Is limited life still an issue with newer plasma sets? (1 Viewer)

[Dick]

I hear lots (even from employees in the electronics depts of some chain stores) about plasma sets having a 3,000-4,000 life span. I'd like to think that, for $6-7,000. (for a 50" set), I could look forward to watching more than just 1,500 movies (less, if I use the set as a monitor for general satellite reception for regular broadcast shows). Are newer sets addrsssing this issue? Should I wait longer before investing?

 

[Iver]

I just read in one of the HT mags that an average plasma screen drops to half of its original brightness after about 20,000 hours. That figure is totally from memory. Maybe somebody else has the magazine on hand and can confirm it.

The article didn't mention the newer plasmas changing in this respect.

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

Current gen plasmas (ie. Panasonic 6UY) are rated for 60,000 hour half brightness.

At 10 hours of watching per day, 7 days a week, every single week of every single year, that's 16.5 years before 1/2 brightness. For reference, 1/2 brightness is still very bright compared to some other technologies.