What's new

Watching 4:3 content on LG OLED (1 Viewer)

jauritt

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Mar 13, 2011
Messages
124
Location
Warrington, PA
Real Name
Jay Auritt
First off, I apologize if this may have been covered previously and I didn't look in the correct forum for an answer.

I have an LG 65EF9500 OLED television, which I purchased back in September of last year.

The owner's manual cautions against watching anything displayed in a 4:3 aspect ratio for more than one hour at a time, as that would risk the possibility of burn-in on the set.

I have viewed PLENTY of widescreen movies (in a 2.35:1 or wider aspect ratio) that last 2-3 hours or more, and have seen no indication whatsoever of either image retention or burn-in.

So, perhaps someone can enlighten me as to why widescreen viewing would cause no such issues (assuming, of course, that it is mixed in with full-screen viewing as well) and 4:3 viewing would be a problem. I mean, why would black bars on the left and right of the screen be any more problematic than black bars on the top and bottom, even given that the side bars may be slightly thicker.

Can anyone provide a technical or even logical reason why that would be? And has anyone experienced any issues watching 4:3 on an OLED?

Thanks.
 
Last edited:

jauritt

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Mar 13, 2011
Messages
124
Location
Warrington, PA
Real Name
Jay Auritt
I can't find the manual I referenced, but this is from a cnet review:

For picture-quality buffs, OLED is the ultimate display technology, but it's not perfect. In addition to unresolved questions of brightness reduction over time (LG claims a 30,000-hour lifespan, for what it's worth), OLED is more subject to burn-in than LED LCD. The manual reads: "If a fixed image displays on the TV for a long period of time, it will...become a permanent disfigurement on the screen. This...burn-in is not covered by the warranty." It advises owners to avoid displaying 4:3 aspect ratio images and other fixed images for longer than an hour at a time.

http://www.cnet.com/products/lg-ef9500/
 

Tony Bensley

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2013
Messages
7,288
Location
Somewhere in Canada
Real Name
Anthony
I can't find the manual I referenced, but this is from a cnet review:

For picture-quality buffs, OLED is the ultimate display technology, but it's not perfect. In addition to unresolved questions of brightness reduction over time (LG claims a 30,000-hour lifespan, for what it's worth), OLED is more subject to burn-in than LED LCD. The manual reads: "If a fixed image displays on the TV for a long period of time, it will...become a permanent disfigurement on the screen. This...burn-in is not covered by the warranty." It advises owners to avoid displaying 4:3 aspect ratio images and other fixed images for longer than an hour at a time.

http://www.cnet.com/products/lg-ef9500/
I believe "And other fixed images" is an important key phrase. To me, it implies that the maximum 1 hour at a time applies to ANY Aspect Ratio!

Assuming this is correct, what in blazes do the manufacturers expect users of OLED TV's to do? Change Aspect Ratios halfway through a Movie? WTF?!!? :P

Perhaps I should stick with good ol' LCD?

CHEERS! :)
 
Last edited:

jauritt

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Mar 13, 2011
Messages
124
Location
Warrington, PA
Real Name
Jay Auritt
Before this goes any further,THIS is what the User Manual actually says:

If the aspect ratio of the TV is set to 4:3 for a long
period of time, image burn may occur on the
letterboxed area of the screen.

Avoid displaying a fixed image on the TV screen
for a long period of time (2 or more hours for LCD,
1 or more hours for the Plasma TV) to prevent
image burn.

Preventing Screen Burn
Displaying still images, such as a station’s logo,
subtitle, screen menu, video game or computer
screen, for a long time may damage the screen,
causing screen burn which can remain for a
long time or never disappear. Do not display still
images for over an hour.

As you can see (which, I guess, I didn't), nowhere does it say that 4:3 content should not be displayed for more than one hour at a time. And, if this is a result of my simply misreading the manual, I apologize for wasting anyone's time. However, I still swear that I read this somewhere and, if not in the manual then (as shown in the cnet article above), from a review or other article(s). I've contacted LG with the same questions as in my original forum posting and, if and when they get back to me, I'll post their reply just to put closure to this.
 

cineescape

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Nov 24, 2020
Messages
88
Location
NM
Real Name
gregory
Before this goes any further,THIS is what the User Manual actually says:

If the aspect ratio of the TV is set to 4:3 for a long
period of time, image burn may occur on the
letterboxed area of the screen.

Avoid displaying a fixed image on the TV screen
for a long period of time (2 or more hours for LCD,
1 or more hours for the Plasma TV) to prevent
image burn.

Preventing Screen Burn
Displaying still images, such as a station’s logo,
subtitle, screen menu, video game or computer
screen, for a long time may damage the screen,
causing screen burn which can remain for a
long time or never disappear. Do not display still
images for over an hour.

As you can see (which, I guess, I didn't), nowhere does it say that 4:3 content should not be displayed for more than one hour at a time. And, if this is a result of my simply misreading the manual, I apologize for wasting anyone's time. However, I still swear that I read this somewhere and, if not in the manual then (as shown in the cnet article above), from a review or other article(s). I've contacted LG with the same questions as in my original forum posting and, if and when they get back to me, I'll post their reply just to put closure to this.
 

cineescape

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Nov 24, 2020
Messages
88
Location
NM
Real Name
gregory
Exactly why, in addition to risks from Differential Pixel Aging, I personally watch lots of 1.33:1 content on a 32" Toshiba CRT. I surely hate the small screen but love seeing my treasured vintage stuff full screen and free of those stifling vertical bars.

Would I pay a premium for a ~ 50" 4:3 OLED TV with its kickass CRT quality contrast and black level range? You betcha!! How many of us vintage movie and TV lovers don't have an extra room for dedicated 1.33:1 content viewing? Add a 2.1 sound system and you're set. Sadly, I had spent months emailing all the major OLED brands-even those like Konka, Hisense and other Chinese brands trying to break into the US market-but no luck. LG and TCL thanked me for my feedback, and I posted my requests at a review of Sony's top OLED model at their website. But i guess it's either stick with my 32" CRT and sit ~ 8 feet away or get a 4:3 projector. A real shame it has to be this way.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Forum statistics

Threads
356,712
Messages
5,121,143
Members
144,147
Latest member
cennetkaralowa
Recent bookmarks
0
Top