Worried about going OLED......

TV reviewers presumably get to test their TVs for two weeks and obviously not the two years it can take for an issue like this to arise.
I am not saying OLED Burn in doesn't happen it is just highly improbable as Consumer Reports Statistical Scientific Data would indicate by the fact that they never mention OLED Burn In as a significant issue to be concerned with.

When I talked to Adam from Rtings.com he said they don't keep data on how many TVs have been reported to them with OLED Burn in. When I ask for a estimate he just says, there have been reports of burn in to Rtings.com. Their statement says "possible" with no mention of probability.

Consumer Reports
Their statistical data shows that OLED Burn In is such a rare occurence that they don't even mention it as anything to be concerned with except for some 2015 OLED TVs.
Data on over 100,000 TVs owned by Consumer Reports members who purchased a new set between 2010 and 2020 has been collected. Many of these TVs are OLEDs. If Burn In was a common problem I am sure Consumer Reports would mention it.

From Rtings.com*
Although we don't expect most people who watch varied content to have any issues, OLED TVs, such as the LG OLED C9 do have the possibility of experiencing burn in.

The question is not if OLED Burn In is possible, but rather how probable. Possible could be one in a billion, one in a million, or one in ten. Saying that OLED Burn In is possible without mentioning the probability has no value for me.

Consumer Reports has collected data on OLED TV's and they don't mention OLED Burn In as something to be concerned with. Some AVForum members will not trust Consumer Reports unless they are able to analyze all the proprietary data. I rely on professional reviewers and Consumer Reports for my information. If there are differences I side with Consumer Reports since their data is based on actual owners experiences.
 
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I personally know 5 people who have had 7 OLED TVs between them and all of them have had burn in or permanent image retention issues.

That's 100% for me so certainly much higher than probable.

Obviously i am aware not all OLED TVs sold suffer from these issues.

It took Xbox a while to acknowledge the RROD on Xbox 360 and then even longer to sort it out and that was affecting nearly 25% of all first Gen Xbox 360s.
 
I personally know 5 people who have had 7 OLED TVs between them and all of them have had burn in or permanent image retention issues.

That's 100% for me so certainly much higher than probable.

Obviously i am aware not all OLED TVs sold suffer from these issues.

It took Xbox a while to acknowledge the RROD on Xbox 360 and then even longer to sort it out and that was affecting nearly 25% of all first Gen Xbox 360s.
Good example of my point. Some AVForum members say 100 percent and consumer reports data says it is not a significant issue. Asking a question about OLED BURN IN on AVForums is going to recruit these two extremes and everywhere in between so it is more of an entertaining BS session rather than somewhere your going to get a concrete answer.
 
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Wow....haven't checked back in for a couple of days now and can't believe my post is at nearly 80 replies! Guess a pinched a nerve.....

Anyways....thanks to everyone who shared their experiences/opinions regarding OLED sets. I know that if I took care of an OLED correctly, I'd be fine but my biggest concern is that I'm a HUGE cinefile. Have a big library of movies (mostly 1080p bluray) and it's those damn widescreen bars that really freak me out. Some people online have said to "zoom in" and remove the bars....that's a HELL NO. Once you know the difference from pan and scan to widescreen....you'll never go back to watching movies on a full screen no matter how more "immersive" it is.

I never tune in to news or watch sports......I'd rather be enjoying a flick or tv show. I saw a post online where someone got uneven wear from letterboxed bars and it looked terrible. Maybe that's from 5 years of use??? Who knows. I just don't want to risk it.

I also game here and there and don't want to be forced into playing Spiderman on Monday, Call of Duty on Tues, Zombie Army 4 on Wed, Sniper Elite 4 on Thursday and God of War on Friday. See my point??
According to Rtings, you need to vary the content and not play the same game day after day. Well, currently, I'm really hooked on Zombie Army 4. So if own an OLED, I can't play that game again until I've changed up the screen pixels with other content?? That's just BS. I'm currently using an old 1080p Sony and can play that game as much as I want day after day.

If you're a person who enjoys changing games all the time, watching a 16:9 movie and then watch some youtube clips...then move onto a game then maybe watches an old tv show with 4:3 bars....then go ahead and pick up an OLED. I'm pretty sure you'll be fine. Unfortunately, I'm not someone who would enjoy living like this having to constantly remember to vary the content all the bloody time. Sometimes I just wanna watch 3 movies back to back....can't do that on an OLED but you can on an LCD screen. I'd rather give up the amazing blacks for a bit of blooming so I can do what I want and not what the tech from an OLED panel is forcing me to do.

Until OLED changes or Micro LED is here, I'll just stick to LCD. I'd rather spend $3,000 on a 65" Q90T than a 65" LG CX or A8H. I've seen the Samsung tv in Best Buy and the blacks looked amazing. Maybe not OLED amazing...but close enough.
 
I was about to take the plunge for the Philips Ambilight 55 Oled, so many positive reviews on its image quality, and the bonus of the ambilight effect, plus it's affordability, then I start reading the Currys reviews. No mention of burn in anywhere, but everyone fed up with the disaster of an interface. Laggy, freezing, crashing, and generally unresponsive, requiring cold restarts at the power plug? Especially on the smart apps. Yikes. A lifetime of this in front of any version of Microsoft Windows is enough for me, without having to endure it on a telly. How bad is it? Can long term users comment?
 
