Plasma TV run in time

[admin_exported]

Hi all!

A quick question on a much talked about topic I am about to order a new 50 inch plasma tv and being a mixture of cautious and impatient I am planning on running in the screen on lowered brightness and contrast for at least 200 hours, but in a bid to eat up the hours quickly I was planning on leaving the telly running all day while I'm at work (on a channel with no logo's and displayed at full screen). Is that a good idea or would I be better off running it in slower, for less hours a day or least for less prolonged periods?

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated, thanks!

 

[hammill]

Hi all!

A quick question on a much talked about topic I am about to order a new 50 inch plasma tv and being a mixture of cautious and impatient I am planning on running in the screen on lowered brightness and contrast for at least 200 hours, but in a bid to eat up the hours quickly I was planning on leaving the telly running all day while I'm at work (on a channel with no logo's and displayed at full screen). Is that a good idea or would I be better off running it in slower, for less hours a day or least for less prolonged periods?

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated, thanks!

I did not do this at all for my Kuro. I calibrated fairly soon after purchase (which did cause the picture to be less bright and colourful as is usually the case) and have not felt the need to touch it since. There are no signs of any ill effects.

There are no signs of

 

[Oldboy]

Hi all!

A quick question on a much talked about topic I am about to order a new 50 inch plasma tv and being a mixture of cautious and impatient I am planning on running in the screen on lowered brightness and contrast for at least 200 hours, but in a bid to eat up the hours quickly I was planning on leaving the telly running all day while I'm at work (on a channel with no logo's and displayed at full screen). Is that a good idea or would I be better off running it in slower, for less hours a day or least for less prolonged periods?

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated, thanks!

I done exactly that with my Panasonic GT30 to speed up the run in period and it was fine BUT don't leave the tv on any sort of dynamic mode and calibrate the screen before you start doing it and then reduce contrast and brightness by 2-3 notches for the run in and it should be fine. I just left my tv on BBC 2 during the day as you get no logo's and left overscan on and kept the ratio on auto so i always had a full screen no matter what was on, it worked a treat for me.

Don't forget you can check the ammount of hours on a screen depending on what tv you buy, ususally it's found within an engineers menu which you can access with a quick google search, hope that helps.

With a Kuro plasma these methods are generally considered to not be needed but that is a top of the range plasma tv and with any other plasma a run in period of at least 200 hours is a good idea with reduced contrast and brightness.

 

[The_Lhc]

With a Kuro plasma these methods are generally considered to not be needed

Weird, could have sworn the manual said exactly the opposite...

 

[Oldboy]

In that case i stand corrected The_Lhc, i was under the impression that it wasn't necessary with a Kuro as a few owners on these forums have stated in the past but you can't get better info than that from the manual.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi guys, thank you for your replies and comments!

Yeah I have read many (many) threads and articles about it with various for's and against's and I think for my own peace of mind I will definitely run in the set (Panasonic ST30) for the 200 hours.

Thanks a lot for the advice regarding calibrating the set first and also avoiding the dynamic mode, it is much appreciated. And I'm glad to hear you did the same and it worked well!

Also out of interest, through my research online I read a number of times that console gaming in particular should be avoided for the first x-amount of hours (one site actually said the first 1000 hours!!). Is that because there tends to be more static data on the screen (scores, health bars etc) or do games consoles work the screen particular hard?

Thanks for the heads up on the hour tracker in the menu's, that will come in handy!

Thanks again!

 

[Oldboy]

Hi guys, thank you for your replies and comments!

Yeah I have read many (many) threads and articles about it with various for's and against's and I think for my own peace of mind I will definitely run in the set (Panasonic ST30) for the 200 hours.

Thanks a lot for the advice regarding calibrating the set first and also avoiding the dynamic mode, it is much appreciated. And I'm glad to hear you did the same and it worked well!

Also out of interest, through my research online I read a number of times that console gaming in particular should be avoided for the first x-amount of hours (one site actually said the first 1000 hours!!). Is that because there tends to be more static data on the screen (scores, health bars etc) or do games consoles work the screen particular hard?

Thanks for the heads up on the hour tracker in the menu's, that will come in handy!

Thanks again!

Yes i'm afraid any console gaming should be kept to a bare minimum for at least the first 300 hours of the tvs life due to static images such as HUD info, maps etc which are a major cause of concern during the run in, i had to refrain myself but gave in just after i had clocked up 500 hours on my GT30. I set up my PS3 in the bedroom during that time and used my 32" Samsung LED but the lag got to me in the end and the smaller screen size of course!

