So, younger readers, certain older displays were way more susceptible than today’s TVs for something called burn-in. That’s when parts of an image would stay on a screen for so long that they’d literally burn into it, creating a permanent “shadow”.
Think TV network watermarks, or the margins of a news ticker. You’d normally see it on TVs that were always on, and always on the same channel. Like those in bars, or airports.
You could also see it on CRT arcade screens. The older the game, more more beautiful the burn-in.
Video game screen burn in [Reddit]
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7 responses to “Video Game Screen Burn-In Is Damage, But Also Art”
I actually want to own this and hang it on my wall. Unfortunately I’m pretty sure the inside of the tube is full of nasty metals and chemicals, so disassembly wouldn’t be a good idea 🙁
Get it framed. Problem solved.
The screen could be used to generate photographic prints, so everyone gets to enjoy the burn in
Is it too bad when it’s on?
It’s small things like this that make me glad to grow up in that era of gaming. With today’s screens you don’t get things like this at all. Nothing like walking into the arcade just before doors open and seeing the title screen of the longest played game on the cabinet.
I also remember going into an arcade though, where they’ve obviously re-set the alignment of the game, and the burn-in was a little to the left. Nothing made a game look worse.
My favourite one was a House Of The Dead cabinet where the three guns had come out of alignment so the red, blue and green images were slightly out of place and the whole thing looked like it was meant to be in 3D or something.