lcd screen dark brands

LED-backlit LCD TVs typically come in one of two sub-types of panels: Vertical Alignment (VA) or In-Plane Switching (IPS). VA panels tend to have much high contrast ratios, and therefore better black uniformity. IPS panels, on the other hand, have worse contrast ratios and suffer from more backlight issues that can affect black uniformity, including "IPS glow", which is a kind of "glow" effect that can be seen in the corners of IPS screens.

LED-backlit LCD TVs are prone to black uniformity issues, but OLED TVs can produce virtually perfect blacks because their pixels are self-emitting, and therefore don"t have the same limitations caused by improper backlight implementation. That means they don"t suffer from clouding or flashlighting as LED TVs do.

Poorly designed backlight placement. The type of backlight and its position directly affects the uniformity of the screen. The worst uniformity can be found on edge-lit LED TVs, because the LEDs are only on the edge of the screen. Full-array LED TVs have good uniformity because their LEDs are spread out across the whole screen. Some edge-lit TVs have great uniformity. You can learn more about different backlights here.

Non-uniform frame pressure. Both the LCD screen and the diffuser layers are somewhat flexible. A slight difference in pressure on the frame of the television can change the uniformity of the picture. On some televisions, this can be fixed (see below).

Flashlighting can sometimes be fixed on some televisions. If the flashlighting is caused by pressure from the TV"s frame, you can adjust it by slightly loosening or tightening the screws behind the edge of the screen. Some TVs don"t expose the screws, however, so this won"t always be possible. You should also keep in mind that a small change in the tightness of a screw can have a big impact on the uniformity of the screen, so be careful if ever you do try this step. While this can fix the issue, we don"t recommend it unless you know exactly what you"re doing, as it may cause more problems than it solves.

For clouding, there"s a pretty simple fix that—while not guaranteed—can have good results. Power on the TV and display a black image. This will allow you to see the lighter spots on the screen. Next, take a soft cloth and massage those brighter spots to improve the uniformity. You should only apply very gentle pressure, just barely touching the screen. You can also try a few different stroking patterns. If you are patient enough, this works surprisingly often, especially on edge-lit TVs, although you should be very careful to avoid damaging your screen.

Black uniformity refers to how evenly a TV can display black across the screen, especially when displaying a bright object over a dark background. It’s important when watching dark scenes in a dark room, and while most people shouldn’t notice black uniformity issues like flashlighting and clouding, they can become more apparent when the issues are especially bad. You won’t need to worry about these problems in rooms with lights on, though. For each TV, we take a photo of a black frame to capture the black uniformity, and then we calculate the color values of the pixels to find the standard deviation of the uniformity. We then do the same with local dimming enabled.

Poorly designed backlight. LED-backlit LCD monitors require a backlight to show the image on the screen. The position and quality of these backlight systems have an impact on the uniformity of the screen. Many monitors only have a strip of LEDs at the top or bottom of the screen and use a series of diffusion films behind the LCD panel to create an even backlight. Unfortunately, not all of these designs are made the same, and edge-type backlights will often have a visible backlight that looks like a distracting bright strip on one of the edges of the screen. However, some higher-end monitors have direct LED backlighting with LEDs placed all over the screen, resulting in better uniformity. Learn more about different types of backlights on TVs here.

Lenient manufacturing and uneven frames. LCD screens are made of many layers, and most of these are flexible. When the monitor is being built or transported, some of these layers likely bend. These can cause uneven diffusion of light which leads to clouding and backlight bleed.

Uneven intensity of the lighting. Sometimes, the LEDs themselves have manufacturing issues. This leads to certain areas of the screen having stronger backlight than others which leads to very visible uniformity issues in blacks but also colors and greys.