I still kept gaming down to shorter bursts...1 hour being the longest i dared to use it for and during that time i kept the pixel orbiter function on to help with any potential image retention issues and it seemed to work out fine. Now i have over 1500 hours on the tv but i've had a few image retention issues of late with both gaming and tv although they have been easily removed with a mix of the scrolling bar function and tv without static logos.

For example last weekend i had some image retention from itv hd whilst watching the football, the score and time banner clearly visible for the next day or so and i have had a bit from PES 2012 from the formation and player set up screen. Both were black and white and this seems a major cause of any image retention on plasma tvs but are difficult to avoid.

I would advise at least 500 hours without any gaming atall on the tv, i know that's hard but it will be worth it in the end and will lengthen the life of the tv and keep any image retention down to a bare minimum. Of course there are those that say you shouldn't use a plasma tv for gaming atall but my argument is that why would there be a game mode on the tv and that there is far less lag with plasma tvs than lcd/led.

Hope that is of some help to you.

 

[Anonymous]

Right, cheers, I shall definitely take that on board. I might have to bury my controllers in the garden to avoid the temptation hehe but like you say, I'd rather be strict with what I view now to avoid any problems later on or long term.

I thought about that earlier, watching football with the scores and time permenantly on the screen. Bad timing seeing how well Spurs are playing at the moment

I got my shiny new ST30 home this afternoon and I have had a huge grin ever since

Yes that is a big help thank you. I wasn't fully aware of the risks of gaming in the early days of the screen but it makes total sense and I shall certainly take it on board.

Thanks again for all your advice mate.

 

[professorhat]

Just to add a bit of balance to this thread, I have had two plasmas and didn't run either of them in - I just used them normally (and that includes gaming on them right from the word go). With the older Panasonic (just over 5 years old), image retention can be an issue, but it is easily scrubbed by a minute or two of static (i.e. just putting the TV on an analogue channel which isn't tuned in) - certainly no instances of screen burn. I've never had any issues with my Pioneer (about 2.5 years old), either with retention or screen burn (including gaming). Some of my gaming sessions in the past have lasted many hours (including one late night session on the Panasonic where I fell asleep for 8 hours with the same static screen - eek!).

I'm not trying to dissaude you from being careful (after all, I wouldn't want to be held responsible for anything going wrong on account of my advice), but to a certain extent, I think you can be over careful with these devices which can detract from the enjoyment of them and a lot of advice around plasmas is based on early experiences with them which have mostly been negated now. My main recommendation would be to follow the advice given in the owner's manual - as long as you do this, you'll always be covered by the guarantee.

 

[Oldboy]

Prof,

You know i respect your views and what you say does make sense, all i would say is that my manual disagrees with not running in the tv. There is a section warning against static images "for a considerable ammount of time" whatever that is in plain english? And from past experience i can say that games do fall into that category with the various static images that are displayed, i was perhaps over cautious in my approach but only because i got burnt before with my G20 plasma with image retention and eventually screen burn caused by gaming.

The manual also clearly states that under the terms of the warranty any examples of image retention and/or screen burn are not covered by Panasonic so i would say it is far better to perhaps be over careful initially than to regret it later on if you were unlucky enough to experience extreme image retention/burn.

Even my extended guarantee with Richer Sounds does not cover image retention or screen burn so i am certainly cautious in my approach to using the tv, granted, i may be a little over cautious but i don't want a repeat of the last Panasonic G20 plasma i owned.

 

[professorhat]

Yup, I completely understand your viewpoint Oldboy, especially since you did actually suffer from a set which got screen burn (which is such a rarity these days, so very unlucky). As I said, I don't want to dissuade anyone from being careful and not taking care of their set, but I also don't want people to assume plasmas are a massive pain in the derrière to own and you have to tread on eggshells for several months before you can actually use it - they're really not and you really don't have to.

By all means do be careful e.g. run at a lower contrast for a while, avoid static images (and thus games) if you want to. But I also want to balance out the thread and give my experience i.e. that it's perfectly possible to use your set normally and play games on your plasma right from the off and not have any issues as a result. And I have several friends who've all done the same, so I'm not a special case (well, not in that way anyway ).

 

[Anonymous]

Just to add a bit of balance to this thread, I have had two plasmas and didn't run either of them in - I just used them normally (and that includes gaming on them right from the word go). With the older Panasonic (just over 5 years old), image retention can be an issue, but it is easily scrubbed by a minute or two of static (i.e. just putting the TV on an analogue channel which isn't tuned in) - certainly no instances of screen burn. I've never had any issues with my Pioneer (about 2.5 years old), either with retention or screen burn (including gaming). Some of my gaming sessions in the past have lasted many hours (including one late night session on the Panasonic where I fell asleep for 8 hours with the same static screen - eek!).

