The life span of the Plasma display is about 20,000 to 30,000 hours
depending on a number of factors. If the set is used for an average of 8
hours a day, it will last about 7 to 8 years on the average. There will be
many days where it may not be used at all, and other days where it may be
used more than 8 hours. The lifespan of any TV made today is about the
same.
In the LCD display TV sets, the backlight life is about 20,000 hours
average. Some manufactures are saying that it will last about 30,000 or
40,000 hours, but this is with the brightness control at 50% setting. It
may not be fun to watch when turned down this low.
The MTBF rating of the screen is with the brightness at maximum. After the
rated hours, the brightness of the screen should be 50% of the amount from
when the screen was new.
The technology to produce Plasma screens is fairly expensive. These screens
do have a lower reliability factor of not only the screen but the circuitry
behind it, because of inherent engineering problems. The LCD screens also
have their problems as well, but are lower in cost to service. It is
recommended to have a very good service contract on any of these types of TV
sets. If there is a breakdown after warranty, they are very expensive to
service.
One of the big problems with Plasma displays, if used with computers, or
fixed graphics, is that they will burn in very easily. LCD screens do not
burn in, but are not as sharp as CRT or Plasma displays. A plasma screen
will normally have burn in, in about 4 hours or so with a fixed image on the
screen for a period of about 3 to 4 hours. This is at 50% brightness. If
there are any fixed graphics on the screen, they will eventually burn in.
The burn-in problem is inherent to the design characteristics of the screen.
In about a year or so, most of the main manufactures will no longer be
producing CRT type TV sets, and computer monitors. There will only be a few
types of high end CRT monitors available for high end graphics and CAD work.
All the technology will be mainly LCD and DLP type technology. The pricing
of the TV sets using this type of technology will drop to affordable levels.
In all practicality for home use, I would not recommend to purchase a Plasma
or LCD screen for home use at this time. I would go with a good high end CRT
type screen at a fraction of the price. For about $3500 US it is possible
to have a very good high end HDTV CRT set, that would be much cheaper to
service, and will last about 30,000 to 40,000 hours average. You can get
about 8 to10 years of good use out of a good CRT set. For the price of an
average Plasma or LCD screen, you can buy about 5 good TV sets that are much
more reliable and cheaper to maintain!
If you look at the value in relation to the cost, at this time the CRT
screen is the best option. I must admit though, the pictures on the Plasma
screen are very impressive. But, after about 5 years, they will not be so.
I work for some companies that use Plasma displays for special displays and
production use. They all have been serviced numerous times. Only the
manufactures or manufacture service reps are able to service them. The out
of warranty repairs were very expensive. The average repair bill was about
$1500 for small problems that we were not able to do in-house. We have one
with a burn-in of a graphic that was accidentally left up on it. The
replacement estimate of the tube is about $5800 including the labour on this
model. We may use this screen for applications that are not critical to the
burn-in. The screen is 2 years old, and it may not pay to service.
If you are buying any screen that is a demo model, it is important to put up
the proper tests on it, to see if there are any burn-ins, and or any damaged
pixels beyond the accepted amount. When buying any of these types of
technology screens, it is important to know the "bad pixel" policy for the
warranty. This is very important for computer monitors as well. Many
manufactures consider 3 to 5 bad pixels per quadrant to be acceptable. Some
manufactures specify up to 8 bad pixels per quadrant. Some people like
myself, find a burned pixel to be very annoying, especially if it is a lit
one.
--
Greetings,
Jerry Greenberg GLG Technologies GLG
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My cousin, who has more money than brains, was recently going to purchase a
60 inch plasma TV for $18K. I told him the bad in 5 years the picture
tube will be only half as bright, and that plasma tv' s only have a useful
life of 10 years before the tube needs to be replaced. He bought a LCD TV
instead. I wonder just how many people out there who are buying this latest
status symbol are aware that their new toy will be a throw away item in 5-10
years? Hmmm...I doubt the sales droids are saying anything except how these
things are designed for after market, high priced 'insurance' deals.