LG Electronics has said the warranty on its recently-launched 27-inch OLED gaming monitor now explicitly covers burn-in that results from normal use, including using it to perform work-related tasks on Windows.
Previously, LG has always excluded burn-in from the warranty it offers with its OLED monitors, but the company has now opted to start covering this risk.
The company was reportedly hassled by The Verge for months on end to agree to cover burn-in, which is a problem unique to OLED monitors that refers to the gradual degradation of pixels, resulting in image retention after the display is switched off or changes to a different image. Think, a sports broadcaster’s logo that lingers even when you switch the football off to start watching Netflix, or something like that.
LG said burn-in is now covered on 27-inch UltraGear OLED monitors sold in the U.S. for two years after sale, though it will exclude any problems that result from “improper usage”. Specifically, the warranty now states that burn-in is covered only if the monitor experiences “normal and proper use”, adding that damage resulting from “misuse or abuse” is not covered.
LG Product Marketing Director David Park clarified that wording, saying that as long as the monitor is used as intended – as a personal PC monitor – in a residential setting, then burn-in is covered. So those who use their OLED monitor for retail signage or something like that would not be covered by the revamped warranty.
That makes sense. If a shop used the monitor to display the same static image from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week for a good couple of years, it would definitely risk burn-in issues. But normal desktop usage, either with gaming or Windows, is less risky and therefore it’s now covered by LG’s warranty, even though this kind of usage may also result in static images being displayed for long durations.
LG is confident enough to cover burn-in on its warranties because significant improvements have been made to the underlying technology and the algorithms that are meant to resolve static images. As such, burn-in is now much rarer than before, though it can still sometimes happen.
LG said the two-year warranty covering burn-in applies to both new and existing LG 27GR95QE-B OLED monitors, and also future models that are sold going forward.
It seems fair that LG offers a burn-in warranty, as LG Display, the subsidiary of LG that supplies the OLED panels, offers a two-year warranty to monitor manufacturers, including brands such as Acer, Asus, Dough and Dell’s Alienware.
It is, however, up to the manufacturer to decide if they will pass on that warranty from the panel maker to consumers. According to The Verge, Alienware and Dough both do this, but Acer and Asus do not explicitly state they’ll cover burn-in issues in their warranties. However, Acer told The Verge that it will still help customers to deal with these issues, saying its customer care team has the discretion to authorize repair services free of charge.
Asus declined to say if it will do the same, but The Verge said it is currently talking to LG Display about the warranty coverage it offers to monitor manufacturers.
LG's 27-inch UltraGear OLED monitor is one of the best gaming monitors money can buy, and you can see why in HDTVTest's full review here:
