Some Questions about Plasma Screens

I have no burn in issues on my 50" plasma, however, I do not leave a fixed image on it for days at a time either.

As for the second problem, my plasma did suffer from a power problem. A short (5 second) power outage wiped out the power supply board. I had it plugged into a PS Audio High Current Ultimate Oulet, which did not trip. No other power strip in my house tripped either. The tv was covered under warranty, however, it did take 10 weeks to have it repaired. :(

Cheers,
John

With the plasma TV bought just a year ago, I've got burn-in from the black pillar bars on either side of the screen. Apparently, because so many of the shows I watch are 4:3 formatted, the black bars burned in and now show up as "shadows" when I'm watching something full screen with a white or light background.

Output, was any sort or stretch or fill mode available for 4:3 on your TV? This has me worried, too, as so much content is still 4:3.

Plasmas do have burn in issues but it would not be a problem unless you have a still image in place for a long period of time. Realistically, that's not likely to occur. However, the black bar issue would be something that would concern me. I will defer to the experience of others on this.

With respect to the brown out question, I do not think it is the brown out itself that is a problem. Rather, it is the fluctuating voltage, i.e. the drop in voltage that causes the brown out, and then the spiked increase in voltage when the brown out ends. These fluctuations in voltage can damage any electronic equipment, not just plasma TVs.

As for warranty coverage, read what the warranty says. I would not believe anything the kid in a big box store says about it, unless he's a law student moonlighting for extra money.