PCs and Plasma/LCD Screen Burn

PCs can be worse than all the others. At least with a game the image would temporarily change between levels or games and with a TV channel it might get a break from the logo during the adverts but with a PC there are no such times.

Simply put you need to be more Aware, Check more often and take action whenever required. Here are some tips to help minimise the problem a bit. They are not however a complete solution to checking etc.

Get rid of the task bar. This almost always a bright primary colour and stretches the entire width of the screen. You will be most unpopular if the other half has to have the windows start button etc. in view while watching East Enders. The task bar can be made to disappear and only reappear when needed(hovered over with the mouse). In Windows XP do the following:- Right click the task bar and select 'Properties'. You can then 'tick' auto hide the task bar.
If browsing the web with Internet Explorer press 'f11' this will remove most(but not all) of the static frame.

Put your screen saver on a low start up time. If it's not too annoying I would suggest the minimum of 1 minute. Don't use a screen saver with slow or static images like 'space' or 'nature', use more dynamic ones like 'star field', 'blank' or 'beziers'. The best screen saver to use is a home made one. Read my entry on how to do this.

It is possible to use your PC on your Plasma or LCD screen but it must be said it it is the most precarious usage with regard to image retention. If you are going to use your PC on the TV then follow all the precautions and check and take action regularly. Laviva Online Store

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