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Dark Mode makes Screen Burning worse. Anyone noticed?

Z

zhaoxin

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 28, 2015
309
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If you are using Dark Mode for a while.

Now go to System Settings -> General, choose Hide System Menu Bar Automatically, then change your desktop wallpaper to pure stone color (the color is predefined in wallpaper app).

Now, can you see the screen burning?

Mine is taken by an iPhone 6s Plus from an iMac 5K 2014 late.

On the bright side, if you change back to Light mode, after some time, the burning will get better. However, I don't know if it will be cured at last.

IMG_2904.JPG
 
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zhaoxin said:
If you are using Dark Mode for a while.

Now go to System Settings -> General, choose Hide System Menu Bar Automatically, then change your desktop wallpaper to pure stone color (the color is predefined in wallpaper app).

Now, can you see the screen burning?

Mine is taken by an iPhone 6s Plus from an iMac 5K 2014 late.

On the bright side, if you change back to Light mode, after some time, the burning will get better. However, I don't know if it will be cured at last.

View attachment 769522
Click to expand...
Screen burn on modern LEDs should take a very long time to occur. Are you sure you're not seeing image retention?
 
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zhaoxin said:
I thought they both mean the same thing. Besides, how long is very long? one week, one month or one year?
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Burn-in is permeant damage and image retention/persistence is temporary/correctable. VERY different and as stated LCD burn-in is rare and often takes MANY many hours of a constant on screen static image to happen on an LCD. OLED is more susceptible to burn-in and the old CTR's and Plasma's were the most likely to suffer it.

You thread title reminds me of people who get their iPhone's software locked up start a thread saying it's bricked.:eek::D

https://support.apple.com/en-us/ht202580
 
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Julien said:
Burn-in is permeant damage and image retention/persistence is temporary/correctable. VERY different and as stated LCD burn-in is rare and often takes MANY many hours of a constant on screen static image to happen on an LCD. OLED is more susceptible to burn-in and the old CTR's and Plasma's were the most likely to suffer it.

You thread title reminds me of people who get their iPhone's software locked up start a thread saying it's bricked.:eek::D

https://support.apple.com/en-us/ht202580
Click to expand...

Is that really rare? Or it is rare on all LCD products but not that rare on Macs? I have seen in other threads that say almost every iMac has that issue. For me, I have an iMac 2014 late. It burned in and been replaced the screen after using less than one year. Now two years later, the issue happens again on the same position, left-bottom corner.
 
zhaoxin said:
Is that really rare? Or it is rare on all LCD products but not that rare on Macs? I have seen in other threads that say almost every iMac has that issue. For me, I have an iMac 2014 late. It burned in and been replaced the screen after using less than one year. Now two years later, the issue happens again on the same position, left-bottom corner.
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Did you read the Apple Support Link I posted? Also read this article.

https://www.lifewire.com/lcd-image-persistence-833037
 
Yep, seen the burn in, or retention.. It retains it for umm ever, so to me its burn in. Where the menus are its the most notable.
 
was about to update this 2017 mbp but don't need a burnt screen.
 
zhaoxin said:
On the bright side, if you change back to Light mode, after some time, the burning will get better. However, I don't know if it will be cured at last.

View attachment 769522
Click to expand...

OLED screens burn out and lose their precision over time similar to the problem with the old CRT and Plasma screens. This is why I am hesitant to spend a lot of money on a newer OLED television or monitor.

I prefer using monitors and televisions that have the previous back lit LED technology. However there isn't much you can do for newer smart phones. Most new smart phones and computer monitors of all brands including Apple Retina branded devices, iMacs, Macbooks and most tablets use OLED technology (correction... only the touchbars on Macs currently use OLED, IPhone X is also OLED) so make sure you have the time out and screen saver settings set or you can permanently burn static images such as your home screen into the color pixels.

You can try to help correct this problem by exposing the pixels to different images but like tiny light bulbs they will eventually burn out over time and lose their color precision regardless of any temporary fixes. Along with the soldered in components and non-removable batteries this seems to be another case of the tech industry forcing users to upgrade their devices every three to five years.
 
