LG 50PK750 Vertical Line - Replacement Question

[drewp29]

Yesterday my LG 50PK750 plasma developed the dreaded vertical line problem. There is a single vertical column of pixels in which the red subpixels are not working. I plan on taking it apart and cleaning the ribbon cables to see if I can revive them, but I am not hopeful since the panel is most likely bad. I have gotten almost 6 years worth of quality viewing out of it, but do not want to pull it from service just yet.

I abhor LCD panels which are all chock full of judder, motion blur, and just general crappy PQ. I haven't met one yet that hasn't driven me crazy the whole time I watched it. My buddy's very expensive 70+ inch brand new curved UHD set almost made me insane during the last UFC fight. They are just that bad. I know I am sensitive to these things, and I am anal retentive about it, which is why I chose plasma to begin with.

The only suitable replacement that wouldn't trigger my OCD would be the new 2016 LG OLED flat panel, but it is currently more money than I want to sink into a panel type television. I have future plans for a basement home theater with triple 4k projectors once hybrid or LED (with adequate brightness level) 4k projectors are reasonably priced. I would like to stretch out the plasma's lifespan a bit until that time.

I have found a replacement PDP for the PK750, but have a question. If I were to instead purchase the replacement panel for a 50PK950, which oddly is cheaper, would it work with the existing electronics in my 50PK750? I figure the panel is cheaper, and since that was the top tier PK at the time, it is probably a higher binned component. Is this a possibility? Or do I have to stick with expressed replacement for the PK750?

tldr: Will a replacement PDP for a LG 50PK950 work for a LG 50PK750?

Thanks for reading!

 

[ak47jar3d]

Yes, it should theoretically work. I am afraid what are trying is rare, so your going to be the guinea pig if you go though with it. The design is identical between both panels and that leads to be believe it will work. At least if you use the 50PK750, you are certain that it will work.

 

[drewp29]

Yes, it should theoretically work. I am afraid what are trying is rare, so your going to be the guinea pig if you go though with it. The design is identical between both panels and that leads to be believe it will work. At least if you use the 50PK750, you are certain that it will work.

That's what I was thinking as well. The panel itself is the same, but I don't know if the controllers in the ribbon cables (that are failing) are the same. I think I will e-mail the LG customer service and see if their tech department can give me a definitive answer.

It really sucks that plasma has gone the way of the dinosaur. It was definitely the better technology with few shortcomings. I have had some slight image retention after 8-10 hours of gaming with an on screen HUD, but after a few hours of normal viewing it would always disappear. Brightness levels are a little low, but the trade off is better blacks and more realistic colors. It has definitely used some power, which I think is the REAL reason they phased plasma out, what with the gubment continually screaming about pseudo science.

Overall I feel OLED is the only thing that may come close to the silky smooth, amazing black level, and accurate color reproduction that the plasma technology thoroughly excelled at. But it will be a few years before the kinks are worked out and the prices are reasonable.