Not too long ago my dad had his old TV go out after a lightning strike, so he asked me to head to the local Best Buy with him to get a new TV. I realized two things straight away. First, the vast majority of employees at Best Buy are morons. Then I realized most Best Buy TV salesman use the lower lifespan of plasma TVs compared LCD TVs to talk shoppers out of going plasma. Personally, I prefer plasma to LCD because you usually get more contrast and a brighter picture.

Panasonic has announced new plasma TVs in its VIERA 1080p line that will make the lifespan argument against plasma TVs a moot point. Panasonic says its new 1080p plasma HDTVs are rated to last for up to 100,000 viewing hours before they dim to half brightness.

Samsung launched some new plasma TV’s in Korea build in collaboration with Electronic Arts to provide a superior “3D” gaming experience. The company released two new PAVV HDTV’s, one measuring 42 inches and the other 50 inches, equipped with USB 2.0, HDMI, HD resolution, the Samsung DNIe+ (Digital Natural Image engine+) anda 1,000,000 to 1 contrast ratio.