It is remarkable how far display technologies have come in recent years, in particular televisions that provide high end home entertainment in place of earlier generation tube-based televisions. The combination of digital media like Blu-Ray, high end video gaming, and digital cable leverage the new high resolution television capabilities to bring theater quality to the living room. And the really good news of all is that the variety of prices and formats have made this available to almost everyone.

Nearly nine million LCD televisions were sold last year, and many more plasma and LED televisions were sold, making flat panel displays the most common television technologies being purchased for the home. It is not uncommon for families to own more than one of these remarkable devices. In fact, some people have many more.

These flat panel technologies such as LCD, LED, and plasma are less prone to image retention than their tube based predecessors, but static images will still leave very noticable artifacts. Manufacturers still have not eliminated image retention, and many owners have discovered how noticable these images can be.

What is burn in, ghosting, or image retention?

Image retention, known as “burn in” during the heyday of cathode ray television, is a condition that can occur when a static image is displayed for a prolonged period on a television or monitor. The most common sources of ghost images are game console menus, side bars, cable channel logos, sports banners, and computer desktop images. I can’t tell you how many times a friend or neighbor has complained that the game console was left on overnight, and the result was that no matter which television channel they watched, the outline of the game console menu remained visible in the background.

Diagnosing Ghosting and Burn In

This is an example of what screen burn in would look like if a cable channel menu had been left on for a prolonged period. Does this look familiar?

How to Treat Burn In and Ghosting

The good news is that burn in and ghosting can be treated and eliminated in most cases on LED, plasma, and LCD TVs. You should try one or more of these solutions before replacing your television.

Solid State Solutions

One of the most effective treatments is a piece of hardware called PixelTuneup. This device produces specially calibrated video signals that communicate directly with your television’s display through the VGA port.

One of the advantages of this approach is that the signals that are sent from the PixelTuneup to your television are designed specifically to repair and prevent plasma image retention. Stuck pixels in LCD and LED televisions also can be treated using this method. Unlike solutions that are delivered to the television through DVD players or graphics cards, a hardware solution can communicate directly with the pixel field to optimize the display and correct image problems.

Alternatives

Not everyone needs a specialty solution like PixelTuneup. There are other alternatives that use your DVD player or computer graphics card to send images to your television or monitor. If you think one of these solutions might be adequate, you should give them a try.

You may want to try more than one solution if you are not sure which one is right for you. Compare the details, then give them a try. Chances are you will enjoy the results.

Conclusion

If you have image retention like we described in this article, rest assured that there are solutions out there for you. If you have dropped or physically damaged your television or monitor, your only option is going to be to have a professional repair it. However, damage from static images can be repaired easily and inexpensively with the new products on the market.

If the image problems were caused by static images, try one of these solutions. You might be pleasantly surprised!

PixleTuneup
You can find out more about plasma, LCD, and LED burn in and ghosting at the PixelTuneup site. You can also learn about PixelTuneup and related topics.