I'm not trying to dissaude you from being careful (after all, I wouldn't want to be held responsible for anything going wrong on account of my advice), but to a certain extent, I think you can be over careful with these devices which can detract from the enjoyment of them and a lot of advice around plasmas is based on early experiences with them which have mostly been negated now. My main recommendation would be to follow the advice given in the owner's manual - as long as you do this, you'll always be covered by the guarantee.

I never bothered running in or refrained from PS3 use.

luckily i have never had any probs with my LG, except one night falling asllep in front of it. Fortunately it wasnt the Playboy channel as my Mrs saw sceen retention for an hour the following day. normal use returned it to its former

 

[Oldboy]

Yup, I completely understand your viewpoint Oldboy, especially since you did actually suffer from a set which got screen burn (which is such a rarity these days, so very unlucky). As I said, I don't want to dissuade anyone from being careful and not taking care of their set, but I also don't want people to assume plasmas are a massive pain in the derrière to own and you have to tread on eggshells for several months before you can actually use it - they're really not and you really don't have to.

By all means do be careful e.g. run at a lower contrast for a while, avoid static images (and thus games) if you want to. But I also want to balance out the thread and give my experience i.e. that it's perfectly possible to use your set normally and play games on your plasma right from the off and not have any issues as a result. And I have several friends who've all done the same, so I'm not a special case (well, not in that way anyway ).

You are completely correct to point out that owning a plasma is not a chore or pain in the backside and i should have been clear about that myself from the start. Of course not every plasma will suffer with issues and it's heartening to hear that you and your friends have never had any such issues and brought balance to the force...or should that read 'thread' lol.

All your points, as usual, make complete sense i just thought it was worth pointing out the advice from Panasonic but of course it is only advice and you don't have to abide by their every word. The steps i took with my GT30 certainly paid off this time but it could just as easily turned out the same way without taking the steps i did with running it in and i must admit that it did feel like i wasn't getting the most from my new tv by having to not use my PS3 for the first 500 hours and by dulling the picture so i can completely understand your point of view.

Perhaps the ideal solution is somewhere inbetween our two solutions, ie just be slighly careful with static images from new but enjoy your tv from day one? I know i was perhaps over cautious but after the G20 i was determined to not be burnt twice, punn intended lol

 

[Anonymous]

Hello guys, i'm very sad and disapointed i just bough a gt30 before christmas and got a burn in after my first gaming session(ONLY 15 MINUTES IN THE MENU )there were no mention about being carrefully with anything about it in the manual .... i now did 200 hour of random videos to prevent future burn-in and im still getting retention really really fast with anything that static i think i've got another burn-in after only 5 minutes !!! Plz help me and tell me what to do i'm very dissapointed i feel like i have thrown 1300 $ by the window .... Im a hardcore gamer ive bough this to play video game !!! And now i'm not using it at all because i'm afraid i only watch movies !! Plz help :boohoo:

Anyone know how to see running time the tv have in the menu ?

 

[bigboss]

Hello guys, i'm very sad and disapointed i just bough a gt30 before christmas and got a burn in after my first gaming session(ONLY 15 MINUTES IN THE MENU )there were no mention about being carrefully with anything about it in the manual .... i now did 200 hour of random videos to prevent future burn-in and im still getting retention really really fast with anything that static i think i've got another burn-in after only 5 minutes !!! Plz help me and tell me what to do i'm very dissapointed i feel like i have thrown 1300 $ by the window .... Im a hardcore gamer ive bough this to play video game !!! And now i'm not using it at all because i'm afraid i only watch movies !! Plz help :boohoo:

Anyone know how to see running time the tv have in the menu ?

Is it image retention or screen burn?

 

[The_Lhc]

Hello guys, i'm very sad and disapointed i just bough a gt30 before christmas and got a burn in after my first gaming session(ONLY 15 MINUTES IN THE MENU )there were no mention about being carrefully with anything about it in the manual

I think you'll find there is.

.... i now did 200 hour of random videos to prevent future burn-in and im still getting retention really really fast with anything that static i think i've got another burn-in after only 5 minutes !!! Plz help me and tell me what to do i'm very dissapointed i feel like i have thrown 1300 $ by the window .... Im a hardcore gamer ive bough this to play video game !!! And now i'm not using it at all because i'm afraid i only watch movies !! Plz help :boohoo:

Have you got the contrast and brightness whacked up really high?

