Plasma Screens and Console Gaming
 

It seems that everyone and their mother has an opinion about which type of HDTV to get, but no one that I have spoken with about the subject matter plays as many video games as I do. I think I have decided to go Plasma, and was wondering what affect an Xbox or GC (the two consoles I own) or some future console would have on the screen. Do I worry about burn in?

Does anyone here play their games on a Plasma screen?

Burn in on newer plasmas has almost gotten to the point where it is a myth. Unless you leave it on a completely static screen for HOURS (like 5+), then you don't have much to worry about. Many people (especially over at the AVSForums) say that you should run a breakin period of around 100 hours of content that is always moving and takes up the entire screen. They also say to run with a very low contrast/brightness for those first hours, after which you can turn up higher. Supposedly once that is done, it is damn near impossible to get burn in.

I don't personally own a Plasma, yet. I use an HD CRT and plan on getting a Plasma as my next tv. They are definitely the best for gaming, making LCD's look like trash in comparison. I have used a 42" Samsung LCD tv with the Xbox 360, and it was flat out awful looking compared to any other HDTV type, especially my CRT. The ghosting was unbearable at times, and the black levels were poor.

Any CRT technology has the potential to burn in. Plasma is a CRT technology.

I have a pioneer 50" plasma and have no problems with burn-in. I followed the break-in period flashburn mentions for 100 hours. Varied the content (I kept it on HD Discovery a lot(no channel bug)). If I play a game and there's a static health bar or something, Also, the Pioneer will auto-shut off in 3 hours if no controls are pressed. That's good in case I forget or something.

I think the break-in period is important.. I tried not to play games with static items on the screen until the 100 hours was done.

I have a 42" Panasonic HD plasma. I've been gaming on it for about a year and half now. No signs of burn-in at all.

I thought about getting a plasma but decided against it. Burn in would always be nagging at the back of my mind no matter how small. Im glad I decided against it because of all th e 4:3 shows I watch on my TV. The 'black bars' that are now on the right and left of my old prerecorded TV shows that I watch also cause burn in. I dont know about you but its not unusual for my TV to be on for more than 5 hours at a time. Especially on a gaming marathon with bright red or green health bars in the same place. Sure cant be GOOD for the TV right? The brighter and longer plasma burns the dimmer it gets in that spot. Thats a fact of life.

Worrying about burn-in is akin to "tin-foil hat" syndrome nowadays.
Sure, it's possible, but as stated above you've got to work hard for it.

Many of the current 16:9 sets have stretch modes that are really good and don't make everyone look short.

IMHO that is a silly reason not to get a Plasma.

I have owned previously 3 RPTV's (one of which is HD), and never had a single problem with burn in, especially from black bars. Two of which were 4:3 tv's that we watched plenty of widescreen movies on. The new one is a 16:9 tv and we watch plenty of 4:3 programming on with no problems. Not to mention that over the years I played all sorts of different consoles on each tv.

The fact that you might be gaming for 5+ hours is meaningless, it would only matter if the same exact image was there for 5+ hours, and even then it might only cause image retention and not burn in.

As to the life bars being in the same place. Guess what, they aren't completely static. Any game I can think of that has static bars, they go away for sometime, either from dieing, loading, saving, going into the menu, etc, etc.

Like Pixy said, go grab your tin-foil hats. :)

On a side note -- Nintendo got rid of their HD out on the gamecubes. Older models have them, newer ones don't. And then you have to find the HD cable for the CG. It's worth the effort, though...

I'm gaming on my xbox 360 on a 50" panny 50px500u and I have no signs of burn-in. I followed the 100 hr suggested burn-in settings, and then followed that up by another 1000 hour "lower then norm" setting and it's been going strong. I wanted to be extra safe with my set, but I have no issues with any burn-ins or anything.

Extremely happy with my plasma, and the way it works and looks with the xbox 360.

%Z

How's gaming on DLP? Both in terms of quality and any burn in risk (though I think DLP has the least of all projection formats).

If I had a plasma, it would take constant effort to not worry aobut burn in. Hopefully rational people can see that its not so off the wall as 'tinfoil hat' paranoia (theres lots of documented examples). If you have to hammer something over and over to yourself to not worry about your screen its not worth having IMHO. I dont know about you, but I couldnt just blow it off if for instance my girlfriend left a game on pause while she blabbed on the phone for a few hours when im not there. 'BAH A FEW HOURS IS NOTHING' but ask any manufacturer-- ITS NOT RECOMMENDED.

Why allow yourself such a vounerability? I just decided not to ever ever ever have to worry about it hurting my TV. The less babying my TV requires the better IMHO.

Im sure nobody ever has had any problems with plasma but If I had one I would tell people its a non-issue so that I could sleep easy. I hate buyers remorse.

i wanted to get the Dell 37 inch LCD...... does anyone think its a good tv for XBOX 360

As far as i know DLP has by nature no chance of burn in.

DLP is horrible for gaming because of lag times. Some models are better than others, but it will always be a problem.

