Break-in, burn-in, and image retention
From Samsung Plasma TV FAQ
Contents |
[edit] Break-in
FAQ about break-in as it relates to Samsung plasma displays.
[edit] What is break-in?
Break-In is the time period from when a Plasma set is brand new until the plasma phosphors have aged (or hardened), to a point where it is less susceptible to image retention (IR). Phosphors are their "hottest" when new. You may notice when passing by a new plasma set that it gives off a lot of heat but runs cooler after 100 or so hours of use. During this break-in period, burn-in can occur more easily.
Opposing View on Break-In: Not all plasma owners believe a break-in period is necessary for the later generations of Samsung plasma sets. The Samsung factory supports this view. Samsung's Support FAQ, as of 2007, states: "Samsung Plasma TVs do not require a break-in period." There has been much concern and confusion over this issue because both Pioneer and Panasonic published documents as late as 2004 stating their plasma sets required 1,000 hours of break-in. As of 2007, no plasma manufacturers suggest their sets require break-in. Some owners see this as good news, while some market analysts believe as plasmas continue to lose market share to LCD's, plasma manufacturers are no longer pointing out areas of concern that could impact sales. NET: Use your own best judgment.
[edit] After how many hours of viewing is my unit broken in?
Estimates vary, but 250 hours is widely regarded as the safest. Anytime the panel is on during the break-in period counts towards break-in.
[edit] How can I determine how many hours the unit has been in use?
Be aware that when entering the Service Menu, all User Menu settings will revert to their factory default settings. Document these settings before you begin. Do not change any settings while in the service menu!
Enter the Service Menu. On entering the Service Menu, in the left column, scroll down and select Option Byte. The next screen that appears will display two columns of data. Look in the left hand column for the heading Panel Display Time or Panel Hours (it varies by model). Before exiting, highlight Reset and then hit OK. (Brightness will be skewed if you do not reset.) Your TV with automatically shut off.
[edit] How should I break in my unit?
- Avoid unnecessary high brightness and contrast levels (facetiously called Torch Mode). Instead use these settings, which are highly recommended for the break-in period.
During the break-in period:
- Do not leave static images on your plasma TV screen for more than 30 min.
- Avoid extended viewing of broadcasts with non-transparent logos (bugs or DOGs) or where the screen is consistently divided into fixed parts, such as cable news channels.
- Enable pixel shifting and routinely use burn-in protection controls to recalibrate pixel intensity levels uniformly.
- Use grey bars instead of black while watching 4:3 content. You want all pixels to be turned on as much as possible so they all break-in during the same period.
Note: You can leave your set on 24 hour hours a day or just overnight to speed up the break-in process, provided you adhere to the above guidelines.
Break-in source material:
- The Break-in DVD (see below) is ideal for use during non-viewing hours.
- The Cartoon Network channel, available on most cable and satellite services, has continuous regular programming with no infomercials or other shows generating static images. Tip: Use Picture Size setting Zoom:2 on the TV to hide the station logo.
- Samsung scrolling screen saver. (Press the Menu button->Setup->Screen->Burn Protection->Scrolling). This option should be used as a last resort. The gray shades displayed will not exercise the phosphors of the panel as fully as using colored images.
[edit] What is the Break-In DVD?
The Break-In DVD is a set of 20 images that are 720p native resolution. The images are full screen colors so that the entire screen is 1 color at a time. The colors go from a white to a dark grey in 5 gradients, white to blue in 5 gradients, white to green in 5 gradients and white to red in 5 gradients. The images change every 30 seconds. The DVD image is available here with free downloading or it can be purchased if you don’t have the capability to burn your own DVD. Depending on the method used to create the DVD (S-VCD or DVD), the disc can run for as long as 24 hours.
Additional information on the break-in DVD can be found in the AVS Break-In DVD thread. When using the break-in DVD make sure the image fills the entire screen area (i.e., no black bars). Use the Zoom function on your source equipment or the TV to display a full screen image. If you cannot get the break-in DVD to fill the entire screen, do not use it for break-in!
[edit] Image Retention (IR)
FAQ about image rentention (IR) as it relates to Samsung plasma displays.
[edit] What is image retention?
Image retention is an image appearing on a plasma or other phosphor-based screen after a still picture is displayed for an extended period of time. When a group of pixels are run constantly at high brightness (displaying white, for example), a charge build-up in the pixel structure occurs and a ghost image can be seen. This charge build-up is transient and self-corrects after the display is powered off for a sufficient period of time, or after running random broadcast TV content 1.
[edit] How to avoid image retention?
Other plasma manufacturers avoided acknowledging the potential for burn-in damage on plasma displays. Samsung was the first manufacturer to provide consumers with the tools needed to combat it. Use them!
- Avoid still images (e.g. paused video game or movie) on your plasma TV screen for more than 30 minutes at a time.
- Avoid non-stop viewing of channels with fixed station logos or where the screen is consistently divided into fixed parts, such as cable news channels.
