Video Games & BIg-Screen TVs

[Rogmeister]

A friend of mine wants to play Return To Castle Wolfenstein on his dad's big-screen projection TV but his dad won't let him. This caused me to glance at one of the precaution booklets I always get with my GameCube games (I don't have XBox as he does) and it warns not to do this because of the possibility of "burn-in". I wonder if this still happens or has technology erased the likelihood of this...such as screensavers for computers which I understand are really not necessary anymore. Has anyone out there actually seen damage done by a video game console to a projection TV system (either front or rear-projection...not sure what his dad has since I only know him online)?

[digitalpress]

YES IT CAN STILL HAPPEN!

Any game that projects a persistent image in the same location can cause burn-in on a projection TV. I would not advise playing any game for more than 2 hours, and I can tell you that role-playing games are among the biggest culprits. A "HP Meter" is something that I can guarantee is emblazoned on many a projection TV across the world.

[Rogmeister]

Thanks, Joe, I'll forward him your post if you don't mind. I don't think he's much of an RPGer anyway...he mainly likes sports games and some action games like the Wolfenstein one I mentioned earlier. He said he did play one quarter of Madden with his PS2 on this TV...

[Anthony1]

"Burn In" definitely does still exist for people with projection TV's. But most people don't know what they are talking about, when they talk about burn in.

For example, that kid's dad probably has no idea what you have to do, to have burn in, happen on a projection TV. Basically, what has to happen for "Burn In" to occur, is you have to have the same image on the TV screen for an extremely lengthy period of time.

Like if you left a game on pause for hours and hours and hours on end. The reason that videogames get such a bad rap in regards to burn in, is because of all the health meters and high score indicators on the screen. These indicators stay in the same place usually, and don't move anywhere. So if you play for 36 hours straight, and that health meter is still in the upper left corner of the screen, even after you've turned your system off, don't be suprised. That health meter "burned in" to the CRT's that project the image on the screen. It is now a permanent marking on the screen.

Of course for something like this to happen, the image has to be in the same exact spot for a very lenthy period of time. It can also happen to sports bars that leave their TV's on ESPN News all day. That ticker that goes along the bottom of the screen can also easily "burn in" over time. Same thing with the Stock market tickers on CNBC.

So anyways, to conclude, I happen to have a projection TV, and I play video games on it all the time. But my gaming sessions on it usually last less than 2 or 3 hours at a time. I also never leave anything on pause on that TV for very long. That includes a VHS tape or DVD movie, or whatever. Whenever I put something on pause, I change the input on the TV to something else. That way there isn't an image on that screen just sitting there.

The bottom line is don't put things on pause for more than 5 to 10 minutes without changing the input to a different source, and don't have continuous gaming sessions that have health meters on the screen for more than say 4 hours at a time. Same thing goes for ESPN News, CNBC, Headline News and stuff like that, with those tickers.

You do that, and you don't have to worry about "Burn In', whatsoever.

[Sylentwulf]

The general rule of thumb, is that if an image is on your TV more than 20% of the time the TV is being used, you risk burn in. (This also applies to a lesser extent for those DAMN CHANNEL ADS. If you watch CNN or MSNBC, or any channel with a logo in the lower right for more than 20% of the time your TV is on, you risk burnin.)

Now, that doesn't mean if you play game x with a health meter for 2 hours, and the health meter is in the same place for the whole 2 hours. This means if you play game x with health meter for 2 hours, and use the TV LESS THAN 8 hours WITHOUT the health meter you risk burn in.

So, as long as you're playing less than 20% of the time the TV is actually being used, you should have NO problem. I've been playing without worrying about it on mine for over a year, and have had no problems. I also don't play any game for more than a month though :) I also watch a lot of TV.

[YoshiM]

You know, this topic of burn-in and projection screens has come up at least 3 times on this board. You think maybe there should be a FAQ section along the lines of a "Click and Clack" column or something that has some of this stuff in it?