What TV should I buy to avoid burn-in?

[Red Dwarve]

So I’m in the market for a new fancy big TV (I'm thinking around 70"). The reason I’m buying a new one is that my current 10-year-old TV has a busload of things burned into the screen from years of gaming. I have meters in all four corners. I have the opening screen to the original Nintendo and (I think) the PSX. I have random ghosts of things that I don’t know what they are. I am really bad about passing out in front of the TV with my game paused. So, I want to buy a new TV, but I never want this to happen to me again. Anyone know what kind of TV won’t do this? I asked Google and it gave me this, is this a good thing: http://www.dlp.com/

[Red Dwarve]

So I’m in the market for a new fancy big TV (I'm thinking around 70"). The reason I’m buying a new one is that my current 10-year-old TV has a busload of things burned into the screen from years of gaming. I have meters in all four corners. I have the opening screen to the original Nintendo and (I think) the PSX. I have random ghosts of things that I don’t know what they are. I am really bad about passing out in front of the TV with my game paused. So, I want to buy a new TV, but I never want this to happen to me again. Anyone know what kind of TV won’t do this? I asked Google and it gave me this, is this a good thing: http://www.dlp.com/

[Trebuken]

If you want 70"+ you only have four or five choices at the moment. They are all DLP, though not all the sam tech. Some are three screens some one. Not sure any of them have been on the market long enough to judge burn-in, but I do not think it will be a problem, but I do not think you'll get 10 years out of them.

Your biggest problem might be the bulbs in them. Leaving them on will kill the bulb life, but some of the models may have sleep timers or powerdown modes.

You will also want to sit 15 to 20 feet away. Not because you have to but because they will cause eye-strain. The Xbox360 is amazing on my 72" Toshiba. I have been playing Far-Cry, with 6.1 surround sound also...awesome.

Your also talking $3500-$5500. You'll want the warranty...

Good spending. If money isn't an issue I'd wait a few months for the new models...if now I'd go with the 70" JVC Pro 1080P. The Toshiba is the bargain unit of the 70" models. Be aware that these sets can have irritating fan and color wheel noise; the noise decreases slightly with long use...

Good Shopping...my retro systems look cool on this as well....finding wireless controllers or really long extension chords is a must...

Played Gradius (NES) today...whole new experience...

Working on a MAME specific PC for it now also..

Later,
Trebuken

[Trebuken]

If you want 70"+ you only have four or five choices at the moment. They are all DLP, though not all the sam tech. Some are three screens some one. Not sure any of them have been on the market long enough to judge burn-in, but I do not think it will be a problem, but I do not think you'll get 10 years out of them.

Your biggest problem might be the bulbs in them. Leaving them on will kill the bulb life, but some of the models may have sleep timers or powerdown modes.

You will also want to sit 15 to 20 feet away. Not because you have to but because they will cause eye-strain. The Xbox360 is amazing on my 72" Toshiba. I have been playing Far-Cry, with 6.1 surround sound also...awesome.

Your also talking $3500-$5500. You'll want the warranty...

Good spending. If money isn't an issue I'd wait a few months for the new models...if now I'd go with the 70" JVC Pro 1080P. The Toshiba is the bargain unit of the 70" models. Be aware that these sets can have irritating fan and color wheel noise; the noise decreases slightly with long use...

Good Shopping...my retro systems look cool on this as well....finding wireless controllers or really long extension chords is a must...

Played Gradius (NES) today...whole new experience...

Working on a MAME specific PC for it now also..

Later,
Trebuken

[Snapple]

I don't think you don't have to worry about burn-in with any modern tvs as long as you don't leave your game paused and unattended. It's the static image of a paused game that will hurt your tv. If you're moving around and doing stuff, you're fine.

I just remember that if I want to leave my game paused and then leave for a while, I either turn off the tv or switch it back to cable.

[Snapple]

I don't think you don't have to worry about burn-in with any modern tvs as long as you don't leave your game paused and unattended. It's the static image of a paused game that will hurt your tv. If you're moving around and doing stuff, you're fine.

I just remember that if I want to leave my game paused and then leave for a while, I either turn off the tv or switch it back to cable.

[WanganRunner]

I don't think you don't have to worry about burn-in with any modern tvs as long as you don't leave your game paused and unattended. It's the static image of a paused game that will hurt your tv. If you're moving around and doing stuff, you're fine.

Not true.

Plasma TV's WILL burn-in, period. i.e. the gauges at the bottom of the screen on Gran Turismo....there will almost always be SOMETHING static on the screen in most games.

Definitely go with DLP, 1080p if you can afford it, because it's going to be the standard pretty soon.

[WanganRunner]

I don't think you don't have to worry about burn-in with any modern tvs as long as you don't leave your game paused and unattended. It's the static image of a paused game that will hurt your tv. If you're moving around and doing stuff, you're fine.

Not true.

Plasma TV's WILL burn-in, period. i.e. the gauges at the bottom of the screen on Gran Turismo....there will almost always be SOMETHING static on the screen in most games.

Definitely go with DLP, 1080p if you can afford it, because it's going to be the standard pretty soon.

[Sylentwulf]

As long as you're changing games and watching tv on it as well, you'll have no problem. The biggest burn in problem is when there is a static image in the same space for more than 20% of your viewing time.

So while Dragons quest 8 had a static image on my tv for over 100 hours. I finished it, and now there is a static image from SMT DDS on it. But we also watch tv on it, so everything added, and there is really no chance of burn in. If nothing else, just leave the tv on a "snow" or blue, or grey channel when you're not using it to eliminate anything you may have starting to burn in.

