Thin LCD TVs Will Break Faster

[@RTINGScomRD]

As some users have pointed out, at 4:24 there's a minor conversion error where we state a difference in temperature as 68 degrees F rather than 36 degrees F. Sorry for any misunderstanding this might have caused! We try our best as a Canadian company, but we'll triple check any conversions in the future!

[@JayJayYUP]

How is this trend not a passing of the cost-cutting? I had a plasma with a fully metal back that was quite hot to the touch, and obviously they'd never make it out of metal if they could get away with plastic. The industry being so relaxed after it saw consumers will accept anything as long as the entire industry bands together to form these newer, and less durable-concerning designs is precisely the sort of cost-cutting being passed on in my view. If they're going to aim for these "lifestyle" designs, then they should also be investing more into making them at least as durable. Though in an ironic twist, people making purchases with "lifestyle" concerns seems like the proper type of shallow folks that wouldn't care about anything of 'substance'.

[@kwisin1337]

Just a quick note. Presenter seems to be bouncing on something while she is talking. It brings a bit of motion, like wind on a lake effect. I find it very hard to fully enjoy when the center topic has a jitter to it. Good luck... thank you for the work you have put into this.

[@bollerbodo2]

top

[@2Baddu4u]

As an American, I would appreciate temperature measurements in Celsius. No need for Fahrenheit. Most people interested in a technical deep dive on an electronic device will be used to Celsius anyway.

[@AySz88]

The unit for temp difference is e.g. "F degrees" rather than "degrees F". So sciency conversion tools, like scientific calculators or Wolfram Alpha, will do it correctly if you specify "C Degrees to F Degrees" (instead of "celsius to fahrenheit" or similar) (I could have sworn Google used to understand the difference too but it doesn't look like it does it anymore. :( )

[@jamesstewart8663]

Rtings continuously setting the standard for testing electronics.

[@RTINGScomRD]

It's what we aim to do! 😄

[@a36538]

Is that because you’re taking this at face value, or have done your own quantitative analysis or looked at peer & meta reviews?

[@maxburmab7962]

@@a36538 u rong

[@RH-nc8uu]

Except multiple errors like sharpness, ability to see details, stating one tv with motile issues is better than another with much better handling as seen in their own photos and videos side by side

[@ThamilNesan]

Is it worth of paying extra $630 / 3yrs or $820 /4 years for Samsung 85" 4K UHD HDR Neo QLED Tizen Smart TV (QN85QN90CAFXZC) for warranty service at Best Buy to buy Can you please provide some true information Thanks 🇨🇦

[@colinperret3523]

Early LCD TVs were thick. The design allowed for greater ventilation. That explains why they lasted for over a decade.

[@jamesheartney9546]

We have a 40" 2007 Sony LCD in our bedroom. So far as I can tell, it still looks as good as it did when new. No 4K, of course, but we wouldn't be able to see any extra resolution from the bed anyway. We paid $1500, and I think it was worth every penny.

[@swamp.opossum]

Watching this video on a 10+ year old Emerson tv that still works like a charm. This video has me rethinking some of the models I've wanted to replace it with.

[@brokenwrench404]

They were thick and heavy. My last lcd lasted 14 years

[@DanHartwigMusic]

My chunky main turned bedroom LCD lasted since 2014.

[@Galileocrafter]

They also did not have LEDs that allowed for a thin panel. They used CCFL backlights, those are big and chunky, so the did not even have the chance to make them thin.

[@midnight_yota]

I’ve seen so many blue tvs in restaurants and public places and that makes so much sense. I never considered it could be due to the LEDs degrading.

[@charlesmyers8150]

My Doctors office waiting room has an led tv that is 3 years old and it is unwatchable because they never turned it off.

[@RhinoXpress]

People think LEDs will last for decades and decades, but that is a false misconception. The brighter something emits light the faster it will degrade. that's just thermodynamics at play.

[@wezzman1]

Yes, now I know why my mum's TV has a blue hue😮😂

[@RTINGScomRD]

Now you know!

[@Max_Mustermann]

@@RhinoXpress Some do. I have a 10+ years old Dell laptop with LED backlight and it is fine even after years of heavy usage. Meanwhile my 3 year old Lenovo already had the LCD replaced under warranty due to backlight issues.

[@williamthatsmyname]

Glad that you test different things beyond burn in

[@RTINGScomRD]

We test all sorts of things! But on this test, there's a lot more to find than just burn-in!

[@robertt9342]

New here? They have been testing for long term failures for a long time.

[@thawhole9]

Cry more, OLED hater 🤡

[@juniperpansy]

Today's video was all about burn in, just a different kind ;)

[@DarrenKrusi]

Got to also test burn out

[@Spazilton1]

It's not unrealistic to want manufacturers to build things that last decades. It used to be done all the time., they have no desire to because things that break outside warranty, lead to repeat sales.

[@whoknows8225]

golden rule : turn down brightness down to 70%

[@Raylightsen]

@@whoknows8225 I heard is 50%

[@SupraSav]

@@whoknows8225 THIS! This is key! Got my refurbished TV.. 3 years ago. Still runs perfectly.

[@samueladitya1729]

​@@whoknows8225 I learned it hard way, my Samsung 50" AU8000 run at full brightness for 2 years and half the LED got fried. The case feels a bit toasty, I should have noticed that before but ignored it. Replaced it with $30 LED parts bought online. Lots of prying and broke some snap pins off embrittled plastics that just 2 years old. Now I only set brightness to 40%

[@Acecool]

50% is right, also if I make a purchase and something dies just outside of warranty... I won't be repeat shopping at that manufacturer.

[@astreakaito5625]

I profoundly dislike this thin everything trend. I would pay extra for thicker wOLED TVs with a heatsink, especially if it gives me more durability, less burn in/retention, or more brightness. Thanks for all your work!

[@AntonioCunningham]

Ding ding ding!!!! I agree with this so much! If I'm spending alot for a device, I'll much rather have durability than it being thin.

[@DanielMether]

Not to mention somewhere to grab the dang thing if you want to move it from one room to another.

[@michaelbeckerman7532]

100% agreed. People need to stop trying to make the TV part of the room aesthetic. No, you don't have to try and fool people into thinking your TV is a picture frame. That doesn't accomplish ANYTHING for you and it only leads to more problems. TV's are thin enough now as they are. Let it go.

[@Warp3326]

Just buy a Plasma tv, if you can find one that is.