Monitors use different panel technologies to produce an image. Most monitors use LCD panels, of which there are different types. VA panels are known for their high contrast ratio, so they display deep blacks, but it doesn"t mean they have good black uniformity, as seen with the AOC CQ27G2 in the When It Matters section. The more common IPS panels have a low contrast ratio, which we can see with the ASUS TUF Gaming VG27AQL1A above. On average, VA and IPS panels have about the same black uniformity, but it depends on the model. There"s also a rare third panel type, the TN panel. It usually has the worse uniformity, as you can see here.

IPS glow refers to a specific type of uniformity issue that, as the name suggests, is most common with IPS-type LCD monitors. Unlike normal uniformity issues, the cause for IPS glow is mostly the screen"s vertical viewing angle, which is why it often appears at the corners.

In a normal viewing position with your eyes being level with the center of the screen, the corners of your monitor are at a much steeper angle than the central areas. These areas of the screen can start to show the artifacts that appear when using your monitor beyond its viewing angle. Colors and brightness shift, and parts of the screen with very slight backlight bleed appear to worsen.

Unfortunately, you can"t do much to mitigate IPS glow except adjust your viewing position. The way to make sure the IPS glow is caused by the vertical viewing angles and not backlight bleed is by shifting your point of view. As you go up and down the screen, if you notice the edges further away from your eyes start to shift color, then this is the IPS glow.

If you have minor clouding, you can also try a common technique that occasionally helps. With the monitor on and displaying either a black frame or our test pattern, look for the brighter areas of the screen. Using a soft cloth, gently massage the brighter spots. It might take a while, but it can be effective. Make sure to be quite gentle, though, as pressing too hard can damage your monitor.

If you often use your screen in the dark, ambient lighting behind your screen can greatly reduce the visibility of uniformity issues and greatly enhance perceived contrast.

Our black uniformity tests are different from the gray uniformity tests because we see how well the monitor displays a bright object on a dark screen. The gray uniformity tests are for displaying a single color across the screen. You can learn more about them here.

We test for the black uniformity on a monitor to see how well it displays a bright object on a dark screen. This test is important if you tend to use your monitor in a dark environment, especially when viewing content with dark scenes, like video games or movies. A monitor with bad black uniformity can get distracting. We take a photo and measure the standard deviation of the black uniformity, both with the local dimming feature enabled and disabled. A monitor"s panel technology impacts the black uniformity, but it varies between units, so no two monitors are alike.

Having black spots on a TV screen can be very confusing and annoying for most TV owners. If you just spotted a black spot on your TV screen, you are probably worried that you’ll need to replace the entire set. But this should not be the case, especially since you spent a handsome figure getting the best TV available.

Perhaps the most common cause of black spots is dirt and debris that have accumulated on the surface of the TV screen over time. If ignored, it will lead to black spots.

While most new TVs sold are smart TVs, you can still buy what is referred to now as “dumb TVs.” If you want a TV without apps and an internet connection, this is the TV for you. If that interests you, check out these top-rated dumb TVs. But keep in mind, unlike most new TVs, dumb TVs will usually be smaller, like a 24-inch size TV, for example. Regardless if the TV is smart or dumb, it can develop black spots, however. Fortunately, fixing a black spot is relatively easy. As a result, we have compiled a guide on how to fix a black spot on a TV screen.

Black spots can be a pain, especially if you just bought a wide color gamut TV and are looking to have enjoyable weekends. Regardless of where the black spot is located on your TV screen, it will stand out like a sore thumb. It’ll be the first thing you spot when your TV screen lights up. Black spots on your TV screen are caused by debris, dead pixels, or stuck pixels. This can be especially annoying if you invested in the best anti-glare TV and depend on good visuals for a good TV experience.Dirt or Debris: Perhaps the most common cause of black spots. Dirt and debris accumulate on the surface of the TV screen over time, and if ignored, will lead to black spots. If you have the best outdoor TV, be sure to keep up with maintenance and regularly clean it.

