Question from a scared buyer ...

[admin_exported]

Hi,

I'm planning on buying a Panasonic 42PX80E ("E" because I m from France). I'll use it mostly with DVD/BluRay and PS3 but my only concern is the burn-in problem ...

Every forum has a different point of view on breaking in or not breaking in for 100hrs to 500hrs. But I also read that G11 Panasonic Plasmas are broke in in factory and due to the 100Hz, burn in is no longer a problem. So if I get my 42PX80 out of the box, can I play Pro Evolution Soccer for 3hrs on my PS3 ?

What do experts and users advice on this oh so tricky question ?

Thanks for the answers and congratulations for your Website (my new reference on HiFi and Home Cinema !!!)

 

[SpiceWeasel]

The simple answer is there's nothing to worry about.

I was in exactly the same position before I bought my Pany 42PZ85. As I was upgrading from a 7 year old 32" Pany quintrix crt I was really worried about screen burn, especially being a gamer. But even when it was brand new I had a 3.5 hour session on GT5 and it was fine. No problems what so ever.

As for the whole breaking in period well I did take it easy ish for the 1st 100 hours. But that was more for peace of mind than anything. I just left the tv on for around 10 hours a day when not using it on a channel with no channel logo's or static backgrounds. Just to speed up the process.

With todays tv's you are very very unlikely to have any problems with image retention or screen burn. Especially as it's a top brand like Pany. The tv does have some gadgetry inbuilt to prevent this happening. It does this by moving the picture around by a very very small amount at set intervals. It's unnoticable to the naked eye.

The whole running in period was recomended on Plasma's a few years ago. Basically the phosphurs in the screen are at their hottest/brightest during the 1st 100 hours, and image retention and screen burn was most at risk during this period. With todays technology it's no longer a problem.

After about 50 hours my plasma ran a hell of a lot cooler than when it was brand new. You might need to tweak the settings again after 100 hours or so.

Just set it up with the THX optimiser and enjoy.

 

[Clare Newsome]

I'd second all of the above (and thanks for your kind comments on the site!)

 

[Anonymous]

So if I play Videogames 3-4hrs it won't be a pb ? (as far as I lower the settings tu 50% for the first 100hrs)

Thanks for your advice. It's nice to find a forum where your questions get answers .... (my compratiots are soooooooooooo in the "show off" with they're screenshots and all that they didn't even bother try to answer thi question...)

 

[SpiceWeasel]

The factory out of the box settings are miles off, well they where on my tv. So if you use the THX optimiser to set it up the brightness and contrast will be alot lower anyway.

If you are still worried then just do what I did and take it easy for the 1st 50-100 hours. Although you really have nothing to be worried about.

 

[Anonymous]

Ah, nice to have some reassurance on this. Got my Panny plasma coming on saturday and I'm a big Pro-Evo fan too..