i know some heat is normal but from about a foot away, you can feel the heat come off the screen. I just picked it up(42' samsung) so its under warranty, just wanted some feedback before i took it back.

 

It's completely normal with plasmas and LCDs. I can feel heat from my 50" Samsung from at least a foot away. I can feel heat from my 24" LCD from a good 6" inches.

You will probably hear some creaking and cracking too as the materials expand/contract when they heat up and cool down.. don't be alarmed

 

Plasma's will heat up more when you've got a bright scene on the screen. When you have an abundance of white pixels, the little plasma tubes or whatever they're called, are at their maximum power and draw the most current. This is when they shine brightest, and will also heat up most. The heat will be much lower if you're viewing something with a very dark pixture or pitch black, as at this point, the pixels are not being juiced up to produce light.

LCD's on the other hand are the other way around. There's a constant backlight (one of the reasons why a "black" on an LCD is never as dark as on a plasma), but the highest amount of electricity is consumed when the screen has to produce a dark image. This happens because electricity my align the liquid crystals in each pixel in such a manner as to block light. If you're viewing a pure white picture, the liquid crystals do not need to be aligned at all and thus less current is used up, and thus also less heat.

 

I make grilled cheese on the top of my plasma. It gets pretty toasty.

 

Anything with the word "plasma" in the name is bound to be hot! hahahah!

 

Now that's some good info!

I've notice my LCD does not get as hot as the plasma here at work when only displaying static Windows applications which are mostly white background. Now I understand why.

Your post should have a "The More You Know" Rainbow at the bottom.

 

Back years ago I used to sell TVs when plasmas were relatively new (and a 42" plasma would set you back a good $8k or so). Those suckers used to get so hot, you could see heat distortions over the top of them.

I'd be willing to be the modern models run a bit cooler, but still...

 

I can feel heat rising out of the vents on top and behind the screen and it feels pretty warm. I never notice heat from anywhere else. But it is high up on the wall and I generally use the remote from across the room.

 

I can feel some heat coming off the back of my 46" LCD, which is common as has been said. I think also that plasmas in general use more power than LCD's which usually means they'll be hotter.

 

The LCDs don't put out nearly as much heat. As a matter of fact my 52" doesn't put out nearly as much heat as my 13" traditional style TV.

That's one of the drawbacks to the Plasma. Now you have to pay to cool that your living room back down.