Does freezing or pausing your tv really mess it up?

Question

everytime i go to my parents, and mom and i pause the big flatscreen tv to go do something else, my fahter always b!tche$ about how when we pause/freeze it, it screws up the picture. I have no clue where he heard this, but I think he's crazy... is there any thruth in his assumption?

I mean, what's the point in having DVR and Tivo if you cant pause the darn thing......?!

Answer 1

it can maybe happen because that happen to me flat sceen but i hade to get it fixed

Answer 2

I'm going to be blunt to everyone who's answered.

YOU ARE ALL WRONG.

Flatscreens (projection, plasma, lcd) have a thing called "burn in". Burn in is when an image stays on the screen for too long and "burns in" the image. Whatever channel you are watching, that image is going to be there for a while until it gradually fades. I've seen this on so many flat screens it's not even funny. If you do get a burn in, my suggestion is to keep flipping channels so that it makes the burn in fade away a little faster.

Wow...the guy below me is completely wrong. Nice childish remark about techies. I am a certified technician by trade mind you. Geek Squad is my side job. Only  CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) televisions built after 1985 have the degauss feature which refreshes the tube, before that, the tv would just create static buildup and would gradually dissipate.. But, the question asks about FLAT SCREENS. Burn in is not due to heat damaging the plastic screen (plasma tvs use glass, if you did not know. lcds are a "cool" technology, the lcd itself does not generate heat, the projection bulb in flat screens are LEDs, which also do not generate heat. your cell phone would be burning up in your pocket if it did.) In plasmas, it is due to phosphor burn in. The phosphor in the plasma tv creates different colors by the electrode in the tv "plasmifying" it to create different fractions of WHITE light. When one portion of the tv stays the same color, it "burns in", leaving the plasma stuck in that specific color. On lcds (either projection or panel), the diode that creates that specific light (since lcds are created of three diodes, green red and blue) gets stuck and creates an image, which we call a "burn in" for simplicity.

Answer 3

It was a real problem at one time.

The magnetic tape used in VCR's would get a bit of noise or static at the point where you paused it because it left the magnetic reader at the same point for too long.

The advent of DVDs and digital recorders such as TiVo eliminates this problem.

So, your parents are not crazy, just behind the times.

Answer 4

YES!!         only if it is a PROJECTION TELEVISION!     all other tvs are fine

Answer 5

that USED TO BE TRUE... but not anymore

Answer 6

Blah, your dad is just an old fashioned idiot.  What does he know?

Answer 7

perfect example of why I never use "geek squad" for anything other than loading my purchases into my vehicle....the only television screens that suffer from "burn-in" damage to the screen are projection screens because if the light ( colors ) doesnt keep moving heat will build up,and damage the plastic screen ( never under estimate the knowlege Dads have !, when i was younger my Dad told me that the palms of my hands would grow hair if i didnt stop..........anyways , HE was wrong !! ) also the very first generation of large plasma screens suffered some burn in damage ( heat as well ) but only from large sections of non- moving light. changing channels does nothing other than keep the light moving. regular TVs will de-gauss when turned off,to prevent damage from the static that acumulates

Answer 8

No I have had a DVR and Tivo for about 1 year and a half, and there are no problem's with our tv now

Answer 9

I heard this can happen on VHS players. But now with all the dvds and cds and such. There is nothing to worry about.  

Answer 10

Not with the modern TV sets.