OLED panels give an exceptional result, especially in terms of color representation, but they are also still very expensive. In addition, they all suffer from a problem called Burn-in , which is that when a static image remains on the screen for a long time, the panel tends to “retain” it. Is this such a serious problem that you won’t consider buying an OLED monitor ?
OLED stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode, and because the materials used to make it are organic, they degrade over time. OLED is a self-emitting technology, which means that it does not require a backlight panel; Each pixel generates its own light, which will gradually dim over the life of the product.
Burn-in on OLED monitors, how bad is the problem?
The burn-in in OLED panels (or permanent image retention) refers to this gradual degradation of the pixels, and you should know that although the burn-in (burn-in) is not exclusive to this type of panels (it also happens in CRT, LCD and plasma), it is noticeable much more and is more serious in OLED.
This permanent image retention is due to uneven degradation of the pixels that make up the screen, and occurs when a particular set of pixels degrades at a different rate than those around them. Static images or graphics on a screen are the cause of the problem, and as you can see in the example above, this includes, for example, the logos of television stations, but on a PC monitor it can also significantly affect the bar and the Start button in Windows, for example, since it is almost permanently on screen statically.
But to be clear, having a still image on the screen for a couple of hours or more is not going to cause screen burn-in; the problem occurs when this accumulation of hours is much greater, that is, it could happen if you have the screen on showing the Windows desktop for 24 hours without interruption. The same is true for anything that leaves static elements on the screen, such as a video game HUD.
What should you keep in mind?
Once you know about this phenomenon, you may decide to avoid buying monitors or TVs with an OLED panel, but you should know that there are a series of precautions you can take so that this problem is not such, or at least it does not cause you too much concern. .
The first thing you can do is vary your viewing habits so that the pixels wear out more evenly, and the way to do this is to try not to keep the monitor in a static image for too long. For example, if you have an OLED TV you should try not to leave it on for a long time on the same channel, especially if it is a news channel that has the chain’s logo or information bullets at the bottom (again we refer to the example of above or below).
The same happens if you have an OLED monitor for the PC; you must be careful with the static icons and the Windows taskbar; It would be good if you changed their position from time to time. In any case, if you are one of those people who obsessively play a video game that has a HUD, maybe you should rethink the choice of monitor, because an OLED panel will end up giving you Burn-in problems sooner or later.