How to Get Rid of a Temporary Ghosting Burn in a Plasma TV

Screen burn, or "ghosting," can sometimes occur with plasma televisions.

Plasma screen burn, also known as “ghosting,” occurs when an image remains stationary on your television for an extended period. Common causes include sports score bars, cable news scrolling bars, video games, or any scene paused for too long. Fortunately, the burn is usually temporary and can be corrected.

Things You'll Need

• Plasma TV
• Calibration DVD -- available at most home electronics stores
• "Plasma-saving" DVD -- sold under various brand names
• Other video source

Instructions

1. Watch motion-packed, full-screen video for several hours or longer. A program or movie that offers regularly shifting scenes and dynamic motion can help activate various pixels -- reducing the effects of screen burn.

2. Enable pixel-shifting, if the setting is available on your television. Check the system and display menus for your TV. Pixel-shifting subtly alternates the pixels that compose the television image.

3. Calibrate your display. Calibration DVDs help optimize a TV's brightness, contrast and color settings. With a new plasma television, it's also helpful to turn down the contrast setting to avoid burn-in.

4. Use the screen saver and automatic power-down features of your DVD player and other equipment. If a movie or game is paused for an extended period, the screen saver can activate a random pattern that prevents screen burn.

5. Use a "plasma saving" DVD to remove or reduce the effects of screen burn. Such DVDs have various, specially designed patterns that activate certain pixels on your television. Some plasma televisions also offer plasma reduction screen savers, so check your system menu.

6. Avoid images that cause screen burn. In addition to the common causes above, other causes may include movies with black or gray letterboxing, network logos or other still images. Use a wide-screen viewing mode to eliminate letterboxing, if necessary. If your television offers it, you may be able to change the color of the black or gray bars to reduce screen burn.

Tips & Warnings

• Permanent screen burn is no longer a primary consideration with plasma televisions. A study by Imaging Science indicated that current plasma technology is relatively resilient to screen burn. When it did occur in the laboratory setting, it was generally reversible after 24 hours of full-screen, full-motion video.

• New plasma televisions are particularly vulnerable to burn-in damage within the first 100 hours of use. Plasma televisions become significantly more resistant after 1,000 hours of viewing.

References

• Fix a TV: How to Repair Plasma Screen Burn In
• Plasmasaver: What is Plasma Burn-In
• Imaging Science: Mythbusting – Just the Facts on Plasma TV Performance