 

[Oldboy]

Miknad88,

First of all i'm really sad to hear you have had an IR/burn issue with your GT30.

As the trusted The_Lhc points out at the front of the manual is a warning about static images on the tv with it stating that all static images should be avoided for a considerable ammount of time but exactly what that equates to in plain english is anyones guess, but common consensous says that is about 500 hours of use but this figure varies wildly depending on where you look with some sites recommending 1000 hours!

You need to know that neither image retention and/or screen burn are not covered by your warranty BUT if you are getting serious image retention or burn within 15 minutes then i would say it could point to an issue with the tv UNLESS you have been using the dynamic mode? If you have then this would go some way to explaining it as it boosts the contrast and brightness to screen damaging levels, if you have used the other picture modes then i would not expect image retention or burn after such a small ammount of time.

All is not lost however. The tv has a function called scrolling bar which is found in the picture menu of the tv under advanced settings, it's the bottom option in that menu, click OK and the tv will now display a white vertical bar that pans from left to right on the tv. This is designed to remove image retention but may require you to leave it on for some time before you see any improvement, it won't be instant and may require a few hours before you see any lessening of the image.

Another option that is widely used is the 'snow' effect you get from anologue tv broadcast when there is no signal, just leave the tv showing that effect from a channel that is not tuned in and again leave it for a few hours and it should start to remove the image retention/burn. There are also a few discs out there that can do a similar job such as Pixel Protector, they have several patterns on them that can remove any image retention or burn.

The tv also has a pixel orbitor function found in the same menu as the scrolling bar function that shifts images minutely (and beyond the perception of the human eye) to help reduce the build up of an image and therefore lessen any chance of image retention or burn, turn this on as the auto setting does not have the function working all the time. This should help guard against any future image build up.

However, as bigboss has already asked you need to be sure that you do actually have screen burn before you worry too much because the difference between the two is quite marked, image retention will fade over time just with normal use such as watching tv, movies and using the scrolling bar fuction for short periods whereas burn just won't shift with normal viewing.

Give the tv a couple of days worth of normal tv viewing in full screen and see if it dulls, if it does then it's just image retention and will fade away completely given enough time but if it doesn't then you have been unlucky and have burn which then requires you take the steps i mentioned earlier in order to try to remove it but be warned you may never lose it completely in extreme cases.

All is not lost yet by any means and if it turns out that you do have burn after such short periods of use then i would go back to the retailer and state your concerns, it would at least warrant investigation if you got screen burn so quickly as it could well point to an issue with the tv. It may also be worth getting Panasonic involved at that point too as burn usually requires an image to build up over many hours of use and not within minutes!

Hope that helps, i know your pain as my 2010 G20 Panny plasma suffered from extreme burn.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks all for your reply ! I did run the tv in a proper brighness/contrast and i already tried everything you said to remove it but i cant get rid of 2 words in the screen. I did everything to remove the first word for 100 hours + now and it still there ( ironically the word is Deception :dance: ) And the other word is still there after 2 days but as you said if it is not going away i will contact panasonic and tell them i get burn-in after too short period of time ! I will also finish my 500 hours before asking panasonic any support to see if it is getting better.

I'm glad to hear warranty will maybe work if it burn-in too fast. But are you guys getting alot of retention that goes away after few minutes ? Cause everytime i put white static words or forms on the screen it stay there for 5 min + is it normal ? That the reason why i'm afraid to get burn-in again :boohoo: i'm feeling nervous everytime i see static image |(

Thanks again !

 

[Oldboy]

In that case i would say there may be something wrong with the tv.

As you didn't use dynamic mode and had the tv with proper brightness and contrast settings you should not be getting retention like you have seen, i certainly don't get retention with any static image. I have had 2 or 3 instances of retention with my tv one of which was a football score logo from itv that i noticed after the match finished and the other was from the formation setup screen on PES 2012, both of which were examples of a white outline on a black background which seem a common cause of retention.

It was easily removed for me with some scrolling bar and normal tv viewing and it took perhaps an hour or so for both images to disappear completely. To get that worried about any static image with your tv just doesn't sound right to me and warrants contacting your retailer and/or Panasonic now rather than leaving it any longer as i seriously doubt that any more run in time will help.

If it was myself in that situation i would already have contacted the retailer and possibly Panasonic but do remember it's the retailer that is your first port of call in the first year but it may well be worth calling Panasonic for their thoughts on the matter, i really hope you get some good news soon and perhaps a replacement as that is what i would be aiming for in this situation.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok thanks i'll contact them and see what they say about that !