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http://www.techlore.com/article/10023/Back in 1985, Nintendo released the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the United States. It wasn't the first video game system to be introduced here, but it was the first game system that reached mass acceptance.
In 1985, there were two types of televisions often found in homes. Just about everybody had a tube TV under 36", and a few people had one of the new rear-projection big screen TVs. In other words, all TVs were based on CRTs (Cathode-Ray Tubes), which use phosphor to make television images. Phosphor is a material that can unevenly wear if static (unmoving) images are displayed for too long in one area of the screen.
It's commonly believed that video games damage TV sets because of the potential for uneven phosphor wear, commonly referred to as "burn-in."
From 1985 through the late 1990's, video games contained a lot of static images. When these games were played on CRT televisions, static images could wear in if you weren't careful. Rear-projection TVs were, at the time, especially susceptible to this problem.
Television technologies have dramatically advanced sinced to 1985. A lot of the newer TVs, such as LCD, DLP, D-ILA, and LcOS, don't use phosphor, and are essentially immune to burn-in.
Most importantly, video games have undergone dramatic changes in the last 5 years. Games have evolved from using lots of static images in a 2-dimensional environment to fluid-motion game-play in a 3-dimensional world. In other words, there are far less static images in today's games.
Still, caution is always recommended when using a game system on a phosphor-based TV, which include tubes, CRT rear-projection, and Plasmas. Many games still use some static images, such as a life-meter or score counter, which doesn't move during game play. It's still okay to play these games, just take a few extra steps to ensure the potential for burn-in is minimized.
Lower the contrast setting on your TV - Most people have the contrast setting too high, which causes static images to burn-in faster.
Vary your television programming and gaming - If you play a title with static images on your TV all the time, and don't view other programs in-between, burn-in could occur as the wear accrues. Try to play a different game from time to time, or watch some TV programs in-between gaming sessions.
Don't pause a video game on the screen for long periods of time - It's okay to pause the game, but turn off the TV if you need to walk away for a while.
Burn-in is one of those issues where a little bit of effort and common sense goes a long way in ensuring your television won't suffer any ill-effects from games.
Last edited by oberst_enzian (2005-12-11 17:32:07)