Burn in

[Girevik]

Hello all - I'm a holdover from hdcolumbus.org (under a different username), and it looks like my first post here will be a stupid one.

I have a rear projection set, and I know that static images can cause burn in. My understanding is that burn in is simply uneven pixel wear, and have been watching my non-hd stuff in a streched mode to fill the screen. Would I run risk of "burn in" if I watched my 4:3 shows in the regular mode with the black bars on the sides, or am I just being paranoid?

[snodgrass23]

What kind of set do you have (ie., LCD, DLP, CRT, Plasma, etc.) ?

[rossl]

Would I run risk of "burn in" if I watched my 4:3 shows in the regular mode with the black bars on the sides, or am I just being paranoid?

With a DLP, LCD or LCOS rear projection, no burn in problem.

If you have CRT rear projection, you may have a problem if your brightness is turned up.

[Girevik]

It is CRT. I've got brightness turned down, but it sounds like I better stick to the streched mode just to be safe.

[snodgrass23]

Thats not going to give you the standard definition of burn in, but that area as a whole will get dimmer over time. How long it takes depends on how bright it is.

Basically, over time the entire used portion of the tube will get dimmer through burn-in which normal. That is why an older CRT tube, whether it be on a TV or projector is dimmer than a new one. But, portions that are used more often will burn in faster. That could show up in the form of a static display of a bright color, like white text that is in the same spot for long periods of time. This is not something that happens immediately, just the more a section of the tube is used and how bright it is determines how fast it "wears down".

So, long story short. If you watch a lot more 4:3 material than 16:9, then over time you'll notice the side panels are a bit brighter overall. I watch probably 75% of my material on my projector in widescreen, so I just leave the 4:3 stuff unstretched because I can't stand to see everything so distorted. Since I don't watch near as much stuff in 4:3, the wear will stay somewhat even and shouldn't be noticeable.

[jpdublin]

I have not had any issues with my DLP and Burn in that I know off.

But as for my RP, I have the FOX logo burned into the bottom right corner of the TV. So I would not not be too concerned over the side bars as for the TV logos.