55" 2016 Lg OLED B6 owner, absolutely love it. Web os is just fantastically fast with apps. Lots of software updates bringing HLG on iplayer after i bought it, and recently watched SKyq hlg nature progs on it. My first LG and i can see me buying LG next or sony A8.
 
Do richer sounds have your back with burn in? I have bought a lg c9 from them a few months ago with their 6 year warranty. Bit worried it is worthless if they don't cover it..

No one provides cover for Burn in. John Lewis offer a Domestic and General accidental damage cover that claims to cover for burn in...but it then states neglect isn't covered. Manufacturers of OLED state that burn in occurs due to the owner not looking after the OLED as it should be so I'd be wary of even that policy covering you. Despite what some posters claim, burn in is a very real issue so you buy one and take your chances.
 
No one provides cover for Burn in. John Lewis offer a Domestic and General accidental damage cover that claims to cover for burn in...but it then states neglect isn't covered. Manufacturers of OLED state that burn in occurs due to the owner not looking after the OLED as it should be so I'd be wary of even that policy covering you. Despite what some posters claim, burn in is a very real issue so you buy one and take your chances.


I've flat out asked D&G (after owning the OLED and being on their policy) is it covered and they said yes. Given the terms and conditions, I think any court will side with you regardless of the 'neglect line'. It flat out says burn in is covered and I have multiple email trails confirming this, including asking if used as a PC monitor would it be covered, to which they've said yes.

So to summarise, I have written assurances via email from D&G and JL and a burn in protection cover which states its covered. Its safe to say... anyone who buys from them is pretty safe when it comes to having to get a panel or TV replaced due to burn in.

I get the paranoia over burn in but when there is a good deal and a good protection program in place, lets please be fair and exercise a bit of common sense rather than further fear-mongering.
 
No one provides cover for Burn in. John Lewis offer a Domestic and General accidental damage cover that claims to cover for burn in...but it then states neglect isn't covered. Manufacturers of OLED state that burn in occurs due to the owner not looking after the OLED as it should be so I'd be wary of even that policy covering you. Despite what some posters claim, burn in is a very real issue so you buy one and take your chances.
Not this again.....
 
The bottom line for me is that the PQ difference between an OLED and the highest end LCDs is sadly still massive.

The OLED IMO destroys the LCDs on a scene by scene basis, as LCDs lack the delicate control of HDR content to produce specular highlight detail without polluting it with artefacts, and SDR content is just flawless from an OLED. Motion has now also improved, they're packing 120hz panels with VRR and HDMI 2.1 features.

Even Vincent Teoh's video of OLED vs Plasma showed the difference in motion is now small.

For that PQ difference, there is a small risk of burn-in which seems to get smaller generation by generation, and in the US you have best-buy's geek squad protection and in the UK we have JL's burn in protection program.

I just think talking about this issue more than it has to be is now a waste of time.

If you want the best PQ available and:
a) think burn in is an issue = buy from JL/Bestbuy
b) think burn in isn't an issue = buy from a retailer which sells the TV cheapest



Every use-case now has a clear solution for those that are worried about burn in and for those that aren't. At last the consumer is empowered either way to make an educated and safe decision.
 
And the epic burn-in war, where thousands of people's hours were sacrificed, of Kenshingintoki vs Unopinionated has finally come to an end.

We should be celebrating, not spreading further fear.
 
My Philips 55POS9002 OLED which I bought mid-2018 is on all day almost every day playing the kids films, which is a mix of HD/UHD from Netflix/Prime and fluff recorded from CITV with the logos in the corner - it's on so long the TV displays a visual warning pretty much every day that it will shut off in 30 seconds and run the pixel refresher to prevent burn-in - which mostly gets ignored anyway. Still not even a sniff of burn-in over two years later.

Also regarding the Philips interface a poster above mentioned, it's nowhere near as bad as my experience with Sony's OS. Philips do keep pushing out updates too, its nowhere near as flaky as it used to be and certainly not sluggish now, I expect the latest models are very nice to use as they have more powerful CPUs.
 
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The bottom line for me is that the PQ difference between an OLED and the highest end LCDs is sadly still massive.

The OLED IMO destroys the LCDs on a scene by scene basis, as LCDs lack the delicate control of HDR content to produce specular highlight detail without polluting it with artefacts, and SDR content is just flawless from an OLED. Motion has now also improved, they're packing 120hz panels with VRR and HDMI 2.1 features.

Even Vincent Teoh's video of OLED vs Plasma showed the difference in motion is now small.

For that PQ difference, there is a small risk of burn-in which seems to get smaller generation by generation, and in the US you have best-buy's geek squad protection and in the UK we have JL's burn in protection program.

I just think talking about this issue more than it has to be is now a waste of time.

