MBP Unibody LED - screen burn-in/ghost effects still possible?

[lars666]

Hi everybody,

I own a MacBook Pro hooked up to an ACD 24". As I sometimes watch eyeTV on fullscreen on the Cinema Display while still having the MBP display open, both screens won't turn out automatically. Do I have to worry when I for example leave the place for a few hours while this setting is still running that on the MBP screen (where the image stays the same) there can be burn-in or "ghost" effects? Or is this not possible anymore with LED technology? It's not very difficult to prevent this, but I'd just like to know ... If anybody has a definite answer, this would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Bill Gates]

I don't have a definitive answer for you, but as far as I know, LED-backlighting does not affect an LCD's susceptibility to image-persistence, since it is caused by the LCD crystals themselves, as opposed to the backlighting. Click here for an informative article on the subject.

 

[JGruber]

Hi everybody,

I own a MacBook Pro hooked up to an ACD 24". As I sometimes watch eyeTV on fullscreen on the Cinema Display while still having the MBP display open, both screens won't turn out automatically. Do I have to worry when I for example leave the place for a few hours while this setting is still running that on the MBP screen (where the image stays the same) there can be burn-in or "ghost" effects? Or is this not possible anymore with LED technology? It's not very difficult to prevent this, but I'd just like to know ... If anybody has a definite answer, this would be appreciated. Thanks!

Why don't you use the MBP in 'Clamshell' mode? I can see why you wouldn't if you need the 2nd display.

 

[lars666]

@JGruber: Sometimes, I use the ACD as a "TV" and the MBP display to work on it. Anyway, thanks both of you for the answers and the link. I probably don't have to be afraid of burn-in/ghost effects when "only" having the same static picture on for a few hours, but I'll keep an eye on it nevertheless.

 

[mikes70mustang]

@JGruber: Sometimes, I use the ACD as a "TV" and the MBP display to work on it. Anyway, thanks both of you for the answers and the link. I probably don't have to be afraid of burn-in/ghost effects when "only" having the same static picture on for a few hours, but I'll keep an eye on it nevertheless.

Im thinking that the only way you will get burn in on any modern screen is, if the screen is not in use and left on w/ the same picture for weeks on end. The ones at my job stay on 24/7 and it hasnt happened to any of those yet.

 

[lars666]

This sounds good, as in my case, the same picture would only stay a few hours max. Thanks for the answer!

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

lcds and computer monitors are not really likely to have burn in. Think about how often the same image (dock, taskbar, icons, background) are all displayed on the screen for. Burn in was only really a problem with plasma tvs, and has mostly been eliminated with todays plasmas.

I wouldn't worry about it at all. If they were likely to burn in, it would burn in whether or not you had the external display, because it would always be displaying the menu bar and dock.

 

[lars666]

Hi xxBURTONxx,

I guess your logic is right - although I've heard of "ghost effect" cases on the dock and task bar position (and even experienced it on my old LCD iMac with my eyeTV remote - needed days till it faded away), I never had any of these effects on my LED ACD and MacBookPro where the dock etc. is shown for many hours without any changing. Therefore, it really shouldn't be a problem. Thanks for your answer!

 

[maflynn]

technically speaking no, LCDs do not suffer form burn in.

CRTs had a burn in affect when a single image was displayed on the glass for an extended time, causing the phosphors to lose their luminance

While possible, its highly unlikely that LCDs can suffer from image persistence, that is the LCD elements fail to go back to their relaxed state. It does happen but not to the extent of CRTs. What's more likely is that a transient image persistence, which can be undone by displaying a bright image.

Plasma display panels were more prone to image burn-in but manufacturers have worked to mitigate this issue, at least HDTV manufacturer. Of course I wonder how popular plasma TVs are now, since LCD HDTVs are so cheap.