- Enable pixel shifting.
- Use Stretch to Fit or Zoom Mode when appropriate to avoid displaying black bars.
- After the initial break-in period, the potential for burn-in from constant displaying of black bars is greatly reduced. Some movies need the black bars to maintain the correct aspect ratio. While displaying black bars for several hours will do no harm, try to limit their use to those times when they are really needed.
- Use the White Screen feature weekly to examine your display for any evidence of IR retention.
[edit] How can I check for image retention?
The best way to determine if you have image retention is to view the white screen display (Setup Menu>Screen Burn Protection>White). Image retention will appear as ghost images through the white.
[edit] What should I do if I see image retention?
Don't panic; image retention is temporary. Perform any of the following for 1-2 hours to cure image retention:
- Display normal, full-screen, full-motion video (example: tuning to the HD Discovery Channel)
- Display "snow" (static) at full-screen. Use the Samsung's zoom feature if the static isn't full-screen.
- Display the Samsung scrolling burn protection screensaver (Press the Menu button->Setup->Screen->Burn protection->Scrolling)
- Display the break-in DVD
[edit] Burn-in
FAQ about burn-in as it relates to plasma displays.
[edit] What is burn-in?
Burn-in, sometimes also referred as permanent image retention, is damaged pixels whose phosphors have been prematurely aged and therefore glow less intensely than those of surrounding pixels on the plasma TV screen. The damaged or "burned-in" pixels have developed a "memory" of the color information that was repeatedly fed to them in a static manner over time, and has actually become seared or etched into the plasma TV glass (hence the term, 'burn-in'). Once these phosphors are damaged, they cannot give the same output as the other phosphors around them do. You can read more about burn-in here and here.
[edit] How to avoid burn-in???
- Follow the Break-in recommendations here.
- Consider getting your display calibrated. You can do a limited calibration yourself using DVE, Avia, or other calibration DVD's. You can also have a full professional calibration performed (~$300-400).
- Use the grey side bars option for watching 4:3 content.
- Vary your viewing habits. Alternate between viewing widescreen DVD's, HD content and SD content.
- Enable pixel shifting.
- Avoid long-term display of broadcasts with non-transparent logos (bugs or DOGs) or where the screen is consistently divided into fixed parts, such as cable news channels.
- Keep the contrast and brightness at reasonable levels (i.e., avoid Torch Mode), as some claim that high contrast and brightness levels are the primary causes of burn-in.
[edit] What should I do if I see burn-in?
First, confirm your display is actually suffering from burn-in and not image retention. Like burn-in, image retention is the phenomenon of being able to see what was on the screen just prior to turning off the unit. Image retention eventually goes away and has no effect on the display. However, it may indicate your contrast and brightness are set too high.
True burn-in may stay on the screen forever and never disappear. Severe burn in can make text unintelligible. If the burn-in is the result of black bar usage, you can sometimes reduce it by reversing the image of the screen. For example, let's say that you have the middle of the screen burned in because you used black bars when watching 4:3 content. Just put up the light grey bars or white bars for the side and don't display anything in the middle. How? Just unplug your STB from the unit when in 4:3 mode. The time it takes to "erase" the effects of burn-in will be in direct proportion to the amount of time that was spent watching 4:3 content with the black bars.
If the burn-in is not the result of using the black bars but is something like an image of a station logo or sports ticker banner, try running the scrolling screen for several hours.
See this thread for more information.
[edit] What is Torch Mode?
Torch Mode is a tongue-in-cheek term given to high-contrast, high-brightness settings on a television. These settings are often the factory default settings and are commonly used on display models in dealer showrooms to solicit the "wow factor" from consumers with maximum impact. While these settings may help a retailer sell more TV's, they are bad for plasma displays when used regularly and should be avoided. See also Shop Mode settings.
[edit] What is pixel shifting?
Pixel shifting is a feature in Samsung plasma displays that prevents static images (e.g., station bugs) from causing image retention and burn-in. The entire video frame is moved periodically so there are effectively no static images. One[1] definition reads: "the image rotates in a circle in a way imperceptible to the viewer with a defined rhythm and pixel interval." Basically, the firmware moves the video horizontally and vertically so many pixels every n minutes. You can define the number of pixels moved and their interval using the pixel-shifting parameters in the setup menu
It should be noted that pixel shifting is DISABLED while using "Just Scan" mode. This is because "Just Scan" displays pixels exactly as delivered from the source. For HD broadcasts where pixel shifting is desired (due to channel logo, etc) use "16:9" setting.
[edit] What are the optimal pixel shifting settings?
Most people use 4-4-1 (move the video frame 4 pixels vertically, 4 pixels horizontally every 1 minute). However, the Samsung HP-T4264/HP-T5064 owner's manual (page 53) recommends the following:
| Video Source | Horizontal Dot | Vertical Line | Time (minutes) |
|---|---|---|---|
| PC | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| All Others | 2 | 2 | 2 |
