The quality of OLED is plainly better than LCD. However, OLED computer monitors are still somewhat rare. Customers worry that these monitors may be vulnerable to OLED burn-in—a problem that’s accelerated by non-moving onscreen elements (such as the Windows Taskbar). Now, LG is reassuring potential buyers with a very simple strategy. Instead of pretending that burn-in isn’t a problem, it’s retroactively adding burn-in coverage to an OLED monitor’s two-year warranty.
We can thank The Verge‘s Sean Hollister for this development. During a review of the LG 27GR95QE-B gaming monitor, Hollister noted that the LG’s warranty did not explicitly include burn-in coverage. After four months of pestering LG Electronics, the warranty was revised. It now includes two years of burn-in coverage, though LG will only honor the warranty if you use the monitor in a “normal and proper” way.
David Park, the product marketing director at LG Electronics, took the time to explain this amendment. In his words, “as long as you use the monitor as intended (personal PC monitor) in a residential setting (does not support commercial usage like retail signage display) burn-in is covered.” Keep the 27GR95QE-B monitor in your house, don’t abuse it, and you’re good.
Technically speaking, LG’s original warranty may have covered burn-in on a case-by-case basis. This is certainly the case for Acer, which tells The Verge that its “customer care team has discretion to assist customers with this rare issue.” But a warranty that explicitly mentions burn-in coverage is better than one that doesn’t—it’s reassuring to customers, and it shows that a company is confident in its products. (Note that Alienware and Corsair OLED monitors come with an excellent three-year burn-in warranty.)
But will an OLED monitor encounter burn-in after just two years? Unless you abuse the monitor or end up with a defective display panel, the answer is usually “no.” OLED monitors use aggressive power-saving modes and pixel-refresh techniques to delay the effects of burn-in. Under normal circumstances, it can take several years for burn-in to become a noticeable problem, even if you use your OLED monitor for a few hours each day. Still, things happen, and LG’s revised warranty is a refreshing change of pace.
Note that this revised warranty only affects the LG 27GR95QE-B, a 240 Hz OLED gaming monitor that was announced in late 2022. It applies to new and old purchases. We hope that future OLED monitors come with a similar warranty and that other manufacturers follow LG’s lead.
Source: LG via The Verge