[@TheFrewah]

So do I and that’s why I didn’t buy a slim laptop pc. Instead I bought a hp minipc which is much easier to keep cool. I even put it on top of a damp cloth to help cooling.

[@saadhero9107]

Your tests are so helpful. Quite shocking that edge lit screens can be considered weaker than OLED's in terms of lifespan.

[@neptune612]

According to my findings on the internet the average lifespan of an LED TV is 5 to 8 years, while OLEDs are usually rated for 10 years.

[@exsnozer]

@@neptune612 LED in my friendsgroup is 3-15 years. OLED has yet to die but some early LG has burn in.

[@saadhero9107]

@@neptune612 My first LED screen died or more like shifted to blue after 7 years. The second started having issues with dirty screen effect after 3 years. The third is OLED, fingers crossed since am taking extensive care.

[@techsamurai11]

What's shocking is that those TVs are extremely dull - I have a Frame and it says it hits 600 Nits, it looks like it's dead in HDR compared to my 2014 Sony in SDR. I've no idea where the heat comes from. It's not like they are showing anything impressive at 1,000 nits... The 2014 Sony is supposedly Edge-Lit but I've measured large highlights at 1,000 nits in SDR (in Standard mode) and it still has a perfect white screen and even temperatures across the entire panel which suggest that it might be back-lit (and Sony seems to have hidden that) 🙂

[@MegaGasek]

@@neptune612 I know we are talking about TVs but I have a 2016 4K LG IPS LED monitor that I've used almost everyday for work (photography, animation and E-Learning). No signs of it going bad (fingers crossed it stays like that for a long time). I don't trust OLED at all. I have a comment on a new thread about a 2017 C3 OLED TV, it is not good. (I just checked my work monitor with the link provided at the bottom, there is nothing etched on my screen and brightness is still as good as when I bought it. This is what LED technology is good at). kzbin.info/www/bejne/goWQoIGcaKZqf7c

[@Rinshun_]

Long term tests? Automatic upvote for me.

[@nickwallette6201]

Agreed, that's really noble. Unfortunately, by the time you know about a particular model's life expectancy, it has already been replaced with another model. So really you just have trend data that may or may not indicate a pattern of early failures. That's still useful, but not quite as helpful as it would be to start testing a model about 5 years before it was released. Someone get RTINGS a time machine.

[@bsanchez3563]

​@@nickwallette6201they do sell at best buy sometiems fhe prior year modek for 2 or 4 hundred usd less...

[@FFcossag]

I work in electronics repair, and these have been very well-known issues for years. We always turn the brightness down to 30 % or so before we return a TV to the customer, and recommend that they don't turn it back up. The default brightness setting on a new TV is almost always set so that you can expect about 5000-10 000 hours of runtime before the LEDs start failing, and you can improve that fivefold by reducing the brightness. I'd expect the failure rate of the TVs in this test to increase significantly once they pass the 10 000 hour mark.

[@Cooll123pro]

Верно яркости 25-35% предостаточно. Об этой проблеме у светодиодов давно узнал у ремонтников.

[@kimball4699]

Agreed I really dont understand ppl enjoying that sub-burning level of brightness. Its insane.

[@thenonexistinghero]

My TV's doing just fine with full brightness over 99% of the time after more than 5 years and probably 15K to 20K hours on it. Then again, it is a Sony Z9F and Sony's master series TV are build to last. The image looks as good as the day I got it. EDIT: I just checked because I found out you can check how many hours you actually used it and ah... the actual time is about 21646 hours used.

[@TheFrewah]

That’s a good recommendation. My tv is definitely not as thin as the ones i see in electronics stores. You can chose from some predefined settings and I chose ”economy” which means the screen will not be really bright

[@thenonexistinghero]

@@TheFrewah That's like buying a $1 million house and using only the living room, bedroom and bathroom while ignoring the 10 other rooms + large backyard.

[@N.BR500]

If choosing and buying a TV isn't already complicated, now just gets tougher (but thank you RTINGS for the info as always!). Now a reminder to myself to add to the list when choosing: OLED = burning-in; Edge Lit = nope.

[@theripper121]

Fulll array local dimming sets have been dropping in price big time over the last few years. Really no reason to buy one as a living room set that will see alot of use these days.

[@RTINGScomRD]

In a world where choosing the right product isn't always easy (especially for big TV purchases,) we try to do our best to make that easier for you!

[@markmd9]

I had an LG edge TV, it served me 10 years, I changed it because of morally depreciation. I used it with energy saving mode which is enabled by default.

[@stinkycheese804]

This makes it much easier because I care more about premature failure than any other specs, having owned a Seiki and a Hisense that both failed within 2 years, but an old 1080p Samsung now over 10 y/o.

[@Warp3326]

Keep it mind buying a dumb TV and using a smart box might be a good idea too. It will be faster, and the tv will have less issues

[@rnf123]

Rtings knocks it out of the park yet again, delivering a thoroughly researched piece on a subject that no one else has even begun to report on, with such dedication and thoroughness that no further discussion is needed!

[@Marc.Google]

This test series is invaluable to consumers and the entire TV industry as a whole. Thank you RTINGS.

[@PointShotDR]

My dream is to see legislation requiring at least a 5-year warranty on these products. Until then, premature failure will not only be common, it will be in the best interest of manufacturers.

[@neptune612]

Until then, most TVs over $1000 US have that 5yr warranty free at Costco. If not, the warranty is pretty inexpensive i.e. $35 for TVs less than $500. I agree, they all should be 5 years though, luckily most budget TVs are 3. Granted the average lifespan of a normal LED TV is 5 to 8 years.

[@PointShotDR]

@@neptune612 Exactly. We cannot forget that when the manufacturer does not provide a long warranty, it is the same as saying that the company itself does not trust the durability of the product it sells.

[@egj1975]

​@@PointShotDRConsumers want cheap... not good. You can easily make a tv that will last 20 years but its expensive. And most tv will last 5-7 years with normal use.

[@kuxii_youtube]

Here in EU (or least in my country) you start from 2 years, and above a certain price (~600-650$) it becomes 3 year mandatory varranty from the manufacturers for CE products

[@chriswright8074]

Why exactly this an extreme use case

[@earthoid]

The thickness of a TV is the least important characteristic to me so it surprises me that they are popular simply because they are thin. When I watch my 5 year old Sony LED backlit TV I don't see or ever think of the depth. It could be a foot thick for all I care.