Dead pixel: It’s pretty different from a stuck pixel but often gets confused for one. While a stuck pixel will light up when the TV is turned on but does not change color, a dead pixel doesn’t light up at all. This is because all of their sub-pixels are turned off permanently, and since they don’t light up, they look like black spots on the TV screen. You can read our article on how to fix dead pixels on a TV to learn more about dead pixels.

Fixing black spots on your TV screen is quite simple.First, turn off your television and unplug it from the power source for a few hours. Sometimes, turning off the power on your TV will force the stuck pixel to become unstuck when you finally plug your TV back to the mains.

Regardless of where the black spot is located on your TV screen, it will stand out like a sore thumb. It’ll be the first thing you spot when your TV screen lights up.

While a stuck pixel will light up when the TV is turned on but does not change color, a dead pixel doesn’t light up at all. This is because all of their sub-pixels are turned off permanently, and since they don’t light up, they look like black spots on the TV screen.

Perhaps the most common cause of black spots is dirt and debris that have accumulated on the surface of the TV screen over time. If ignored, it will lead to black spots.

The Hisense U8H matches the excellent brightness and color performance of much pricier LCD TVs, and its Google TV smart platform is a welcome addition. But it’s available in only three screen sizes.

The Hisense U8H is the best LCD/LED TV for most people because it delivers the performance of a much pricier TV yet starts at under $1,000, for the smallest (55-inch) screen size. This TV utilizes quantum dots, a full-array backlight with mini-LEDs, and a 120 Hz refresh rate to deliver a great-looking 4K HDR image. It’s compatible with every major HDR format. And it’s equipped with two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 inputs to support 4K 120 Hz gaming from the newest Xbox and PlayStation consoles. Add in the intuitive, fully featured Google TV smart-TV platform, and the U8H’s price-to-performance ratio is of inarguable value.

Key to this functionality is the U8H’s employment of mini-LED backlighting with local dimming, which allows this TV to produce very bright light while still maintaining satisfyingly deep black levels that are typically free of blooming (or light bleed that’s visible around bright objects against a dark backdrop). This not only ensures impressive image contrast, it also makes the U8H a viable choice for most rooms, whether they’re brighter than average or dimmed down like a movie theater.

That’s not to say the U8H has pixel-precise light control—it’s not an OLED TV, after all—but it does a terrific job most of the time. In fact, in our tests, the U8H bested last year’s upgrade pick, the Samsung QN90A, in certain scenarios: The intro to Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities on Netflix features the filmmaker against a pitch-black backdrop. Though last year’s QN90A failed to maintain perfect control over dimming elements during this scene (the black backdrop brightened distractingly once a sufficient amount of brighter content appeared on screen), the U8H did not. (For the record, the newer QN90B also passed this test.) The U8H’s mini-LEDs also help the screen look uniformly bright: Although the U8H is still not as good as an OLED TV in this respect, it shows very little indication of being a backlight-driven display, even during tricky scenes with large swaths of dim lighting.

And thanks to Hisense’s inclusion of Filmmaker Mode, it’s easy to rein in the U8H’s brightness abilities for a more-subdued and filmic experience in a darker room. Our measurements revealed that this mode has a very accurate white balance, mostly accurate colors (green is a bit oversaturated, but not egregiously so), and a perfect “dark room” gamma (which controls how quickly the video signal transitions from dark to light). Additionally, the TV’s 120 Hz refresh rate means it can play Blu-ray discs at 24 fps without the judder that’s usually present on TVs with 60 Hz refresh rates.

The onboard Google TV smart platform is another feather in this TV’s cap. As usual, however, it will be much more satisfying to use if you have a Google account and already take advantage of Google’s connected services, like Photos. The experience of navigating the TV’s smart features—scanning QR codes to sign into apps, using the onscreen keyboard, and browsing your Google Photos to set a photo as a screensaver—was very satisfying in terms of responsiveness and speed. Powering on the TV and booting into an app took just seconds. The included Bluetooth remote is also equipped with a handy “Hey Google” button, allowing you to pull up Google’s assistant and use voice commands to search for content or set a reminder. If you have multiple users with their own Google accounts, you can designate separate profiles (attached to a Gmail account) so that each user can customize the experience to their liking, as well as access their own Google Drive or Photos. While some reviewers have reported instances of momentary freezing while using the U8H’s platform, I didn’t personally experience any instances of slowdown that were egregiously worse than with any other smart-TV platform.

