Plasma'* leak their gas. The effective brightness will be halved in about 7 years with viewing 8hrs/day; basically you'll need to buy a new one.

Someone mentioned in another thread that their stores was noticably dimmer after just 2 yrs, this is why.

I'm not that familiar with the lcd'*, I know some manufactures claim up to double the lifespan of plasma and that SHARP is the only brand that I know of where you can change out the florescent lamps. And thats alot cheaper than a new tv.

Few things i noticed about the write-up.

LCD'* do not need bulb replacement, and the viewing angle are great. Also I consider Samsung as one of the leaders.

There is also a LCD projection which do require bulb replacement.

LCD and Plasmas can be mounted on a wall.

DLP and LCD projections cannot.

Plasmas do not leak gas.

Plasmas cost more to run, have a glass front that means lots of glare, burn-in, more expensive to fix, shorter lifespan.

LCD'* usually are more expensive that plasma.

1080p is a HUGE difference compared to 720p/1080i if hooked to a 1080p source.

Thats my input and I sell TV'* @ Circuit City.

I've replaced way too many in laptop screens to even think about believing this. Technically they are florescent lamps, not bulbs, so in that aspect you are correct. All LCD'* screens require backlighting.

I've been doing some reading and stand corrected; I find it funny though that a Circuit City person was the one who told me back not long after they first came out.

More on Plasma : At high altitudes some tend to make noticable noice from the 'pixels getting switched on & off. The higher pressure at lower altitudes helps keep the screen glass from vibrating.

Keep in mind that true HDTV resolution can’t be found in plasma TVs smaller than 50 inches. Plasma'* just don't have the pixel count,1920x1080 interlaced (1080i), and 1280x720 progressive (720p), to display true HD content and this is why many widescreen ED sets look better when watching DVD'*: their native resolution is almost an exact fit.

Regular lamp replacement is not correct. It sounds like there is a problem with you monitor. Yes they need backlighting but Ive never had any issues with mine and its going on 4 years, and never heard anything about this until now. I think he got regular lamp replacement mixed up with a rear projection LCD.

If plasmas "leak gas" do you think they would sell them?
The CC employee doesnt know what he is talking about, its a rumor.

HD can come in all sizes, im not sure where you heard that a tv has to be 50+.

Did you find anything yet jwakamud?

T'is true. I checked several plasma displays specs, none of the ones I looked at including the 63" has a native pixel array that could do 1920x1080. This means that even if they can decode the 1080i signal they would have to reformat it down to fit their screen. The smallest I looked at were 43" and they could the 720p as could the larger sized plasma'*.

On LCD'* it a different story and most of them, including the smaller ones, can do the 1080i resolution.

were still very much in the wool-gathering phase.

this thread is being tremendously helpful - huge thanks to everyone whos said anything so far. this is very good information.

I'm learning alot too! Its a win-win all around!

on dark scenes plasma will look better...everything else is LCD

LCD is coming along way with the Blacks... contrrast ratios are much improved and continue to improve

making a long story short... just about anything HD will make you happy. its all about what you want to spend. we have a 48" LCD and a 56" projection tv and the picture is quite similar (in HD)