at 8:30pm
Thread Starter 
Ahh, I see now. thanks for the link.

Since you say there's really nothing to worry about with these new plasma displays, how long would the image have to be static on the screen before it does cause any damage, reversible or non-reversible?
Also, do I have to worry about my contrast/brightness being turned up too high? or is that also a thing of the past? Thanks again!
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