Plasma concern

[admin_exported]

Hi

I’m considering buying a Plasma TV but concerned about image retention issues. Being new to Plasma how much of a concern is it?

Have read comments about gaming but what’s the issue here?

Also digital channel logos, eg. Sky Sports.

How long can you leave something displayed on screen before it becomes a problem?

Also read comments about running a set in, why and for how long?

thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Well i've been reading this forum for a few weeks now with regards to buying a new LCD/Plasma and seeing what everybody has to say, and yes, image retention/screen burn is often mentioned, but from what i've read and understand so far, it's not much of an issue with the new plasma's anymore what with improved technology...

I think as a precautionary rule though, people tend not to do any heavy tv/film watching or gaming during the first week or two or however long they run them in for. But a reasonable amount of gaming (maybe no more than a couple of hours to begin with at any one time) is fine, you shouldn't have any problems.

As regards to the sky logo's and such, I imagine you'd have to leave the same image on screen for quite a while, perhaps a few days before it becomes a problem.

The running in period is to allow the phospor levels to "settle" i THINK, and aid in the reduction of screen burn problems in future.

I hope that helps and that my advice isn't too far from the truth. I'm sure the more experienced will add their comments soon!

 

[drummerman]

As RyanJH said, Screenburn is no problem with decent panels anymore. Just don't wack contrast/brightness/sharpness up for around 6 weeks/200hrs and keep game playing short, vary them so the same logos are not continuously on the same spot on the screen. Same with channels that use bright logos as opposed to the more transluscent ones. Switch the orbiter on though it is in reality, pretty useless and no substitute for being carefull for a short period. After that, enjoy.

regards

 

[Anonymous]

drummerman:
Just don't wack contrast/brightness/sharpness up for around 6 weeks/200hrs and keep game playing short

So does this then infact mean that Plasma owners can't benefit from the best picture possible straight away unlike LCD's?? Do you have to run settings slightly lower for the first few weeks?? The only reason i ask is, i was going to get the THX optimiser on the go when i got it to set it up correctly... I really only wanted to set it up once and not have to adjust it again properly weeks later.

 

[Anonymous]

I set my panasonic plasma screen brightness and contrast too around 50% for running in purposes and in fairness i wont be turning them up again as imo its about right anyhow..im not really into having my eye singe'd by overly bright pictures in the first place!!! I used have a sony LCD and ran that with backlight set to zero.

 

[drummerman]

RyanJH:drummerman:
Just don't wack contrast/brightness/sharpness up for around 6 weeks/200hrs and keep game playing short

So does this then infact mean that Plasma owners can't benefit from the best picture possible straight away unlike LCD's?? Do you have to run settings slightly lower for the first few weeks?? The only reason i ask is, i was going to get the THX optimiser on the go when i got it to set it up correctly... I really only wanted to set it up once and not have to adjust it again properly weeks later.

Indeed, all good things come to those that wait ...

The characteristics of the set will change over a period of time, around 200hours or so. This is supported by ISF calibrators. Adjust it afterwards.

regards

 

[Anonymous]

drummerman:
Indeed, all good things come to those that wait ...

The characteristics of the set will change over a period of time, around 200hours or so. This is supported by ISF calibrators. Adjust it afterwards.

regards

That's a bit of a let-down, i was gonna invite the lads round when i got it for a night of Blu-ray entertainment.... Seems disappointing i have to run it in and only do a half-calibration 1st before the final one... That means we won't be able to be blown away with the pic from the off!! Guess i'll have to leave it until a few weeks later eh?

 

[drummerman]

I didn't say it wont look good from the off. If you don't turn everything down for that blueray night I'm sure it will be fine. Just do it from the next day onwards.

After a few beers, they won't notice. Has the same effect on me with women.

regards

 

[Anonymous]

Just to chip on the retention issue, I am currently browsing this website and running 3D Studio Max using my Panasonic PX60 plasma which is a couple of years old now. Even with static images being on here for lengthy periods such as taskbars etc, the most I have ever had was some temporary image retention which goes away after 10-20 minutes of normal TV viewing.

It's definately nothign to worry about, and modern plasmas are even better in this regard, so buy with confidence and enjoy.

 

[Anonymous]

drummerman:
After a few beers, they won't notice. Has the same effect on me with women.

regards

Haha!! Like it, but yeah that's very true, they probably wont notice!

 

[SpiceWeasel]

I had the same worries when I upgraded my 8 year old crt to a 42" Pany plasma a few months ago. You have nothing to worry about though. Just set it up from new with the THX optimiser and enjoy. The picture will improve in the 1st 100 hours or so, and run a hell of alot cooler as well.

I had to tweak the settings after the 1st 100 hours but it only took 5-10 mins to do.

I have had no problems at all with image retention or burn in. I had a 5-6 hour gaming session on my PS3 when the tv was brand new and everything was perfect.

Try a Tacima CS929 mains conditioning block as well. £24 delivered off amazon and made a big difference to the quality of the picture, alot cleaner than before.

The whole running in idea came about from plasma's a few years ago. Basically the phosphors in the screen are at their brightest during the 1st 100 hours, and retention/screen burn was more likely to happen during the 1st 100 hours or so. After this time they give off less light and become less likely to be affected by retention/screen burn.

With todays technology it's very very unlikely to happen, especially with a decent make like Pany/Pioneer/Samsung etc. The technology has improved by a huge margin from a few years ago and is no longer a problem.

I did take it easy for the 1st 100 hours with constant channel logo's and gaming, but that was more for peace of mind than anything. I left the tv on for about 6 hours at a time when not watching it on a channel with no logo's or banners on the screen to speed up the process.

