Preventing or Removing Image Burn-In/Image Retention or Ghosting on my Dell LCD TV

What Is "Image Retention," "Ghosting" or "Burn In"?

Image retention (known as "ghosting" or "burn in") occurs when a stationary image is left on your screen for so long that the screen cannot release that image completely. A "ghost" or faint version of the image is left on the screen.

The best way to avoid image retention is to limit the display of any image in the same position for extended periods of time.

The most common culprits for causing image retention are:

• TV menus
• Black bars (for example, letterbox format)
• TV channel logos
• Stock market or news tickers
• Time display
• Shopping channel pricing display
• Computer images
• Video game images
• Closed captioning backgrounds
• Virtually any static image

Preventing Image Retention in Flat Panel TVs

Manufacturers of plasma and LCD flat panel televisions are continuously introducing technology to help reduce the likelihood of this problem, but there are simple steps you can take to help reduce the chances of experiencing image "burn-in.

• Avoid leaving a static image on your display for long periods of time. 
• Turn off your unit when you are not watching it.
• Do not pause DVDs for more than 20 minutes at a time.
• For new plasma TVs in particular, be wary of leaving images on the screen for long periods.  When phosphors are fresh, they burn more intensely as they are ignited. This means that relatively new plasma TVs are prone to "ghosting", which occurs when on-screen images appear on the screen for an extended time.
• For plasma TVs in particular, reducing the contrast can help prevent burn-in, especially for the first 200 hours of use.
• If you are using your TV to display a video game from a computer, make sure to utilize screen saver features or power management settings that can change or turn off the display after a period of time.

Correcting Image Retention in Dell LCD TVs
 

"Stuck" images can be removed by "exercising" the LCD pixels to bleed off the residual capacitive charge. This can most easily be accomplished by using a random pattern screen saver that changes the screen image repeatedly. You should be able to connect your LCD TV to a computer with TV-out capability. The time required to clear the stuck image can vary widely (minutes, hours, days) depending on the panel technology and the severity of the stuck image. 

	Note:
	Turning the LCD monitor off for an extended period of time does not clear the image. The charge must be bled off by charging/discharging the pixels with random images.

Reversing Image Retention on the Dell Plasma TV by Using the "Conditioning Option"
 

	Note:
	Prior to using the Plasma Conditioning feature included with your Dell plasma TV, it is important to consider the following: This article is intended to assist customers attempting to correct image retention on their Dell plasma TV. The Dell Warranty for your plasma TV does not cover image retention or image "burn-in" issues. Severe cases of image retention are known as "burn-in". The Plasma Conditioning feature does not remove "burn-in." Use Plasma Conditioning only when you experience a problem with image retention. Overuse may degrade the TV brightness. Using the Plasma Conditioning feature may take several hours to complete.

To use the Plasma Conditioning feature, perform the following steps:

1. Press the power button to power-on your Dell plasma TV.
    
2. Using the Dell plasma TV remote control, press the Menu button to enter the OSD Menu.
    
3. On the OSD Menu, press the arrow buttons in the center of the remote control to highlight the Setup icon.
    
4. Press the Enter button to select the Setup option. The Setup menu appears.
    
5. Using the arrow buttons on the remote control, highlight the Plasma Conditioning option.
    
6. Press the Enter button. The Plasma Conditioning process begins.