once its life dwindles, can it be fixed/replaced/etc?

That means after 30K hours, the display will be half as bright as when new. 30K hours = about 30 years. I'll be looking for a new TV in 5-10 anyway, so plasma halflife is no longer a concern.

<ul><li><a href="http://www.plasmavision.com/plasma_faq.htm">http://www.plasmavision.com/plasma_faq.htm</a</li></ul>

AKA half-life.

Consumers typically replace their TV's at 10 yrs. A plasma will go well beyond that. How much? Irrelevant I would say.

run continiously all that time and still looked good.

And to loose half your brightness is a big deal -and I believe these tests were not run with the intensity cranked up as the units are set from the factory with being close to 100%

Plasmas should be calibrated after installation to have the increase life.