[@vasopel]

exactly! what is this nonsense about thin TV's aesthetics? who even looks the side of his/hers TV?

[@songolin4544]

If they sell, they sell. It's hard to argue against the data when you're going for profitability.

[@davidcobra1735]

I hate thin anything. Phone, PC monitor, TVs, anything. Also these damn phones that don't even fit in my damn pocket. I'm actually going to try to buy a battery for my old Nokia 6630 and try to get that working again. I'm so done with modern electronics.

[@jonathantan2469]

​@@vasopelThin TVs look nicer as they blend in better with the interior decor of most living rooms/mancaves/lounges. They're also lighter, allowing for easier ceiling or wall mounts. For me, I dislike them as that also makes them easier to be tipped over by cats & children.

[@vasopel]

@@jonathantan2469 "Thin TVs blend in better with the interior decor" I disagree :-)

[@stonesfan285]

Plasmas were built better. Imagine if they had made a 4K plasma. I heard from a guy who fixed them years ago that they decided to stop making plasmas around 2012-2013 because the profit margins on them were too low, they weren't making any money on them, and they lasted forever so people weren't buying new ones as often. I still think they look better than OLEDs with 1080p content and sports too. You don't get motion blur and the picture looks more natural. Only downside is they use about 10x the power and get hot.

[@tpc3416]

I've taken apart and repaired flat screens from the early 2000s to recent models. The build quality on plasmas and board construction is night and day compared to what you see in a 2024 LED entry level set. Most TVs today are disposable and pricing reflects that. I still have some Syntax Olivia LCDs, a Panasonic Plasma, and a CCFL TCL eith a Samsung panel going strong. Ive repaired several TCL FALD sets with failed Tcon boards. And have seen many LG sets with dead LED strips. Like cell phones, we have moved to disposable TV's. Its not even worth my time repairing a 40" LED when you can't get $50 for a working set on FBM or CL. And to see the Samsung Frame failing due to heat issues should spark a class action lawsuit. Panel uniformity kills a picture and replacing the white film is no easy task. Sad to see this. Electric bikes, scooters, and cars will follow this disposable mentality.

[@TechnoMinded-qp5in]

Older model TVs tend to last longer time to recall this modern nonsense it's not gonna work it's nothing but a business gimmick manufacturers have lost their minds.

[@mikem.9197]

42" Ölevia still going strong in the bedroom here. That thing has to be well over 15 years old now. My 47LG50 finally died after nearly 16 years of daily abuse. I estimate there was at least 50,000 hours on that one. My 5 year old 70" LG has nearly 24,000 on it...

[@yamerojones]

Yea I took apart my plasma before disposing of it to see what was inside and to make it easier to carry, the number of screws and boards and brackets was impressive.

[@yamerojones]

@@tacocat1714 no different from what the video implies, air conditioning. the power supplies tend to give off magic smoke, I bet its heat as its quite a load.

[@ichrismoku]

Modern flatscreens are the disposable plastic bags of modern display technology. I wouldn't even want to BUY a TV that I knew was created with such a throwaway mindset. I don't like buying ANYTHING that is disposable garbage. Just build the TV to last and charge what it needs to cost!!!!

[@tonkatoytruck]

Glad both my 65" and 75" Samsung 80A TVs are full array designs. Thanks for all your hard work. Consumer Reports should be embarrassed.

[@buschg7106]

Same. My Q80B is solid

[@Jsmith1611]

Consumer reports should be avoided in general. Always better to have a subject matter expert vs a generalist shop.

[@gabrysur]

Funie story, I tested a local water bottling company and found parasites in it, when I talked to the owner he said, "That's not true, our water is perfect". that tells me 1. he knew about the problem 2. he has no intention to solve it. It's funny how these companies tell the people exposing the problem, that there is no problem. I've been noticing this issue in many of my friends and neighbors' TVs, I'm happy I know why it happens and what I should buy to prevent this.

[@uponeric36]

Go to media if this is true. Not much better than they are if you just leave it be like "Eh I guess those people can drink parasites lol and I just won't buy that water"

[@MayaPosch]

Funny thing about edge-lighting LCDs is that it basically returns them to the state that LCDs were in during the 2000s when fluorescent tubes were used rather than LEDs. You can easily identify those CCFL displays by the massive heat source located at the top and/or bottom. Only then it would seem those diffusor issues weren't as pronounced, probably because displays weren't so humongous yet?

[@wtpauley]

...or thin

[@MayaPosch]

@@wtpauley Good point, those old CCFL-based TFTs had those nice airvents and plenty of ventilation. All features which these super-thin displays do not have. So you have no ventilation in far less space, trying desperately to dissipate more heat from these massive LED strips purely with heatsinking, yet without turning the TV's backside into something too hot to touch. So yeah, those LEDs are being cooked, along with the diffusor. Explains a lot of the issues seen by RTings.

[@Azurael]

I think that depends very much on the size of the panel. I've had a few ~24" monitors and ~40" TVs apart from the CCFL era and most used an array of tubes running the whole height of the screen (more like direct backlit TVs) - indeed several of those disassemblies were to investigate a dark stripe on the screen caused by a single tube failing. These also had a lot of empty space between the panel and the tubes, presumably to keep the heat away from the diffuser. All of the smaller displays I've looked at (mainly laptop panels) did use a single tube at the bottom, though.

[@Toastmaster_5000]

The funnier thing is, I wouldn't be surprised if those CCFLs were actually more efficient. The tubes themselves actually never really got all that hot, but the inverters sure did.

[@detmer87]

CCFL gets dimmer over time. Need more frequent calibration. And pure white is more of a challenge. CCFL's have their limitations and it's quite logical that it's replaced by LED lights.

[@emanuelb1603]

While those modern TVs fail shortly after the warranty expires, CRT TVs are still working flawlessly after decades. Mine is 30 years old and works great.

[@b4804514]

You do know you have spent thousands on electric to run that TV 400 watts an hour

[@emanuelb1603]

​@@b4804514The increased power consumption is more than worth it.

[@emanuelb1603]

@@b4804514 The increased power consumption is more than worth it if the TV will continue working for many decades. It is just ridiculous to give up longevity for lower power consumption.

[@ToriZealot]

displaying flawlessly terrible image quality ... gratulation!

