Why does my LCD TV get an image burned into it...

X

xFROSTx

2[H]4U
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While it is off...


It first happened a month or so ago. Came back home after being gone all weekend, and I noticed there was a faint image burned in the top left corner from the recorded TV page that it was left on before we left. I chalked it up to my girlfriend doing it one evening and just not telling me until I noticed it. Yes, it's an LCD so I was surprised to even have an image burned into it, but I fixed it with the white screen saver trick rather easily and just didn't think much more of it. Yesterday, we came back from being gone for almost 2 weeks and sure enough, the image now covers almost the entire screen. I mean, I know the damn thing was off the entire time, I don't understand how a TV can get an image burned into it while it is off. Anyone else ever seen or heard of this before? Google hasn't turned up much about this.

TV is a 42 inch 1080p Westinghouse we bought 2 years ago.
 
Because westinghouse makes cheap TVs.

And more technically.

LCDs are basically mechanical devices, little crystals flip flop around to change how much light gets thru. Giving you the different colors and intensities. Leave it in one position long enough and it will tend to stay that way.
 
nlancaster said:
Because westinghouse makes cheap TVs.

And more technically.

LCDs are basically mechanical devices, little crystals flip flop around to change how much light gets thru. Giving you the different colors and intensities. Leave it in one position long enough and it will tend to stay that way.
Click to expand...


Thank you for hating on my TV.

Now explain to me how the little crystals flip flop around when it is off.
 
With an LCD, it is usually Image Retention, not Burn-in. IR is temporary, and can be cleared up, as you saw. Burn-in is permanent. Burn-in used to be very prevalent in older plasmas, but it much less likely with the newer sets.
 
xFROSTx said:
Thank you for hating on my TV.

Now explain to me how the little crystals flip flop around when it is off.
Click to expand...

Not hating. I have had a westy before and it worked fine for 1 year more then the warranty.

That image on your screen was from 2 weeks ago. probably the last thing that was on the TV.
 
TV is a 42 inch 1080p Westinghouse we bought 2 years ago.
Click to expand...

Don't take this as hating -- I'm not. I loved my Westy and was sad to see it go when I upgraded to my new TV. But, to keep the cost down, Westinghouse uses a cheap coating on the LCD. This is what is susceptible to "burn in".

You had image retention, and fixed it. If you can't fix it with the white/black trick, then you're probably seeing burn in now and there isn't anything you can do to fix it (if it truly is burnt into the coating). I've heard that some people turn the back light up to 100% and run that way for a while when they get a new TV. Apparently it's supposed to "burn everything in" so it looks even across the screen, but who knows if that actually works.

btw, Best Buy replaced my 47" Westy with a 47" Samsung because of the burn in. I almost thanked my mom for leaving the TV on for a week while I was on vacation (she came to let the dog out and left it on Fox SD). I loved my Westy but it was *HUGE* free upgrade.

It's also something that Westinghouse will replace a TV for if it is still under warranty.
 
Westinghouse is/was notorious for problems like this, i've read quite a few of them and some of the issues seemed just as puzzling as yours OP. Checkout the huge Westy thread in the display forum, the W3 model alone has two or three odd panel-related issues, i think the TX models were even worse.
 
xFROSTx said:
While it is off...


It first happened a month or so ago. Came back home after being gone all weekend, and I noticed there was a faint image burned in the top left corner from the recorded TV page that it was left on before we left. I chalked it up to my girlfriend doing it one evening and just not telling me until I noticed it. Yes, it's an LCD so I was surprised to even have an image burned into it, but I fixed it with the white screen saver trick rather easily and just didn't think much more of it. Yesterday, we came back from being gone for almost 2 weeks and sure enough, the image now covers almost the entire screen. I mean, I know the damn thing was off the entire time, I don't understand how a TV can get an image burned into it while it is off. Anyone else ever seen or heard of this before? Google hasn't turned up much about this.

TV is a 42 inch 1080p Westinghouse we bought 2 years ago.
Click to expand...

Westinghouse TVs have a mode where the back light is the only thing that turns off when you turn the TV off. The LCD stays on the entire time. It boots faster with it on, but it is really the most terrible thing I can think of.

Let me guess...TX-42F430S......
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=851860
It's a long thread. Good luck. It's actually a good TV besides it's little quirks. These had firmware issues that caused a lot of bricks. There is a firmware posted in that thread that will pull a Methuselah if anyone is having that problem.:D

GET THIS> They call it e.saver or some crap. Makes no sense at all! Turn that feature off please!
 
nlancaster said:
Not hating. I have had a westy before and it worked fine for 1 year more then the warranty.

That image on your screen was from 2 weeks ago. probably the last thing that was on the TV.
Click to expand...

Can't be. My DVR defaults to the recorded TV page. Since the image is burned in (Or retained if you want to go that route), I can can tell this happened when we were gone because the burned in image shows the time and date of shows recorded when we were gone.
 
BallerX said:
Westinghouse TVs have a mode where the back light is the only thing that turns off when you turn the TV off. The LCD stays on the entire time. It boots faster with it on, but it is really the most terrible thing I can think of.

Let me guess...TX-42F430S......
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=851860
It's a long thread. Good luck. It's actually a good TV besides it's little quirks. These had firmware issues that caused a lot of bricks. There is a firmware posted in that thread that will pull a Methuselah if anyone is having that problem.:D

GET THIS> They call it e.saver or some crap. Makes no sense at all! Turn that feature off please!
Click to expand...


You sir, win a cookie. I thought I was going insane because no one wants to believe me.


I'm not complaining. Best Buy already said they will give me a new one because of the problem. That would be sweet if they gave me a Samsung to replace it. I love my 50 Samsung plasma. This Westinghouse was the spare TV that I used to watch sports and such on, so anything new I'm going to be happy with.
 
Thanks from me also. I've had this issue with my Westy 42" also. In my case, its the No Input Selected which is "burned in".
 
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