How to Fix Screen Burn-In on TVs: Plasma, LCD, and OLED

LCD, plasma, OLED displays, even old CRT televisions can be damaged by screen burn-in. Here’s how can you fix screen burn-in

How to fix the pixel burn problem of plasma, LCD and old TVs

There is a possibility of screen burn on LCD, plasma, old and even older CRT TVs. In this article, we will explain how to eliminate the burn of different screens.

Have you ever had your TV or monitor turned on for a long time (for example, a few days) and the image is stuck in a steady state? After you return to your monitor, you may encounter a burn on a part of the screen that seems to have no way to fix it.

But why does part of the panel of screens and TVs burn? Why can’t the manufacturers of these products prevent the display of burnt images on LCD or plasma panels? What can be done to solve this problem?

In some cases, the appearance of burns on screens and televisions can be minimized, according to Mikozuo. In other cases, as long as the burn has not been over for a long time, the problem can be completely remedied.

What are LCD, LED and Plasma Displays?

Before the introduction of crystal displays and crystal displays, most televisions and monitors used cathode ray tube (CRT) technology. In CRT, individual pixels contain a component of red, blue, and green phosphorus, which will send a unique color to the human eye due to the intensity of each phosphor component.

When a particular still image remains on the screen for a long time, the intensity of each phosphor component will decrease at an unequal rate, resulting in an aura of an image on the screen known as screen burn.

Plasma displays use a substance called plasma that contains free ions. When plasma is not used, the particles in it are uncharged and will not show anything. As the electric current enters, the ions become charged and begin to collide with each other, releasing photons of light.

This is a very simple version of how plasma monitors work. The bottom line, though, is that plasma screens, like CRT monitors, use phosphor material to convert photons into the final image.

LCD and LED do not work like CRT. LCD and LED displays use liquid crystals with backlight to display colors. Although manufacturers offer displays called LCDs and LEDs, LED displays are still a type of LCD. In these types of panels, white background light is filtered through liquid crystals that extract specific colors per pixel.

LCD and LED displays, such as CRT screens and plasma displays, do not burn images. Although image burn is not quite obvious in older CRT and plasma technologies, LCD and LED displays suffer from another problem called “image durability”. In the continuation of the article, we will provide more details about the durability of the image.

Why do plasma screens burn?

Before attempting to fix this problem, it is better to examine why the screens burn the image in the first place. The burn rate of LCD and LED panels is much lower than that of plasma displays. Of course, when a still image stays on the screen for a long time, it can affect both types of screens.
We will first talk about ways to deal with burning plasma screens. If you remember, we mentioned that the reason the image burns on CRT TVs is that a still image stays on the screen for a long time, because in this case the phosphor components per pixel wear out at different speeds. Uneven burning rate will create a halo in the background of the screen that stays on it forever.

Plasma monitors also suffer from phosphorus degradation. Image burn on plasma TVs occurs when the screen pixels are damaged by prolonged exposure. Phosphorus loses its intensity and shows only light that is fed frequently. In such cases, the still image will cause burns.

Do LCDs and LEDs have a burn problem?

There is also the possibility of image burnout on the LCD and LED screens, although this can become a permanent problem as the burn process lengthens. In addition, LCD and LED displays face another problem called “image preservation”. This problem is also known as “image or LCD shadow”.

Image retention is a temporary problem that you will probably notice before it becomes a permanent problem. However, image burn can still affect LCD, LED and OLED panels.

Image preservation is a different matter from image burn; However, this is a prelude to the image burn problem. For example, if you use a steam train image as a source for painting before playing a video game, the steam train image will be displayed on the screen for a few hours.

After that, when you run on the game screen, you can still see the outline of the train on it. The image of the steam train will remain for a short time, but moving and changing the color of the video game content (or movie, TV show, or other multimedia content) should erase the remaining image.

Another point to keep in mind is that the problem of burning the LED and OLED image is irreversible if it occurs. This is due to the way OLED and LED displays work. In this case, every single pixel that emits light on an LED display will be damaged.

When the screen is fixed on an image, those pixels will have this problem faster than the surrounding pixels. Once the pixel itself is down, no action can be taken to restore it.

LED, OLED or QLED displays will not burn out under normal use. However, if these types of screens remain on a particular image for hours each day, the problem of screen burn can be as problematic as other types of screens.

