Burn-in Test — Check OLED & TV Screens for Image Retention

What burn-in actually is

Burn-in (also called permanent image retention) happens when the same static content — a channel logo, a taskbar, a game HUD, a paused video — stays on screen long enough to wear the display unevenly. On an OLED panel, each pixel is its own tiny light source with a finite lifespan; pixels that display bright content constantly age faster than pixels around them that show darker or varied content. The result is a faint, permanent outline that shows up most clearly on a flat field — which is exactly what the patterns on this page give you.

Burn-in vs. image retention — the difference that matters

These two get confused constantly, but only one of them is permanent:

• Image retention is temporary. A static image leaves a faint shadow for a few minutes after you switch away from it, then fades completely on its own. It is common and not a defect.
• Burn-in is permanent uneven wear. The ghost image stays no matter how long you wait or what you display afterward, because the pixels themselves have physically aged at different rates. Software cannot reverse it.

The test on this page cannot tell these apart in a single sitting — that requires patience, not a browser trick. Run a pattern, note anything you see, wait a few minutes on a different pattern, then check the same spot again. If the ghost is still there afterward, it is likely burn-in rather than retention.

Which screens are actually at risk

Burn-in is a property of emissive display technologies, where every pixel generates its own light and ages individually:

• OLED (TVs, phones, some laptop and monitor panels) — the primary risk. Modern OLEDs include pixel-shifting and logo-dimming countermeasures that make it far less common than it used to be, but static UI elements over many hours can still leave a mark.
• Plasma — the original burn-in risk, now largely obsolete.
• LCD / LED-backlit LCD — not emissive. A single shared backlight sits behind every pixel, so there is nothing to age unevenly. What looks like burn-in on an LCD is almost always image retention, dead pixels (see the Dead Pixel Test), or backlight bleed (see the Backlight Bleed Test).

How to use each pattern

Solid Color Cycle steps through black, grays, white and the three primaries — a ghost that appears in the same place across several different colors is a strong burn-in signal, since chance alignment across colors is unlikely. Checkerboard Flip inverts on a timer, which is good at revealing wear along straight edges — like a paused video's letterbox bars. Color Bar Slide moves bars across the panel so a fixed mark stands out against motion. Gradient Sweep is the gentlest pattern and the safest option if you are sensitive to flashing — it reveals banding and panel wear as a break in an otherwise smooth gradient.

Preventing burn-in

If you own an OLED TV or monitor: avoid leaving a static image (a paused frame, a channel logo, a stock ticker, a taskbar) on screen for hours at a time, use auto-hide for docks and taskbars, keep your device's built-in pixel shift and logo-dimming features enabled, and vary your content instead of looping the same static screen. None of this is necessary for LCD panels.

For a full display check

Burn-in is one check among several. If you are validating a new OLED TV, monitor or phone, follow up with the OLED Screen Test for black level and grayscale uniformity, and the Dead Pixel Test for dead and stuck pixels.