I'd like to put a 42"-ish flat screen on a wall in my rec room, but my better 1/2 doesn't want a "big ugly tv" (her words) just hanging there, so I said how about if we use it as a very large digital photo frame when its not being used as a TV? She thought this was tres-cool and now is on board..

So, given that this set will double as a uber digital photo frame, should I go plasma or LCD? I'm thinking LCD because of the burn in issues, but if I have the photos changing often enough that should not be an issue, correct?

OTOH, I may also decide to have it change pictures only once or twice a day, perhaps even less, especially if I go with landscapes & nature photos.

What about screen life as well? or would that even be an issue?

Anyone here use their flat screen as a giant photo frame? If so, which way did you go?


thanks!

but if I have the photos changing often enough that should not be an issue, correct?

Correct.

Let me ask you this though.

Do you really want a 250 or 300W burning 16 or 18 hours a day. The electricity cost will be significant and the heat generated will be high. Great for winter, lousy for summer

In typical usage, the Power draw will NOT be higher with Plasma.

Firstly, most people don't have their photos in 16:9 format, so if you don't, then there would be black bars on the TV much of the time unless you stretch?

See the following FAQ on Burn in and read it thoroughly. The causes, concerns, workarounds and "time limits" are outlined there pretty well.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=21270

Secondarily, most TVs use several hundred Watts of power - do you want to use that for that many hours a day.

Thirdly, TVs (especialy plasmas) do "age" with time (use), so if the TV is on 2-3 times as much as normal, you will be "aging" your TV.

I would note that the Half life of a good plasma panel is 100,000 hours so at 16 hours a day, that's 6,250 days or 17 years.

Electricity and heat are the big issues in my mind although the 16:9 size ratio is an issue if you have to crop all your pictures.

BTW, there are services that will sell you high quality 16:9 art pictures for viewing on an HDTV

In addition to the aging of the phosphors, which is now slower than before, there is also the aging associated with electronics, boards, etc. As electronics are left on for extended periods they get hot and can get brittle (boards for example). Although, leaving a TV on is probably better than frequently turning it on/off which can affect a different set of electronics.