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If you’ve considered an OLED gaming monitor or TV purchase over the last few years, you’ve probably done a little bit of research on the dreaded phenomena of burn-in. OLED panels can retain ghostly images after displaying static on-screen objects over long periods, although many modern displays appear to be better at mitigating the issue.
However, RTings has some disappointing news. A long-term test of OLED TVs manufactured between 2020 and 2023 did not show significant reduction in burn-in compared to a 2017 LG model—and it’s the increased screen brightness that is likely to blame.
The newly-tested OLED TVs are significantly brighter, which means any major improvement in burn-in resistance appears to have been offset—at least under these test conditions. RTings found that the average 2023 OLED was 28% brighter then the 2017 OLED’s average in a 10% SDR window test, and 52% brighter in a sustained full-screen SDR test.
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This higher brightness appears to have resulted in a stalemate when it comes to burn-in avoidance. The tested TVs were subjected to thousands of hours of non-stop CNN viewing, where the static banner at the bottom of the screen remained present for the entire experiment.
At the 10,500 hour checkpoint, the banner still burnt its way into the display of the newer models to a noticeable degree. Boo, hiss, etc.
However, there is some good news to take from this data. Each of the TVs were tested at their maximum SDR brightness settings, without adjustments to account for the higher brightness levels compared to the older model.
As the newer panels are capable of pumping out a much brighter full screen image, turning down the brightness may result in a longer burn-free lifespan. Or at least, less noticeable burn-in over the same period.
It’s also worth noting that this is a deliberate, “worst-case scenario” test, which is far from representative of actual TV usage. The full 18,000 hours stint would be equivalent to 10 years of watching nothing but CNN for five hours a day. Mixed viewing over the same period would be very unlikely to create similar burn-in results.
“What’s clear is that for most mixed-content viewers, burn-in remains unlikely to become an issue,” RTings concludes. “Users with static-heavy SDR workloads can lower the brightness setting to reduce cumulative stress while still retaining more usable brightness than earlier OLED generations offered.”
So, swings and roundabouts. It appears you can’t have searingly bright OLED panels and significantly reduced burn-in at the same time, but if you’re prepared to turn the brightness down a notch or two, things may well have improved.
For what it’s worth, we’ve tested lots of OLED gaming monitors over long periods of regular usage without noticeable burn-in issues. And for those still on the fence, many manufacturers offer extended warranties for burn-in protection.
It’s still worth taking reasonable precautions to extend the lifespan of your expensive new display, but OLED tech is developing at an astonishing rate. Here’s hoping that anti-burn-in measures improve as time goes on—because how eye-scorchingly bright do you really need your TV to be, anyway?
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