Moore's law strikes again!

No one seems to want 1080i anymore. People can get some amazing deals on models or technology that is only a few years old.

I still don't think a plasma is a good investment, especially a cheap one. any phosphor based display has the inherent problem with color fading over time.

a tube TV fades over time but not as fast. a plasma burns up phosphor much faster due to the way it illuminates the cells. it's easy to see, a CRT can last 20 years before it's faded, a cheap plasma looks like crap after 5 (or less). spend $5-6k on a plasma (like Pioneer Premier) and you'll get more longevity.

pay less, get less.

ive never seen a tube look good after 5 years and a five year old plasma is not representative of current models
in terms of longevity plasmas have the best ratings by far

you have no idea what you're talking about. nothing in that is even remotely accurate or correct. stop getting your information from best buy salesmen. just stop.

all big box stores are filled with kids spouting off lies. i'm all about independents bish. you need to stop shopping at Walmart.

there are no numbers to back your statement up. Plasma has and always will have the fastest deterioration of color compared with every other display technology on the market. it is inherent in it's technology and how it displays an image. a CRT is several times more reliable with over 50 years to back it up. excitation of plasma gas results in a faster burn off of phosphor compared to an electron striking the cell. period. how fast the display loses color is directly related to the amount of time it is on, and what it is displaying - i.e. white vs black.

an LCD flat panel, LCD rear projection, DLP rear projection, LCOS rear projection, etc. all have ZERO degradation in color over time - simply because they do not use phosphor in their display. nothing associated with the image degrades over time. The only thing you have to do is replace a lamp - then BAM, same as new display.

any phosphor-based display burns off phosphor each time the cell is illuminated. that's how it works. j00 need to learn a bit more on how televisions actually produce an image before you get all know-it-all.

ive never seen a tube look good after 5 years and a five year old plasma is not representative of current models
in terms of longevity plasmas have the best ratings by far

pay less, get less.

that comment is what triggered the phosphor argument. you say a plasma doesn't lose color as fast as a CRT - which is totally absurd.

the reliability of a tv, regardless of it's technology, is directly related to the manufacturer and it's price.

all cheap TV's break, fail, and look like ass sooner than expensive TV's.

all of my points hold true to this day, and will continue to hold true since they are directly related to the technology and not the market. a plasma works the exact same today as it did 6 years ago. the only thing that has changed is that there are more cheaper models on the market and the process has been tweaked. prices dropped beacuse production has increased in Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, etc. and higher production causes higher failure rates. the more you make the more will fail. it's not that difficult to understand. plasmas have inherent reliability issues due to the process in which they generate and image. they use more power and create more heat than an LCD. Their image quality reduces over time, unlike LCD. They use glass which creates glare, unlike LCD. the list goes on.
plasma is a dying technology, it never had a chance nor was meant to be the last technology we ever use. it's a poor investment and throw-away technology.

lol. i do recognize that a plasma can look really good, better than LCD if the environment and source is right. the Pioneer Premier line are outstanding televisions.

evolution of plasma has been small steps that build on the same basic principle - a plasma gas is excited inside a glass cell (pixel) with a phosphor coating to produce color.

an IC can easily last for 40 years or more - a typical plasma operating 5-6 hours a day will suffer noticeable color fading in 5 years. a cheap tv uses cheap parts, which will fail sooner than others.

i believe a tv should last for 10-15 years, at least. being on the service/sales side i've dealt with models that could be repaired and models that could not - we only sold models that could/should be repaired. i will not buy a television that cannot be repaired or serviced locally. my two Panasonic flat tube models CT-27SX12 and CT-32SX-12 are 6 years old (the 32" was repaired by my shop tech from a lightening strike!) and they both look and work great. they have a lot of life left in them.

regardless, it is impossible to speculate longevity and reliability - that has to be proven over time. if the $1000 plasmas being sold today work and look perfect in 10 years then i'll concede.