Hopefully, now we can get rid of the silly notion that people need to “break-in” their plasma for the first 100 hours or so.

I have seen the image retention problem on some LG TV’s (42pc5d and 50pc5d) I have seen this from a number of diffrent sources and the problem happpen with in a few minutes.

Unfortunately, plasma manufacturers have been denying image retention problems for years now.  I know I was accused of lying by supporters of plasma when I reported image retention on my new Panasonic plasma in mid-2006.  People would insist that IR is a myth, that the new models have fixed that problem.

Forgive me for doubting their claims now, especially when they acknowledge that, OK, yes, it does still happen (“all but vanished”), and you *don’t* have to abuse the display for it to happen.

I have a Panasonic TH42PZ700u and image retention still exists…  If a picture is left on for a period of time and the set is turned off, I can see the picture when I turn it back on (Ii.e. movie title menu).  I have not left anything on for longer than 10 minutes, but if it is on for more than 5, the image stays on the screen until a new image comes along to eliminate it.

I would avoid using a plasma as a primary computer monitor, or watch pillarboxed cartoons for hours on end, but I don’t think you need to avoid normal use because of IR.  Oh, and it is not ghosting, that is related to a slower refresh rate on a lower quality LCD.

When i was researching new TV’s I went to the manufacturers web sites and looked at owners manuals of the different types of flat panels.  They still have the warnings about burn in.  Even the newest Panasonic tells you not to have stationary images on the screen.  If you game they tell you not game for more that 2 hrs.  It’s not just Panasonic.  Pick a plasma maker and then go look at the owners manual.  They problem may be reduced but is still an issue.

You can misuse anything and have bad things happen.  Keeping plasmas at redline levels will tend to cause problems ;)  Out-of-the-box is always wrong on the settings front, and most sets should be professionally calibrated anyway.

Educate your family (and yourself) about what to do and not do, and you should have smooth sailing.

But, DSM, read the comments.  It’s not misuse.  It’s watching a sporting event for a couple hours, and then having the scoring graphics visible for the next couple of days or more.  And that’s with normal-to-dim brightness settings.

I’m not saying it still happens on all (or even most) displays, but it’s still a common occurence.  The manufacturers are doing themselves no favors by claiming with every new generation of models that they’ve finally fixed the IR problems.

Eric V. and Dashford, I also have a 42” Panny (under the HP label) and I watch a lot of soccer. If I watch two games that’s three hours of the soccer channel logo and sometimes more (and don’t forget there aren’t any commercials except for half time, but then I’m fast forwarding through that). I often get a ghosting (versus burn-in). Maybe it’s just me, but I’ll let an HD movie channel play for a couple hours. Sometimes I can still see it faintly when there’s a field of white on the screen.