[@bule7405]

@@b4804514 Either way goes to show that things aren't build to last anymore

[@hoppysport2872]

This is a superlative production and presentation. I had 2 edge-lit LCD TVs die at 5 and 6 years. My next will be direct or full array thanks to you. Interesting that my main TV has been a thick 50" 1080p Panasonic Viera plasma TV from 2008. That TV is literally on for 8 hours a day. Yes, it's not energy efficient and gets hot. But it has a great picture and keeps going, going and going.

[@livy4life]

My Panasonic from 2009 is still going strong too. My Sis had a panasonic too from 2008, wasn't broken but replaced it a few months ago for a 65" instead of a 50".

[@marcuscole8796]

This independant "Longevity Test" you are carrying out is unique and outstanding ... and can not be appreciated enough from a customers point of view. For quite some time now I coming back to your diagrams and panel screen shots on a regular basis ... that's just fantastic information never been seen before. Kudos to RTINGS for investing this enormous effort, time and money ... allowing us to benefit from this extremely rare opportunity regarding tv lifecycle behaviour and potential issues - being now avoidable to some extent - for the very first time !

[@cheekypasta55]

Interesting. Now I know that edge lit models should definitely be last on my list!

[@theripper121]

With FALD sets dropping massively in price in the last few years not sure why anyone would be buying an edge lit display as a main living room set then maxing the brightness out.

[@no_misaki]

@@theripper121 The average person buying a TV for their family living room doesn't know the difference and will simply buy whatever is biggest and cheapest. Those 4k 55" roku sets with slow, buggy OS that die within 2-3 years fly off shelves for a reason. Spending $500+ on a TV is almost impossible to justify for a lot of people.

[@theripper121]

@@no_misaki I agree that most people will not buy high end sets...but in saying that you don't have to spend big money anymore for a set that is big AND has very good picture quality. A thousand dollar 65in set isn't exactly spendy anymore. A 65 inch TV 20 years ago that couldn't get close to the performance you can get today would have cost you 3x that. Less than ten years ago 2x that. And getting into a basic FALD set is barely any more than edge lit sets anymore. No sense in buying the cheapest junk you can get a hold of if you expect it to last.

[@michaelbeckerman7532]

Edge-lit TVs shouldn't even be on anyone's list, at all. Sadly, so many people out there today get seduced into buying that absolute garbage by the low price points they are offered at. I wouldn't take one if you gave it to me!

[@juliest631]

My made in Japan Pioneer Plasma is turning 16 this year... still looks beautiful. Quality just isn't a priority anymore.

[@chadmendiola9833]

Plasma TV's are nice but they consume so much electricity. A Plasma TV consumes about 4 to 5 times more compared to the standard LED TV. It's like you're running 5 LED TV's 😂

[@juliest631]

@@chadmendiola9833 True, but at least I'm not contributing to the mountain of e-waste that is being created by sub standard quality sets. In the last 16 years, I only bought one TV… how about the average American these days?

[@rachegreenrg]

My cheap Chinese 55 Hisense TV is from 2011. No problems at all.

[@juliest631]

@chadmendiola9833 it's a TV not for everyone. However I've seen many of my friends go through multiple sets in the time I've had mine, I'd feel better using a lil more electricity than throwing something in the landfill. That's just me

[@chadmendiola9833]

@@juliest631 4 - 5 times more isn't really a "little" it's comparable to running another standard refrigerator on average (no joke). Then again to each of their own.

[@Gerton999]

I didnt know how seriously rtings reviews things until today...honestly, I love it. I'm glad people like you can keep companies in check while looking out for us.

[@kartikkaushik9811]

RTINGS continues to deliver. This is the kind of customer advocacy we are lacking. I love your content and would suggest adding a segment at the end of your videos, letting viewers know how they can directly support such incredible work.

[@jonsonby]

We've been using our Panasonic Plasma as our main TV for over 17 years, and it's still going strong with no issues.

[@EastAngliaUK]

screens in public places often look very blue and this video says why.

[@BogdanKostiv]

My 65inch Samsung AU8100 died after 3 years. One half of the screen became darker than other one. My mistake was to use it on the max brightness, but still, I never thought that such TVs may be not so durable. It's really good to have such types of tests to be aware about possible issues. Thank you for the good and important work. As for my TV I managed to replace LED strips, but it was very nontrivial task. Luckily I managed to postpone buying a new TV.

[@MGrey-qb5xz]

no your mistake was buying samsung

[@theagentsmith]

They promised LED bulbs would last tens of thousands of hours. With exceptions, they mostly after 1-2 years, same as incandescent bulbs. They let run the LED at 100+ degrees °C due to insufficient heat sink or bad design. Thank you RTINGS for uncovering this issue on some TVs: heat is being used again to reduce their lifetime. I hope they would release new firmwares that lower brightness when a certain temperature threshold is met.

[@jamesphillips2285]

10,000 hours is only 1 year 50 days of continuous operation.

[@michaelbeckerman7532]

LED's can actually last you for thousands and thousands of hours of use...they just can't do that at 100% max brightness all the time, which is exactly how most people out there want to run them on their new LCD TVs. And then they complain, "This thing didn't even last me two years before it failed - what a POS" when they break and fail on them.

[@andyasbestos]

My experience with LED bulbs is that they either crap out within a few months or last seemingly forever. Though all my lamps and light fixtures provide good ventilation. Presumably the manufacturers are really annoyed by the ones that don't die on schedule. It's really hard to engineer electronics to fail after x runtime when they don't know the specific operating conditions. It's similar to how fluorescent tubes and bulbs could last a stupid long time as long as you never turned them off, but would die really fast with frequent cycling. Or how old-school halogen bulbs last way, way, way longer if you dim them just a little. Though, it's really frustrating to see how easy it is to design an almost immortal and extremely efficient LED bulb, yet manufacturers just don't want to sell them. All they have to do is add way more LEDs, driven softly so they run nice and cool. It's not rocket surgery!

[@ArtificialDjDAGX]

@@andyasbestos that's just how statistics work. The failure rate decreases as time passes until it flattens out, where it stays flat for the majority of the product's lifespan, followed by it then starting to increasing again as time passes until things inevitably break down and fail.

[@andyasbestos]

@@ArtificialDjDAGX Well yeah, but I've had a very high early death rate for cheap LED bulbs. Last time I moved I bought a bunch of new lamps and corresponding bulbs at IKEA, including a few spares. They were really cheap! About half of those failed within 6 months, while the other half still runs fine years later. I assume they were of a sound design but with with very poor QC, so a lot of them got sold with faulty component.

