Ok, so I bought a Hitachi 42" Plasma HDTV and I love it to death. I planned on gaming with it and knew of the risks but I took the proper precautions by turning down my settings when I got the TV. Well what I DIDN'T read in the instruction manual is that there is separate video settings for each input. So while I turned down the settings for the Cable Input, the Input 4 (which had the Xbox360) was still on factory torch mode. So now, three months later I have a fuzzy hint of an image from a game I've been playing.
So now, is there ANY way to get rid of or lessen this? I've heard that leaving TV snow on the screen for a while could do the trick and also the white wash. I've used the white wash but not for any extended period of time as I'm afraid it'll just lessen the life of my TV and do nothing for the burn-in.
It seems that it begins to fade a bit when I don't play the game and just watch normal TV, and then flares up a bit when I play again. This might all just be in my head though because I'm paranoid.
So basically here are my real questions...
1) Is Plasma burn-in permanent? I've heard yes and no on these forums and just want to be sure.
2) Does the TV snow and/or white wash actually work?
3) Does using the white wash lessen the TV's life?
4) Now that I've turned down the settings on the Input 4, I plan to keep on gaming with this TV. With the settings turned down, can the burn-in still get worse?
I don't think there are clear cut answers to your question.... but generally speaking, just watching your TV (on channels other than your video game) will relieve some of the image retention. It may or may not get rid of all of it, but if you are really looking for it... you will probably find it.
I don't think there is any need for white washing your TV, just watch regular programming and time might fade it away.... and I doubt that white washing will put any dent into the 60,000 claimed hours that TV's will last. You'll probably have your set in the garbage long before then...