are all plasma TV's fragile or just mine?

[mpvue]

my kids broke my 42" Insignia plasma TV last night. the story goes that they were swinging a plastic segmented jump rope, one of them let go, and it hit the screen.
the outer glass is intact, but the layer behind it has a small visible crack, like *.
I'm assuming the plasma gas leaked out, because the screen is black, even though the TV powers on fine.
are all plasmas that fragile? it's not like it got hit hard or knocked over or anything. I thought one of them fell head first into it and cracked it with his head, but the 3rd non-involved child said no.
I'm hesitant to get another plasma if they aren't kid-safe.

 

[SLCraig]

They are definitely fragile as far as the actual panel goes.
If the gas leaks out, you're screwed. I had a 51" Samsung plasma shipped across the country (bought for a good price) and when I opened the box the screen had hairline cracks in it. Knowing it wouldn't work I still tried it anyway. It didn't work.

They are not exactly fragile but if the screen does get cracked, yeah, new panel time.

I am not sure how much better an LCD would fare but you can certainly give it a try. I love and prefer plasma for IQ but I don't have any kids to worry about so it's a non concern.

LCD/LED may draw less power though. I know my plasma is power hungry.

 

[rshaw125]

Whatever the story they came up with it was hit pretty hard. I certainly would not classify it as fragile.

 

[mpvue]

Originally Posted By: rshaw125
Whatever the story they came up with it was hit pretty hard. I certainly would not classify it as fragile.

regardless, I don't understand how the glass is intact but the layer behind it is cracked.
I'm prone to try to duplicate it, since it's not repairable anyway.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Maybe you need to put a piece of lexan over the screen if it in the kid play area (which can be anywhere and everywhere!) I remember in the 60's wrestling on the floor with buddies and knocking over our early american style 25" colour console TV and breaking the leg off it. There was heck to pay when dad got home. I think some thermionic valves were loosed and fell out the back, too.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Maybe you need to put a piece of lexan over the screen if it in the kid play area (which can be anywhere and everywhere!) I remember in the 60's wrestling on the floor with buddies and knocking over our early american style 25" colour console TV and breaking the leg off it. There was heck to pay when dad got home. I think some thermionic valves were loosed and fell out the back, too.

You mean those "hollow state" devices?

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Yeah, vacuum tubes

My old professor warned me not to treat them new-fangled solid-state devices poorly or they would instantly change state into liquid then gaseous. He said you should never "let the smoke out of the can" or it wont work. Keep the smoke in the T03.

 

[Cutehumor]

"daddy I barely hit the tv and it broke" reminds me when I broke stuff

 

[mpvue]

a guy at work is telling me to return it to the store, tell them I don't know what happened, it just went black.


(I don't do things that way...)

 

[greenjp]

There is no "plasma gas" to leak out. The screen is black because some part of the driving circuitry is damaged.

Plasma TVs with their glass screen are actually pretty tough. LCDs with their plastic screens are relatively more fragile.

jeff

 

[mpvue]

Originally Posted By: greenjp
There is no "plasma gas" to leak out. The screen is black because some part of the driving circuitry is damaged.

jeff

oh really?

what do you think 'plasma' is? it's a GAS.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_does_a_plasma_TV_work

http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-Does-Plasma-TV-Work-49776.shtml

now, since I didn't take it apart I can't say for sure what is damaged, as the conductors are most certainly damaged, but there absolutely is gas in there as well.

 

[Volvohead]

Actually, you're both wrong.

Plasma is not merely a gas, but is a gas under active ionization.

There is not a single large compartment of "plasma gas" in a plasma screen per se; it is a grid of thousands to millions of florescent elements/cells, each of which is filled with a minute charge of noble gases and mercury.

It is possible that some cells may have ruptured to ambient from the impact. If the panel rupture is severe enough, the entire grid could be at risk of evacuation. But it is more likely also an electronic grid failure at this point. EITHER WAY, the panel (and likely the set) is dead. I certainly wouldn't invest in dumping a new panel on an Insignia.

If you hit any television screen, you run the risk of damage. I consider a plasma screen more impact resistant than the typical LCD. At least it wasn't a traditional CRT that could violently implode (I've seen that happen). You should also fasten any table-mounted panel with safety loops if kids/pets are around. If it topples on a kid, the damage to the set will be very secondary.

Not that I don't trust children after something gets broken . . . but I don't necessary trust what children tell me when I walk in and see a broken TV set. Say what you want, but I think it took a bigger hit than they are relating.

Back in the day, we got a lickin for stuff like this regardless of the culprit. Res ipsa.

 

[greenjp]

As I said, "there's no plasma gas to leak out." That is not a failure mode of these televisions. As Volvohead said, each sub-pixel (over 6 million in a 1080p set) has some minute quantity of a gas. I suppose you could call the failure of a set due to the screen being cracked/shattered "the gas leaking out" but that would be like saying a fluorescent tube lamp stopped working because the gas leaked out after you dropped it and it shattered.

 

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: Volvohead


Back in the day, we got a lickin for stuff like this regardless of the culprit. Res ipsa.


Kids will do things like this but I agree they must pay the price, not to mention that although it is not going to crush them if it falls it could still hurt them if shards of glass were to come of the panel, they should not be playing like this inside the house. A spanking would be in order if I was Daddy.