[@kylek29]

This doesn't exactly surprise me, the high-end monitors with high brightness ratings tend to have bulkier heat dissipation or active cooling built-in. This is something they don't want to bring over to TV's - probably because of the bulk, and the cost. I wouldn't doubt that many TV's might last longer if you add some active cooling (low-noise PC fans aimed at the back panel).

[@MGrey-qb5xz]

only you americans have a hard on for using tvs

[@Serpream]

Still loving these updates. I still prefer a chunky, dependable display over any 'modern' thin one. I still got some old-school CRT's around as well for Retro gaming. They just last much longer, easier to repair, and from a time before Planned obsolescence took over.

[@RTINGScomRD]

We'll continue to put these updates out as long as we keep finding new important info to share!

[@BluRay_4]

@@RTINGScomRD Just for the hell of it. It would be interesting to see burn-in on plasma sets or even CRTs.

[@random_n]

​@@BluRay_4Unlike OLED where you can get over or under-compensation artifacts depending on brightness levels requested and quality of the wear compensation system, plasma burn-in is exactly what you'd expect. A simple negative image of the burned in content. It'll be a bit fuzzy if pixel shift was on, and always most visible on plain white. CRT burn-in is similar, but can be especially wild. The display structure allows for ambient light to excite the phosphors easily, so the burn-in can be visible even with the display fully off and unplugged. Used to be common to see old tubes with the weather channel permanently etched in shops around here.

[@BluRay_4]

@@random_n i own a few burned in crts and the phosphors have turned from normal white to a yellowish/orange color.. resulting in the image being a hell of a lot "warmer" overall. I also have a few plasmas.. one has 45k hours on it and its been through hell and back. Burn-in is almost invisible BUT i usually get mal-discharge where there is burn in. I fixed it by turning the VS voltage up and its nearly non existent now. Pretty interesting.

[@TheScrubmuffin69]

Easier to repair is a hilarious thing to say about crt technology 😂

[@rickh8380]

I bought my 40" Toshiba TV in 2013...still works. In the winter, it's a bit dim until it warms up. Also has some light bleed through around the edges when the lights are out. I keep mine cooler by placing a 6" fan running into the vents in the back. Keeps the Main Board cooler and the florescent light tubes cooler also. I also have a Samsung NIB as a backup.

[@AlexanderHuzar]

You guys are doing some invaluable work that the manufacturers would never want to be done. Your work will result in consumers demanding better built electronics instead of disposable garbage. I wanted to say thank you and I wish you the very best.

[@xingbat]

Thank you. This is exactly what has happened to my LG model 55SM8600PUA Nano 8 Series. The screen has always been a bit dim as well, which only made the problem worse as the screen was a max brightness. It is a little over 4 years old and has many cracks in the light guide plate and white lines all across the bottom. This info will be very useful in buying our next TV.

[@sp8kulat1us70]

Great content as always! My parents bought a 55" UE55D7000 from 2011. Yes it has uniformity issues in form of vertical lines but the TV undergone really intense use. I think about 3-4 hours per day on average over 13 years. What broke was the power board. It made the TV shut down randomly, sometimes made the TV turn on and off an on and off. I thought some caps got bad over time. But after a close inspection all caps were in shape, literaly. But I found a broken soldering spot of one of the transformers. And the TV is back in action for quite some now. I think older TVs were built with more resilience in mind to not scare customers off to a different brand. Now the market is saturated and brands starting to trade durability for more profit. And they get away with it. But rting won't let them off. Thanks a lot!!!!

[@practicalguy973]

I've got an edge lit Sony xbr49x800e from 2017 with about 4-6 hours a day use every day and its got no uniformity issues where I can see the LED area or any of what they showed in this video. I just played an ambient light test video with full screen white and all colors to verify. My family does not like high nit value TVs that make you squint when watching with low room lighting and we have the brightness set to 32 which is about 70%. I also use the TV in pro mode with inputs only removing the smart TV functionally and we use a streaming stick that's more modern. I assume not using the TVs smart apps also reduces strain on the processor and power consumption which helps with the longevity o of the power supply.

[@practicalguy973]

I work with broadcast electronics repair technicians and I know some things about circuit boards, thermal lifespan etc... With almost anything you never want to drive circuits to full power or close to it if you want it to last. Usually running anything that makes noticeable heat at a reduced level will ensure everything is running well under its thermal rating. Its not true for some things but if you simply monitor how warm or hot something gets and can reduce levels and make it cooler that is generally smart electronics management.

[@davidcobra1735]

You consider using a TV for 3-4 hours a day intense usage?! Why exactly is that? You'd expect at least 10 years of 12 hours a day usage out of a good TV. Hell my PC monitor's over 10 years old and it's got no issues yet. Think I've used it for 5 hours a day on average. And this is a cheap $110 monitor I'm talking about. You have such low expectations. Damn these companies really trained you well. What country are you even from?

[@sp8kulat1us70]

@@davidcobra1735 well great for you having such high expectations. But please let others their opinions, you are not the standard for TV longevity.

[@THEtechknight]

As a former TV repair technician, this is why I miss CCFL based LCD sets. Yes, they do wear out like LEDs do but they take a much longer time doing so. I had a Sharp LCD set (when it was still made by Sharp) that lasted so long, it was on its second set of CCFL tubes. That thing was still going when i left the biz. Also this thin trend is dangerous, thats what happened to plasma TV sets at the very end, resulting in heat-induced panel cracking and manufacturer blaming the customer that they broke the screen!

[@ClearGalaxies]

It's important to note the difference between backlight level and brightness. They are different but sometimes they are used to refer to the same thing.

[@roboterson]

Amazing long term review and coverage. Came here from LTT, this video got a shoutout on the WAN show so I would expect to see a lot of new viewers coming by, keep up the great work!

[@justanotheryoutubechannel]

This is fascinating, it’s honestly weird to me that anyone buys edge-lid displays when they’re so much worse. I always figured these would’ve died out after the 2000s because I always though they were purely made to be cheaper than full array sets. It was interesting to see they’re still around and it does make sense considering they can be thinner, but this is just another reason to avoid buying them.

[@erieeddie8683]

They were initially made because it was easiest(fastest & cheapest) way to make LCDs thinner. LEDs are brighter, more compact and more efficient as I’m sure you know.

