Initial TV Settings And Screen Burn Prevention.
This is probably the best tip you can ever get with regard to avoiding
the dreaded screen burn. By default most sets are packed in the box
with unsuitable default settings. I have yet to purchase an LCD or a
Plasma TV where the contrast, brightness and colour were not set to
100%. This is stupid if you consider who should know the most about
this relatively new technology. Of course I am referring to the
manufacturers.
Unless the set is going in an extremely bright room you should easily
be able to lower the contrast, brightness and colour down to 70% with
almost no loss off clarity. I find 60% is almost always achievable and
often as low as 50%.
Doing this will increase immensely the amount of time a still image
takes to cause any screen burn. I don't want to give a specific time
because it must vary from TV to TV and say plasma to LCD but I
sometimes use a cheap Samsung with a completely static control panel
for around 2 hours and have no problems at all.
The other big benefit with turning down the settings is that it will
prolong the life of the phosphors and therefore the TV itself. Now we
begin to see why the default settings are at 100%. Damn I'm so cynical!
Also many TVs have a 'Power Saving' setting. This usually works by
decreasing the power output overall and hence preserve the life of
those precious phosphors still further.
