Video Asylum

Posted by Joe Murphy Jr (A) on October 12, 2009 at 14:04:15

In Reply to: RE: Partly because they've redefined "burn-in" posted by cfraser on October 11, 2009 at 16:25:58

Image retention didn't take the place of burn-in because they're not the same thing.

Image retention is a short term "retaining" of the image on the screen which can be seen after you turn the display off or, if the display is new and/or has the settings cranked up, in the black bars when the display is on. Many new displays will exhibit this behavior for several weeks, after which the condition is no longer noticeable while the display is on. Some retention of an image after the display turns off is normal. This goes away after a few minutes.

Burn-in is typically a permanent condition which occurs due to the following: spending long hours playing video games and/or continuously displaying static (non-moving) images on the screen and/or watching material that doesn't fit the screen (using black bars for the unused part of the display) for long periods of time. What happens is that the unused parts of the screen age slower than the used parts. The more used pixels will begin to show a decrease in their light output.

There are several features that can be used to minimize these effects. Take a break from gaming every two hours and run an image (regular TV is all you need) that fills the screen while you take a break. If you watch a lot of 4:3 material, most displays allow you to change the color of the sidebars. You don't have to use black, as most displays will allow you to opt for dark gray or gray bars on the side. Because these pixels are now being used, they will age along with the pixels used for the main image. There are also menu related features that allow you to minimise adverse affects: pixel-shift, orbiter functions, white scroll, reverse image functions, etc. If you vary the programming aspect ratio so that the entire screen is used for some of your viewing, burn-in will not be a issue that you will have to deal with. Cranked settings (a non-calibrated display, basically) and/or no respect for the technology will get you a bad experience every time.