[@jtcr17]

You do know most people don’t know what are edge lid TVs or full array. Most people buy thin, cheap and big.

[@user-vh8gs1sw1j]

@@jtcr17 and low quality.

[@leoceoliveira]

people generally do not understand display technology in the slightest.

[@TheScrubmuffin69]

You think it's weird that 99% of the population doesn't know the difference between oled and edge lit lcd? It literally boils down to what is the biggest size for the price and that's it

[@makatron]

LED array in the back and keeping brightness around 75% has worked for me. Also noticed most of those screens in businesses that show flaws are without air conditioning and maxed out brightness permanently.

[@shivasisdash7343]

Correction: Reducing "Brightness" Doesn't affect the backlight. Instead Reduce " Backlight" to dim the lights..Almost every led tv comes with this option.

[@Green_Expedition_Drgn]

Correction: the backliight is a dynamic adjustment. Lowering the backlight reduces the backlight proportionally to the TV brightness. Reducing the brightness lowers both.

[@Shotblur]

​@@Green_Expedition_Drgn Correction: the backlight is only dynamic when this feature is enabled. It is often if not always possible to manually adjust the backlight and disable automatic dimming.

[@abneryokum]

It's called "brightness" on Sony sets rather than "backlight".

[@kuldeepsankpal6443]

Glad to see testing for long term usage and concluding results. Instead some unboxing and reading the specs sheet. Just subscribed👍

[@Barbarapape]

This is what happens when you try to make TV's thinner and brighter. All that heat due to high brightness has to go somewhere. Keep the brightness down or pay the price in repairs or replacements.

[@theripper121]

Yep, and go FALD

[@samueladitya1729]

I think being thin isn't the problem, but it need better heat management. most edge lit are only on bottom side while the heatsink is insufficient. If they could add heatpipe to spread the heat to whole surface and enough vents, but that would be mean loss of profit to them.

[@Barbarapape]

@@samueladitya1729 This issue with bottom edge lit panels is not a new one, even if you keep the brightness down sooner or later the reflective sheet starts to warp ,and split as shown in the video. The latest high brightness panels just fail faster. The only option is to buy a TV with full array local dimming this spreads the heat across the whole panel. As yoo say they could fit heatsinks, but today it is all about profit and not long term reliability.

[@michaelbeckerman7532]

The solution here is obvious: STOP buying edge-lit LCD TVs! Just say NO!

[@Barbarapape]

@@michaelbeckerman7532 The problem is that most buyers don't understand that these edge-lit models have a limited lifespan and they leave them on at full brightness then wonder why the panel has issues so soon. It keeps me in a job repairing them, provided the thin frame doesn't split as you try to remove it, the backs are held by thin fragile clips and are a nightmare to remove. It's all done to make you buy another TV that won't last any longer.

[@randommcranderson5155]

the best investigative series on tvs in youtube history for sure, maybe in general. Very thorough, enlightening, and well presented.

[@Giorgiio69]

Hi, I have been repairing TVs for a long time. Regarding the light diffuser cracking, it is very common for it to crack from removing the housing on the Samsung (the housing is snap-on). This happens mainly through material fatigue and the diffuser is then very brittle at the burn-in point. However, it also cracks spontaneously from being heated up by the LED backlight. Samsung televisions also have considerable panel problems. 90% of the faults on today's TVs involve replacing the LED backlight on the strips. Edge led is kinda another problem, bcuz u need also replace diffuser which is very expensive and hard to transport due to fragile.

[@gavjlewis]

I honestly didn't have any idea how bright my TV settings were. But while you were talking at the end of the video I turned the brightness up to maximum and the white in the studio is pretty blinding. So I'm not sure many people run the TV at that brightness all the time. So I turned it back down to 66% where it was before. But I do appreciate you doing these long term tests.

[@fjjwfp7819]

I'm certain the manufacturers are using much cheaper LEDs than necessary for the brightness targets and overdriving them with too much current with insufficient cooling

[@paul_wiggin]

Nah.. I`m sure they are using one of the best models available. Marketing is the problem: customers want thin, cheap and bright TVs.. so no heatsink in a slim body with plastic back because it must be cheap and extremely high power for maximum brightness - you get what you asked for. They definitely can make Edge lit displays durable - but they are made thick and not so bright.. so people don't want them. LEDs are extremely cheap compared to other parts of the TV

[@charlesmyers8150]

They need to sell tvs to stay in business. Absolutely nothing is built to last a lifetime these days. Buy a car or a house and you will see what I mean.

[@beilserdor]

Apple cooling style

[@MechAdv]

It’s shame consumers won’t accept 3-4” thick TVs. You could get way higher brightness, properly cool the LEDs, and have a more robust chassis.

[@N4CR]

the story of consumer leds for the last 15 years basically.

[@SirThanksalott]

Recommended after watching Gamer's Nexus! Your reviews are like "analysis" rather than review. So glad you are on YT! Super professional. Here's to wishing to success. Can't believe you guys are on YT too, but reading your review helping to make informed decision was just as great. Keep it up!

[@antibrevity]

Thanks for another report on your excellent long-term test. I have never understood the obsession with thinness. LCDs are already so thin when backlit that consumers no longer get decent speakers included and have to purchase expensive sound bars that are not thin and often require separate mounting. The thinnest panels are structurally weaker, making them prone to bending or breaking and they may even sag under their own weight, so why consumers would want thinner panels is beyond me. I already had no intention of ever buying an edge-lit LCD but these results are still interesting and suggest that the manufacturers were willing to sacrifice longevity to offer models in this market segment. This was a "me too" product category driven by consumer preferences that seem more based in oddly-motivated aesthetics than in viewing experience. Who will even care how thin a TV is once they have installed it and are watching content? They'll watch the display, not the edges. "Sure the display is crap, but look how thin it is," can only be said by a last, lonely brain cell before it leaves existence. Yea, spending *more* money on a *worse* TV is not a sign of intelligence; perhaps Smith's proverbial "Invisible Hand" has no invisible head to reason with. Meanwhile, my old phone died and I had to purchase a new one of the same model and screen size. The replacement is 3 years newer, yet is both thicker and heavier while performing all the same tasks. What? Will the extra heft and bulk make it last longer? Hope so, but I seriously doubt it.

