Panasonic IR question

Our ST50 was prone to IR until at some point after 400+ hours.

Get rid of the clock. Change its location, appearance, "brightness", color.....

If the image is fading after an hour of regular programming, this sounds like fairly typical IR (depending upon visibility), and not a serious concern - but would still try to avoid a static image.

?: Can you spot the IR WHILE watching a normal show? Or only against a solid background?

I have a 65VT50 and come from 3 previous Panasonic plasmas and am a bit disappointed in how easily the VT50 get IR. I can watch CNBC for less than an hour and get IR that seems to stick around. For all the improvements the new Pannys have IR is the giant leap backward.

The ubiquitous question (I am leaning towards an Exxxx Samsung plasma) as CNBC is definitely the most egregious example of screen garbage/junk and I do watch it a fair bit. How long does the IR stick around for in your case? Do you notice it in normal content, or in only specific content like say sky shots (when watching golf), or during commercials with white or grey backgrounds?

Wow all those IR talk about the Panasonic plasmas is really disappointing, for a second I considered getting a 65" VT50 to replace my 50" 9G Kuro thinking it'll be at least as resistant to IR as the Kuro, but being a hardcore gamer with common 12 hours + sessions there's no way in hell will a Panasonic be reliable in my case, it's just very disappointing.

I don't care if many people say that they don't get IR with their Panasonics, it's either 1 of 2 things seeing how common IR issues are stated on these boards:

1- They don't game enough/use much static images.
2- Panasonic HDTVs have random performance when it comes to IR resistance which is unacceptable and a joke after all these years of improving plasmas.

Also, people saying Don't use high brightness or whatever, well it's about damn time the manufacturers themselves limit their TV's brightness to safe levels, not just allow insane brightness levels to showoff in showrooms then people get screwed once they want to use 'em at home.

I'm not loyal to any brand, one should get what he paid for.

Since I just discovered it I am still troubleshooting. I did run the VT50 IR scroll bars for a good bit and it helped a tad, I also ran D'Nices slides and then watched a few hours of non-logo TV and it is going away. My concern is my old PZU58 I could leave CNBC on for hours with no IR. Here I go an hour and the IR sticks around. Tomorrow I am going to run the slides for a few hours and then pay attention to what happens. Interestingly enough I called Best Buy to see about a swap to the E8000 and at first they said I was past 30 days, but once I told them I was Premier Silver member and bought the 4 year warranty they were willing to exchange the set and also told me that IR is covered under their Protection plan. Now I'm thinking I may hod the set for a while since they will "repair" / "replace" set if they can not get rid of IR. I'm struggling with this as the VT50 picture and blacks are so damn good. I have been chatting with D'Nice since he was supposed to come do my calibration tomorrow and he said the E8000 will calibrate as well as the VT50 with the black level being the only difference. He says the E8000 blacks are closer to last year's VT30. Considering I am coming from a 4.5 year old PZU58 that blacks were clearly a dark gray I may be OK with that, my only concern is that some say Samsung still has a buzzing issue. One option is I may have BB swap the set for another VT50 then just run the slides non-stop for a week and rack up 200 hours ASAP ans see if all these people that say once you get 200-400 hours on the panel the IR diminishes are correct and then I'll have an even break-in. Interesting the CNET observation, they accidently left DVD menu on for 8 hours and the Samsung had no IR the VT50 had some and the GT50 looked worst. The VT50 eventually worked out, they gave up on the GT50. So it boils down to risk of buzz ad slightly worse blacks on E8000, but better 2D video processing form subpar inputs and better 3D or the superior blacks and color accuracy and potential IR on the VT50.

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33199_7-57449881-221/samsung-plasma-wins-cnets-accidental-burn-in-test/

I have not noticed IR during normal viewing, but I am sure if I were watching anything that had a solid scene, like snow covered ground, or solid blue sky it would be obvious since when I play the slides it stands out. I did not realize I was having IR until I tried D'Nices slides when I went to prep the set before he was to come and calibrate it. I have been babying this set during the first 120 hours as I always do with a new TV, I try not to leave anything on screen for too long that is why I was shocked to see CNBC, NBC and also E! logos because other than the Olympics none of the other channels was one for more than 45-60 min at a time. I'm still on the fence and will go to BB tomorrow and look at the VT50 and E8000 side by side as they have them next to each other on display and if I can't see any black level differences then I will likely have them swap my VT50 for the E8000. I did call Panasonic to complain and they of course said they have had no complaints. I told them I have owned 3 other Panasonic plasmas and one of their LCDs and never had any issues so to have IR after 45 minutes of viewing was totally unacceptable. They would not swap the set and basically said they would send a tech if I wanted to. I told them no thanks, waste of time.

OK, thanks for the detailed response and I had a look through your posting history and saw that you have a 65". The only reason I mention it is that I know that if you had a 50" Panasonic (and went for a Samsung 51" E8000) you would most definitely see the difference in the black levels with the Samsung being some 3-4 times lighter. With the larger E8000 black levels should be reasonably close. Max luminance on the Samsung may not be up to the levels of the Panasonic. Trade offs with both sets essentially.

I am not as worried about brightness, the room the TV is in has room darkening blinds and very little light other than CFL bulbs gets into the room. I never run my sets in anything brighter than Cinema mode default brightness. I will say I ran the break-in slides for about 7 hours today and the E! and CNBC logos are almost gone, the NBC logo has faded, but is still very visible. The scroll bars from CNBC are also still there a bit. I know the slides are not designed for removing IR, but they are a reliable way to exercise the phosphors without worrying about time outs or anything unforeseen showing up. Even though they are bringing a replacement VT50 next week I have a strong feeling it is a waste of time and may have them just do the E8000. D-Nice says they will calibrate virtually equal other than black levels.