Was speaking to the salesman and he indicated that if a plasma screen tv is tipped more than approx 30 degrees from vertical (its normal postion) the tv is then ruined and no longer any good have any of you guys heard of this.
It made me decide on lcd in the eventual case i moved the tv and had a mishap

Absolute BS... go somewhere else, that salesman is an idiot.

Have you never seen the Philips TV commercial where the plasma display is mounted flat on the ceiling? (That's 90 degrees from vertical if we're counting)

Also, for further confirmation, I checked a user's manual for a Fujitsu plasma display. I would tend to think that this is something that would be mentioned in the manual if it were true. Alas, it does not surprise me that I don't see anything about this there.

I'm sure if you asked him why, he'd say something about the plasma spilling out!

(for those who aren't sure what plasma is...it's really a 'state', like liquid or gas...or more appropriately perhaps, it's a "phase of matter")

Bookmark and use the "how stuff works" website.

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/plasma-display.htm

I've noticed on other forums & websites (for instance here (http://www.dtvcity.com/plasmasteps.html)) that make mention of a "Tip & Tell indicator" being attached to a plasma TV shipment. If it didn't matter to the set if it was tipped then why would they bother with the T&T?

Just wondering too.

TomW.

the salesman did tell me that there was an indicator on the boxes that indicate if the box has been tipped

Than ever tv must be ruined. How can you ever ship such a product without tipping it 30 degrees?

I've noticed on other forums & websites (for instance here (http://www.dtvcity.com/plasmasteps.html)) that make mention of a "Tip & Tell indicator" being attached to a plasma TV shipment. If it didn't matter to the set if it was tipped then why would they bother with the T&T?

Just wondering too.

TomW.

The "tipping" indicator is often just to ensure proper handling of expensive equipment. If you're paying that much for something, it's reassuring to know that it didn't fall over in the truck although I'm not sure what happens if you push it off the truck and it lands flat. :D

Maybe there oughta be a "Drop & Tell" attached too!! :D

TomW.

I'd like to know the answer to that 'tip and tell' thingy myself. My guess is that stacking these units flat is a huge no-no, hence the indicator.

Now that I think about this whole issue more, there might really be something to all this. The glass is likely quite thin on these panels and tipping them more than 30 degrees forward might put excessive pressure on the glass. This probably wouldn't be a huge issue with 42" panels, but I can imagine it being a potential problem on larger units.

If anybody has more info on this, I'd love to hear it.

I have a 'Tip'N Tell' US patent RE 32,570 right here on my desk...

It came on a rather expensive piece of equipment that was skidded and therefore (without a forklift) almost impossible to tilt.

I think these tags are designed to prevent blatant abuse and make the people handling delicate components pay attention to what they are doing. It makes the transporter/handler accountable.

Don't they tilt plasma displays at the airport ???

Somebody on USENET via google's groups (http://groups.google.com/groups?q=Tip+N+Tell&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&selm=svm3sj7km5ms2b%40corp.supernews.com&rnum=1) says this company makes the 'Tip 'N Tell' product but it looks like it is actually called 'Tilt Watch' and activates at 80 degrees not 30. Anyway similar product to 'Tip N' Tell' and purely for monitoring shipping and handling.

http://www.shockwatch.com/

It appears that "Tip 'N Tell" is made by another company... there appears also to be a "Drop 'N Tell" for those that were inquiring earlier about it falling off a truck and landing upright.


I tried to look up that patent number filper and it doesn't appear to be the complete number as it appears to be something different.... a grinding mill.

The proper patent (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=3926144.WKU.&OS=PN/3926144&RS=PN/3926144) number for the 'Tip 'N Tell' product is 3,926,144.

I found this by looking at a picture of one of these devices on a web site (http://riversidepaperco.com/main_files/Labels/Labels_Damage.html).

I had "Tip 'N Tell" in ' ' ... I was using it like Kleenex as a brand name used to describe a product...

Anywho, the Tiltwatch (R) on my desk manufactured by Media Recovery is indeed U.S. Patent No. RE 32,570.

80 degrees ? Jeez... I think they allow that for cars :) .

Here's the patent for the TiltWatch... I guess the RE is important and no spaces between RE and the number otherwise it finds the grinding mill! :lol:

Tilt Watch Patent Number: RE32,570 (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=RE32,570.WKU.&OS=PN/RE32,570&RS=PN/RE32,570)

Tip n Tell indicators are seen on plasmas that are shipped because plasma displays are much more fragile if they are shipped flat. It's like shipping a piece of glass flat as opposed to on edge. Glass on edge is much stronger then glass lying flat. Not all plasmas have these indicators. I saw mine come straight to the distributor from Japan and it did not have any indicators on it and it's a 50" unit. They are put on by retailers that have to ship the devices through common carriers.

The Tip N Tell indicators may indicate whether the device was dropped, shipped on it's side or otherwise tilted. If one is set off, it doesn't mean the device is garbage. It just means that one needs to be careful when opening it and it's better to do a through inspection. If they are not set off, there's a good chance the unit is fine but it's always worth checking and plugging in the device while the delivery person is there.

However, plasmas can be tipped for such things as configuration purposes but I don't think anyone recommends mounting it on your ceiling. I dunno what Philips was thinking :) My plasma owners manual tells me to put it flat on the ground to install an optional interface card. It'd be pretty hard to install it while mounted on the wall otherwise.

Hope this helps,
Santo

And if you lived in the Leaning Tower of Pisa,
where could you hang it? :lol:

Not on the ceiling or the floor ;)

north