Will leaving my iMac on the same screen for a long time damage it?

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Will leaving my iMac on the same screen for a long time damage it?

I have heard many people complaining that their iMac screens become damaged relatively quickly. In order for this not to happen, seeing as I have just bought the new iMac, my first Mac, I want to do as much as possible to avoid it!

I know that leaving a television on one screen for extended periods of time is not advised because the image becomes burned into the screen, and was wondering if this was the same with iMacs?

Also, is there any other way I can avoid damaging my screen?

Many thanks for your help!

Cameron 🙂

Edit: I also leave the brightness as low as i should in order to safeguard the computer's screen.

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2), Late 2012, 21.5", 16GB RAM, 1TB HDD

Posted on Jan 9, 2013 9:24 AM

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Answer 1

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rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,448 points

Jan 9, 2013 9:27 AM in response to 999cameron

Probably not but it's wise to set the display to sleep when it's not being used. Go to the Energy Saver settings in System Preferences. Also as new user I'd recommend navigating to http://www.apple.com/support/macbasics/ to learn how to use. Great reference material.

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Answer 2

Klaus1

Level 9

52,749 points

Jan 9, 2013 9:28 AM in response to 999cameron

There is always a minor risk of screen burn, but this is easily avoided by using a screensaver without bright spaces, or letting the screen sleep without powering down the hard drive.

But just in case:

Apple say this about LCD screen burn in:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2807

which includes suggestions for curing that effect.

Alternatively:

How to fix screen burn and/or stuck pixels on an LCD monitor:

JScreenFix

http://www.jscreenfix.com/basic.php

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Answer 3

999cameron Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 9, 2013 9:35 AM in response to rkaufmann87

Okay. Thanks for your help. I'll be sure to check out that link!

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Answer 4

999cameron Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 9, 2013 9:38 AM in response to Klaus1

That has backed up my suspicions - persistence is the correc term apparently. Thanks for your help. I don't need the second link, yet, or ever, hope, for that matter! Thank you

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Answer 5

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,448 points

Jan 9, 2013 10:28 AM in response to 999cameron

Your welcome, using a screen saver (again look in System Preferences) will be greatly beneficial or do what I do. I have my display set to sleep after 15 minutes of non use, this preserves the display and saves energy too. That way i can leave my computer on 24/7 without any issues. I have doing this for years with all of my Macs.

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