I had thought that monitor burn-in was a thing of the past, but it has become a problem with LCD monitors around here. I guess it is not technically called “burn-in” but image persistence, but burn-in sounds more ominous and gets better attention.
I figured that since I have been too busy to post much useful stuff here lately I would share an email I just sent around to the staff.
I have been receiving several reports about LCD monitors having weird crinkly images on them. At first I thought they were faulty monitors, but after looking at several of them the problem has become obvious.
Your monitor may be experiencing burn-in. If an image stays active on a screen for long enough it becomes a permanent part of that screen. This is why “Screen Savers” were created. They keep the screen from going a long time with the same image.
Look at your monitor and compare the ghost images with your background image or the program you leave your computer on all night.
Today I saw a fancy background and Outlook burned into two separate screens.There is nothing we can do to fix the problem other than to throw away the monitors and spend hundreds of dollars that would otherwise be used to fund our ministries buying new ones.
However, this can be prevented.
If nothing else, turn on a screen saver to come on after 30 minutes of inactivity. By that time you are either away from your desk or not working anything. This will not only protect your screen from burn-in, but if you require a password for turning off the screen saver it will protect your computer from being messed with by other people or keep you from sending messages with your forehead after you fall asleep.
The preferred option is to either turn your computer completely off or to use hibernate so that when your computer is started up again in the morning it will have the same stuff running as though you had not turned it off at all. If you are interested in learning how to do this, then contact me. It will protect your computer from power outages and spikes and make your work easier.
Warning: Nerdy Math Ahead
Consider that the average office work hours are around 48 hours per week (rounded off to make math easier). That is 2 full days.
If you leave your computer and monitor on all the time then they are running for 7 days each week (168 hours).
Running a computer for 48 hours a week vs. 168 hours is like running it for 105 days vs. 365 (a difference of 260 days).
To make this easier to remember, look at your calendar and mark the 105th day: April 15.
Just image how happy your computer would be if it only had to work until tax day each year rather than the entire year.
Make your computer happy. Turn it off.
I was honestly surprised at how many computers are starting to show these problems. It looks like it only takes a few months of always being on before it happens.
I have done some research on it and there is information from Lifehacker commenting on Apple’s recommendations for image persistence and something from About.com on image persistence.
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