Screen burn is probably the most urgent issue to read about. Failing to prevent screen burn could make your plasma TVs picture quality permanently reduced, it will not be covered by the manufacturers guarantee and it can occur within a few hours of getting it home. Not only that but some of the most likely causes are NOT what most people are on the lookout for. Screen burn CAN be prevented almost completely.
What Is Screen Burn?
Screen burn is where an image you were viewing on the Plasma or LCD screen remains there either temporarily or eventually permanently even after we have finished displaying it. The result in minor cases is that an annoying ghost image appears when we are watching our favorite program and in the worst case the retention is so bad that the display is totally unwatchable. There is another occurrence (even more common) called residual screen burn which is where the marks build up subtly causing inconsistent phosphor intensity (see how a plasma TV works) that degrades picture quality without leaving any obvious pictures or logos.
2 Ways To Remove Screen Burn
If you want to try something now to remove screen burn then check out 3 popular methods for removing LCD or Plasma Screen Burn.
PixelProtector
A DVD for removing screen burn. There is an interactive DVD for just such problems. It is called PixelProtector (Pixel Protector) and sells for about £25. It has a good pdf manual and will help remove or reduce screen burn. It is particularly effective compared to the other methods when dealing with residual screen burn. Have a read about what PixelProtector does and how it works or buy PixelProtector from our shop. PIxelProtector also will help you calibrate plasma & LCD TV's.
Screen Burn Removal Using Your PC
If you can hook your PC up to your screen burnt TV try this. Create a folder in 'My Documents' called 'Screen Burn'. I'm not joking keep reading. Now open up a picture editor like 'paint' available on all Windows PC's. When you run 'Paint' a blank white document is what you should have in front of you. That is exactly what you need. Select File – Save as and name your picture 'white'. Be sure to save it in the folder you just created.
Next you need to click on the 'black' section of the colour pallet at the bottom of the 'Paint' window. After you have selected black click on the 'Fill' icon (a tipped paint pot) on the left. Now simply click in the middle of your white picture and it should become totally black. Select File – Save as and name you picture 'black'. Again be sure to save it in the folder called 'Screen Burn'. You don't need paint any more so you can shut it down.
Now right click on the Windows desktop an select Properties – Screen Saver and using the drop down list select 'My Pictures Slide Show'. Now to configure the slide show. Click Settings and configure as follows. Slide the bar to 'More' so that pictures change frequently. Slide the next bar to 'Larger' so pictures fill the whole screen. Now click the 'browse' button and find the folder you made called 'Screen Burn'. In the next set of options:- Check 'Stretch Small Pictures', Un-check 'Show File Names', Check 'Use Screen Transitions' and finally un-check 'Allow Scrolling Through Pictures With The Keyboard'. Save the options.
Different versions of Windows might have slightly different configuration options but as long as the result is a completely filled (no borders), alternating white and black screen with no writing then it will probably help.
Now set your screen saver to 1 minute and leave the keyboard and mouse well alone.
As with the 'snow' and 'signal pattern' leave this for a while to see some results. If you use your TV for the PC then it might be a good idea to use this as your regular screen saver and run it frequently.
The only snag is the headache of connecting the PC up and the fact that removal technique will not be running at your screens native resolution.