The Hisense U8H has some difficulties with banding, or areas of uneven gradation, where transitions that should appear smooth instead look like “bands” of color (sometimes also called posterization). Like many current 4K HDR TVs, the U8H uses an 8-bit panel rather than a 10-bit panel, which affects the color decoding and color presentation process. This is usually relevant only with HDR video and games. When playing games on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, I saw a few instances where the content wasn’t rendered correctly and displayed ugly splotches of color on the screen. However, this almost always occurred during static screens (such as a pause menu or loading screen); I rarely spotted it during actual gameplay. Hisense has stated that it would address the problem in a future firmware update, but at the time of writing it was still present. This is a flaw that may give dedicated gamers pause, but we don’t consider it to be a dealbreaker for most people.

Finally, like most TVs that use vertical alignment (VA) LCD panels, the U8H has a limited horizontal viewing angle, which may be a bit annoying if you’re hoping to entertain a large crowd. Our upgrade pick uses a special wide-angle technology to address this.

If you’re watching in a darker room and want the most accurate picture you can get—preserving the director’s intent—select the U8H’s Filmmaker Mode as your picture mode. In a brighter room, we recommend the Theater Day picture mode. In either case, you should go into the backlight settings, disable the automatic light sensor, and set the backlight to your personal preference. This is true whether you’re watching SDR or HDR content.

•What is Our Grade A LCD Monitor:: LCD Monitor is in Good physical and working condition, LCD screen is bright and nice and there is no bruise, blemish or Dead Pixels/Bright Pixels(dead or defective pixels.), since the LCD is used so casing does have minor scratch or scuffs comes from normal use.

•What is Our Grade B LCD Monitor:LCD Monitor has gone through our extensive Test program and is in working condition, but has some issue preventing us from selling them as our normal "Grade A" monitors. LCD Monitor maybe has some bruise, blemish ,Dead Pixels/Bright Pixels(dead or defective pixels.),scratch or scuffs on the screen or case.

•What is Our Grade A LCD Monitor:: LCD Monitor is in Good physical and working condition, LCD screen is bright and nice and there is no bruise, blemish or Dead Pixels/Bright Pixels(dead or defective pixels.), since the LCD is used so casing does have minor scratch or scuffs comes from normal use.

•What is Our Grade B LCD Monitor:LCD Monitor has gone through our extensive Test program and is in working condition, but has some issue preventing us from selling them as our normal "Grade A" monitors. LCD Monitor maybe has some bruise, blemish ,Dead Pixels/Bright Pixels(dead or defective pixels.),scratch or scuffs on the screen or case.

Verify if the surge protector or an extension is turned on in case a power cord is connected to these devices. If a TV screen appears black, plug another device into the socket to check whether this device is getting power from the outlet. If power is supplied to the outlet it means that your TV is powering on and a picture issue should be revised. You need to make a call to the TUSA Service Center and our technician will soon revive your TV.

There are many possible problems in case your TV is powered but a TV screen goes black and there is no sound. All you can do in this case at home is to reset your TV to the factory defaults. This procedure is described in the User Manual of your TV.

To double-check this failure press a MENU button installed on the TV to see if TV´s MENU appears on the screen, In case the MENU appears, verify that all video connections are well secured and to appropriate jacks on your TV. If the result is negative, you can trigger the MENU to reset your TV to the factory defaults.

