Plasma Burn on New TV - After only 3 months?

[admin_exported]

Hey everyone,

I purchased an LG TV back in January and it has been running great! I have started to notice though that there is a line on the left side from where the tv programming ends when watching 4:3.

The line will not go away and has been there for a week now. This TV is only watched an average of 45mins to an hour a day - both HD and Standard programming.

I take it this line is burned in to the screen. I tried calling LG and they stated this is not covered under the warranty. I understand why, but at the same time, I haven't used this TV all that much and I have been very careful to watch out for any burnins.

What can I do?

 

[Anonymous]

But if it is only 3 months old of course it is covered by the warranty. Tell them that if it can't last for 3 months then it is not fit for purpose, and demand your money back. Who is the retailer?

 

[Anonymous]

You can't get burn-in from something that isn't there, namely the 4:3 black bars.

What you have is image retention, which is non permanent. If you want to get rid, tune the tv to a 16:9 "snow" source and leave it on for a couple hoiurs, this should shift any residual image you have.

Having said all that, getting image retention on such a low usage profile is quite poor. Without wishing to prejudge either your tv, or you, I'd suggest that you have your contrast and brightness settings too high, or preset to some sort of dreaded "dynamic" mode (or whatever the LG equivalent is).

Most plasmas benefit from reduced contrast settings for the first 200 hours of use, after that you can slowly crank it up - if you feel the need.

Try to grab a calibration dvd, such as the thx one included on all thx films, or the one called dvd essentials. This will help you with settings.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Very Annoyed"]
But if it is only 3 months old of course it is covered by the warranty. Tell them that if it can't last for 3 months then it is not fit for purpose, and demand your money back. Who is the retailer?
[/quote]

LOL, try being less "annoyed" and understand the technology a bit more.

 

[FuzzyinLondon]

Totally agree with everything Browelly said. Also, to be on the safe side, check if the the TV has a mode that can automatically stretch 4:3 material to fill the whole screen. Most modern plasmas have this and also you should be able to set the side bars to a lighter colour to prevent something like this happening again. Also check the manual to see if there are any built-in safeguards that you dont have turned on. A lot of new sets have something similar to Pioneer's 'orbiter' function which means that the set can detect inactive pixels and take measures to stop burn-in.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="wfernley"]

I purchased an LG TV back in January and it has been running great! I have started to notice though that there is a line on the left side from where the tv programming ends when watching 4:3.

The line will not go away and has been there for a week now. This TV is only watched an average of 45mins to an hour a day - both HD and Standard programming.[/quote]

Can you see the line when you watch HD or fullscreen programs?

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your replies.

I do understand the technology - maybe not fully - but I have tried my best to make sure I didn't get any image burns. I even make sure the TV is off when no one is using it just to be safe.

I don't believe this is image retention because, as I mentioned, it has been there for over a week. I tried using the "white wash" feature of the TV and ran it for a few hours (as per the tech persons suggestion) and this got rid of the bar on the right side but not the left side.

I'm now using the orbiter setting and making sure 4:3 is stretched to take up the whole TV. I have been doing this for a week now and the line is still there. I can see it when watching TV, movies or playing XBOX.

I was told by LG that this is not covered under warranty and Futureshop (where I purchased the TV) will not do anything about it because it is over 30 days - whether I had their extended warranty or not.

Will this eventually go away over time?

Also, the picture is set to dynamic and the brightness set to the 3 level out of 7. I remember I turned it down a notch when I first got the TV because as you said, it helps to break it in having a lower contrast rating.

Thanks again for all your replies!

 

[Anonymous]

Some people on here think that this is something that can be solved by messing about with the set, and they may be right.

However, if it can't be fixed by your actions and the set is only 3 months old it is under guarantee. 30 days is irrelevant if you have a one year guarantee. Try to see if you can fix the problem using some of the ideas that people have suggested on this site. But if it has to be fixed by the manufacturer don't except being palmed off by the retailer.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Which LG model is it? We had real concerns - which we mentioned in our review - about one set recently re noticeable screen-burn....

 

[bf1]

In the manual for the Panasonic TH37PX80B it says under "Notes" the following:

"Do not display a still picture for a long time. This causes a still image to remain on the screen (image retention). This is not considered a malfunction and is not covered under the warranty."

This may explain why you are being told your fault is not covered by the warranty as I would imagine all manufacturers follow the same line.

Given the limited use of your set I can`t see how the problem you have explained could be classed as image retention.

 

[Anonymous]

I was told the same thing by one of the managers at Futureshop. Considering the line is only on one side and not the other, he doesn't think it is a burn either. In fact, the past couple days, two new lines occasionally show up about 3/4 inch thick. One is white and the other is a yellow/orange. I have seen it twice now and I don't believe it is image retention because it showed up while watching two separate shows.

I was told to call LG again and tell them my TV is not working correctly and not mention the burn. It is under warranty for them to send someone to take a look at it for free. I will have to see what they say.