Could anyone with a 5k imac please do this test for me?

[macmee]

So your 2nd and 3rd panels has not been as bad as the 1st? Just to clear that up?

I have had a rMBP from early 2013 with an LG panel, and it suffered bad after just 2 months. I asked for a Samsung panel, and after almost 3 years, no more retention. So I an familiar with the problem.

I don't have AppleCare on my unit no.

My first screen was definitely the worst. My second screen had retention starting from day 1 though, which was odd. My third display has so far been the best, however has started to develop image retention, and from what I can tell, is on track to becoming as bad as the first screen.

Also damnit, you have no apple care. The EU has lots of regulations about 2, 5, 6 year warranty right? If you're in Denmark maybe you could look up some regulations, call Apple Care and try for a replacement anyway?

 

[Lunder89]

In Denmark we have 2 years of warranty on electronic products. However during the second year I have to prove the issue is a factory fault, and not something I have caused. I have some experience with that.
My rMBP was bought in a local computer store, and lets just say their repair service needed a "kick" in the right direction to even acknowledge the fault.

I seem to be able to buy AppleCare until the first year of the technical support expires, that leaves me until may to buy Apple Care, which is starting to seem like a good idea.
(And just for clarification, I did run the serial number )

But it is annoying LG can't seem to fix this. Samsung can make these IPS panels without retention issues. But they are likely excluded due to fact they are such good friends...

 

[macmee]

In Denmark we have 2 years of warranty on electronic products. However during the second year I have to prove the issue is a factory fault, and not something I have caused. I have some experience with that.
My rMBP was bought in a local computer store, and lets just say their repair service needed a "kick" in the right direction to even acknowledge the fault.

I seem to be able to buy AppleCare until the first year of the technical support expires, that leaves me until may to buy Apple Care, which is starting to seem like a good idea.
(And just for clarification, I did run the serial number )

But it is annoying LG can't seem to fix this. Samsung can make these IPS panels without retention issues. But they are likely excluded due to fact they are such good friends...

Oh! Well if I were you then I would buy that Apple Care immediately

And yeah, I have an rMBP with the samsung panel and the damned thing looks amazing and I could leave the same image on it for a week and wouldn't have any retention. I wish LG would just go out of business or something, worst monitor manufacturer ever!

 

[CWallace]

But it is annoying LG can't seem to fix this. Samsung can make these IPS panels without retention issues. But they are likely excluded due to fact they are such good friends...

There are plenty of Samsung parts in Apple products, including the iMac (SSDs), so I doubt it's out of spite that Apple is not sourcing from them.

Does Samsung make a 27" DCI-P3 Wide Color Gamut IPS display suitable for the iMac? A quick and dirty Google search suggests that LG might be the only current supplier of such panels, which is why they have the iMac contract and why Apple worked with them on the Ultrafine 5K for the MBP.

 

[maflynn]

But it is annoying LG can't seem to fix this. Samsung can make these IPS panels without retention issues. But they are likely excluded due to fact they are such good friends...

Apple still uses Samsung quite extensively. From their iPhone, to the iMac and MBP. While Apple may be suing them that hasn't stopped Apple from using them as a supplier.

 

[allan.nyholm]

I experienced image retention - ghosting after watching just a minute of the interview and then skipping through it(didn't fancy watching the whole lot of it) because I know that I have the ghosting issues or image persistence on my late 2015 iMac.

And it was indeed the case after just having the video in fullscreen for a few minutes there was image remains of the CNN headline ticker that is situated along the bottom. Most prominent in the lower left corner.

Apple explains(tries to get away with it) it like this: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202580

Though, it's hard for me to comprehend that the display is the worst component on the iMac late 2015 i5 Retina model. (AMD graphicscard debate is for another day)

I also have image retention going on through the login screen after logging out more often than not.

I downloaded the image that is linked to in the first post and I also tried just using the built-in colors from Apple. Especially the grey ones and blue too.

I became aware of the issue with my iMac when I witnessed some leftovers from a program(a browser I gather) after I logged out after a longer period of using the computer. I rang Apple Support and they told me to read the article I link to and told me that it's nothing uncommon for IPS display technologies.. And so I wept.

 

[vddobrev]

I tried the test and watched the video in full screen, then switched to the solid color image. No retention whatsoever on the iMac from my signature.

 

[Lunder89]

I experienced image retention - ghosting after watching just a minute of the interview and then skipping through it(didn't fancy watching the whole lot of it) because I know that I have the ghosting issues or image persistence on my late 2015 iMac.

How old is your iMac?

 

[roadkill401]

I ran the video full screen then pulled up both the teal screen and my own mid grey screen and neither showed any burn in. I have had the symptom and got Apple to replace the screen.

My experiance on getting apple to replace a screen is bad. They refused to admit there was any burn in and when shown called it normal retention and said that it clears up in 10-15 minutes and that is normal and acceptable. Not in my books and is a reason I will never purchase an apple again.

 

[macmee]

I ran the video full screen then pulled up both the teal screen and my own mid grey screen and neither showed any burn in. I have had the symptom and got Apple to replace the screen.

My experiance on getting apple to replace a screen is bad. They refused to admit there was any burn in and when shown called it normal retention and said that it clears up in 10-15 minutes and that is normal and acceptable. Not in my books and is a reason I will never purchase an apple again.

Yup that was exactly my experience too. I had to fight quite a lot with them to get the first exchange. The second exchange was easy because it had retention from day one and the authorized repair place agreed.