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You are not going to get burn in, and I can guarantee that nobody with any mac that can run Mojave has burn in. Why are people who don't understand the difference between burn in and image retention even commenting? If you don't know something don't make comments pretending you do.
 
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zhaoxin said:
I thought they both mean the same thing. Besides, how long is very long? one week, one month or one year?
Click to expand...
I had an OLED smartphone about a decade ago, and despite the rumblings that I'd suffer burn in with it, that never happened. So, assuming that the technology hasn't changed at all (it has), you're looking at a few years minimum of the same image on the screen. Maybe less if you use the computer more often than a phone screen, but certainly nothing that you would see within a month of release.
 
Spazturtle said:
You are not going to get burn in, and I can guarantee that nobody with any mac that can run Mojave has burn in. Why are people who don't understand the difference between burn in and image retention even commenting? If you don't know something don't make comments pretending you do.
Click to expand...


Excellent. Thanks for that. I'll let you know if it happens and you can send me the cheque to make it right. That's a very generous offer.
 
Howard2k said:
Excellent. Thanks for that. I'll let you know if it happens and you can send me the cheque to make it right. That's a very generous offer.
Click to expand...

Sure, because it simply will not happen on this type of display. Perhaps you better go and learn the difference between burn in and image retention.
 
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Spazturtle said:
Sure, because it simply will not happen on this type of display. Perhaps you better go and learn the difference between burn in and image retention.
Click to expand...

This is just juggling semantics. Technically there may be differences. Burn in can cause image retention but image retention isn't necessarily the same as burn in. Burn in usually isn't reversible but image retention isn't necessarily fully reversible either. Both can result in a permanent shift in color display precision or accuracy. Note that LG who developed modern OLED screen technology that most smart phones use does in fact refer to these types of display problems as both "Burn-In and image retention"...

https://www.lg.com/us/experience-tvs/oled-tv/reliability

"OLED Image Retention or Burn-In: Burn-in and image retention are possible on virtually any display."
 
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SoCalReviews said:
It's just juggling semantics. Note that LG who basically developed modern OLED screen technology does in fact refer to this screen problem as both "Burn In" and "Image Retention"...

https://www.lg.com/us/experience-tvs/oled-tv/reliability

"OLED Image Retention or Burn-In: Burn-in and image retention are possible on virtually any display."
Click to expand...

You do realize Macs don't have OLED screens right? Macs use LCD screens. OLED screens can suffer both burn in and image retention, modern LCDs can only suffer from temporary image retention not burn in.
 
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Spazturtle said:
You do realize Macs don't have OLED screens right? Macs use LCD screens. OLED screens can suffer both burn in and image retention, modern LCDs can only suffer from temporary image retention not burn in.
Click to expand...

Yes, that is true that the problem would technically be quite different in regards to OLED vs. back lit LED screens on Macs. I do now understand why you are emphasizing the importance of the differences considering up until now Macs have been using back lit LED. The point is that regardless of what display problem you might consider as temporary both technologies are prone to a permanent color shift or a degradation of color precision.

My personal experience and understanding has been that back lit LED is less prone to these issues than OLED but the display manufacturing industry groups both the burn-in and color retention problem into a similar category.
 
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SoCalReviews said:
This is just juggling semantics. Technically there may be differences. Burn in can cause image retention but image retention isn't necessarily the same as burn in. Burn in usually isn't reversible but image retention isn't necessarily fully reversible either. Both can result in a permanent shift in color display precision or accuracy. Note that LG who developed modern OLED screen technology that most smart phones use does in fact refer to these types of display problems as both "Burn-In and image retention"...

https://www.lg.com/us/experience-tvs/oled-tv/reliability

"OLED Image Retention or Burn-In: Burn-in and image retention are possible on virtually any display."
Click to expand...


Samsung use the term Burn In too.

https://www.samsung.com/ae/support/tv-audio-video/are-led-tvs-subject-to-burn-in/

Although much less susceptible than Plasma TVs, LED TVs are still subject to screen burn in (image retention).
Click to expand...


I'd for sure take the word of some random dude on the Internet over a manufacturer though. For sure.
 
