Plasma 42 inch ....

My father is looking to pick up a new TV, an a thinner @ 42" is probably a good bet for him. He is very concerned about off-axis viewing, and plasma seems like a good bet, here. But are there any valid concerns regarding burn-in or longevity?

Thanks, Tom.

Wanted to finnish up with the comment about the Panasonic Onyx series brought up by another poster. The Onyx was a failed attempt by panasonic to introduce a more expensive line largely based on cosmetics. They use 7th generation technology only and arent made anymore. They are on clearance everywhere at steep discounts. The new Pioneers and Hitachis are better displays at a lesser price, as is the newer 8th generation Panasonic Plasmas.

There are certain websites that give bad info on plasmas; not sure where the side by side Onyx is better comment came from-- but its a technical impossibility unless the comparative neer panasonic is poorly calibrated.

Rysa4, what are the "couple of problems with the Panny 42 HD" you mention?

We looked at Panny ED and HD in Magnolia the other day and felt that the PQ with HD content is considerably better on the HD model, while SD looked only a tiny bit better on the ED. Of course, who know how they have these things set up. Anyway, I think we've decided to go HD. I am now struggling with the consumer vs. commercial decision.

Panasonic is still the best choice as far as I know.

I have a Panny 42" Pro Model which saves you from all the add-ons that you really do not need.I have a stereo system and I do not need theirs.

good luck!

Thankyou for your question. here are my answers. First I am in full agreement that a true HD signal will look better on the HD Panny than the ED panny in general. A bowl of fruit for instance will show more detail of an apple in the background. I have made those comparisons myself dozens of times.

The consumer Panasonic 42 HD has the following issues. 1. For certain- you cannot perform greyscale calibration at all. I mean the function is not present even if you hire an ISF technician to do it. It cannot be done. What this means, and I do not mean to intimate that others dont know what this is--- but if the whitelight is off from the standard d6500 ( considered "perfect white light") you cannot adjust it. Well if the while light level is off, all colors will be off too. Not good.

2. The 7th generation panasonics had a "black levels changing" problem. This is key. What this means is-- you calibrate your brightness contrast etc-- you are watching a DVD or whatever- and then there is a sudden adjustment during a bright scene that changes the brightness ( by decreasing it) of the entire screen. This is some sort of auto adjust circuitry built in and is a nightmare. The interesting thing is that this is only apparent on Panny 42 HD sets; not the ED or 50 inch. My guess is that the smaller pixels cause greater amounts of light to be generated for the same lumens level resulting in this function to kick in much sooner ( ie at lower signals of brightness) than on an ED set, which has larger pixels ( and less of them of course). ANyway its bad and I dont think its corrected for the 8th generation plasmas.

The only positive here is that on the commercial Panasonic 42 HD you CAN calibrate the greyscale. The black levels changing issue is out there. The 50 inch HD from Panasonic does not seem to have either of these issues.