Panasonic Plasma

I’ve got a 50” Panny plasma I bought in 2007 that absolutely won’t quit, and I work from home and have CNBC on all day and fall asleep in front of the TV at night so it’s pretty much always on and the thing won’t die.  In year 13 it did develop a very thin green line through the middle of the screen that’s not even really visible at all, but that’s my only complaint.  I will say though that as TV resolution has improved and prices have dropped, I’d be hard pressed to buy a used Panasonic versus one of Sony’s newer models.  I worked for Magnolia for a bit, and it’s clear to me they invest more in video processing technology than any other company, and that matters.  IMHO, just buy the best Sony TV you can afford and live happily ever after.  Or buy an LG OLED.   Unless you’re buying a used Panny for a couple hundred bucks, I think there are better options. 

back in 1993, a 42 inch plasma cost 10k! in 2007 my 50 inch panasonic cost 1.2k!! i've allways had direct tv but not the 'hd' box! the picture was ok untill i recently upgraded to the 'hd' box! man, what a difference! allmost like 'oled'!!!

OLED vs Plasma TV Comparison (Incl. Motion, Brightness, HDR vs SDR) - YouTube

The Panasonic plasma ZT65 is still the benchmark for high end TV's.

Unless you’re able to get them for a very good price I’d stay clear.

To answer your question my understanding is yes that is an effective way to check hours. Got that from avsforum in one of the plasma threads. I own 3 VT, 1 ZT, 1 ST, and 2 PZ800u sets.  
 

they all work great.  Make sure you have adequate power protection from surges as does not take much to fry the A board. 
 

I much prefer plasma for everyday watching the motion is just so much better to my eyes.  Have a Sony 385es for the movie room but used the VT for 8 years prior and was great .