Hey all, I recently replaced my 53" non-DLP RPTV with a 50" plasma. The plasma looks amazing; the difference is night and day!

Here's my issue: when the set goes from displaying a very bright scene, to a very dark scene, some bright artifacts are left behind and are noticeable against the dark background for a few seconds. A good example of this is the opening of a movie where it might flash "Paramount presents:" in white text on a black screen, then on the next black screen, you can still see some dim letters from the prior frame.

Is this ghosting "normal" during the plasma break-in period? Or did I get a dud?

I will note that I've had the TV less than a month, and have less than 20 hours of view time on it. It doesn't seem to matter which device is displaying video (VGA, Component, tuner), or whether it is a direct connection to the set, or through my A/V receiver or A/V switch.

Should the ghosting diminish as the set is broken-in? For the last 4-5 days, I've lowered the contrast and brightness, and am running a "Plasma break-in DVD" non-stop when I am not watching TV. It's been run for over 100 hours since I last checked. Should this help?

Here's the specs if it helps:

Vizio P50HDTV
1366x768 native
Xbox 360 connected with VGA cable, 1360x768
Other component devices connected through Pelican System Selector Pro

I also have a single stuck pixel, is this common in current plasmas? That's a single pixel out of a million, I'm not too concerned! I have a couple days left within my 30-day return period...

All feedback is appreciated!

Thanks,
Plex

bah, i cant read... id return it regardless... a hefty price tag like an hdtv, even a plasma which aren't that high, its not worth it to keep one you even suspect is faulty...

Pelican System Selector Pro
^ that thing is a POS and caused shadowing on my DLP

What's the response time of your display (full on/full off)? That's what really matters in terms of ghosting during scene changes.

Plasma's are probably one of the worst display types in that regard.

Yeah, I remember reading your initial review of the Pelican switch some time ago... I'm using it until I can get a good deal on something better. (I have my eye on this one.)

Problem is, even a straight cable from device to TV shows some remnants of the previous bright scene.

I guess it's a bad sign when I can't find response time listed ANYWHERE on this set. I'd assume 12ms if I had to guess. I actually went with plasma over LCD for a number of reasons, including response time!

I also picked it up because I read nothing but glowing reviews over at AVS forum, and the price was right ( <$1200 ).

Thanks for your input; as an aside, I visited a friend yesterday with a 42" plasma, and saw the same issue on their set...

Thanks for your input, guys.

I replaced that crap Pelican switch with a high-bandwidth 4x2 component switch.

And I called Vizio tech support. I was VERY impressed. After hearing the refresh issue, they immediately scheduled a tech to come out and replace the mainboard.

Then I mentioned the stuck pixel. Vizio has a "zero bright pixel guarantee." They will be coming out to replace my set in the next couple days.

that's amazing, my tosh lcd has 3 stuck pixels, but because they are on the outer edges of it toshiba doesnt regard it as faulty, i spose it's ok because i never notice them.

but regradless that's a great guarantee

That's good customer service! You shouldn't experience anything like what you described with a plasma. I've been running a 43" Pioneer for the best part of 1 1/2 years now, and not a single issue with ghosting.