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Michael Desjardin
21 September 2025
OLED has come a long way in my decade of covering TVs
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(Image credit: LG)
I’ve been the proud owner of an OLED TV for about four years now. When it’s time to replace this TV, I’ll probably buy another OLED.
As a TV expert, I understand the benefits of OLED, and that many of the best TVs tap this impressive display technology. I have never been (and will likely never be) concerned about burn-in on an OLED TV — and neither should you.
To be clear, the phenomenon — in which a ghostly after-image is permanently seared into the picture after lengthy use — is very much real, but in all likelihood, you’ll never encounter it.
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Why does OLED have a reputation for burn-in?
(Image credit: Future)
OLED’s reputation for burn-in makes sense when you consider the rollout of its earliest displays. OLED TVs were, in many ways, stepping into the shoes of plasma TVs — a dwindling display type whose sensational picture quality came with a word of caution about burn-in.
These days, I spend more time reassuring folks that their OLED TV is readily equipped to avoid burn-in than I do warning people about its possibility.
Plasma TVs did run the risk of burn-in — perhaps more so than their OLED successors. But even if the risk was exaggerated among prospective buyers, the cratering costs associated with LCD/LED display production sealed plasma’s fate. It simply made too much sense for shoppers to save money on an affordable LED TV that wasn’t saddled with burn-in risk.
As word got out about OLED TVs susceptibility for burn-in, the tech was seemingly on a crash-course with the same fate that befell plasma. Fortunately, OLED was — and still is — built differently.
Through a combination of clever engineering and manufacturing advancements, OLED TV-makers have marginalized the risk of burn-in. These days, I spend more time reassuring folks that their OLED TV is readily equipped to avoid burn-in than I do warning people about its possibility. With that in mind, let’s go over what steps you (and your TV) can take to avoid OLED burn-in.
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What causes burn-in?
The most likely candidates for OLED burn-in are on-screen elements that just don’t go away, like network logos, news tickers and menu icons.
As was the case with plasma, the most likely candidates for OLED burn-in are on-screen elements that just don’t go away, like network logos, news tickers and menu icons.
As a responsible OLED TV owner, there’s really only one thing you can do to stave off burn-in: As best you can, avoid keeping a single, static image on screen for an extended period of time, and to be cognizant of content that contains static elements.
Despite this recommendation, I need to be clear: OLED TVs don’t need to be babied. When I say “extended period of time,” what I mean is several uninterrupted hours — repeatedly.
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In other words, if you’re the type of person to turn on cable news in the morning and not touch your remote for the rest of the day, you’re more likely to run into burn-in before the end of your OLED’s natural life than a viewer who doesn’t.
What can be done about it?
(Image credit: Future)
Even still, all TVs — OLED or otherwise — have a limited lifespan, and it stands to reason that additional use can hasten this lifespan.
Plus, most OLED TVs come with an array of tools to prevent OLED, even when static elements are in play. Most of these tools are processes that happen automatically in the background, too, so you don’t even need to think about them.
One of the reasons I’m eager to upgrade to a newer OLED TV at some point is precisely because they include a slew of preventative measures. Take the LG C5 OLED, for instance, which is LG’s most popular OLED TV in 2025.
The C5 comes with a pixel-shifting feature that occasionally (and subtly) moves the picture to ensure that each pixel is switching things up from time to time rather than remaining static. It also comes with a feature that automatically detects logos and separately dims them, minimizing the impact on those particular pixels. Pretty cool!
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In our five-star LG C5 review, we showered this OLED TV with praise for its sensational performance, its class-leading selection of features and its approachable price point. It delivers all of the benefits we’ve come to expect from OLED displays, but its design, software and overall experience is the result of LG’s excellent engineering.
LG OLEDs also come with a utility called Pixel Cleaning, also known as Pixel Refresh on Samsung OLEDs and Panel Refresh on Sony OLEDs. This process takes several minutes to run and automatically adjusts the luminance of pixels depending on whether or not an unevenness is detected.
In the past, this process has successfully eliminated less-extreme instances of image retention on OLEDs I’ve tested and reviewed.
Be warned, however: I would not manually run these pixel-cleaning features with any regularity. They can be aggressive over time — akin to scouring your display — and there’s a good chance your OLED TV is already running a lighter, preventative version of the feature automatically when it’s off.
Once upon a time, these features didn’t come standard with OLED TVs, and like the price tag of these old-school OLEDs, the risk of burn-in was higher, too. These days, though, you can shop with confidence knowing that the risk of OLED burn-in is low.
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Michael Desjardin
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Senior Editor, TV
Michael Desjardin is a Senior Editor for TVs at Tom’s Guide. He’s been testing and tinkering with TVs professionally for over a decade, previously for Reviewed and USA Today. Michael graduated from Emerson College where he studied media production and screenwriting. He loves cooking, zoning out to ambient music, and getting way too invested in the Red Sox. He considers himself living proof that TV doesn’t necessarily rot your brain.
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