Just to put some rumors to rest: Plasma's lifespan: 20,000 hrs. umm that's a LONG time.
Burn in: While it may be a problem I've not experienced it. I was in the possession of 2 42" pioneer units that were used at trade shows by 20 different customers over 4 yrs and had no screen burn in or degradation of image.
Relatively speaking plasma technology is new (10 yrs +/-) but its come a long way. Same goes for LCD: Every laptop computer ever built has used this technology and its been around for 20 yrs. Its just now its being used in a different format than a laptop and production costs are down for both technologies.
For those out there that are waiting for the "$500.00 plasma", don't hold your breath. Considering the initial production models @ 42" sold for $20,000.00 retail, they're a bargain now. WHile you may see them in the 1 - 2 thousand range, that will be as low as they ever go.
To give you an idea of why: We had one that had the plasma screen cracked during shipping, I took it to the manufcturer for repair. They told me to replace the plasma screen itself, after taxes and labour, $7250.00 Where you could buy the exact same unit, brand new, at Futureshop for $6800.00.