Sometimes when watching TV, annoying situations arise when a TV screen fades off to black. That is to say, the TV screen goes black at random times and appears to be off but the sound is available and the power light is still illuminating. A troubleshooting procedure may differ for a variety of TV brands but generally will work the same to fix the problem and is as the following:

Connect a different device to the TV or the same device to another TV. The device being used (Ex. Blu-Ray/CABLE BOX) may cause the black screen issue.

A hidden fault within HDMI cable – Replace with new High-Speed HDMI 2.0 cable. Replace the HDMI cable as it may have a short or another defect which causes the black screen issue.

With an LCD TV you can watch your favorite movies, cartoons, and series in excellent quality with high definition and good sound. However, owners of LCD monitors may encounter the problem of dark spots appearing on the screen. Let’s take a closer look at the reasons for their appearance and what are the best solutions to repair them.

So What Causes Dark Spots on TV Screen?Dark (black) spots on LCD TVs are typically caused by either debris or superficial dirt, a dead pixel, or a stuck pixel. Of all these problems, the easiest problem to fix is debris or superficial dirt. On the contrary, stuck pixels are harder to fix, while dead pixels are the hardest problem to fix.

It is very often, that dark spots appear on LCD TV screens, including popular brands such as Samsung, Sony, LG, and others. They can be localized in one corner, centered, or in several places at once.

Spots do not disappear when switching channels. Even when your TV is off, you can notice that glare is visible in their place. Moreover, blackouts can be not only black or dark gray but also white or colored. This most likely indicates the color errors or other problems.

Mechanical damage. An especially common reason is when there are children in the house playing with a ball in the apartment. A strong blow or pressure will stain the CRT. Broken pixels first appear in the affected area, then spread across the screen.

Dust getting under the case. If you take care of household appliances incorrectly, one small black dot can develop into a large dark spot, which only the masters of the SC (service center) can remove.

Before trying to disassemble an LCD TV or hand it over to a service center, it is worth excluding software failures that are possible with digital broadcasting. The test scheme for Samsung, Sony, and LG are common. There may be some nuances depending on the TV model.

If the black spots on your LCD TV screen disappear, the cause was most likely a software failure. In such a situation, it is not necessary to disassemble or repair the device in the service. If the malfunction remains, it is better to contact a professional to repair an expensive modern TV.

One of the reasons for the appearance of spots in the external adhesion of dirt, dust. In such a situation, it is not necessary to disassemble the equipment or reboot it. It is enough to wash the screen surface. For this:

Cleaning should be done in a well-ventilated area with good ventilation to remove dark spots from the TV matrix. It is advisable to turn on a humidifier, if available. Use soft cotton gloves to clean.

Rarely wiping the surface from dirt and dust leads to the ingress of microparticles on the matrix. Over time, a large dark spot is born from a small black dot. With the following actions you can save your TV from manifestations:

If the dark spots have not disappeared after all the manipulations, the Sony, Samsung, or any other manufacturer’sTV must be carried to the workshop for a full diagnosis and repair.

If a dark (black) spot appears due to moisture or dust, you can easily fix this problem by yourself. If on the other hand streaks appeared due to mechanical stress or strong exposure to high temperatures, which in most cases led to matrix delamination or failure of loops, then it is necessary to carry that equipment to the workshop.

In most cases it takes from 1 to 5 working days to repair and remove dark spots on a TV screen, depending on the workload of the wizard and the availability of parts in the service. The cost of repairs depends on the degree of damage and the price of spare parts.

Proper care of household appliances is the key to their correct operation for a long time. To avoid the appearance of dark spots, streaks on the screen of a plasma, liquid crystal TV, follow these recommendations:

Taking care of your LCD or plasma TV in this way will save you from the appearance of dark spots on the screen. Try to avoid mechanical damage. Explain to the children that technology is not a toy. And enjoy digital TV for years on end.

Light, colored spots and streaks are removed by other methods. General repair method only in cases with software failure. Therefore, if any screen defects appear, just try to completely restart the equipment and reset the router to factory settings.

