Digital Home Thoughts: How Long Do Plasma Televisions Last?

"A. A typical plasma television has a half-life of about 30,000 hours (some newer high-end units now claim up to 60,000 hours). This means that it will lose approximately 50% of its brightness during that time. Based on a 30,000 hours rating, if your Plasma television is on for 8 hours a day, its half-life would be about 9 years - or, if on 4 hours a day, the half-life would be about 18 years. Keep in mind that a standard television loses about 30% of its brightness after about 20,000 hours. Since this process is very gradual, the consumer isn't aware of this effect, except for the need to periodically adjust the brightness and contrast controls to compensate. Although the performance of individual Plasma televisions can vary, overall, as a product class, a Plasma television can deliver many years of acceptable viewing."

Hmm, I would actually like to hear from people that have owned plasma TVs for a while if this is actually what they are noticing. I say this because I know people that have had problems with picture quality on their plasma TVs and are nowhere near that 9-18 year mark. Of course, this question also raises the obvious other - how long do LCD TVs last? Anyone have any thoughts on that? Presumably computer LCD monitors could give some indication into their life and quality with age.