If the ghost fades after the panel rests or shows changing content, it is usually temporary image retention. If it remains fixed in the same place — especially in the outline of a taskbar, channel logo or game HUD — it points to burn-in.
Run the guided OLED burn-in test →OLED burn-in and image retention are not the same thing
Both can leave a faint copy of previous content on the screen, so a single photograph can make them look identical. Their causes and their behavior over time are different.
Image retention is temporary
Image retention is a short-lived trace of content that was displayed for a while. The trace can remain for minutes or, in stronger cases, hours. It normally becomes weaker as the panel rests or displays varied content. Seeing retention once does not prove that the panel is permanently damaged.
Burn-in is uneven pixel wear
Every OLED subpixel produces its own light and gradually loses output as it ages. When one part of the panel repeatedly shows the same bright shape, those pixels can age differently from the pixels around them. The result is a fixed outline that does not fade on its own. Common shapes include a Windows taskbar, television logo, news ticker, game HUD, phone status bar or navigation controls.
This is why burn-in cannot be captured in a screenshot: the pixels are worn, while the source image and screenshot file remain normal. A photograph of the physical display is the appropriate record.
Why a page of solid colors is not enough
Solid colors are excellent at making a residual image visible, but visibility alone does not tell you whether the cause is temporary or permanent. Most online tools stop after showing a gray or red screen. That completes the find step, but not the judge step.
The Display Checkup OLED burn-in test adds a timed fade comparison: it records what you see, shows a continuously changing neutral field, then returns to the same gray reference. Change over time is the evidence that separates retention from suspected burn-in.
Why the guided test uses seven fields
Each field has a distinct job. Showing more colors is not automatically better; the sequence is designed to reveal different failure patterns without asking the user to interpret everything at once.
White: discoloration and large-area wear
A white field makes broad yellow, pink or green areas easier to notice. It is useful for identifying general aging and tint, although tint alone is not proof of burn-in.
50% gray: the main residual-image reference
Mid-gray does not hide an outline in deep shadow or overwhelm it with maximum brightness. Taskbars, logos and HUD shapes commonly become easiest to see here. The test returns to this exact field after the fade period so that the before-and-after comparison uses the same reference.
5% gray: near-black behavior
OLED panels often reveal banding and unevenness close to black. A dim room helps, but near-black variation is not automatically burn-in — manufacturing variation, compensation cycles and viewing angle can all affect it. Use the broader OLED screen test when your concern is overall near-black uniformity rather than a fixed residual image.
Black: a true-off reference
A pure black pixel should be off on an OLED panel. A ghost that remains obvious against black is worth recording, but black alone still cannot reveal whether it will fade.
RGB cycle: subpixel-specific wear
Red, green and blue subpixels do not age identically. Rotating the three primaries helps reveal a region that holds a fixed tint on one channel. A single dot, rather than a shaped region, is more likely a dead or stuck pixel; use the dead pixel test for that question.
Sliding bars: localized differences in motion
Moving high-contrast bars cross every part of the panel. If they change appearance over one fixed area, that location deserves a closer look. The movement uses compositor-only animation to avoid browser jank that could be mistaken for a display problem.
Flipping checkerboard: short-lived contrast traces
The checkerboard alternates black and white regions. A frame that lingers briefly after each flip suggests retention; a fixed shape unrelated to the checkerboard suggests existing wear from other content.
How the fade check separates retention from suspected burn-in
The test follows a transparent decision path rather than a hidden score:
- No anomaly on any fieldNo signs found today.
- The ghost disappearsTemporary image retention.
- The ghost becomes weakerImage retention that is still recovering.
- The ghost is unchangedSuspected burn-in; run the panel's official maintenance routine once and re-test.
- You cannot tellInconclusive; improve the room conditions and repeat the 15-minute check.
The moving neutral field is not a repair animation. It simply keeps the display content changing while enough time passes to make a before-and-after comparison useful. The user can choose five, ten or fifteen minutes. A longer observation is more informative, but none of these durations turns a browser into a laboratory instrument.
The result is a visual observation, not a hardware diagnosis. Display Checkup cannot measure subpixel output, certify panel condition or decide whether a warranty policy applies.
How the browser tool is built
The tool runs entirely in the browser. It does not photograph the screen, upload answers or call a remote diagnosis service. The implementation deliberately favors predictable rendering and explainable rules:
- Fullscreen API: removes surrounding page content where the browser allows it; devices without that API keep a safe in-page fallback.
- CSS-rendered fields: solid and moving patterns are generated locally rather than streamed as compressed video.
- Compositor-only motion: moving patterns animate with
transformandopacityso layout work does not create false stutter. - Drift-resistant timing: the timer uses
performance.now()and pauses when the tab is hidden. - Screen Wake Lock: requested during the fade check where supported, with a silent fallback where it is unavailable.
- Rule-based verdict: the answer path is explicit — no opaque AI diagnosis and no confidence number pretending to be a measurement.
- Local report: the outcome can be recorded in the site's browser-local inspection report.
What to do after the test
If the ghost disappears
Continue using the display normally and vary what it shows. Re-test in a week if you want confirmation. Prevention habits — auto-hiding a taskbar, varying games and channels, and avoiding unnecessarily high SDR brightness — matter more than any repair video.
If the ghost fades but remains visible
Give the panel more time, reduce static content for a few days and repeat the check. You may run the manufacturer's built-in pixel or panel refresher once. Do not repeatedly trigger a manual refresh: it compensates wear and is not a reset button.
If the ghost does not change
Photograph the physical display on the same gray field, run the official maintenance routine once, and repeat the test under the same viewing conditions. The OLED burn-in rescue guide walks through the full playbook in plain language. If the shape still aligns with a taskbar, logo or HUD and the device is inside its warranty or return period, compare your evidence with the manufacturer's policy. Policies differ by model and region.
For a wider check — near-black uniformity, black level and retention together — run the guided OLED monitor inspection and save the complete report.