When an image is displayed in the same position on the display screen for a long time - such as the navigation buttons on the mobile phone, the station logo on the TV, the scoreboard, etc., the screen burn-in phenomenon will occur. No matter what other images are displayed on the display screen, there will always be left A shadow-like background. Some users may have heard that those great-looking OLED displays are susceptible to permanent damage, ruining the viewing experience. This article will introduce the knowledge of burn-in.
On the TV side, some users have reported on YouTube, forums and social media that they have experienced "burn-in" OLED displays, and review site RTINGS has demonstrated burn-in issues with LG's OLED TVs through a long-term trial.
Ultimately, here's the problem: all organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays suffer from burn-in. From what we know so far, OLED displays are more prone to burn-in than LCD displays. However, the picture quality of an OLED display is better than that of an LCD.
Therefore, if there is a concern about burn-in, the user's decision is simple: simply buy a display with an LCD panel to avoid the problem. But users need to understand that this decision comes at the expense of getting the best picture quality for the same amount of money.
However, taking all factors into consideration, burn-in shouldn't be a problem for most people. This is why manufacturers still recommend TVs, mobile phones and other devices with OLED displays to users. From all the evidence collected so far, the usual cause of burn-in is: repeatedly displaying a static image in the same position on the display for a long time. For example, screen burn-in can occur if a user watches hours of Fox News, ESPN, or MSNBC on a TV every day, and no or very little of the other channels. However, as long as users watch enough variety, it is possible to never experience screen burn-in.
Below we will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the burn-in phenomenon of OLED displays.
Image sticking PK burn-in
First, let's clarify two concepts. Although often used interchangeably, "image retention" and "burn-in" are not the same thing.
Image retention is temporary: it disappears in time.
Burn-in is permanent: it doesn't go away.
Image retention occurs when the image is temporarily "sticked" to the display after the screen disappears. Let's say a user looks at a still photo of a white puppy on the display for 1 hour. The user then decides to watch a movie. Like watching Best in Show on Amazon. However, when watching a movie, the user still sees the white puppy image as if there is a shadow on the display.
However, users don't need to be crazy about it. This is just an extreme example of image retention. The afterimage of the white puppy may disappear on its own as the user views a different image than the still image of the white puppy.
Now imagine that the user turns on the TV for days or weeks, instead of hours, showing the same picture all the time. At this point, the user may really run into trouble. For image sticking, usually after watching other content for a period of time, the afterimage may disappear. For burn-in, the afterimage will remain on the display for a considerable period of time. Maybe it won't stay on the display permanently, but it usually lasts longer than the user thinks.
In fact, there are far fewer cases of display burn-in. Who would watch the same TV news channel for as long as in the above example. We don't consider whether users can endure watching the same TV channel for such a long time, even assuming that users will do so, then the same TV station logo is the main culprit for image retention and even screen burn-in. The "on the fly" area at the bottom of the TV screen is also the main culprit of image retention, or even screen burn-in.
If a user plays the same video game for hours or even days, the game's scoreboard or HUD area may experience burn-in. Basically, an image that is displayed on the display for a long time without changing will cause image retention, and even eventually cause burn-in.
Prevention or treatment of burn-in
The reality is that if an OLED display experiences burn-in, there may be nothing you can do about it. Therefore, for users, the best strategy is to prevent problems before they happen. But how to prevent it?
Both Sony and LG say the best way to prevent burn-in or image retention on their TVs is to avoid prolonged viewing of static images.
A Sony spokesman said, "To avoid the possibility of screen burn-in, consumers should avoid displaying still images on OLED displays for extended periods of time. For example, pause for hours or even days while playing a video game."
Users don't need to panic if they notice image sticking. After watching other content for a while, the image sticking phenomenon may disappear on its own after a period of time. However, if the user has repeated image sticking on the same device, then you need to be careful.
Turning down the display brightness will help, especially if you continue to watch content that causes image retention. Selecting a lower brightness picture mode, such as "Cinema" instead of "Vivid", has the same effect. Users only need to take this action when watching content that causes image retention, such as watching 6 hours of video games per night, or watching 24 hours of non-stop cable TV programs.
Almost all OLED TVs have user settings that minimize uneven wear or screen burn-in. One feature might be something like "Screen Shift" or "Pixel Shift" -- the ability to move the image on the display slightly. They also include built-in screensavers that pop up after long periods of inactivity. Users should also turn on screensavers for connected devices such as game consoles and streaming devices.
To eliminate image retention, the TV also performs a "refresh operation" every day or more. On Sony TVs, this feature is called "Panel Refresh," and LG calls it "Pixel Refresher." If image sticking is noticed, the user can run the refresh function manually. After every 2000 hours of viewing, LG TVs will remind users to run a refresh function.
LG TVs also have a "Daily Pixel Refresher" feature, which LG says "automatically operates when the TV is turned off when users watch more than four hours." For example, if a user watched 2 hours of TV yesterday and 3 hours of TV today (total viewing time is more than 4 hours), when the TV is turned off, the "Daily Pixel Refresh" function will automatically operate to deal with possible image retention problems and put the viewing Time is cleared. This feature will automatically run when the TV is turned off whenever the viewing time exceeds 4 hours.
In all cases, the pixel refresh function worked and the screen appeared to have a vertical line for 1 hour or more. The goal is to have uniform wear across all pixels.
LG's 2018 TVs added a new feature called "Logo Luminance Adjustment" to prevent burn-in. It can automatically detect the stationary sign displayed on the screen, and after 2 minutes, it starts to reduce the brightness of the stationary sign for 1 and a half minutes, after which the brightness of the sign will decrease by 20%. Preliminary tests have found that this feature does reduce the brightness of the logo, but given the limited reduction, it is not a panacea.
For TVs, there are really not many ways that users can deal with screen burn-in other than the above methods. In theory, we recommend that users create a reverse image in Photoshop and display it on the monitor for a while. This burns in the rest of the display, making it close to the "burn-in" area. How to use this method to prevent burn-in is beyond the scope of this article. Using this method the user needs to be very proficient in Photoshop.
With OLED TVs, users need to keep in mind that if you are addicted to watching TV news, or just playing one game, you need to be concerned about image retention or uneven wear. If you notice this, it's best to change your viewing habits, or run the pixel refresh function a few times. If, like most people, users watch different TV shows every day, this won't be a problem. Still, users should be careful and maintain good playback habits.
