Need Help with Plasma Burn In vs. DLP Decisions

As requested above, I am looking at a screen size of 42" to 46". Based on the comments above, it looks like I am going to hold off my purchase until later this year (and maybe even next year). The plasma sets look great but I am concerned about the burn in issues and cost to buy. The TV technology is changing very quickly and my Sony XBR 32" looks okay to me. Thanks again for all your comments. cheers...

The Sony XBR (tube) TV's I have seen look great, so I understand your waiting. That said, next year there will be something to wait another year for, and so on...

While black levels are not up to plasma standards, backlit LCD displays in the 42" to 46" have come a long way. The other issue of motion artifacts due to the slow on-off response of the picture elements has also been improved. LCDs also have less of the "screen door" effect than plasmas. The screen door effect, necessity of viewing in a mode that fills the screen (creating geometric distortion),greens that are more flourescent yellow than green and high heat output, are, to me, the biggest problems with plasmas. But, overall, I prefer plasmas over backlit LCDs, rear projection LCDs and most rear projection DLPs.

My current favorite is a rear projection 3-chip LCoS set. I've just purchased, but not yet taken delivery of the Sony Qualia 006. Great set, but it is huge and heavy.

A few things here of interest;

1. LCDs have essentially small lightbulbs behind the screen. SO when one goes out it gives an uneven screeen appearance. Not truely a burn in, but looks like one depending on which lightbulb and where.
2. True flat LCD screens are very expensive at the 42 to 46 range.
3. Burnin on a plasma isnt a very probable occurrence. I'm the only one who is reporting seeing it on this thread and only on static 24/7 images.
4. SDE- screen door effect seems to be person dependent. Some people see it only up to 3 feet, but some see it at 6 feet. Most videophiles dont see any at 8 feet and none at 10 feet. No one in the Houston HT group could see it on my screen. View distance was about 7-9 feet for all.
5. The comment above about green push is a flat out falsehood for most displays. There was a previous Samsung model that had green push out of the factory, but thats it. Color decoders can theoreticlly be reset if not correct out of the factory although this is a service menu function. You are restting yellow blue and green and everything else is a mix of the above three. The real trick is maintaining true reds while getting brilliant yellows to be honest. High heat output; Energy use stats for each plasma model are catalogued on a thread at avsforum .com. The max watts numbers are declining each year and of course, only rarely is the max used. Most users are at half during DVD playback for instance. Plasmas do produce heat however no doubt.

And I'd love a Sony Qualia 006

Rysa4,

You made some very good points. Particularly with the big LCDs, uneven lighting is an issue, and this is the case even if a light has not burned out.

I can see the screen door effect on a 42" plasma set easy at ten feet, but, unless I am really looking for it, it is really not a problem.

I still do think that greens are not quite right on plasmas, even one that is ISF calibrated. I agree that with most sets, red push is a problem. I also think most sets don't actually give you red, but something more like red-orange.

Yes, there is a difference in the heat put out by plasmas. I noticed that some of the newer Pioneers seem to put out less heat than other sets. It is easily noticeable just by standing in front of the screen.