If you want the best PQ available and:
a) think burn in is an issue = buy from JL/Bestbuy
b) think burn in isn't an issue = buy from a retailer which sells the TV cheapest



Every use-case now has a clear solution for those that are worried about burn in and for those that aren't. At last the consumer is empowered either way to make an educated and safe decision.

You're entitled to that opinion, for me the reality is that they are much, much closer together. I think OLED's can look sublime, but they come with the risk of burn in and can't match top end LCD's for motion or HDR, although this years LG's produce awesome HDR in gaming.
 
I've flat out asked D&G (after owning the OLED and being on their policy) is it covered and they said yes. Given the terms and conditions, I think any court will side with you regardless of the 'neglect line'. It flat out says burn in is covered and I have multiple email trails confirming this, including asking if used as a PC monitor would it be covered, to which they've said yes.

So to summarise, I have written assurances via email from D&G and JL and a burn in protection cover which states its covered. Its safe to say... anyone who buys from them is pretty safe when it comes to having to get a panel or TV replaced due to burn in.

I get the paranoia over burn in but when there is a good deal and a good protection program in place, lets please be fair and exercise a bit of common sense rather than further fear-mongering.

That's useful to know. It's not fear-mongering as neglect is a clause in their policy. If they have sent you emails reassuring you I'm very pleased for you, but their policy doesn't cover all causes of burn in or they wouldn't have exceptions written in to it.
 
You're entitled to that opinion, for me the reality is that they are much, much closer together. I think OLED's can look sublime, but they come with the risk of burn in and can't match top end LCD's for motion or HDR, although this years LG's produce awesome HDR in gaming.

They aren’t. I have both in house and the Panasonic 902b is far inferior sadly.

LCDs are fundamentally flawed with HDR because they have to push the backlight to 100 and try to control colour brightness through the backlight zone control. It’s messy and it comes across as so for those who are interested in the best video quality.

if people are happy with average video quality and not necessarily the best.. i wouldn’t even be shopping at the high range. Just get a mid range LcD Sony and enjoy
 
Why would an OLED owner be worried about Aspect ratio bars?

1/ Not all movies are in a widescreen format, plenty are 16:9
2/ As OLED is self emissive the black bars are just switched off pixels, how are they going to burn in.


The other one I keep seeing is "subtitles" and burn-in. How?

Subtitles change constantly, OK they're in the same part of the screen but they're not staying on, exactly the same, for hours on end.
 
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The other one I keep seeing is "subtitles" and burn-in. How?

Subtitles change constantly, OK they're in the same part of the screen but they're not staying on, exactly the same, for hours on end.

That's what I couldn't make out. Unless you're watching 'Dude, where's my Car' with subtitles on repeat then surely the pixels are changing constantly.
 
Why would an OLED owner be worried about Aspect ratio bars?

1/ Not all movies are in a widescreen format, plenty are 16:9
2/ As OLED is self emissive the black bars are just switched off pixels, how are they going to burn in.


The other one I keep seeing is "subtitles" and burn-in. How?

Subtitles change constantly, OK they're in the same part of the screen but they're not staying on, exactly the same, for hours on end.


It's the uneven wear because the middle of the screen is used more than top and bottom. Check out this link. Scroll halfway down and look at the picture of someone who got permanent image retention watching widescreen flicks.

 
It's the uneven wear because the middle of the screen is used more than top and bottom. Check out this link. Scroll halfway down and look at the picture of someone who got permanent image retention watching widescreen flicks.


Due to a software glitch.

Again, movies come in a variety of Aspect Ratios, so one story of an errant "freak" issue and it's a problem?
 
They aren’t. I have both in house and the Panasonic 902b is far inferior sadly.

LCDs are fundamentally flawed with HDR because they have to push the backlight to 100 and try to control colour brightness through the backlight zone control. It’s messy and it comes across as so for those who are interested in the best video quality.

if people are happy with average video quality and not necessarily the best.. i wouldn’t even be shopping at the high range. Just get a mid range LcD Sony and enjoy

One television doesn't validate that point which is flawed but no point continuing. Whatever floats someone's AV boat is best.
 
IF burn in wasn't an issue, then why do certain retailers offer a protection plan??? Because according to all the OLED lovers, the new sets don't suffer from burn in anymore or there's a very very slim chance of it happening.

Bottom line: organic tech has too many risks to spend that kind of money.
If you're one of those lucky ones who did what the hell you wanted to on your OLED tv and never got burn in, then hats off to you! You're lucky.
Me, I'm not willing to risk it considering how far QLED and Sony sets have come in the past 5 years. Put up some bias lighting and your eyes most likely won't tell the difference from OLED to LCD.
 
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One television doesn't validate that point which is flawed but no point continuing. Whatever floats someone's AV boat is best.

I use the 902b as an example because it’s one of the best in class lcd TVs. Since the zd9 and 902b the number of zones on tvs and the urge to use wide angle filters has led to a lower pq quality in lcd land

Its also interesting from a slightly more objective point to note that TV shootouts, OLEDs are dominating with LCDs only really turning up in the bright room category.

I think sometimes its important to just celebrate when a superior technology comes around rather than try to be stubborn and downplay its obvious advantages.
 
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