Question that apparently is answered on the net. An e-mail to Sony’s customer service didn’t get a response either.
Does playing PS2 (or any video game for that matter) cause burn-in on HDTV LCD screens (namely the Sony Grand WEGA Model #KF42WE610)
I realize burn in on today’s LCD screens is inevitable over a period of years, but will playing Madden NFL 2004 a few hours a week help accelerate that process?
My hunch is the burn in hypothesis is urban legend, but I don’t wish to gamble with a new, expensive TV set.
I’m not aware of any issues with burn-in on LCD screens. There’s nothing to burn; as opposed to the phosphors in a CRT, an LCD is completely solid-state. There’s always the chance that a pixel will become stuck on or off, but AFAIK this has not been correlated with static vs. changing images.
Even basic projection TV’s now have more tolerance to burn in. My owner’s manual advises no more than 30% total time viewing static images. That’s a huge allowance. (Mitsu 60")
But newer technologies are becoming as reliable or more reliable than even tradition non-big screen TVs.
LCD screen makers love to point out that their screens don’t “burn in”. Even this month’s Consumer Reports buys into it. But the materials do age differently based on usage, so whether it is “burning in” or not is semantic shenanigans. (Technically phosphors don’t “burn” as they aren’t oxidizing either.)
But some makers are honest enough to warn people that if they watch a lot of stuff in wide screen mode (on a non-WS monitor), they will eventually have a permanent banding on the screen.
Computer games can be a problem due to static solid colors in the background. But it would have to be one hella boring game to cause any problems in normal use.
Sony do doubt wishes to avoid lawsuits from people claiming that PS2 games ruined their expensive screens. So they clam up, regardless of whether it is something that could be a problem.
The worst offenders for burn in are games that have bright, static “HUD” type features on the screen, ie speedo on a racing game or health indicator on a FPS. Some games have the option to make the HUD more transparent so that screen-burn is less likely to happen (MotoGP2 for Xbox is an example). The absolute worst thing you can do is leave the a menu screen up for hours on end.
Consider that LCD screens have been around for use as computer monitors (starting laptops) for over 10 years. Computer images are more static than just about any video game, and I haven’t heard of any major issues of image burn on these screens.