Hi, I have a 50` LG Plasma and i am paranoid about screenburn. I hate tv channels that have a non-transparent logo and PS3 games that have a hub on the screen. Ive noticed that after about 5-10 mins of static picture there is slight burn but the "whitewash" feature gets rid of this. BUT, how long would a static image need to be displayed untill it was permanant?

My friend has a 50 inch Visio plasma, and after just a few nights of playing NBA Live for 4 hours or so, he got a permanent EA logo in the top left, the whitewash will not clean it either.
So he had his tv one weekend and got burn in. I am glad I bought an LCD.

Thats the type of horror story that keeps me awake at night ... It REALY buggs me that now, especialy in the days of HD and Plasma Tv`s that these companies (both TV and games) do not consider its users. Here in the UK, the only broadcasters I can think of that have a transparent "dog" is BBC and Nickelodion. And theres NO exuse for companies like MS and Sony (who produce plasmas) to allow non-transparent perminant images, ie. hubs, health, in there games.

Actually, most new plasmas don't have these problems.
Image retention will be very noticeable when you first get the tv. But after it's break in period there should be no burn in, and very little image retention. Most plasmas can take at long as 200 hours to be broken in. You will notice a huge difference after that. Just be careful when you first get it and you should have no problems afterwards.

Plasmas are fine. People just don't know the correct way to maintain them.

I'd have to agree there. Plasmas are just sensitive for the first few hours of their life, but are fine afterwards. With features such as pixel shifting also often used, burn in is very rare, though image retention is always possible (though, obviously, temporary).

Also, not to knock the guy, but he bought a Vizio and immediately threw on a display with static UI elements all over the place. What was he expecting?