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Howard2k said:
Samsung use the term Burn In too.

https://www.samsung.com/ae/support/tv-audio-video/are-led-tvs-subject-to-burn-in/




I'd for sure take the word of some random dude on the Internet over a manufacturer though. For sure.
Click to expand...

The technical specifics with an issue like this are not the easiest to understand without having more knowledge about the chemistry and physics of modern display screens. I get the point he has been trying to make that there is a difference between burn in and image retention... and also OLED vs. back lit LED on Macs. However for the average consumer those extra details don't always matter since as the display manufacturers state... a permanent degradation of image quality can happen to any display with some displays being more prone to those problems than others.
 
Howard2k said:
Samsung use the term Burn In too.

https://www.samsung.com/ae/support/tv-audio-video/are-led-tvs-subject-to-burn-in/

I'd for sure take the word of some random dude on the Internet over a manufacturer though. For sure.
Click to expand...

That is not a technical website it is a support page and this Samsung web page says the opposite, it says that burn in is not an issue on modern LCD displays: https://www.samsung.com/uk/discover/in_the_home/what-is-screen-burn/
Neither of these pages are technical pages nor do they contain citations or links to research or technical papers.

Find me an technical or academic source that states that burn in exists on modern LCD displays. How do you even suppose an LCD would 'burn in'? What chemical process do you think is occurring?

SoCalReviews said:
Yes, that is true that the problem would technically be quite different in regards to OLED vs. back lit LED screens on Macs.
Click to expand...

Macs use LCD screens with an LED backlight, not LED screens, manufacturers may call LCD screens with an LED back light an LED screen but they are not.
 
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Spazturtle said:
That is not a technical website it is a support page and this Samsung web page says the opposite, it says that burn in is not an issue on modern LCD displays: https://www.samsung.com/uk/discover/in_the_home/what-is-screen-burn/
Neither of these pages are technical pages nor do they contain citations or links to research or technical papers.

Find me an technical or academic source that states that burn in exists on modern LCD displays. How do you even suppose an LCD would 'burn in'? What chemical process do you think is occurring?
Click to expand...


The article I quoted is about LED, not LCD.

I'm not finding you anything. Maybe you can find some time to drop from your high horse and read the article. Or don't. I don't really care.
 
Spazturtle said:
That is not a technical website it is a support page, the person who wrote that doesn't even understand the difference between burn in and temporary image retention. And this Samsung web page says the opposite, it says that burn in is not an issue on modern LCD displays: https://www.samsung.com/uk/discover/in_the_home/what-is-screen-burn/

Find me an technical or academic source that states that burn in exists on modern LCD displays. How do you even suppose an LCD would 'burn in'? What chemical process do you think is occurring?



Macs use LCD screens with an LED backlight, not LED screens, manufacturers may call LCD screens with an LED back light an LED screen but they are not.
Click to expand...

"LED back lit".... relax turbo... It's a typo. I know the difference between LED and LCD. I meant back lit LCD. Of course it's a back lit LCD display. Televisions with LCD screens back lit with LED lighting have been simply referred to as LED displays in recent years.

Call it "burn in", "fade", "image retention" or whatever you want... while those terms may refer to different problems that occur... actually back lit LCD screens can and do lose their color accuracy and can have a type of image retention commonly referred to as burn in. You can check for other source links but I would agree with this site...

https://www.lifewire.com/lcd-image-persistence-833037

..."Is it permanent? In most cases, no. The crystals do have a natural state and can shift depending on the amount of current used to generate the desired color. As long as these colors do shift periodically, the crystals at that pixel should fluctuate enough such that the image will not be permanently imprinted into the crystals. Having said that, it is possible that the crystals could get a permanent memory if the screen image does not change at all and the screen is left on all the time. It is very unlikely for a consumer to have this happen as it is more likely to happen in a fixed display such as those seen as display boards for businesses that do not change."
 
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Howard2k said:
The article I quoted is about LED, not LCD.

I'm not finding you anything. Maybe you can find some time to drop from your high horse and read the article. Or don't. I don't really care.
Click to expand...
Macs don't have LED displays, no laptops have LED displays. LED/uLED/mLED displays are still a few years off. Macs have LCD displays with LED back lights. You do understand that right?
 
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