I'm trying to get another exchange now but Apple is again being difficult, slow to get back to me, etc.

Everyone always says Apple has the best support and stuff

Well-- this was a $4,000 machine and they don't seem very motivated towards fixing it, and instead of admitting this is a sort of common problem they act like it's the first time they've ever heard of it....

 

[allan.nyholm]

How old is your iMac?

It was delivered to my door on the 14th of December 2015. Purchased online at the Apple Store DK with the lowest number AMD graphics card on the 9th of December 2015.

edit: Added order date.

 

[Lunder89]

It was delivered to my door on the 14th of December 2015. Purchased online at the Apple Store DK with the lowest number AMD graphics card on the 9th of December 2015.

When did you first notice the retention?

I have a late 2015 iMac 5k too. And getting paranoid about this. Honestly thought my 15" MacBook Pro retina from early 2013 would be my only mac with retention problems...

 

[allan.nyholm]

When did you first notice the retention?

I have a late 2015 iMac 5k too. And getting paranoid about this. Honestly thought my 15" MacBook Pro retina from early 2013 would be my only mac with retention problems...

The exact date escapes me - I remember seeing it during the height of my theme making days using El Capitan and trying various colored wallpapers and single colored backgrounds to see the what might look better. Including the almost endless logout/login. So about 3 months in or there abouts. I admit that I never took action right away because of laziness and the outlook to send my recently purchased iMac to a repair shop or back to Apple for a replacement unit. I didn't want to lose the momentum I had at the time making themes and cursors and what not. I instead began to read a little on the subject and found that image retention wasn't uncommon. The Apple Support telephone call came later; nearing the end of 2016 when I wasn't making themes anymore and became increasingly annoyed with what I was still seeing.

Plus, there was no chance in Hell that I am going to transport a more than 10kg computer to the repair shop using public transportation or using a taxi if Apple said that was the only option I am given or no repair at all. So I am lazy still. I might however take action after the talk in this thread.

 

[mikeboss]

so far the best way I've discovered to get rid of ghost images on the LCD panel:

download this package of 1029 solid color desktop pictures. set "Classic" screensaver and point it to the directory containing the downloaded pictures. also I selected "Shuffle slide order" in order to get the colors displayed randomly. this worked way better than Apple's method of just using white as a "screensaver".

http://www.solidbackgrounds.com/download-solid-color-backgrounds.html
http://www.solidbackgrounds.com/images/files/one/1280x720-all-solid-color-backgrounds.zip

 

[pasadena]

I watched the video and switched to the image. No image retention at all. iMac 5K Late 2014 (the first gen).

 

[TinHead88]

I think brightness could be a factor here and people reporting back should definitely post what brightness level they are running their iMacs at so we can see if it is a factor with image retention. At least the intensity of retention. I don't think there's any argument about the existence of retention if you read that Apple Support Article.

The brightness on iMacs regulates the intensity of the backlight which possibly does impact on the heat the lcd layer is subjected to, though from a technical point of view I don't know exactly how heat impacts lcd screens.

 

[allan.nyholm]

My brightness is what macOS sets it to be during nighttime and daytime. Right now it's 3am close to 4am where I live and I just switched away from a rather bright wallpaper and Safari running on top to a dark grey solid color and there's some remains of the browser UI - The Brightness indicator in macOS Sierra is for me on 3 by using built-in adaptive brightness.

Let me admit though, that the remains of the browser window is rather limited. As much as I would like to take a photo of it now it would only make me look more silly.
During the daytime later today I'll attempt to look for image retention some more.

 

[mikeboss]

no, the level of brightness from the backlight has nothing to do with the image retention.
LCDisplays don't work the way plasma and/or CRT displays did...

the temperature does have an impact on LCD panels: the crystals tend to move slower at low temperatures.

 

[TinHead88]

Kind of strange to say no, and then to admit that temperature affects LCDs don't you think?
Or are you suggesting the brightness has zero relationship to heat?

 

[mikeboss]

modern backlights (LED) emit almost no heat, that's right. CCFL backlights (used up until a few years ago) are working totally different and were consuming a lot more power. and some of that power turned into heat.

 

[TinHead88]

Yes, I do understand the difference, led backlighting is more power efficient and produces less heat. Nevertheless, do you claim to have the expertise to rule out heat coming from the backlight being a factor for image retention? Are you so knowledgable about the designs of current iMac retina screens that you can state without reservation that the backlight heat (and LEDs certainly still do produce some heat) could not play any role?

 

[mikeboss]

if the heat from the LED backlight (which is, to be precise, not a backlight per se but an edge-light) would have an impact, then we should see less image retention. at low temperatures the liquid crystals tend to move slower, at higher temps the crystals move faster. at sub zero temperatures an LCDisplay almost stops working. we see image retention because the crystals are not moving back entirely to their initial position/state.

 

[TinHead88]

I'm sorry but that is flawed logic

 

[mikeboss]

I'm sorry but that is flawed logic

nope, there's no flaw. it's just plain physics.

 

[hfg]

if the heat from the LED backlight (which is, to be precise, not a backlight per se but an edge-light) would have an impact, then we should see less image retention. at low temperatures the liquid crystals tend to move slower, at higher temps the crystals move faster. at sub zero temperatures an LCDisplay almost stops working. we see image retention beause the crystals are not moving back entirely to their initial position/state.

Would backlight settings make this more (or less) "visible" as the crystal setting not being fully in the initial state would allow light leakage through the color pixel which would be more pronounced at higher light intensity settings?