LCD Image Persistence? [The fullscreen white image solution]

[xMax]

First thing is first; CRTs have 'screen burn-ins' while LCDs have 'image persistence'. The two are clearly similar, but by no means the same. Now unless there is relevance in opening up a discussion on CRT 'screen burn-ins', i would like to keep the focus on LCDs and 'image persistence'. So here it goes..

Essentially, there are many different ways of avoiding and or removing 'image persistence' on LCDs, but one approach that i frequently read about on the net is the displaying of a full white image for as long as it takes to remove the persisting image, and the occasional displaying of this full white image to prevent a persisting image from occuring.

Now this theory seems to make sense, as it was recommended by numerous professional sources, but there is one catch that i cant seem to understand; If i were to display such a fullscreen white image on my LCD, then wouldn't the whole screen be imprinted with this white image, which in turn would make blacks appear more gray, as this would be the equivilant of reducing the contrast ratio on the display?

Thats my question.

 

[TheRyuu]

30 second google, from viewsonic:

Image Persistence:
Unlike CRT monitors, image persistence or "Burn-In" is not permanent on your LCD panel. To recover from "Burn-In", leave the panel OFF for an extended time. We recommend the use of a screen saver when the ViewPanel is not in use.

And, don't know why, but I've never even heard of "image persistence?"

 

[xMax]

I'm aware of the varying methods used to prevent and or remove 'image persistence'.

But what do i do if i want my monitor to warm up as well as not develop any persisting images so that i can calibrate it with a hardware calibrator?

Because turning off the monitor or displaying a pure black image or even a pure black image with some scrolling text is not going to keep the monitor warmed up properly. And this is whats stated in my monitors manual. For this reason, using a white image will prevent image persistence and keep the monitor fully warmed up.

So now im back to my original question, which is wether a pure white fullscreen image would in itself imprint itself on the display and actually reduce the contrast ratio of the display.

And if you havent heard of image persistence, then why don't you do a 30 second google...

 

[TheRyuu]

Originally posted by: xMax
I'm aware of the varying methods used to prevent and or remove 'image persistence'.

But what do i do if i want my monitor to warm up as well as not develop any persisting images so that i can calibrate it with a hardware calibrator?

Because turning off the monitor or displaying a pure black image or even a pure black image with some scrolling text is not going to keep the monitor warmed up properly. And this is whats stated in my monitors manual. For this reason, using a white image will prevent image persistence and keep the monitor fully warmed up.

So now im back to my original question, which is wether a pure white fullscreen image would in itself imprint itself on the display and actually reduce the contrast ratio of the display.

And if you havent heard of image persistence, then why don't you do a 30 second google...

I did do a 30 second google, and thats what I found.

I've never EVER seen it happen on my monitor. I don't really think you have to worry about it too much. Plus I've never even really heard about it on these forums, so don't worry.

Curtosy of Wikipedia:

Image Persistence is the term used for LCD "screen burn". Unlike burn-in, the effects are generally not permanent. The fastest remedy for Image Persistence is to leave the monitor off for an extended period of time. This time can range anywhere from hours to days. Another useful approach to removing LCD image persistence is to first create a plain white background image and display the image as a screensaver for an extended period of time. In addition, simply turning the monitor off usually reverses the LCD burn-in displayed.

Liquid crystals have a natural relaxed state, when a voltage is applied they rearrange themselves to block certain light waves. If left with the same voltage for an extended period of time, the liquid crystals can develop a tendency to stay in one position. This ever so slight tendency to stay arranged in one position can throw the requested color off by a slight degree, which causes the image to look like the traditional "burn-in" on phosphor based displays.

This is easily preventable and can be reversed by allowing the liquid crystals to return to their relaxed state. In other words, turning off a LCD computer monitor for as little as 15 minutes a day will relax the crystals and help prevent image retention.

So if you ever turn off your monitor (which windows does automatically after certain amout of time if you have it set right) you don't have to worry.

And I really have no idea what your so worried about anyway?

 

[xMax]

I'm just paranoid about imprinting the very white image itself, which could reduce the contrast ratio of my monitor. But i guess it would take numerous hours before such an imprint could take effect, as turning the monitor off every night would reverse the white image imprint.

The pure white image is probably my best approach. This is so because i want to calibrate my monitor with a hardware calibrator, as setting the white image will maximize the warming up of the monitor and prevent non-blank image imprints.

I should be right. I hope im right. Why am i so paranoid? That's a complicated question!