Re: PLASMA TVs: Any experience with big ones? (55-
My 2 cents..
My Plasma is a 6th generation Panasonic EDTV(852x480) unit and even regular 4x3 DirecTV programming looks great. DVDs and HBO look even better. Plasma displays appeal to me because of their astethics, wall mounting option and I really like how rich the colors look.
Plasmas do suffer from burn in if you have the same image displayed for many many hours. You can limit the risk of burn in by turning by making sure your new plasma or any new tv for that matter has it's brightness and contrast turned down from the "Torch" mode they are set to at the factory so they stand out on the store floor.
Contrary to an urban legend pasmas do not leak gas and do not (and can not) be refilled. Newer plasmas are rated to run for several thousand hours before they loose half of their brightness.
A front projector with a quality screen is a good home theater solution if you can control the outside light sources in your room.
LCD, DLP and LCOS rear projection tvs are only in their second or third generation and the technology behind them is not as mature as plasma. They do offer a compleling alternative to plasmas, especially because the price difference is significant as you go to 60 inces and above.
It is my understanding that all LCD and DLP rear projection units as well as front projectors require their bulb to be replaced at approximately 2 year intervals at a cost of $150 to $400.
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www.avsforum.com