What is image retention? Why are Samsung TVs “immune” to this phenomenon?

One of the challenges for TV manufacturers is how to create products with beautiful display quality but must be durable. Prominent among them is solving the problem of image retention for a better viewing experience. So what is this phenomenon? Why Samsung TVs are “immune” to it. Let’s find out in the following article!

What is image retention?

The phenomenon of “image retention” means that a still image is displayed for an extended period of time , leaving a permanent mark on the screen. This usually goes away after a few seconds, but it’s still enough to annoy viewers.

For example, you have just watched a 90-minute football match, where the top corner of the screen shows the flags and scores between the two teams. At the end of the program, you switch to watching movies but the image of the ratio is still “sticky” there , not too clear but still blurry.

Causes of image retention and its effects?

Causes of image retention

Explaining this phenomenon, the manufacturers said, the TV image is reproduced by combining 3 red – Blue – Blue pigments (RGB – Red, Green, Blue). Light passes through these pixels and creates the image you normally see.

When one of these 3 pigments is deactivated (aka dead pixels), RGB cannot transform into a new image when the user switches channels or watches other content. Thereby creating the phenomenon that the screen has ghost marks of the logo or image from before. And this phenomenon is considered the ” feature ” of the product.

All TVs can have image retention, but LCDs may not

Contrary to popular belief, “all” televisions are at risk of image retention if still images are projected for too long. However, to create this phenomenon on LCD TVs, it takes a very long time, possibly up to hundreds of hours , so it can be considered as unaffected in actual use .

LED TVs and QLED TVs are essentially LCD TVs, so they are not affected. In contrast, CRT, Plasma or OLED are very susceptible to this phenomenon, just a few hours “accidentally” can have image retention.

Effect of “save image” on image quality

Image retention not only makes the user experience incomplete , but is also thought to cause screen contrast to drop, reducing image sharpness and vibrancy.

When it comes to immersive content, many of our favorite shows and games now support the HDR format, which means videos are brighter and richer. However, content in HDR format can damage the TV if used for a long time – increasing the likelihood of “image retention” and reducing the life of the TV .

Why are Samsung TVs “immune” to this phenomenon?

The key to overcoming this annoying situation lies in the display mechanism of the television . As mentioned above, all TVs can have image retention, but LCD or QLED TVs cannot. Why can QLED do this?

First, QLED is made of inorganic materials , so it is much more durable than organic materials used on OLEDs. In addition, Samsung also introduced a layer of quantum dots that adjust the light emitted from the backlight onto individual pixels by using high or low frequencies. As a result, the pixels are able to fully display the pigment, completely overcoming the phenomenon of image retention .

At the same time, quantum dot technology also helps to increase pixel life, combined with features to help reduce this phenomenon such as color balance, screen standby, … allowing Samsung to confidently bring a warranty package. 10 years without saving photos .

Thanks to this technological achievement, Samsung QLED has been certified by Video magazine – German technology to have no image retention , becoming one of the most durable screens on the market.

In addition, Samsung became the first company in the TV industry to receive the ” No Harm from LED Radiation ” safety certification from Underwriters Laboratories (UL) in the US and the certification ” Eye safety ” from the association Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker (VDE) in Germany.

This helps the user’s entertainment time, contact with the QLED screen become relaxed and gentle, providing a more complete and comfortable audio-visual and entertainment experience.

Hope the above article will give you a better understanding of the phenomenon of image retention on TV. If you need more information, do not hesitate to comment at the end of the article for the fastest and best support!