Screen burn on my 6 month old Panny TH37PX70 plasma :(

[admin_exported]

I have a 6 month old Panasonic TH37PX70. I followed the run in guidelines and my contrast & brightness have always been under half.

I've just noticed screen burn from playing Battlefield: Bad Company on my PS3. The burn is from a white box which surrounds the map/radar and also the health meters.

I have played this game a lot over the last few weeks but generally no longer than 2 hours maximum at a time. Most days the game was played for one and a half hours twice a day. I think I once played for 3 hours straight. The rest of the time the TV is used for normal TV/DVD viewing.

Does this usage seem reasonable to cause screen burn?
The burn is only noticeable during very light scenes (eg. white or light grey screen images).

I noticed the burn last night and it's still there this morning after the screen has been off over night.

If I had bought an LCD presumably this wouldn't be an issue but I bought this panel because it was so recomended and all the screen burn advise said that you would have to leave a static image on the screen for many hours on today's plasmas to cause screen burn.

I'm gutted.

 

[Anonymous]

Image Retention,. It will fade with normal TV use. You probably cant see it watching a DVD or a TV program? Leaving the TV off wont improve it, normal use will.

 

[Anonymous]

rewerb:
Image Retention,. It will fade with normal TV use. You probably cant see it watching a DVD or a TV program? Leaving the TV off wont improve it, normal use will.

No, you don't notice it during normal tv viewing - only if the screen is practically white in the affected areas. I'll leave the game alone for a few days and see if normal viewing helps.

 

[professorhat]

More than likely image retention - I myself had a similar worry a few months ago when I switched on a TV to a channel that wasn't in operation and saw the remnants of a game I'd played a few days before (hadn't used the TV since). After a little bit of normal TV watching, I switched back and it had gone.
Hopefully this is will the same for you, though it is still in warranty.

 

[Anonymous]

professorhat:More than likely image retention - I myself had a similar worry a few months ago when I switched on a TV to a channel that wasn't in operation and saw the remnants of a game I'd played a few days before (hadn't used the TV since). After a little bit of normal TV watching, I switched back and it had gone.

Hopefully this is will the same for you, though it is still in warranty.

I hope it does go as the Panasonic warranty states that it doesn't cover screen burn.

 

[Messiah]

I used to have this problem with my Plasma and it does go. However, it is a worry and quite irritating. I have a LCD now so no worries!

 

[southdownswolf]

Try the usual....

Choose a channel that displays "snow" (not the stuff you make snowballs from!) and leave it on for a few minutes, it should remove any screen retention. It is unlikely to be screen burn.

 

[Anonymous]

I suppose you could always trade it in for a LCD and enjoy inferior picture quality...

 

[Alec]

BritBeef:professorhat:More than likely image retention - I myself had a similar worry a few months ago when I switched on a TV to a channel that wasn't in operation and saw the remnants of a game I'd played a few days before (hadn't used the TV since). After a little bit of normal TV watching, I switched back and it had gone.

Hopefully this is will the same for you, though it is still in warranty.

I hope it does go as the Panasonic warranty states that it doesn't cover screen burn.

its getting late, and im in knee-jerk mode again, but...isnt that a disgrace, or is it just me? Does anyone give warranties worth the paper anymore?

 

[Anonymous]

southdownswolf:Try the usual....

Choose a channel that displays "snow" (not the stuff you make snowballs from!) and leave it on for a few minutes, it should remove any screen retention. It is unlikely to be screen burn.

I have now used PixelProtector's snow feature for an hour (it states to use it for 2 hours) and the burn isn't as promenent as before so doe'd that mean it's retention? If it was screen burn, then surely nothing would help at all?

I have watched about 3 hours of TV since first noticing it and it's still there but like I said, not as bad.

 

[professorhat]

In my experience, any retention I've had has been completely cleared after only a few minutes of normal TV viewing, so this sounds strange to me. I've just tried to dig out my warranty on my Panasonic TV for the actual wording on screen burn but can't find it, however, the manual says "Do not display a still picture for a long time" - this is hardly specific advice and I wouldn't consider 3 hours a long time - I've played other games for much longer stints than that without any issues and I've heard many others with the same advice so this definitely isn't usual.
I think it's worth contacting Panasonic as, you haven't disobeyed the instructions given, therefore if you do have screen burn, you should be entitled to a new set in my opinion. If they insist you're in the wrong from what you've done, I'd say you have a case against them as if 3 hours is considered a long time by them, then this should be clearly stated in the operating instructions since most others would agree with me that it is not!

 

[Anonymous]

Dug out my ext warranty and it states

'A permanent after-image on a plasma screen, resulting from displaying a fixed image is not an operating defect and as such is not covered by the guarantee.........Please refer to the operating instructions for further information' and then as Prof says is very vague !!

I watched (?) my Godson play 4 hours of Ninja Gaiden on my 37px80 yesterday and not a single problem.

I can't see how the game should've done this, especially as the cut scenes tend to remove the constant items like life bars etc. at least for a few seconds.... and therefore aren't really 'fixed'.(Unless you're really pants like me and can spend years of your life beating a boss)

This must be an old Caveat that was important in the early days of Plasma but Pannasonic have kept for convenience.

I'd complain and see where it gets you. Say you played it for an hour and you're not happy.

 

[Big Chris]

That's why God invented contents insurance.

If the screen burn is permanent. Who's to say you might not accidentally drop the TV off its stand onto the floor.....Repeatedly.....?

 

[Anonymous]

Big Chris:That's why God invented contents insurance.

If the screen burn is permanent. Who's to say you might not accidentally drop the TV off its stand onto the floor.....Repeatedly.....?

I'd better not, I don't think I'd get away with it again

 

[Anonymous]

I've just run PixelProtector's snow wash for the 5th time (1hr each time) and including normal TV watching over the last few days, the burn has gone so presumably it was just a severe case of image retention. Phew! I have only ever had retention last an hour or so before so this was a real worry.

 

[professorhat]

Wow - never heard of retention needing that much treatment before, but good to know it's all sorted! I'm still a little worried by it though as you should be able to enjoy 3 hours of gaming without having to go through all that palava each time so still maybe worth a call to Panasonic. See how it goes in future I guess.