When it comes to modern TV screens, two display technologies reign supreme — QLED and OLED. Companies like Samsung, TCL, and Hisense tout the incredible brightness of their QLED TVs, while LG, Sony, Panasonic and others brag about the impressive contrast and black levels of their OLED TVs.

When a TV’s color filter receives less than full-spectrum white light, it can’t do its job (showing you the colors you’re meant to see) with accuracy. In a QLED TV, the backlight source is made from a layer of blue LEDs, onto which a layer of red and green quantum dots are added. These quantum dots can be added with such precision that the red-green-blue combo creates a near-perfect, full-spectrum white light, without sacrificing a single nit of brightness. That perfect white light is exactly what the TV’s color filter needs to generate an accurate palette of billions of colors you see on a TV screen.

As cool as quantum dots are, a QLED TV still produces light the same way as a regular LED TV: by using a backlight made up of hundreds (or in some cases thousands) of LEDs, with that backlight layer sitting behind an LCD panel layer. The backlight shines through the LCD panel, which in turn shapes that light into the images that you see on the screen. It’s these LEDs that give LED TV (and QLED TV) its name.

The LCD panel — essentially millions of tiny shutters that open and close too quickly to see — in conjunction with the color filters, create the picture you see by letting just the right amount of light and color escape and reach your eyes. It’s a clever system, but it relies on a combination of dimming the LED backlights and using the shutters to block the remaining light to produce accurate on-screen blacks — and it doesn’t always succeed. We’ll discuss this more below.

There are several advantages to this design, but most people would agree that when it comes to OLED TVs, the biggest advantage is the superb black level that can be achieved. Unlike a QLED or LED TV that must dim its backlight and block the remaining light for dark or pitch-black scenes, an OLED TV simply turns off the pixels that make up the dark parts of the screen. When the pixel is off, it emits no light and no color, making it as dark as when the TV itself is turned off.

Contrast is the difference between the darkest part of an image and the brightest part. If a TV can deliver a truly black dark portion, it doesn’t have to make the bright parts quite as bright to achieve good levels of contrast. That’s why, when it comes to black levels, OLED reigns as the undisputed champion — because of its ability to go completely black when it needs to.

QLED TVs, by contrast (ahem), are forced to dim their LED backlights and block the remaining light, something that is very hard to do perfectly. It can trigger something called “light bleed,” as the light spills from a bright area onto what’s supposed to be a black section of the screen.

But is it noticeable? Definitely. If you’re watching an intense action movie and two characters are running through a parking lot at night, for example, you may notice a slight glow on parts of the scene that are supposed to be pitch black or in the letterbox bars at the top and bottom of the screen while watching a movie that uses a wider than 16:9 aspect ratio.

OLED panels can’t compete on a pure brightness basis. Their light-emitting individual pixels simply can’t produce the same amount of light. In a dark room, this isn’t a problem. In fact, we’d argue it’s preferable because OLED can achieve the same contrast with less brightness, making viewing in a dark room a less retina-searing experience. (That’s in addition to being that much easier on your power bill.) But in well-lit environments, or where lots of daylight streams in through windows, QLED TVs are more visible — especially if you’re playing HDR content under these conditions.

Input lag, on the other hand, refers to the delay between taking an action (like pressing a button on a game controller) and seeing the result of that action onscreen. As such, input lag is really only a concern for gamers — it doesn’t have a noticeable effect on passive viewing of content at all.

Refresh rate is another category that will inherently matter more to gamers than casual viewers. The refresh rate is the number of times per second the TV updates what it’s showing onscreen. It’s closely related to frame rate, which is the number of times per second your TV show, movie, or video game sends a new update to the TV.

But some games running on consoles or PCs will change their frame rate from one scene to another. To keep everything looking as it should, TVs need a feature called VRR, or Variable Refresh Rate. This lets your TV alter its native refresh rate to match these changes in frame rate. If your TV doesn’t support VRR, it can cause some unwanted side effects like screen tearing when used with the kinds of games that require VRR.