My Maxent even has an image shift option on it, that minutely shifts the image every 20 seconds to cut down on burn in.


Edit - For 70" though, I think your ONLY option is a FPTV, which is anthony's department. Do they even make anything over 60" in DLP, LCD, or plasma yet?

[Sylentwulf]

As long as you're changing games and watching tv on it as well, you'll have no problem. The biggest burn in problem is when there is a static image in the same space for more than 20% of your viewing time.

So while Dragons quest 8 had a static image on my tv for over 100 hours. I finished it, and now there is a static image from SMT DDS on it. But we also watch tv on it, so everything added, and there is really no chance of burn in. If nothing else, just leave the tv on a "snow" or blue, or grey channel when you're not using it to eliminate anything you may have starting to burn in.

My Maxent even has an image shift option on it, that minutely shifts the image every 20 seconds to cut down on burn in.


Edit - For 70" though, I think your ONLY option is a FPTV, which is anthony's department. Do they even make anything over 60" in DLP, LCD, or plasma yet?

[Cantaloup]

[double post, sorry]

[Cantaloup]

[double post, sorry]

[Cantaloup]

DLP and LCD do not "burn-in". However, I've heard rare reports of severe "image retention" on some LCDs; this is not (technically) the same as the burn-in that occurs on CRTs and plasmas, which is due to uneven phosphor wear. Turning down brightness and contrast, which are usually set way too high by default, can help prevent burn-in.

AVS Forum is a great place for information. In addition to a rear-projection TV, you might also want to consider a DLP or LCD-based projector.

[Cantaloup]

DLP and LCD do not "burn-in". However, I've heard rare reports of severe "image retention" on some LCDs; this is not (technically) the same as the burn-in that occurs on CRTs and plasmas, which is due to uneven phosphor wear. Turning down brightness and contrast, which are usually set way too high by default, can help prevent burn-in.

AVS Forum is a great place for information. In addition to a rear-projection TV, you might also want to consider a DLP or LCD-based projector.

[Sylentwulf]

Ya, as a basic rule, when you buy a new tv, if you don't have an AVIA or video essentials disc, you should at least turn the contrast(picture/white level) and brightness(black level) down to around 50% of the max level.
Then, if you're losing things in dark scenes, turn the brightness up slowly, but make sure the black stays black (not very dark grey)

[Sylentwulf]

Ya, as a basic rule, when you buy a new tv, if you don't have an AVIA or video essentials disc, you should at least turn the contrast(picture/white level) and brightness(black level) down to around 50% of the max level.
Then, if you're losing things in dark scenes, turn the brightness up slowly, but make sure the black stays black (not very dark grey)

[Trebuken]

Ya, as a basic rule, when you buy a new tv, if you don't have an AVIA or video essentials disc, you should at least turn the contrast(picture/white level) and brightness(black level) down to around 50% of the max level.
Then, if you're losing things in dark scenes, turn the brightness up slowly, but make sure the black stays black (not very dark grey)

The easiest way to do this is to use the THX optimizer on the Star Wars DVD's (and some others). AVIA and DVD Essentials are helpful but a little dated (or so I've heard, I use another generic Home Theatre DVD).

I don't expect burn-in with my DLP, but other problems could emerge. That's why you get a three or five year warranty.

Later,
Trebuken

[Snapple]

I don't think you don't have to worry about burn-in with any modern tvs as long as you don't leave your game paused and unattended. It's the static image of a paused game that will hurt your tv. If you're moving around and doing stuff, you're fine.

Not true.

Plasma TV's WILL burn-in, period. i.e. the gauges at the bottom of the screen on Gran Turismo....there will almost always be SOMETHING static on the screen in most games.

Definitely go with DLP, 1080p if you can afford it, because it's going to be the standard pretty soon.

Well, I'm not an expert, but I can only speak from experience. My TV was supposed to be at high-risk for burn-in. I was told that when we got it. I've probably played hundreds of hours of video games on that TV over the past year and a half, and there isn't a single discolored pixel on it so far.

[Anthony1]

Burn in is usally something that happens in only extreme situations, but the worst TV's for it are Rear Projection CRT based sets and Plasmas. LCD's can also have some similar issues. The safest bet when it comes to this is DLP. DLP from a price to performance ratio is hard as hell to beat anyways, so I would definitely look in that direction. Everything always ends up boiling down to how much money you ultimately are going to spend though.


The dream of course, is to get one of only a handfull of very new displays that have "TRUE" 1080p inputs. Unforunately, you are talking 3 grand, and that is for a 50 incher. You start getting into the 60 inch and above range, and you are talking about 4 and 5 grand. These puppies are extremely new on the market, and they are the only game in town when it comes to "true" 1080p displays, so they are comanding a premium right now. Like all things, prices will come down.


In regards to Projectors, for some weird reason, true 1080p projectors are like twice the price of 1080p DLP big screens. So for most people, if you want a state of the art Projector, then you are looking at a "true" 720p projector. There are a number of very solid 720p projectors, but they cost anywhere from $2300 to $4000 or so. Again, alot of cashola. When I can buy a Infocus IN76 for 2 grand out the door, then I'm going to get that as an upgrade to my cheapo Infocus X1. That will be a glorious day. It's possible that by Xmas 2006, the IN76 will be available somewhere for a low enough price, with low enough shipping and no tax, so that I can squeeze one out for 2 grand out the door.

[nate1749]

I didn't read all the post throughly, but isn't there some adapter that you can buy for big screen tv's that prevents burn-in from happening? Just something I heard of, could be as good as those cell phone boosters - anyone know?

Nate