Panasonic today announced that its entire 2008 line of 1080p VIERA Plasma HDTVs is rated to last 100,000 hours before reaching half its original brightness. Based upon US average daily viewing time of six and a half hours, Panasonic 1080p Plasma HDTVs could take more than 42 ears to reach half of their original brightness level.
"There has been a lot of misinformation circulating about Plasma HDTVs and longevity, and we're happy to once again set the record straight on the durability of Panasonic Plasma," said Robert Perry, Senior Vice President, Panasonic Display Products Company. "Quite simply, our Plasma TVs are built to last a very long time - as much as 100,000 hours to half their brightness."
In addition to its 1080p line of VIERA Plasma HDTVs, Panasonic’s current line of two 720p VIERA plasma HDTVs is also rated to last 60,000 hours to half brightness or 25 years at six and a half hours per day use.  The 720p VIERA line in fact matches the life span of LCD HDTVs currently available and the 1080p VIERA line exceeds the life span of 60,000 hours for LCD HDTVs.
[Via PR Newswire]