On a flat screen LCD Hi Def TV, can the bars on the sides of the image burn permanently in to the screen?

Question

On a flat screen LCD Hi Def TV, can the bars on the sides of the image burn permanently in to the screen?

Answer 1

no you cant burn an image onto an LCD...  at least not that i know of.  the only HDTV you need to worry about getting images burned into the television is the plasma HDTVs.

Answer 2

Until recently it was thought that LCD tv's would not retain an image.  It is possible though (about as possible as winning the lottery two times in a row and getting hit by lightning on your birthday).  

The problem is incredibly rare in LCD tv's.  Also, burn-in is far less severe on a LCD and can usually be fixed relatively easy.

What Is Burn In?

Burn in is one of the most commonly misunderstood concepts regarding television displays. Burn in is a phenomenon associated to television products, where a static image left on the screen, over time, can permanently wear itself into the display. This phenomenon is generally associated to phosphor based television displays, such as tubes, CRT rear projection, and plasma.

A common question is if LCD televisions are susceptible to burn in. The most common answer to this question is no, LCDs are immune to burn in. However, this answer is somewhat of a half-truth.

The Truth About LCD and Burn In

It is a fact that LCD displays are immune to phosphor wear, simply because LCD televisions do not use phosphor to create a television image. Otherwise, it would be like saying an electric car can run out of gas.

However, LCD displays have certain characteristics that do not make them completely immune to static images. On LCD displays it's kindly referred to as "video memory." LCD panels use a complicated process of organizing liquid crystal molecules into a twisted or untwisted state, which allows polarized light to pass through the liquid crystal substrate. Over time, it is possible the liquid crystals can "get used to" the state of twist they are in, causing a static image, similar to phosphor burn-in, appear on the screen.

Some say that simply turning off the display for 24-48 hours eliminates the effect, while others have claimed the effect is permanent in extreme cases. Nonetheless, home users of LCD televisions have little to fear.

Why Video Memory Is Little Concern To LCD TVs

The nature of LCD products makes them extremely resilient to building up a video memory. The only time you're really going to see this issue is in the computer world. If, for example, the Windows or Macintosh desktop was left uninterrupted on a LCD display with no screen saver for a long period of time, it is likely the video memory will build up and possibly be permanent.

As a television, LCD products get enough movement of the image, or cycled on and off enough, that the buildup of video memory is highly unlikely. Leaving static images on an LCD display for a relatively short period of time will have no damaging effect to the display. In other words, you'll only get video memory buildup on an LCD television if you try to do it on purpose.

If someone tells you to avoid an LCD product because of burn in, you can be sure the person you're speaking to was uninformed on the nature of LCD products. LCD is an excellent and robust technology, and should be considered for any TV owner.

There is no need for the television user to concern themselves with video memory because it's just not possible under normal viewing conditions.

Answer 3

The previous answers couldn't be further from the truth. There have been many posts here with LCD TVs that now have retained images. A couple of those posts appear to be describing a possible permanent burned-in image.

The inside cover of the 2008 Samsung Series 7 (LN-46A750) user manual states the following: "Wide screen format LCD Displays are primarily designed to view wide screen format full-motion video. The images displayed on them should primarily be in the wide screen 16:9 ratio format, or expanded to fill the screen if your model offers this feature and the images are constantly moving. Displaying stationary graphics and images on screen, such as the dark sidebars on non-expanded standard format television video and programming, should be limited to no more than 5% of the total television viewing per week.

Additionally, viewing other stationary images and text such as stock market reports, video game displays, station logos, web sites or computer graphics and patterns should be limited as described above for all televisions. Displaying stationary images that exceed the above guidelines can cause uneven aging of LCD Displays that leave subtle, but PERMANENT burned-in ghost images in the LCD picture. To avoid this, vary the programming and images, and primarily display full screen moving images, not stationary patterns or dark bars...

Be careful in the selection and duration of television formats used for viewing. Uneven LCD aging as a result of format selection and use, as well as burned-in images, are NOT covered by your Samsung warranty."

Precautions recommended by Samsung:

1) "Do not display a still image on the LCD panel for more than 2 hours as it can cause screen image retension. This image retention is also known as "screen burn". To avoid such image rentention, reduce the degree of brightness and contrast of the screen when displaying a still image."

2) "Watching the LCD TV in 4:3 format (dark side bars) for a long period of time may leave traces of borders displayed on the left, right and center of the screen caused by the difference of light emission on the screen. Playing a DVD or a game console may cause a similar effect to the screen.Damages caused by the above effect are not covered by the Warranty."

3) "Displaying still images from Video games and PC for longer than a certain period of time may produce partial after-images. To prevent this effect, reduce the 'brightness' and 'contrast' when displaying still images."

Additional Details: To decrease an LCD's response time, LCD manufacturers have increasingly used a technique known as overdrive. It has been shown from past products that the use of overdrive does increase the risk of image retention in an LCD. The series 6 & 7 from Samsung represents the very best in LCD response times on the market today (4 ms) AND are Samsung's entry TV for gaming modes. I think that it should be no surprise that these TVs with the fastest LCD response times from the market's largest manufacturer carry such a warning. You can elect to put your head in the sand & ignore these facts or accept that LCD TVs with faster LCD response times do carry a bigger risk for burn-in. Burn-in, when it does occur on an LCD TV, is not necessarily easy to remove. LCD TVs with faster LCD response times should use the recommended procedures above.

Answer 4

to put it quite simply:

no.