*If you don't feel like reading this little novel I've written here, feel free to skip to the bottom where I just list my main questions and concerns.*
Hey everyone. It's been years since I last posted here mainly because I only post when I am switching to a new TV. You guys definitely give the best answers and back things up with actual technical knowledge which really helps me further my knowledge when it comes to televisions. I thank you for that!
I'm in the market for a new TV and I am going to jump to plasma which is uncharted territory for me. However, I was on vacation this year and the place I was staying at had a fairly new plasma TV so I decided to hook my Xbox 360 up to it to see how it looked. I was blown away and I really loved the picture quality. I also LOVED the fact that there (as far as I could tell) were no uniformity issues whatsoever.
The main problem I've had with LCD and LED backlit displays are the issues with clouding and banding. Uniformity issues distract and bother the hell out of me, and as far as I know, plasma's do not suffer from any sort of these issues, correct?
I've been using a Sharp LC-46LE700UN for the past 2 years and it's pretty damn good compared to the other garbage edge lit nonsense on the market. However it does suffer from some pretty bad banding and it's always been a bother. This was never intended to be a keeper. I knew I'd be buying a new display within a few years, and here I am.
What worries me is what pretty much worries everyone else who has little experience with a Plasma display. Image Retention. I am a huge gamer and 90% of my time using a display is spent gaming. The other 10% is watching Blu-Rays. The Sharp happened to have some very low input lag of 11ms and overall was a great TV for the price and time, but I'd like to move on. Even though I've gotten used to the banding over the years, it still bugs me and I want a TV without those kinds of issues.
I have no interest in 3D, Smart TV features, or any of that other (in my opinion) gimmicky stuff. I just want a solid display with good picture quality, 1080p support, and low input lag. So after doing a little research the Panasonic TC-P50U50 caught my eye and I'm about to make the jump and pick it up. I've heard great things about Panasonic's plasma line up and from what I've read about the U50, it has low input lag which is great for my video games, and it has great picture quality to boot. It seems like a good set that has all the features I am looking for. I just don't know much about Plasma televisions and even though I know IR and Burn in are not even close to being as bad as they used to be, they are still present.
I'm ok with image retention. As long as I can REMOVE IT, I'm fine. I'm just worried about permanent damage. A little IR is no biggie because it goes away.
So I guess my main questions/concerns are as follows -
- If anyone here has personal experience with the Panny 50U50 or it's 3D brother the UT50, please tell me your thoughts!
- I've heard about "breaking-in" a Plasma. What exactly does that mean? And why does it have to be done?
- I will be gaming on this TV for long periods of time. Should I be concerned about burn-in?
- Does the IR protection setting (I think it's called a pixel orbiter or something) have an effect on input lag? I'd like to keep it on to protect my TV but if it raises the input lag significantly that isn't good.
- Should I be concerned about clouding/banding or any other uniformity issues on a plasma? I absolutely HATE those defects. They are the main reason why I am abandoning LCD displays.
Any other advice to a plasma newbie would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you very much for your time!
Hey everyone. It's been years since I last posted here mainly because I only post when I am switching to a new TV. You guys definitely give the best answers and back things up with actual technical knowledge which really helps me further my knowledge when it comes to televisions. I thank you for that!

I'm in the market for a new TV and I am going to jump to plasma which is uncharted territory for me. However, I was on vacation this year and the place I was staying at had a fairly new plasma TV so I decided to hook my Xbox 360 up to it to see how it looked. I was blown away and I really loved the picture quality. I also LOVED the fact that there (as far as I could tell) were no uniformity issues whatsoever.
The main problem I've had with LCD and LED backlit displays are the issues with clouding and banding. Uniformity issues distract and bother the hell out of me, and as far as I know, plasma's do not suffer from any sort of these issues, correct?
I've been using a Sharp LC-46LE700UN for the past 2 years and it's pretty damn good compared to the other garbage edge lit nonsense on the market. However it does suffer from some pretty bad banding and it's always been a bother. This was never intended to be a keeper. I knew I'd be buying a new display within a few years, and here I am.
What worries me is what pretty much worries everyone else who has little experience with a Plasma display. Image Retention. I am a huge gamer and 90% of my time using a display is spent gaming. The other 10% is watching Blu-Rays. The Sharp happened to have some very low input lag of 11ms and overall was a great TV for the price and time, but I'd like to move on. Even though I've gotten used to the banding over the years, it still bugs me and I want a TV without those kinds of issues.
I have no interest in 3D, Smart TV features, or any of that other (in my opinion) gimmicky stuff. I just want a solid display with good picture quality, 1080p support, and low input lag. So after doing a little research the Panasonic TC-P50U50 caught my eye and I'm about to make the jump and pick it up. I've heard great things about Panasonic's plasma line up and from what I've read about the U50, it has low input lag which is great for my video games, and it has great picture quality to boot. It seems like a good set that has all the features I am looking for. I just don't know much about Plasma televisions and even though I know IR and Burn in are not even close to being as bad as they used to be, they are still present.
I'm ok with image retention. As long as I can REMOVE IT, I'm fine. I'm just worried about permanent damage. A little IR is no biggie because it goes away.
So I guess my main questions/concerns are as follows -
- If anyone here has personal experience with the Panny 50U50 or it's 3D brother the UT50, please tell me your thoughts!
- I've heard about "breaking-in" a Plasma. What exactly does that mean? And why does it have to be done?
- I will be gaming on this TV for long periods of time. Should I be concerned about burn-in?
- Does the IR protection setting (I think it's called a pixel orbiter or something) have an effect on input lag? I'd like to keep it on to protect my TV but if it raises the input lag significantly that isn't good.
- Should I be concerned about clouding/banding or any other uniformity issues on a plasma? I absolutely HATE those defects. They are the main reason why I am abandoning LCD displays.
Any other advice to a plasma newbie would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you very much for your time!
