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View Full Version : What are some ways to avoid burning the screen through a 1080i Digital HDTV?



CALzinger
06-21-2003, 10:11 AM
I am running Xbox on my 1080i Digital 53" HDTV. I was notified by one of my game manuals that certain games could burn through the screen. I've heard that this can happen with only 1080i resolution games. Is there any way to keep the TV safe while running 1080i games? (even if there are any) Rather than that, is there any 100% safe way to play ANY xbox game on a Projection TV?

Snoopy7548
06-21-2003, 10:16 AM
just turn the contrast down, and dont keep the game paused for a long time. i have a 50 inch rear projection tv, and ive never had a burn in. ive even played games on it for like 5 hours once, and nothing has ever happened.

CALzinger
06-21-2003, 11:14 AM
I'm talking about long-term effects. Does the High Definition pack avoid burns in the TV? And could the TV be damaged if the xbox is being used for straight gameplay? (say...8 hours or so)

Arrix
06-21-2003, 11:59 AM
IF you play start for like 8 hrs and there are things on the screen like health bars that are stationary the whole time you can have a burn in. Try give your tv a rest and shut it off for a while if you have to play that long. I am no expert but Lynx is.

studepaber
06-21-2003, 01:13 PM
I have an HDTV, was playing PSO for 6 straight hours (there are permanent icons, bars displayed all the time in gameplay), and now there is burn-in that's noticable when the screen is white, anyone know is something like that would be covered under warranty?

CALzinger
06-21-2003, 01:47 PM
So let me get this right...I'm using a 53" HDTV. I would think that this would be a good thing to use for a gaming console. Now I realize that I can destroy the TV...its working in opposite :(

studepaber
06-21-2003, 02:30 PM
If you can get an HD go for it, burning happens on HD and projection doesn't matter, just don't play a game where there is some kind of static graphic on the screen ALL the time for 6-10 hours straight :)

Cryogenic Pyro
06-21-2003, 02:38 PM
I'm no expert, but I'd say any game with anything that stays stationary all the time(Almost every game has something to that effect) shouldn't be played for more than 4 hours at a time. I'm sure you can survive around 30 minutes watching TV before you play for another 4 hours. I don't know much about the subject though, and I also want to learn more. Oh, and the guy who asked if it was covered by the warranty, no. Nothing like that would be covered by the warranty, because it's your fault for doing it. An example would be dropping your TV down stairs. Most warranties won't cover that.

CALzinger
06-21-2003, 04:51 PM
And to add to that...Microsoft will not refund your TV or your system/games. The warning has been printed on every Xbox game manual so you have been warned. Warranties are voided due to your own necessary action.

I guess the best decision would be to:

Do not play your Xbox for over 4 hours straight if you are using a front/rear projection TV. Burns in the screen may occur mainly in positions where stationary targets are placed. Warranties are not covered and will be immediately invalidated and voided. If you wish to keep your Xbox/TV in good condition, follow the above directions.

MerimacHamwich
06-21-2003, 06:23 PM
First of all, this does NOT only happen to HDTV's. Actually, it happens to all TV's, even tube TV's. The only difference is that it happens faster and easier on some than others. The average Tube TV viewer will never experience burn in, in thier televisions life time (The time they keep thier TV). However, if you have a rear projection television you are at greater risk of experiencing burn in. Static images such as score images on sports shows, news reels on news shows and life, ammo and other such gauges in video games will "burn" into the televisions screen. The reason is becuase the phosphors or whatever displaying the color being projected onto it will eventually stay that color if an image is displayed long enough.

There is another factor that comes into play though, the brightness and contrast of your television. The higher the brightness/contrast the sooner and easier you will burn an image into your television. So if you keep those things down while playing games or watching shows with static images the risk is far lower of getting burn in.

Why doesn't a warranty cover this? Becuase first of all it is a natural aging process of a television. Secondly, this happens partly becuase of the consumers actions. Most warranties only cover accidents, burn in is not an accident, the cause of ignorance, most likely, but not an accident.

shrew king
06-21-2003, 06:36 PM
When I play on the big screen we have I just pause the game and turn off the TV every once in awhile. Can the images burn onto your screen if you get one of the inch thick TVs?