I thought the '3rd generation' DLP chips were better with timing?

Maybe we just aren't that picky, but I think that 100" HD gaming on our 4805 is amazing... My stepson has put a lot of hours on Battlefront on it since Christmas.

I had finally picked up the HD pack for the Xbox since it no longer is a $45 item (bought the "regular" AV pack a year ago for $19-$5 GGC, and bought the HD pack this year for the same).

I have never noticed any delay on my Samsung HLN467 DLP on any of the gaming systems: PS2, Xbox, and Cube.

Have you considered therapy? :) :) :) :)

I'm not saying that everyone will experience lag on every game, but I'm also not going to want experience stuff like this:

My next purchase will be a 1080p LCoS. I'm happy with my 720p LCD for now.

Kind of mixed then. Kind of moot as gaming won't be much of a factor when I get around to buying a big HD set as I'll probably just keep my 27" Wega for gaming. Especially since I only plan on buying an Revolution (if any console) next gen and it looks like it won't support HD anyway.

I just want to get what looks best in my budget at the time for DVDs mainly and TV secondly. If games look good on it, great. If not, no big deal given how little I play these days (and most of that on the DS anyway).

From a few comparisons, DLP has impressed me the most thus far. But needs to get a little cheaper (or me a little richer). :D

No kidding! :p

thanks for the opinions guys, its so funny because it seems that everyone has their own opinion about this stuff :)

it sounds like there is no reason not take the plunge with a newer plasma!

I keep reading this same conversation on various forums...

(Seeker of a new display): "I'm thinking of getting a plasma, any burn-in concerns for a gamer?"

(Several people): "No problems here, I use my plasma for gaming a LOT. No burn-in signs at all".

(Someone who doesn't have a plasma): "You guys are just in denial. It's obviously burning the image in because that's what I *heard* it does. You just don't want to admit that you made a bad choice."

Um, OK. Yes, that's what it is. My plasma is screwed with burn-in images and I'm really miserable. But hey, I got screwed so I'm going to try to screw other people too. It's like Amway.

Could you provide some links to the threads there? I would like to find out more about breaking in a new plasma :)

what kills me is how people fix the burn in problems--they put the screen on something bright so that the pixels surrounding the burn in match the burned in piece. thats like making a white shirt match a dingy brown stain that you cant bleach out.

Basically with a plasma you're investing in a decaying technology (phospor based). If you dont get a part of a video game burned in the screen, you'll get the screen as a whole dimming at the same time. Id hate to watch my TV knowing the screen was being used up as it glowed. Its not like a bulb that can be replaced (free if on warranty).

forgot the link

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=608677

You forgot to mention that this 'dimming' only occurs after MANY years of use (10-20 years). It can be said of most displays that after that amount of time, they won't look as good as they did new.

Oh and as far as bulbs that can be replaced for free under warranty. I am guessing you are talking about DLP's, if so, no company covers replacement bulbs under warranty.

He might be talking about the extended warranties you buy from the store of purchase. Those usually cover bulb replacement. Though I personally usually don't buy them for any thing I purchase.

I actually had a tech come over about a month ago and install a $210 bulb for free under warranty. Best Buys extended coverage includes bulbs. My bulb wasnt out but it was dim and I didnt want to worry about it going out at a critical time. I was surprised honestly.

If the TV manufacturer is telling you 10-20 years I wouldnt worry about it then. We'll all be using something else by that time anyway.

Then that was the mix up. I think flashburn was saying the manufacturer's warranties don't cover that.

BTW, what did you pay for the extended warranty? I've seen some that were as much as the cost of a bulb, and thus only end up being worthwhile if your bulb goes more than once in the 2-3 year period or you have something else go wrong with the set.

My EW was almost $400 for 5 years. I was worried about fitting at least 3 bulb replacements in that time but im encouraged by them replacing my bulb that was a bit dimmer than new, no questions asked. They came out 2 days after I reported it too.

Yep, I was talking about the manufacturer's warranty.

Plasma is a CRT technology. All TVs that use CRT technology have the potential to burn in. Its not a matter of opinion, its a matter of science.

Yeah, but that doesn't change the fact that I've seen NO signs of burn-in. I just don't get why some people don't believe the people who actually OWN a plasma display, insisting that the burn-in is there, we're just in denial.

Exactly. No one is saying burn in CAN'T happen on Plasmas. Just that it's damn rare if you use your TV properly (break in period, properly calibrated, etc.).

Ive heard people describe the amazing difference of how much their plasma display degraded over a year.

They would of never known (because honestly a 10% degredation over a span of a year is hardly noticable) if it werent for a side by side comparison. This was reported by people in the avsforum who had the means/ability to compare a new with a year-old display. This was a few years ago so maybe the displays are better but I dont even want to think that my TV is subtley dying on me.

A few years ago Plasma's were much easier to succumb to burn in. Since then they have become much more resistant. I don't know if the speed the image degrades has gotten better, but I can only assume that it has.

So is it still uncertain or is Plasma now a definite yay or nay for gaming?