Check out avsforum.com.

There is more informed, objective information there. Here is all "This is what I have, yours is shit!" type info, entertaining, but not so helpful.

 

Negative ghost rider. Panasonic even recommends it......250 hours.

Certain things you do, and play that break in the phosphor. I actually have the break in DVD that I can send to you guys. You need a DVD burner though. The zipped file is only 3 megabytes, unzipped its 400.

If anyone would like a walkthrough on how to properly break in your plasma, let me know and Ill post it up.

 

avsforum is an excellent source of info on the subject of all things home theatre, I highly recommend it. It's where I did/do my research and they have excellent sponsors.

 

Sorry I didn't do a search before I posted this request for info., but thanks to all that responded. I notice that all the units I see on the CC or Best Buy website mention the needed addition for a set top box that a cable conection is plugged into. Why not directly into the TV itself? Also I do not yet have the premium cable package which features 8 or 10 channels with HD programming. Will I still get a true HD signal on those programs (some ballgames and some PBS programs) that are broadcast in HD?I guess the million dollar question is: Is the picture quality worth the added money that these units cost?
What about the sound quality of these TVs? Are there certain brands that are better than others? I have seen that the Panasonic model TC32LX60 32" LCD HDTV is being sold by CC and Best Buy "on sale" right now for $999.99. Do any of you have any experience with this particular set or with Panasonic in general? If so what is your opinion now that you have had it awhile? Again thanks.

 

Please do!

 

cool

 

You can buy a 42" Panasonic Plasma for $1025 at visualapex.com. $999 for a 32" LCD is not a great deal.

You need an HD decoder. HD is digital, even broadcast over the air which means it needs to be decoded. All of your basic cable channels up to 70 something are still analog and you aren't going to see HD programming on them. Your HD channels will be above channel 100 somewhere. A year ago there wasn't much HD programming worth watching. Most of the HD channels just had regular SD programming except for a few shows. Today I watch more than 50% of my TV shows in HD and by next year that will probably be much higher.

HD picture quality is sensational and for sports you see more detail, less fuzz and a wider field of view giving you a better sense of what's going on. In football for example you'll see an extra 15 yards on each side of the play and still be able to read the names on the jerseys.

I don't know if you need the "extra" channels or not, that depends on what you watch. I watch everything I can in HD and I'll even watch shows I wouldn't normally watch just because they are HD. HD adds quite a bit to the show.

 

Chipster, you don't have to have a set top box to get HD programming. It really depends on your cable provider. I have Comcast cable and I only have "basic" service. But this basic service includes the HD programming for all the networks plus PBS HD. I don't know if all cable providers include HD channels in their "basic" package". I don't have a set top box, I just plug my cable outlet right into my 42 inch Panasonic plasma which has a built in QAM tuner, this allows the plasma to pickup all cable's unscrambled HD stations. HD channels look great. If you upgrade to HD programming you generally get all the networks plus ESPN, Discovery and a few other channels - all in HD, probably worth it if you watch a lot of sports. Set top box, I believe, is only necessary if you want on demand, pay per view and other premium channels.

 

To break in your plasma.........

When you first set it up......

1)Turn the contrast all the way down (on Panasonic models, put the mode to cinema...NOT vivid) Yes, the tv will be dark, and almost invisible in bright light....but hey, you want it to last or not? Turn the lights off and it will still look great.

2)I know you will be tempted, but DO NOT WATCH ANYTHING STATIC ON TV. What is a static picture you ask? A static picture is something where a good portion of the screen is dominated with one color.... ie....if you watch a football game, the tv will always show a lot of green, due to the camera shooting the field. Basketball has the court, NASCAR has the grey track...etc, you get the idea. Actually, sports are the most dangerous for burn in, due to the 100% static logos, scores, ads, sponsors, etc. So, ABSOLUTELY NO SPORTING EVENTS FOR 250 hours.....GOT IT?

3)Turn the brightness ALL WAY DOWN.

4)http://www.eaprogramming.com/ Go here....click on downloads section.....
If you have a DVD burner, download the DVD version, if not, you can download a VCD file, but youll need a DVD player that can read VCD's. It is a 24 hour dvd with all color gradients. The zip file is only 3 megabytes or so, but unzipped, its over 500mb. So dont be alarmed that you made a mistake. Leave this running when you are sleeping, at work, whatever. Plasmas do not eat that much electricity when they are not on VIVID mode....its the lamp that is eating up all the juice.

5)After your 250 hour break in, watch tv 2 hours a day (if you cant, leave the break in dvd running) and turn the contrast/brightness up everyday, for one week, where at the end of the 7 days, you have the contrast/brightness where you like it.

Viola! If you do this, your plasma will have no problem seeing over 100,000 hours, and provide trouble free service.

 

NFRs...that was excellent information. I'm not busting on you, but DAMN, all I want to do when I buy a +$1500 tv is turn it on and enjoy it!

With this burn in scheme, you're looking at atleast 12 days of post-purchase setting up.