Maybe It’s Time to Calm Down About OLED ‘Burn In’

It’s an acronym that rolls off the tongue and is a pleasure for the eyes. But it seems like every time anyone brings up OLED (organic light-emitting diode), some heckler is waiting in the wings ready to scream about dreaded “burn-in.” So what actually happens when one of these high refresh rate OLED monitors is left on for far too long on a static image? The issue is far more nuanced than any ragebait Reddit post would make it seem.

We have more anecdotal tests than ever to finally put to bed users’ concerns about burn-in. That’s not to say it isn’t an issue. OLED monitors showing static images for hours on end without running any repair cycles will generate issues. Many high-end 4K OLED monitors come with a three-year warranty for these exact reasons. All tech has its drawbacks. Sometimes having the best experience requires a less laissez-faire attitude from your devices.

Even real-world ‘burn-in’ is barely visible

In a recent video, YouTuber optimum set himself up to test his monitor for a total of 3,000 hours on a 32-inch 4K WOLED monitor from LG. That WOLED means the monitor is using an extra layer of white pixels to enhance brightness (though potentially at the cost of contrast). That $1,400 LG UltraGear monitor is a dual-mode device that supports a 240Hz refresh rate at 4K and 480Hz at 1080p. So this isn’t the type of display you really want damaged.

Optimum used the UltraGear for approximately 3,000 hours in total with the brightness set to a blistering 80 to 100% and kept all other burn-in repair settings at default. Most of these kinds of features try to refresh the pixels on the screen when not in use. Other monitors try to force users to turn off their display for a few minutes while they recycle pixels. The YouTuber used the same few apps over time in floating windows and also clocked in roughly 400 hours in Overwatch. The one noticeable blemish on the display came from the Overwatch health bar in the bottom left of the screen and the shadow of the DaVinci Resolve scroll in the bottom right. This burn-in was mostly noticeable when displaying bright images.

If you’re looking for an even more intensive test, Monitors Unboxed has tested their MSI 4K QD-OLED monitor for 5,000 hours. That number accounts for working with the same few productivity apps for 60 hours a week on average, according to the YouTuber. He also claims he tested the monitor at around 200 nits of brightness with the automatic pixel refresh settings turned on. After months and months of tests, the last December update showed that the products initial burn-in of a static image hasn’t dramatically changed over all that time. The monitor only started to degrade after 21 months of active use.

Take care of your monitors, for once

The OLED display type, with its self-emissive technology, offers the best contrast levels and deepest blacks we’ll see on screens both big and small. Essentially, the screens are glass panels with thousands of miniscule diodes able to project their own red, green, or blue light. Traditional LCD or even more modern micro RGB technology still relies on backlights to boost screen brightness, which will inevitably come at the cost of some contrast. There are several modern types of OLED as well. There’s tandem OLED, which layers two sets of diodes on top of each other to enhance brightness. Meanwhile, high-end gaming monitors have standardized around QD-OLED, which use a layer of quantum dots in front of the OLED layer, resulting in even better picture quality.

These organic compounds will inevitably result in burn-in over time. The mitigating factor will be if you use your monitor for more than just staring at the same productivity app all day and night. If you play different types of games or watch TV and movies, you won’t have nearly as big a problem. If you’re known to clock 2,000 hours in Counter-Strike 2 on a yearly basis, you may have a problem if you plan to keep your UI elements turned on. At that point, you should be using a monitor that actual pros use, namely a Fast-TN LCD display.

With OLED so ubiquitous among monitors, TVs, and laptop screens, maybe it’s time we learn to respect our gadgets enough to take care of them. So try to use dark mode and hide your Windows taskbar. Don’t force your monitor to run for hours when you’re not using it. And hell, take a screen break every once in a while. It will do you some good.