Panasonic 42X20 - Breakin

[tkmathur]

Happy new year to everyone!

First of all, thanks to the users on this forum (esp neonwheels) - I recently purchased a Panasonic 42X20 plasma (38K, Panasonic Shop, Koramangala Bangalore).
I read during the reviews about something related to break-in. When I enquired with the dealer and the guy who came for installation they dint say anything about it. I would like to know if there is any specific care about running the TV for the first, say, 100 hours or so, that I need to be aware of.

Thanks,
Tarun

 

[RetinalNV]

There is a great deal of ambiguity about this, lets just say it is similar to the running in of a motor vehicle, some follow manufacturer spec of 1000 KM. Some hit the throttle from the moment they take delivery.
As technologies have progressed, there is a general belief that a lot of old issues are now corrected in factory.
It is your personal decision whether to protect your investment or not against the issues of "Image retention" and "Burn In". Google these terms and a number of AV forums will give you answers.

WRT break in, I ran these slidesa few hours each day. (Copied to SD card, Slideshow on slow setting. Normal picture mode with lowered contrast)

Here's a thread from the creator of the slides : http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1107017

During regular TV viewing, use the ASPECT button on your remote to zoom in and remove the TV Channel Logo.
For any viewing with horizontal/vertical black 'bars' such as 16:9 DVD's also zoom in.
Pausing, freezing or displaying any static image for say 20-30 mins should be avoided.

How you chose to do the 100-200hours of breakin is upto you. A slow and steady few sessions every day is safe. Some forums have 'experts' claim you can go for a 150 hour nonstop session. Personally Im not comfortable doing that.
Also the 90 minute timer on your TV can be used to end a slideshow if you arent available.

Hope this helps, enjoy the TV without worrying too much

 

[novice-akki]

A very Happy New Year to you as well !

This issue has been discussed at length in this forum and on the net numerous times. The sales guys and techies sent by the companies dont know much about what they are talking. Image retention and burn-in with PLASMA's still exist, with technology evolving it's not that big an issue these days especially with the newer 2010 models.

Here are a few simple things you can do for the initial hours :

01. Run the TV in cinema mode with all settings (Brightness, Contrast, Color, Sharpness) on or below 50% mark e.g 5/10 or 25/50 or 50/100.

02. Turn off all enhancement features such X.V color etc etc.

03. Dont let a static image (DVD/STB menu) , still images/photos...remain on the display for a long time use a screen saver and set it to trigger after say 05 mins when idle. You can also try pixel shifter if you have it as an option.

04. Avoid watching one channel for a long time as the channel logo or black bars (top/bottom) might leave an impression however "temporary" though.Instead use "Zoom function" 1x/2x/3x which takes the borders and logo off the screen.

05. Avoid playing games like PS2/PS3 etc for the first 100-150.

I may have missed a few things here so please do your own little search before posting any queries in the same regard.

Hope this helps, enjoy the new TV.

Cheers
Abhishek

06. You may use break-in slides (downloadable) if you want to speed-up the break-in process.

 

[tkmathur]

Thanks guys! The only question I have is - I thought it was Ok to have the black bands to appear at the top-bottom of the screen. I thought black was a safe color to be showing-up for a long time since that is when the pixels (?) are not illuminated with any color.

@RetinalNV - Thanks for the pointer! I am going to put the images on a SD card and run them for a few hours each day (for, say, a month).

 

[RetinalNV]

Hey chief!

Seems like your grasped the concept quiet well.

Those seemingly harmless black bands are actually a real nuisance and need to be avoided at any cost for your initial viewing period. In simple terms, the phosphors in the static area's are not being exercised. The remain dormant while for a good 2-3 hours the rest of the screen is cycling. Gray would be safer than black, I think some set top boxes allow you to switch from black to gray for the cable channels i the setting menu.

Ideally your going to have to goto ASPECT RATIO --> And Zoom 1/2/3 until any logo/static image has gone.

Again this is upto you, I have friends who never bothered with any of this.

Running the slides for 6-7 hours a day should be fine and like I said before...enjoy yourself without oo much worry

 

[soundnovice]

hi,
i am also planning for purchasing 42x20. pls share ur viewing experience so far. infact a detailed review will be appreciated.

thanks
shivap