Does a Plasma TV burn out after a couple of years?

I feel it's time to put this Video Urban Legend to rest! You could expect to be watching your Plasma TV set for a decade or longer. Let me point out that I am really referencing the length of time its picture will maintain its color integrity or intensity. The lifespan of plasma TVs is measured relative to the half life of its phosphor gases. Half life is the point at which plasma manufacturers posit that the picture brilliance has diminished enough to make a very noticeable difference in picture quality and possibly merit replacement. Half life, then, is the true halfway point in the lifespan of the product. As for the specific life spans of individual plasma display units, most manufacturers contend that their TVs last approximately 30,000 hours before reaching their half lives under "normal" viewing conditions (i.e., with the CONTRAST set at around 50%). Recently, several manufacturers, most notably Sony and Panasonic, have begun to claim that their newest plasma display panels now have half lives of 60,000 hours. From the consumer's perspective, though, the 30,000 hour figure should be comforting, since this is about how long CRTs last. Let me put this in perspective: Assuming the average American household watches 4 to 6 hours of television per day, a plasma display will last between 13 and 20 years. That's quite a bit of bang for your buck!

A/V Reporter,
CL West