The new plasma models boast an 100K hour lifespan as opposed to the 60K hour to half life of previous models . And they're thousands cheaper than they were 6 years ago . They're still the best display for overall picture quality , although I'd hate to have paid what one cost 6 years ago !

I wouldn't sweat being an old plasma owner at all.
My oldest plasma is a 8 year old Pioneer, it's been in my outdoor pavilion by the pool for about 5 years, the hour meter is nearing 50000.
I leave it on 24/7 and the only problems I've had were that the power supply went out, Pioneer warrantied the repair, and the Y drive went out, I paid for that repair.

See ya,
Kelly

Upping this thread to say that my plasma unit is now 10 years 6 months and no trouble with it.

Count your blessings, dadoes. My wife's twin sister is on their 3 plasma TV in about 7 years, like some other folks, her late husband thought they had a better picture.

My best friend had his repaired, (Power supply), but it went out a year later, so He replaced it with an LCD TV.

I bought my Sharp Aquos the same day another one of my friend's did, 7 years ago now, and neither has ever needed a service call and both still have great pictures.

I know this is just a small sampling, but I doubt we are unique in our experiences of Plasma vs LCD Reliability.

Gary