Plasma FAQ

[Insanity202]

This FAQ will be updated as often as I get time, its here to help answer some of those many questions new and old plasma owners may have. 

What sizes do plasma TV's normally come in?

Plasma TVs are normally in sizes 42" and up to 65" for domastic TVs.

Why should I buy plasma over LED/LCD TVs?

There are a few factors than you should think about where plasma beats LED/LCD TV's. First is the black level Samsung and Panasonic sets deliver great black levels. Plasma TVs have better motion than LED/LCD screens, LED/LCD screens tend to have up to 700 lines of motion resolution, plasma has 900 to 1080 depending on make. Also plasma tends to have better input lag for gaming but this does depend on make and model.
Freedom from viewing angle restrictions: the colour saturation, black level, gamma, and other picture characteristics look as good from the sides as they do from the face-on position.
Typically no screen uniformity errors: some Panasonic TVs have had issues with "green splodges", but generally speaking the image has consistent brightness across the entire surface. Larger sized LCDs - especially LED side-lit LCDs - tend to have an inconsistently lit screen. The effect is a bit akin to looking through a clean window (Plasma) compared to a dirty one.

What is image retention?

Image retention is a ghost like after image after a static hud/tag such as solid channel logos or gaming huds are left on screen for prolonged periods of time, this does vary from brand to brand with Panasonic and Samsung the hardest to get image retention (IR) and LG being the easiest. It is commonly found after the break in period of the screen image retention is harder to get. Image retention is temporary and fades away in from a matter of seconds to a few mins depending on brand and model.
Modes such as Dynamic or putting contrast too high can increase the chance of getting IR. Brands like Panasonic and Samsung take around 1 hour of static solid hud/tag to leave a trace of IR and around a min or 2 to remove it fully.

What is screen burn?

Unlike IR where the ghosting of a static hud fades, screen burn is permanent and does not fade. Though with moderen plasams you really have to abuse the screen to get burn like leaving the same static hud/tag on screen for hours on end with high contrast or in dynamic mode. There is a common mistake where people think they have burn when in fact it is heavy IR from endless viewing of the same channel or playing the same game for hours. The chance of burn is reduced when the panel has pasted a break in period.

What is the 'break in period'?

This is when the cells of a plasma are most active and need time to settle. Typically after this time image retention takes longer to happen and the image the tv produces is said to be better. This is normally around 200-500hrs depending on make and model. During this time it is suggested keeping gaming with static huds to a minimum and to try to avoid watching the same station with the same static tag. Also its suggested keeping contrast lower and out of Dynamic modes.

How long is plasma TV's life span?

Probably, the greatest myth about plasma displays is that they only last two to three years. The truth is that present day plasma display panels have an expected half-lifetime of anything between 60,000hrs and 100,000hrs, which is substantially more than that of a traditional CRT TV. Well, even if expected plasma panel life were just 50,000hrs, at 7 hours a day, 365 days a year - this corresponds to almost 20 years of use! This means that most probable, the electronics inside the TV will fail before the display panel itself.

Note that by half-lifetime, we mean that the display brightness will gradually fall to half its original value at the end of the specified period of time. By this time, the image brightness would be too dim for normal viewing and the display panel will have to be replaced.

Are plasma not as sharp than LED/LCD TV's?

No this is another myth. When LED/LCD and Plasma TVs sharpness is set correctly they are both the same. But different makes and models can display over sharpened images differently.

Are plasma TVs good with motion?

Yes infact this is where plasma beat LED/LCDs. LED/LCD TVs have a motion resolution of around 700 lines, plasma TV's have around 900 to 1080 lines depending on brand and model. This means they are far better when handling fast motion pans than LED/LCD screens, producing a better motion without any extra processing. This with the faster pixel response times over LED/LCD make plasma the best for watching sports.

Are plasam TVs ok to game on?

Yes, it is commonly found that plasma TVs have lower input lag than LED/LCD screens, input lag is the time it takes for the TV to process the image and display it on screen. Though from brand to brand this can vary so its always best to read the reviews at HDTVTest to check on the input lag.

[RobTheWire]

Good idea young man  .

[David Mackenzie]

Someone I know wanted a £400-or-so TV, so I told them to look at the Panasonic S30 PDPs.

The first questions they asked were, "Why Plasma?" and "Don't they get really hot to touch? I've got a child". There are still some misconceptions out there, so hopefully we can clear some up!

[Orso]

Give ppl <£300 big axx PDPs to watch HD footy and I'm pretty sure they won't mind some minor burns.
That may come sooner than expected...
http://projector-screen.net.au/2011/12/14/chinas-first-plasma-screen-pdp-production-line-shipping-in-volume-top-head-drive-drilling-s  /

PS : dunno the quality of this source but looks pretty shady.

[David Mackenzie]

I wonder what the original source is. I love how the link-farm / plagiarist site has automatically inserted a picture of a toilet 

[Insanity202]

FAQ Updated. Keep PMing me questions. 

[David Mackenzie]

Why should I buy plasma over LED/LCD TVs?

You should add these:

1. Freedom from viewing angle restrictions: the colour saturation, black level, gamma, and other picture characteristics look as good from the sides as they do from the face-on position.

2. Typically no screen uniformity errors: some Panasonic TVs have had issues with "green splodges", but generally speaking the image has consistent brightness across the entire surface. Larger sized LCDs - especially LED side-lit LCDs - tend to have an inconsistently lit screen. The effect is a bit akin to looking through a clean window (Plasma) compared to a dirty one.

[Insanity202]

Added David