Apple TV - Plasma Friendly?

[smiddlehurst]

Hi all, please forgive me if this question has already been answered but after going through every page of the "Take 2 is now live" thread I didn't see it.

I'm seriously looking at an Apple TV as I'm currently in the process of ripping my entire DVD library to iTunes. Right now I've got my trusty macbook, 10.4 and frontrow supplying the interface to my plasma TV over VGA and everything works fine. However I'm a bit concerned over the static images used in this version of frontrow when listening to music or audio podcasts. The title, white horizontal line between title and content and the border around the progress bar are all static and are the sort of thing most likely to cause burn-in on plasma sets, especially with hour long podcasts or audio books. Granted I can just turn the set off for the duration but a) that kind of defeats the point and b) I can't trust that everyone that may use it will do the same.

What I was wondering is if the new Apple TV interface is any better? I know there's a screensaver for example, but does this kick in after a few minutes of listening to audio or are there still static elements on screen until you return to the menu?

Sorry for asking such a silly question but it's the one thing stopping me from dropping cash on an Apple TV right now...

 

[ascender]

The screensaver kicks in pretty quickly, so I wouldn't be worrying about screen burn on a plasma.

 

[smiddlehurst]

Thanks for that, good answer for me, bad answer for my wallet (seriously, Apple TV prices here in good ol' Blighty are ridiculous). May wander over to ye olde Apple store and have a play at lunchtime. Not that they'll have updated their demo unit yet of course *sigh*

 

[pj4533]

Also you should keep in mind that as long as your plasma is fairly recent (past few years), you won't have any permanent burn-in issues no matter what.

It is true that plasmas will cause an afterimage in some cases (my panasonic does), but a minute of watching full motion erases the afterimage, similar to an etch-a-sketch.

I love AppleTV, and love how it looks on my 50" Plasma. Now I am just waiting for Apple to get more content!

-pj

 

[imlucid]

The title, white horizontal line between title and content and the border around the progress bar are all static and are the sort of thing most likely to cause burn-in on plasma sets, especially with hour long podcasts or audio books. Granted I can just turn the set off for the duration but a) that kind of defeats the point and b) I can't trust that everyone that may use it will do the same.

The Now Playing screen is not static. It moves around slightly each time (image and text offset horizontally and vertically on each rotation). It should mitigate any burn-in issues.

Kevin

 

[smiddlehurst]

The Now Playing screen is not static. It moves around slightly each time (image and text offset horizontally and vertically on each rotation). It should mitigate any burn-in issues.

Kevin

Will you lot stop trying to get me to buy one of these things! I've got my HD satellite box coming on Saturday and the wife will kill me if another bundle of electronics mysteriously appears under the TV before then...