[@magnusterminus4728]

Our Sony Bravia LCD with fluorescent (ccfl) light inside made in 2009 is still going strong..... It is used every day. At the time we purchased the tv, led edge and backlit technology was relatively new so we choose to go old tech and that paid out well for us.

[@bsmarques]

Wow, the job description is basically how I'd describe myself, just wow, hehehe. I'm not looking to change job, but being based in Quebec this is really tempting.

[@norcal715]

On most tv's, the brightness setting does not change the backlight level much. The "Backlight" setting will adjust the LED output level, I suggest 50% or less to keep each individual LED cooler.

[@Hoofie]

My Sony X900E has been on for 40 000 hours according to the service menu, still looks as good as it did when it was new. Been used as a pc monitor basically every day since 2017. According to Rtings, thats 24 years of normal use, so thats pretty cool I guess.

[@Flashv28]

Your TV has been running 15+ hours every single day in the last 7 years?

[@Hoofie]

@@Flashv28 That doesnt sound far off. Its at 40444 hours at this moment, bought in Oct\Nov 2017. Gets turned on the moment I wake up and stays on till I go to bed. Posted 2 pictures of it as well, /a/uptime-rcaExBG on Imgur. One from late 2022 at 30706 hours, and the current one at 40444 hours. The numbers you see at the bottoms are "screen lit time" if I remember correctly, so basically how many hours its been turned on. Even the store display models dont get hours like this apparently. Not sure if its something I should be proud or ashamed of, but it is what it is :)

[@Hoofie]

@@Flashv28 KZbin ate my reply, so here we go again... Sounds about right. Bought it in late 2017, and as Im typing this the TV shows 40444 hours. Gets turned on when I wake up, and stays on till I go to bed. Back in late 2022 it had 30706 hours on it, so that makes it 10000 hours in 1.7 years or so. Posted the last letters of a picture link to the images on my first attempt, but I guess thats what made youtube angry.

[@Hoofie]

If you know how imgur works, this is the album rcaExBG .

[@leokimvideo]

Yep, I can relate to this. Just like Apples push to make the Studio Display thin with a super thin power supply that went super bad on me.

[@ChrispyNut]

The heat issues I've experienced (on a 10 year old telly) have been the control electronics overheating. I DIY'd a fan in the back (powered by the computer attached to it) and ... no more temp issues (and fan can only be heard at night, with ear next to the fan). I genuinely don't understand the obsession people have with how deep their display is, perhaps that's because I'm an old Millennial who grew up with CRTs, who's happy to have knocked feet from the depth, so fractions of inches seems petty.

[@charlesmyers8150]

The old crt tvs weigh a damn ton!

[@N4CR]

I got an OLED this year and was shocked to see how thin it was. I hadn't even considered it or cared about it prior. If they do LCDs that thin, no wonder there are issues. OLED luckily stays cool and has very high efficiency.

[@hardware_house]

You've done a whole lot of work analysing 100 TVs. Very commendable.

[@joeonuh]

Well done guys i'm a fan of your programs, I live in The Netherlands anyway . This video is very helpful to us the consumers . I have been a Sony TV fan all my life and have always prefer LED [ FULL ARRAY BACKLIGHT ] to the new technology OLED . I had the SONY KDL-46HX920 LED TV , bought it in April 2012. picture quality is still like the first day i bought it super picture . It started having problem last year [ 2023] december. The TV will go on and off sometimes that's it no other problem [sometimes very frequent ] But picture quality still perfect. I still want to take it for a repair but don't know if it's worth the trouble because of the age . I think it is not going last any longer . I have bought a new Sony Bravia XR-65X95L anyway and happy with it too.

[@frommatorav1]

For me it would depend on the cost of repair, but I always lean toward repairing, instead of discarding.

[@MichaelMurkovic]

Your technical details are impeccable and persistent. F'ing awesome 🏆

[@LutraLovegood]

That explains why I never had any issues with edge-lit LED monitors. I always use them at low brightness (0-20%), and they never stay on 24/7, so they don't generate as much heat and have a lot of time to cool down. Now I wonder what has better cooling, TVs or monitors? I had never looked at the cooling aspect before.

[@Lukashoffmann94]

I wouldn’t say monitors have the better cooling, but they tend to be quite a bit smaller. As a result they need less backlight and can therefore run cooler.

[@gentle285]

The damage is astounding! Thank you for your reports!

[@adamj1326]

I've seen many FALD TV's with messed up zones at restaurants. To me, the way LCDs fail is worse than a bit of burn-in. I'll stick with OLED.

[@middle_pickup]

You guys are the people with the real tech tips. I admire your adherence to sound science. I don't buy something without checking your site for a review first.

[@hansikursch484]

This is why in haven't changed my TV in ages. My 22yr old tube TV still going strong. Must have easily crossed 120k hrs by now.

[@impos1966]

Your TV is on 14 hours a day?

[@hansikursch484]

@@impos1966 worse. 16. don't actually watch it though. Just in the background. How I wish world radio service was still a thing today.

[@trentwhiteman5185]

Just found your website as i needed a comparison and it has led me here. Wow, I am impressed, extremely helpful website and reviews, love the uniformness, love the non bias opinions. Amazing stuff!

[@RTINGScomRD]

So happy to hear that! ♥

[@farhank8297]

Perfect timing, no wonder there was lines of bright light on my tv.

[@RTINGScomRD]

Sorry to hear that, but glad you now know the reason! 😅

[@farhank8297]

@@RTINGScomRD Thanks, I still have warranty so ill try to get it replaced. Great content 👍🏻

[@bakudans4851]

The LTT WAN show sent me. And now I comment so more people see this, and they learn about your amazing work.

[@las97531]

Thanks for the information!

[@RTINGScomRD]

Thank you for watching! 😄

[@cratecruncher4974]

Long term durability testing! Even teardowns. Subscribed.

[@OranCollins]

amazing stuff! cant belive this isnt blowing up on the algorithm! ps: these guys are what linus's tester group is aspires to be. Great job keep it up!

[@chichomancho1791]

Hi, I bought my 40' Samsung 1080p F-lamp, in 2007year and it still works pretty good!

[@wtpauley]

Thanks for reaffirming my decision to go OLED with my C9 and C2 purchases.

[@MrMastadox]

Thanks Rtings. Very useful and informative!!