Just set it up with the THX optimiser and enjoy, you have nothing to be worried about.

 

[Anonymous]

Cheers for that spice... Thats definitely reassured me now. Thanks!

 

[bigblue235]

I'd have to disagree a little here, I don't think screen-burn is a complete non-issue. I imagine the prospect of it must put a few folk off buying a plasma, so if it wasn't an issue the plasma manufacturers would be making a point of telling people not to worry, instead of giving warnings on how to avoid it!

I'm currently looking for a second TV, primarily for gaming when my girlfriend is hogging the main set. I'd prefer a plasma, but am concerned by this issue, as I've seen a few screens that have suffered, one being a very recent set. So I visited a few shops and asked the question, and several salespeople were of the opinion screen-burn was a non-issue. But funnily enough, none would honour a return if it did happen!

I then emailed the manufacturer of the set I was considering buying, to see if they could offer any reassurance, but their reply worried me even more! I was expecting some of the suggestions, but there were others I couldn't/wouldn't go along with. And since they stopped far short of offering any guarantees that it wouldn't happen, even if I followed their suggestions, I decided against the purchase.

I'd recommend emailing the manufacturer of the set you're considering buying, to see if you can live with their suggested precautions. I would have bought the Sony W4500 instead, had it not been for the 36 page thread here...

Maybe I'm just unlucky though. I purchased an LCD computer monitor that was part of a faulty batch, that all had a menu burnt into the centre of the screen. A weeks worth of displaying full-screen single colours, followed by a months worth of general usage couldn't shift it. And the offending menu? The factory 'Burn In' menu!

 

[Anonymous]

My lcd monitor at work has screen burn...Maybe indicitive of how much work i do :-o

 

[drummerman]

bigblue235:
I'd have to disagree a little here, I don't think screen-burn is a complete non-issue. I imagine the prospect of it must put a few folk off buying a plasma, so if it wasn't an issue the plasma manufacturers would be making a point of telling people not to worry, instead of giving warnings on how to avoid it!

I'm currently looking for a second TV, primarily for gaming when my girlfriend is hogging the main set. I'd prefer a plasma, but am concerned by this issue, as I've seen a few screens that have suffered, one being a very recent set. So I visited a few shops and asked the question, and several salespeople were of the opinion screen-burn was a non-issue. But funnily enough, none would honour a return if it did happen!

I then emailed the manufacturer of the set I was considering buying, to see if they could offer any reassurance, but their reply worried me even more! I was expecting some of the suggestions, but there were others I couldn't/wouldn't go along with. And since they stopped far short of offering any guarantees that it wouldn't happen, even if I followed their suggestions, I decided against the purchase.

I'd recommend emailing the manufacturer of the set you're considering buying, to see if you can live with their suggested precautions. I would have bought the Sony W4500 instead, had it not been for the 36 page thread here...

Maybe I'm just unlucky though. I purchased an LCD computer monitor that was part of a faulty batch, that all had a menu burnt into the centre of the screen. A weeks worth of displaying full-screen single colours, followed by a months worth of general usage couldn't shift it. And the offending menu? The factory 'Burn In' menu!

It's not a 'non-issue' but if you use it sensibly it should not be a problem, hence my previous recommendation to use the new set carefully for the first few weeks, something which is supported by ISF calibrators and experts.

On one of the owner forums, a guy played games on his new pioneer from the off, sometimes hours, on a daily basis and he even fell asleep over it. Not surprisingly he got not just IR but screenburn. Over weeks of 'washing' it and using it more carefully, it has disappeared mostly if not entirely yet.

Modern good quality screens are much better but plasma is plasma and you have to use a bit of common sense.

regards

 

[SpiceWeasel]

I agree it's not a non issue, but it is very unlikely to happen with todays plasma's. It would need some serious abuse for this to happen.I wouldn't let it put me off buying a plasma though.

I was really worried about getting screen burn as this was my 1st plasma. The 1st few days I kept changing the channels when I was watching channels with constant logo's or after an hour or so of gaming just to check for image retention. But everything was fine, not even a hint of image retention.

My 1st gaming session was on a variety of games like Burnout,GT5 and a few demos, and I kept switching back to SKY every now and again to check for image retention. I had nothing to worry about though as I couldn't see any retention at all.

I did take it easy for the 1st 100 hours, and I would recomend everyone does the same if only for peace of mind. 1st thing I did was set it up with the THX optimiser, the factory settings were miles off and way to bright. I did try to avoid viewing constant channel logo's or game icon's for long periods of time during the running in period. Like Blue says use a bit of common sense especially in the 1st 100 hours or so and you should have no problems.

The advice I got when looking into buying my plasma was just to set it up with the THX and enjoy,as the running in period wasn't needed with todays plasma's. But for peace of mind I decided to take it easy just incase.

 

[nws56]

It would seem to be a very set specific problem , since my Samsung PS50Q96 retains images after a mere 10 minutes of gaming .

Even with low ( 50 ) settings of both contrast and brightness I would come home and be able to tell you that my son had been on MSG , or that my daughter had been watching The Hits channel . It got to the point where I was boycotting BBC news in favour of ITV just to avoid those blasted 'choose this' or 'press that' things in the top corner . In fairness to Samsung , the screen wipe systems worked very well to remove retained images , and my evenings often ended with an hour of that black stripe moving from right to left.

It was , and still is a bit of a chore to do it , and every member of the house was pleased to see it replaced by an LCD .....

So I would advise any would be plasma purchaser to try and test for this beforehand ; none of the magazines mentioned my own sets desire to retain images in their reviews.