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Has the OLED Burn-in Problem Been Solved?
 
LG claims that “for the typical TV viewer, it’s uncommon to create a situation that might induce burn-in.” Burn-in has been around since the invention of screens, and even old-fashioned CRT computer monitors might be permanently imprinted with ghostlike images after displaying the same image for too long, which is why the screensaver was born; it has remained a standard feature of computer displays ever since. Plasma displays, which were extremely prone to burn-ins when LCD-based displays were less likely to have them. However, LCD displays were more prone to have pixels fail or become “stuck,” which caused a different type of issue for regular TV viewers. The issue has not been eliminated—but manufacturers are working on mitigation techniques to help reduce it. It has, however, improved over time.
 

LG Display claims that all of its TVs come with a screen saver function that activates automatically if the TV senses that a static image is shown for approximately two minutes. There’s also the Clear Panel Noise option, which keeps the picture quality on the display panel by resetting the TV so it clears pixels, and Logos Luminance Adjustment, which can detect static logos on-screen and lower brightness to help prevent image retention. The Screen Shift function, for example, slides the screen back and forth at regular intervals to reduce the chance of burn-in. LGD provides OLED panels for LGE, Sony, Panasonic and 14 other TV set makers, so this is a consistent situation. Recent OLEDs are less prone to burn-in than ever before, and those prospects are getting better over time. Philips just debuted new OLEDs with anti-burning technology standardized across the range, and they’re already available. Modern OLED display panels have active compensation built in to prevent image burn-in. This information provides a measure of how long each pixel has been activated, and it’s subsequently used in the backend hardware to modify the output signal to ensure uniform screen display and eliminate burn-in effects. Sony’s head of worldwide studios Shuhei Yoshida also mentioned that the OLED display in the PS Vita had previously included OLED and there were no issues regarding burn-in back then – and that is still the case. The PS Vita is an outdated gaming system with an older form of OLED than we are seeing now, so the latest OLED displays should be even more dependable.
 
While LG OLED TVs come with a 5-year panel guarantee, image retention “is not a product defect” according to a representative for the company, however, it doesn’t quite clear whether that includes persistent screen burn-in or not. If you’re one of the unlucky ones, you may have a fight on your hands because it’s frequently considered to be normal wear and tear. Samsung provides a 10-year screen burn-in warranty. Although Samsung does not have an explicit screen burn-in guarantee, owing to the fact that it employs LED or QLED technology rather than OLED in its televisions, the problem is reduced. There has been no indication of what Samsung Visual will do when they introduce the QD-OLED TV
 
CNET had stated back in the spring that fears over burn-in had been lessening over time while noting that “if the fear of the mere possibility of burn-in is your primary concern, the decision is simple: buy an LCD-based display instead. But know that you’re sacrificing the best picture quality that money can buy.”
 
Now, another report states that fears are lessoning about burn-in. According to Techradar, “we’ve taken a deeper look at the history behind burn-in and image retention and looked at whether it’s still an issue for the average user, and whether it’s a risk worth taking at all.” 
 
The website noted that manufacturers have been doing more to try to avoid burn-in issues, while also stating that “screen burn-in is most likely to happen on display units in showrooms of retail stores, or if you watch the same static image all the time.” Most people who own TVs, after all, don’t watch the same thing every day. And when burn-in happens, it’s not necessarily permanent. “Crucially, it should take so long for it to be a noticeable issue that you'll end up upgrading your TV long before it becomes a problem,” according to the website. One study by LG believes that the expected life of an OLED display is about 100,000 hours of use, in comparison to LCD panels with LED backlights that “have a life expectancy of six to 10 years.” The website went on to say that there are things OLED TV owners can do to avoid burn-in issues affecting their TV.  “The best way to avoid burn-in is to keep watching varied content,” according to the website. “Don’t leave your TV on the same image all the time and definitely don't leave anything paused for hours on end. It should take a huge number of hours to become a problem, but you may end up with some temporary image retention issues and a bit of paranoia that you’ve messed up.”