If you own one of the best OLED monitors, you know that the contrasts and colors are second to (almost) none. But OLED monitors have one big flaw: Burn-in issues. Monitor manufacturers are aware of this, and most of them come up with ways to try to avert disaster. MSI’s already had one in place, but with the latest update, protecting your monitor should be less of a nuisance.
What is OLED burn-in?
Burn-in refers to a permanent discoloration or ghosting that can happen on some OLED screens when something remains displayed for too long. This means things like logos, HUDs, or news tickers; basically all kinds of things that stay on the screen for long periods. Using your monitor at the highest possible brightness also contributes to burn-in, as both unvaried content and high brightness may cause uneven wear of the organic compounds that emit light in OLED monitors.
Fortunately, modern OLEDs do a better job of avoiding burn-in, but when it happens, it’s definitely not nice to deal with. You might see a faint, ghostly shadow of a static image that doesn’t go away regardless of the content that you’re viewing.
When burn-in hits, it’s usually permanent, which is why manufacturers like MSI try to prevent it from happening in the first place. No one wants their gaming monitor to have permanent ghosting.
How does MSI’s new update help prevent burn-in?
MSI, like most other OLED monitor makers, already has a solution that helps it keep burn-in at bay — it’s called MSI OLED Care, and it’s a suite of tools made to protect OLED screens. MSI monitors typically come with a three-year warranty, but using these panel-protecting technologies is a must for that warranty to hold up.
One of the main things included in OLED Care 2.0 is Panel Protect, which essentially refreshes every pixel in order to maintain uniformity and prevent ghosting. Unfortunately, this can be a bother if you’re right in the middle of a gaming session, as previously, these refreshes would take place once every 16 hours. Sure, most of us don’t spend 16 hours at our PCs (…right?), but a poorly timed refresh could still happen.
MSI says that it’s listening to user feedback here and adjusting the refresh time to once every 24 hours. As shared by VideoCardz, if your monitor is on for more than 4 hours, the system will remind you that it’s time to do a Pixel Refresh. You can skip it several times, but if you do it too often, the refresh will happen whether you want it or not. This time, it’ll take 24 hours instead of 16 for it to happen, though, which is an improvement if you tend to leave your PC on for a long time.
The only way to get this update is to download the new firmware, so if this doesn’t bother you and the 16-hour refreshes work just fine, you can skip it. But for power users, those extra eight hours of peace might be pretty great. MSI has also launched a new update to the Claw handheld today, and much like this one, it’s based on user feedback.
