As far a reliability goes, their failure rate is on par with other display types. My brother-in-law has a 4yr old Samsung plasma and it is still absolutely stunning, and hasn’t had to do a single thing to it. Also, my business installed 12 Panasonic plasmas in a local bar over 2 yrs ago, and they are on from opening to close all week every week, and haven’t had a single problem with any of them. The only plasmas that I have heard of failing have been low quality brands (Vizio and Philips).

I have to disagree with you. As an owner of a small home theater store, I love plasma screens and recommend them regularly. They have amazing color accuracy and black levels. Every customer that has been “persuaded” to buy one over an lcd vs led has loved their new screen.