Problems will arise when the screen shows, for example, a news channel 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which will cause the channel logo display area to burn along with the instant news scrolling plan and more. News channels, regardless of the type of display, are a well-built source for the problem of pixel burn on televisions.

Seven Ways to Troubleshoot LCD and Plasma Displays

It is possible to solve the problem of image burn in LCD and plasma displays. The effectiveness of these methods depends on the type of screen damage. Depending on the size and severity of the image burn, some monitors may be permanently damaged.

1- Avoid burning LED display and plasma

The best solution for a screen burn is to prevent it from happening in the first place. If the screen has already entered the burn stage of the image, you should note that the situation will not be very favorable for you. However, you should always try not to leave your screen on an image or static content for long periods of time. The length of time it takes for an image to be permanently captured on the screen depends on the manufacturer of the display and the type of panel.

Your personal rule is to turn it off if you plan to stay away from your monitor for more than 15 minutes. This reduces the likelihood of getting a halo in the image and, in addition, saves on the cost of electricity and the wear and tear of the TV or monitor.

2- Reduce the contrast of still images on LCD and plasma displays

Another way to prevent this is to reduce the screen contrast as much as you can. Unfortunately, most monitors are not properly calibrated and often increase the contrast and brightness settings too much.

Less contrast means your screen light is more uniform, which means less pressure on certain areas of the screen, which helps increase protection against image burn problems.

3- Use fixed content playback to eliminate LCD and plasma burns

If your plasma or LCD monitor has already entered the burn stage of the image, you can play a still white image on it for 12 to 24 hours. The constant movement of black and white across the screen with random patterns can help eliminate image halos on the screen.

Unfortunately, this method does not work for halos and images of severe burns. Some TVs offer a built-in option to display the pattern, which is basically made for this purpose and will show random patterns on your screen.

4- Use pixel-shift to burn LCD and plasma images

Some TVs and monitors use pixel change technology to change the screen.

Pixel-Shift constantly adjusts images on the screen, which changes the use of pixels to combat image burnout. You may need to enable the pixel or page change option in your display settings to use this method. Pixel-shift is a useful feature for LED and QLED displays that can help counteract the halos created on LCD monitors.

Other modern monitors take advantage of the built-in screen update feature, which the manufacturers of these products advise buyers to use this feature to eliminate image preservation and image burn problems.

5. Use JSCreenFix to remove LCD and plasma screen burns

The best tool for removing halos from the screen is to use JScreenFix. This program helps to repair displays that have burned pixels. The developer of this tool has also released an updated version called JScreenFix Deluxe.

Although the Delux version uses advanced algorithms to repair burnt screens and extend the life of plasma and LCDs, the official site of the tool has not been launched, so there is no way to officially download the full version.

You can find the free version of Deluxe online, but it runs for 20 minutes. In addition, we will not refer to versions that can be downloaded from other websites as we cannot verify the security of these websites. If you are using the Deluxe version, do so at your own risk.

If you are not sure if some of your display pixels are disabled, you can use burnt pixel test programs such as EIZO Monitor Test, Online Monitor Test, JScreenFix or UDPixel.

6. Use a white screen protector to burn LCD and plasma images

Another option is to set a completely white background on your desktop and let it display for a few hours. Solid color may solve the problem of creating a halo on the screen. A colored background helps make the image last longer than creating a halo; But it is still worth a try.

If your TV is experiencing a screen burn issue, you can use an HDMI cable to connect the laptop to your TV, then transfer the display content to the TV, and finally play the white screen protector on it. We hope this will improve the pixel burn status of your TV.

7. Use a ScreenBurnFixer video

The ScreenBurnFixer team offers a variety of solutions for burning TVs or computer monitors. Of course, the effectiveness of this method, like other solutions to solve the problem of screen burn, depends on the scale of the problem.

You can go to the ScreenBurnFixer video page and select a video that matches your screen, then allow the video to play for a few hours. On the other hand, by going to the chart page, you can find your device or another device that matches your specifications.

The best way to prevent the screen from burning

There are several solutions that you can use to fix the problem of screen burn. The results will vary between the type of monitor and the amount of burns. The problem of a screen on which a broad halo is created may not be completely solved by these methods, but it will probably help to reduce its effect.

Some problems, such as pixel burn in monitors over time, are not surprising. However, by following the steps in this guide, you can take action to correct or improve the problem before it occurs permanently.

Having trouble burning pixels or creating halos on your monitors? If you have another solution to this problem, please share it with us and other users in the comments section.