As Mr Hyde is to Dr Jekyll, Moriarty is to Sherlock Holmes, and pesky biplanes buzzing above the Empire State Building are to King Kong, burn-in is the ultimate nemesis of OLED TVs. This permanent form of image retention can be caused if static images are displayed too long on a screen, though thankfully there are ways modern OLEDs prevent burn-in that you don’t even notice.
I’ve owned close to a dozen OLED TVs since I picked up my first back in 2015 (I really like upgrading televisions), and over that time I’ve learned a few tricks to help reduce the chance of burn-in. My current LG G3 OLED is coming up to three loyal years of service as I write this, and the following methods make up a routine that has so far protected my beloved TV from screen burn.
OLED Burn-In Hits Laptops Hard—Here’s How to Avoid It
Your gorgeous laptop display is at risk of losing its shine.
I vary the content I watch
On-screen icons are the enemy of OLED
The main aim of the game when it comes to reducing the chances of OLED burn-in is to ensure your TV isn’t constantly displaying static images for long periods of time.
What static elements am I talking about in particular? HUD icons in video games, like the speedometer, lap time, and in-race position you can see in the shot of Wreckfest 2 above. You also want to avoid displaying channel logos and on-screen scores while watching live sports on your OLED’s screen for hours on end. Seeing as I replaced my monitor with a TV and I’m never going back, I also ensure my taskbar auto-hides itself when not in use on my Windows 11 PC.
My general (extra wary) rule of thumb is to ensure I’m not playing/viewing the same piece of content for more than two hours at a time. Now, let me double down on the fact that this really is me being ludicrously cautious in terms of warding off burn-in. Nevertheless, said rule does stop me from worrying.
As annoying as they are, commercial breaks provide natural protection against static image retention.
Thankfully, it’s quite rare you’ll be able to watch a show or play a game with persistent on-screen elements for multiple hours at a time. As annoying as they are, commercial breaks provide natural protection against static images by briefly removing channel logos/on-screen scores. As for games, loading menus and cutscenes temporarily remove HUD elements to reduce the chances of permanent OLED image retention.
Even as someone who is mildly obsessed with burn-in, I wouldn’t say my viewing habits are all that unnatural. It probably helps that my short attention span encourages regular channel swapping/hopping between different streaming platforms. If you regularly pause content on your OLED, then wander off and do other things for prolonged periods though, definitely switch your screen off when it’s not in use.
Using pixel cleaning is key
Your OLED probably has this feature, so don’t sleep on it
Pixel cleaning/panel refresh features have existed on OLED TVs for years at this point. What is the function of said features? They help prevent the chance of burn-in by measuring the overall wear of a panel’s pixels before adjusting per-pixel voltage levels to even out the brightness of the screen. Run on a responsible, semi-regular basis, pixel cleaning cycles can help clear temporary image retention, while also reducing the risk of permanent on-screen ghosting.
My LG G3 OLED has an automatic panel refresh mode that kicks in as soon as I switch my TV off (provided it’s been in continuous use for four hours or more before I put it into standby mode). Most OLED manufacturers also allow you to run manual pixel cleaning cycles, and these usually take around 10 minutes to complete. When should you use a manual panel refresh? If you’ve been playing a video game for a silly number of hours at a time and an on-screen HUD has been ever-present during that playtime.
You do have to be a little careful with pixel cleaning, though. As much as it’s a useful tool to help reduce the threat of burn-in, if you run these cycles too often, you can put your OLED panel under increased wear. In turn, there’s a chance this could reduce the overall lifespan of your TV.
I avoid black bars where possible
Do I care that my movies look slightly stretched out? Heck no
This is definitely the most obscure part of my anti-OLED burn-in routine, and if it’s one that causes you to raise your eyebrows, I completely understand. For years, I’ve used various past TVs’ zoom features to make black bars disappear while watching movies and shows.
In part, this is because I want to enjoy the maximum screen real estate of my TV. And when you spend over $3,500 on a 77-inch OLED, you’re damn sure I’m going to stretch my picture out to cover every last one of those inches whenever I can. It’s also because removing static black bars from the screen does make me fret a little less about burn-in.
Most Hollywood movies are filmed at a 1:85:1 aspect ratio, which is a far better fit for 21:9 ultrawide displays than the standard 16:9 format of modern widescreen TVs. That’s why I’d love manufacturers to make ultrawide TVs, even though there’s very little chance that ever happens going forwards. As 16:9 screens force black bars in 1:85:1 content, the active part of an OLED’s screen that displays on-screen action is going to age and wear at a different rate than the parts of a screen with bars.
Pixels affected by non-active parts of an image that are covered by black bars will actually turn off. In turn, this disparity in usage terms between different parts of an OLED screen can create the risk of faint lines appearing where the bars were. It really is a very small risk, though. I don’t mind my favorite movies looking a little stretched if it slightly lessens the possibility of burn-in, but I realize warped aspect ratios might be just as offensive as burn-in to some of you. Personally, I think OLED banding is worse than burn-in.
OLED burn-in is more easily preventable than ever before
If you’re thinking about buying your first OLED TV, but are holding off because you’re worried about burn-in, please don’t let that be the defining factor in your purchasing decision. Thanks to built-in pixel cleaning cycles, screen burn isn’t anywhere near as big an issue for OLEDs as it was a few years ago. Provided you’re not viewing content with static on-screen elements for a silly number of consecutive hours, permanent image retention really shouldn’t be a problem for your OLED screen.