[@gucky4717]

I use one C2 42" OLED as a gaming monitor, it is running about 10,000 hours now. I have no burn-in or image retention or at the very least it is unnoticeable. My 27" 144hz TN edgelit monitor on the other hand seems to have a small delamenating issue after cleaning it with just a bit water, it looks like a watermark. The funny thing is, sometimes you can see it sometimes you don't. Oh that monitor is much older with probably 25k-30k hours. And it is used as a secondary monitor with a static image more often.

[@N4CR]

That water issue happened with my fancy LG IPS. If it get sinto the clamping stack/edge frame it'll get into the LCD layer and stain it in certain colours.

[@alice20001]

This is AMAZING! How does this channel only have 50k subscribers?!

[@RTINGScomRD]

We're slowly climbing! Thanks for the support 😄

[@infotech6743]

I have a 2022 Samsung Frame, it does get warm, after my kid plays Mario Kark for 1h (the video game go to sleep after 1h), you can feel the heat if you get close the TV, but, it`s not true when its on the "frame" mode, where it keeps a image as a painting. I can`t feel any heat from it, even after hours with a painting on. Hope it will hold the good colors and last a long time. Thank you very much for the tests, you guys are great.

[@neptune612]

Walk by any TV displays in an electronic store and you really notice how much heat these TVs put out.

[@Jrdnram98]

Currently watching this on my Samsung AU8000, thank y'all for doing the work to call this out for consumers!

[@Toastmaster_5000]

I really don't understand the point of spending a lot extra for a design that loses its novelty very quickly. The whole point of a display is to look at it from the front, not the side, so if I'm going to spend extra so a device looks neat outside of its intended use case, I'd rather get an OLED display where burn-in isn't a consequence of its form factor.

[@bivitabrata3188]

As long as the thin part is only the bezels, to be not too distracting, I'm fine.

[@ZarathosDaimaoh]

I legit do'nt get the appeal of Thin TVs , beyond the already thin standard set by the typical LED/LCDs . Who are those people that need to move around tvs all the time and can't afford the space for a normal modern tv ? lol

[@dia9n0st1c]

Thank you, the work yall do has brought me into getting the right products for my use cases without dishing out big money. Again, thank you

[@RTINGScomRD]

Happy we're able to help 😄

[@MJ-ge6jz]

I'm glade I never was interested in Edge Lite TV's. Did not like the complaints of edge light leaks. The micro back lite LED's are a great option if you don't want to go for OLEDs.

[@erieeddie8683]

I always felt direct lit was superior for pic quality however well implemented edge lit doesn’t have the same blooming around light areas such as the credits in white. It’s a trade off: little blooming for a different kind of light bleed which I call spot lighting. Pick your poison.

[@kirbyno1]

Thank you SO MUCH for the longevity and durability tests. Having worked for an airport on commercial signage, I have.....expectations for my tv's :)

[@mazkaibil9108]

I still have my plasma tv. Working fine (Knocking on wood!). LOL

[@JobeStroud]

Bought our tv that was the display model almost 15 years ago now. It has some issues with light bleed but the fact it is still going strong says it all for me on old TVs.

[@jeffhalebopp]

Great info. Thank you.

[@burakyucel8462]

Thank you for making this video. I bought a samsung tv tu8000 in 2021 and after 3 years of light use, the tv had issues with uniformity, there were lines on the display and finally it started to restart constantly every 10 seconds 😕 I do not believe that samsung and other manufacturers have longevity in mind when designing these TVs. Buyers be aware

[@chrismullins8061]

Fantastic info. Owning two of these TVs, I find this info alarming.

[@Muppet-kz2nc]

use that ambient light sensor with a configured minimum brightness and auto shutoff feature.

[@samueladitya1729]

all you gotta do was turn down the brightness before it show any damage

[@ryzenryne8747]

I never knew RTINGS has a youtube channel. Good thing you test products intensively and extensively.

[@RTINGScomRD]

We have this channel and 2 others for our reviews! www.youtube.com/@RTINGSdotcom www.youtube.com/@RTINGScomAudio

[@ThyXsphyre]

I absolutely hate the trend of everything becoming as thin as possible, I miss being able to just pick up my TV and move it myself, now I need another person so we can hold it in a specific way so the screen wont snap on itself

[@t.and.mblissful9657]

Really appreciated this video. Am currently considering a new TV and this video will definitely influence the "spec" and Manufacturer I look at.

[@4bSix86f61]

Samsung TVs using the cheapest of cheap LEDS, DC side Rectifier diodes and MOSFETS with zero heatsinks, heat accumulates and kills the part.

[@thinicer]

Bought an edge-lit TV for the bedroom last month. Glad I discovered this video. I recommend rotating between different picture modes during the day. Use a standard mode for normal everyday TV viewing with the backlight/panel brightness setting set to 60 or so, and set up and use a separate night time dark room picture setting where it is cranked down even further. I have mine set to 15 and it works for me.

[@Jooglesberry]

kinda like with phones, I genuinely have no idea who is asking for things to get thinner than plenty thin.

[@AntonioCunningham]

^This. I don't gain any befits from devices getting thin, but I do lose durability and repairability for doing so. Phones have become so thin that I have to get a thick case for then. (Until I got my LG Wing) I love It's thickness and features.

[@alexandrupopa5920]

Best video I've seen on youtube in the last 2-3 years.

[@RTINGScomRD]

In case you missed it, we're currently hiring a display specialist - someone who loves TVs just as much as we do! If you're interested, check out the link to the job posting here: grnh.se/d8765e317us

[@tee_es_bee]

Huh, our household's primary display is _sixteen year_ old 32" 1080p Samsung LE32B554M2W. Given the amount of resources devices like these cost to make, not to mention their cost to the end user I expect these to work for _at least_ ten years. Love the testing. Keep it up. 🧡💛🧡

[@TheGloriousLobsterEmperor]

I just want a non-smart TV. Why does nobody make dumb TVs any more?

[@mrtechie6810]

Spooks want to spy! 😂

[@josephschaefer9163]

Get a computer monitor

[@TheGloriousLobsterEmperor]

@@josephschaefer9163 Problem is they're all too small or too expensive.

[@NelzonK]

Thank you Rtings. With love, an avid consumer.

[@4bSix86f61]

[8:49] Really? 69 Brightness?

[@wardrich]

Why wouldn't you want a nice amount of brightness?

[@oscarcorral1428]

This is why I support the business. Thanks guys!

[@RTINGScomRD]

Thank you for your continuous support! ♥