Plasma Screens - What breaks and how to spot it?

[BillBlank]

My beloved wife has just bought a plasma screen off Ebay. It's an ex display model and was cheapish (for the uk). When it arrives I will have 28 days to conclude that it is satisfactory. Are there any signs of impending demise or poor performance that I can look for?

I hate buying things without being able to sniff over them first .

[Preacherman]

Remember, if it needs a transfusion, insist on Type O plasma - this works with any brand of screen.

[Marnoot]

Plasma screens fade over time, blue tends to fade faster than the other colors. Each 'pixel' in a plasma screen is made of what are essentially ultra-tiny colored flourescent lights. The colored phosphers in the pixels fade with use. Also if the screen was displaying a non-moving display while it was a display model, there's the possibility of screen burn-in, with the image becoming a permanent ghost on the screen. I'd look for burned-in images and whether it's begun to fade, less blue than there should be, etc.

[cfabe]

To see the 'burn in' display a full white screen in a darkened room. If there was a static image displayed for long enough to cause uneven wear, it will show up as an uneven coloration or shading in the white, usually with sharp edges. Sometimes it will not be perceptable by looking straight on, but visible in your peripheral vision if you look at a different portion of the screen, due to the way your eye works.