BCan
06-21-2003, 08:15 PM
There are TV's now that are HD, that actually now start to move the image on the screen around ever so slightly, like 1 cm every 10 minutes or so. This helps to avoid burn-in, so expect many new generation TV's to include this so no console causes burn in on the screen.

Burn in is a usage issue, it is how the buyer has intended to use the screen to view things, and they have decided to play console games. How can a warranty protect you against what you plan to use the TV for?

Also to avoid burn in, at the time when you take a break, actually turn the TV off and pull it out from the power socket in the wall. Give the circuits a break, allow any charge to dissapate, then they will have no "memory" issues about what was on the screen.

studepaber
06-21-2003, 10:18 PM
Yea, I guess it was wishful thinking about the whole warranty thing....so what's it take to get something like that fixed? I've had the TV for awhile so maybe I'll go Plasma or something now.

MerimacHamwich
06-21-2003, 10:27 PM
Plasma burn ins happen faster.

Anyhow, the fixing? All you are going to have to do is get the screen replaced. So, you will have to pay for hte screen plus labour. If it is even possible to replace the screen. I expect your looking at a couple hundred.

LynxFX
06-22-2003, 02:25 AM
I just happen to have a site that answers this exact question.

http://hdtv.lynxfx.com

Burn in is easily preventable.

CALzinger
06-22-2003, 10:31 AM
NO FIXED IMAGES, for any length of time, EVER! This means pausing video games and static health bars, ticker tape bands, menu images, strong bright logos like MSNBC.

Then how can you even play the video game? Most games have fixed positions of objects or on-screen hud systems.

LynxFX
06-22-2003, 05:48 PM
Originally posted by CALzinger
Then how can you even play the video game? Most games have fixed positions of objects or on-screen hud systems.
That is pretty much the point. Burn in only occurs because of fixed images. If you don't want it, then don't display anything that has fixed images, which I agree is nearly impossible. Follow the other steps in lowering your contrast and calibrating, and switching games more often when they do show static images and you will be fine.

CALzinger
06-22-2003, 07:02 PM
Originally posted by Lynxfx-XBA

That is pretty much the point. Burn in only occurs because of fixed images. If you don't want it, then don't display anything that has fixed images, which I agree is nearly impossible. Follow the other steps in lowering your contrast and calibrating, and switching games more often when they do show static images and you will be fine.

So basically what your saying is, the safest way to keep your TV in good shape is to not use it...Well, I don't plan on doing that.

I'll just do what you have at your site reguarding contrast and calibration. Anyway, some games have options to turn off the hud when not needed.

MerimacHamwich
06-22-2003, 08:55 PM
Originally posted by CALzinger


So basically what your saying is, the safest way to keep your TV in good shape is to not use it...Well, I don't plan on doing that.

I'll just do what you have at your site reguarding contrast and calibration. Anyway, some games have options to turn off the hud when not needed.
That was unneeded sarcasm. Heck, it isn't even what he said. He said watching TV and playing games is hard to not have static images. However, if you watch a DVD, or any other moie device then there won'tbe static images. So you can use your tv.
Use your noodle CALzinger.

CALzinger
06-22-2003, 10:09 PM
Originally posted by MerimacHamwich

That was unneeded sarcasm. Heck, it isn't even what he said. He said watching TV and playing games is hard to not have static images. However, if you watch a DVD, or any other moie device then there won'tbe static images. So you can use your tv.
Use your noodle CALzinger.

I'll do that...For now, use your eyes MerimacHamwich. If you go to LynxFX's site, it shows exactly this:

NO FIXED IMAGES, for any length of time, EVER! This means pausing video games and static health bars, ticker tape bands, menu images, strong bright logos like MSNBC.
That basically means...no types of video games, dvd movies, or channels with fixed logos. That pretty much means you can't use it like I said. Then again, I know what he means.