I'm a frequent gamer, and I want to buy a plasma Pioneer 43" tv. I've heard that burn-ins can happen if a certain image is shown for a long time. On many videogames, there are things that appear on the screen all the time (such as health display etc.) I'm worried that if I lay a lot, there might be a burn-in of a certain picture or shape. I don't know much on TVs, and will appreciate any help on the topic. What can I do about burn ins, and is buying a DLP tv a better decision?
Plasma burn-in is a real problem still - though more modern systems have some facilities to reduce it, they aren't immune.
Plasmas, in my experience, seem to have two types of burn-in. Short term and long-term. If you are displaying a static image on a plasma even for a couple of minutes, you see burn in when you change the image. However this fades over time (minutes rather than hours). However if you leave a static image up for hours, then the burn in becomes permanent.
I really wouldn't recommend a plasma for use with gaming consoles for this reason - and station DOGs also don't help.
Plasmas also have major picture quality limitations (flicker, poor grey scale handling with obvious contouring and dithering, noisy blacks etc.) - and many of the 42" cheaper panels are quite low resolution (850x480ish) Plasmas can also be quite noisy - some have quite a few fans in them to keep them cool. They are also pretty heavy.
LCD flat-screens don't burn in anywhere near as much as plasmas (they DO burn in though), and perform better in the grey-scale. weight and quietness stakes. However they suffer from odd colours when you don't look at them straight on, and many still have low response times, meaning movement has a smeariness to it that is absent on plasmas and CRTs, and their blacks are often a bit "grey". LCDs are usually higher resolution than plasmas - though 42" LCDs are still quite expensive (though coming in down in price - I saw a Sony 42" LCD panel in the US which wasn't silly money)
DLPs at this price level are usually single-chip rear-projection devices - so they suffer from the normal RP issues (dim pictures off-axis, expensive bulb replacements, noise etc.) There is also the issue of "rainbow" break-up - where some people notice the successive RGB images that are projected to make a colour image using the spinning colour wheel and a single chip.
IMHO DLPs can look excellent - however they aren't perfect.
The best display I have seen recently is the first generation Sony Qualia 006 70" REFLECTIVE LCD projector. This uses 3x1920x1080 LCD panels, but rather than the light pass through them as is the case with most LCD projectors, instead they reflect the light (as DLPs do). This gives much better black levels, and reduces the gaps between pixels that give LCD screens a "mesh door" effect.
This set has only just launched in the US at US$10k - around GB£6k at the current exchange rate of US$1.8 to the GB£. Hopefully this will come down, and smaller versions will become available. I was blown away by the quality of this set for HD film display.
(Sony make a 4k by 2k front projector for digital cinemas using the same technology...)
In summary - I'd wait 12-18 months if you can. When Sky HD launches next year the market for HD screens in the UK should massively increase - which will mean flat-screen and projection technology should be far more widespread, and reduced in price (as direct view CRT isn't likely to be a go-er for HD)
If you do purchase now then ensure one thing more than anything else if you want to be able to watch HDTV transmissions on the display in the future.
1. It has HDMI or a DVI with HDCP input (Sky receivers will output all HD in this format only. If they offer analogue component HD output it won't be for all programmes as HDMI and DVI with HDCP have copy protection and encryption built in)
2. This input is capable of 720/50p, 720/60p, 1080/50i, 1080/60i.
(Sky receivers will output 720/50p and 1080/50i - but 60p and i compatibility would be useful for playing US stuff and PC stuff possibly)
3. Other inputs - RGB or Component analogue - are 480/60i, 480/60p, 576/50i and probably 576/50p capable for standard NTSC and PAL, and NTSC and PAL progressive display.