With QLED screens, the best viewing angle is dead center, and the picture quality diminishes in brightness, color, and contrast the further you move side to side or up and down. While the severity differs between models, it’s always noticeable — despite TV makers’ best efforts to eliminate the issue.

OLED screens, by comparison, can be viewed with no luminance degradation even at drastic viewing angles — up to 84 degrees. Some QLED TVs have improved in terms of viewing angle, with anti-reflective layers helping, but OLED maintains a clear advantage. So if you like to arrange family screenings of your favorite movies and want to make sure there isn’t a bad seat in the house, an OLED TV is best for you.

OLEDs have come a long way. When the tech was still nascent, OLED screens maxed out at 55 inches. Today, you can buy OLED TVs as large as 97 inches and QLED TVs up to 98 inches in size. OLED still tends to be more expensive as screen sizes go up, but QLED no longer has the monopoly on extra-large displays.

When image retention occurs, it’s usually the result of having the same visual element onscreen for long periods of time. Network logos in the corner of the screen have been known to cause it, as can video games that present the same interface elements throughout gameplay.

So what constitutes “normal” viewing conditions? Well, for one thing, keeping your TV on the same channel for 10 hours a day, two months in a row, is apparently not normal. One of our readers did this by watching MSNBC on his LG C8 OLED TV, which created what he claims is a burn-in shadow of a portion of the MSNBC peacock logo and a portion of the “Live” graphic that often accompanies it in the bottom-right corner of the screen (see image above).

In today’s viewing age, it’s possible to spend hours staring at TV screens with few breaks in between. Eye fatigue is a real symptom of the act, and it’s usually caused by excessive blue light production. LED-based sets tend to show more intense blue light than anything, and this is true even in scenes that don’t feature gobs of the shade. Go too far, and your irritable eyes could eventually lead to sleeplessness, which itself can contribute to a whole range of health problems. That’s why some OLED makers — most notably LG Display — are now seeking Eye Safe certification for their panels.

In theory, OLED TVs should offer better overall eye comfort than QLED and any other LCD-based screen, because OLED produces significantly less blue light than LED-backlit QLED TVs. It’s nothing a special pair of glasses can’t handle, but if you want to ensure you have the safest viewing experience possible that doesn’t require purchasing new glasses, OLED is your champ.

The 100,000-hour figure assumes that every diode will be running at full brightness, consistently — which, on an LED screen, is virtually never the case. The lifespan figure can also be misleading because it indicates when a diode degrades to half-brightness, not completely dark. Many other variables affect an LED display’s lifespan; you can’t rely solely on the number on the diode spec sheet.

“The reality is, your screen can often last significantly longer than 100,000 hours,” says Kevin Izatt, a senior product manager in Samsung’s Display division. “We’ve had displays that have been up for 15-plus years with more than adequate brightness. Because the diode is actually only one factor in the lifespan of your LED display.”

The quality of your display’s power supply — and how hard it drives the diodes — can have a significant impact on your screen’s lifespan. The other components being powered, such as fans and electrical components, have their own lifespans as well, which are also impacted by the power supply.

“Something like airflow is very important,” says Izatt. “You need a screen that has good cooling, and a design that allows heat to flow out of the back through vents.”

To help businesses transition from LCD to longer-lasting LED signage, Samsung has launched a trade-in program. Samsung will come on site to remove your existing display and provide a discount on a new LED bundle kit.

Traded-in LCD displays that are still operating will be refurbished and resold, and your business will receive a cash rebate. Nonworking displays will be recycled and their parts reused.

As you plan your LED signage rollout — or an upgrade — learn how to configure and tailor your screens’ real-time messaging with an integrated CMS in thisfree guide. And if you haven’t decided what kind of display is best suited to your current project, compare all ofSamsung’s LED displays.