Database Users

True Black

So, I stumbled across something really cool (quite) a few minutes ago: apparently our devices really can power a few pixels selectively. In my accidental confirmation of Samsung's claim, I was able to get one of NoLED's notification icons to show on the screen without lighting up the rest of the black area for literally a split second.
Here's how:
1. You will need the app "NoLED" in order to continue. In the NoLED settings, make sure you have the icon for sms activated as well as the proximity sensor. My sms icon is set to a lime green, but I doubt that will affect this "test."
2. Send yourself a text message either from your own phone or from some other sms capable device. If sending it to yourself from your own phone, quickly lock the device using the power button after pushing send.
3. Allow NoLED to start flashing around the icon for sms. Wait roughly 5 seconds for the proximity sensor to activate.
4. For steps 4 and 5, it would be wise to be in a completely dark room to be able to more easily tell the difference between the true black and the lit black. With the proximity sensor now active, place your finger over it. The screen should turn off.
5. Now, upon removing your finger pay close attention to the icon that will appear. The icon will show up a couple of milliseconds before the rest of the screen activates.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 if needed to witness the true black.
This is proof that our SAMOLED screens can display true black.
I am not a developer so I have no idea how to act upon this find to, if possible, adjust settings in the our software to allow true black.
If you happen to know someone who is capable of modifying the kernels or ROMs for our devices to allow this behavior, then by all means have them follow the above steps to see the proof.
Though I hope this minor find can give someone the inspiration and/or start place needed to make these adjustments, I realize this is but a pebble in a world of boulders. Therefore, I remain skeptical and strongly advise others not to get your hopes up.
If anything, it is at least nice to see that Samsung wasn't just lying about the capabilities of SAMOLED screens, but also makes one wonder why they don't allow true black from the start.
Now, time to hit the hay.
Goodnight all.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

On the epic, when you power it up to the initial "galaxy s" screen, you can see true black...the fascinate doesn't have that opening animation?
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

A_Flying_Fox said:
On the epic, when you power it up to the initial "galaxy s" screen, you can see true black...the fascinate doesn't have that opening animation?
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
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It probably did at one point but since I changed kernels and boot animations trying to get rid of verizon crap that animation doesn't show up anymore, which sucks cause I actually liked that one.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

When i power the device off in a dark room, at the end of the power off cycle I get a black screen that isn't black like the other black screens when the phone is on. It looks like it's glowing in the dark or some junk, and you can see a weird pattern like something smudged across the screen.
Is this the type of thing you're talking about? That our devices, when showing black, are actually working to show that black and not just "turning the pixel off" er whatever?

chronster said:
When i power the device off in a dark room, at the end of the power off cycle I get a black screen that isn't black like the other black screens when the phone is on. It looks like it's glowing in the dark or some junk, and you can see a weird pattern like something smudged across the screen.
Is this the type of thing you're talking about? That our devices, when showing black, are actually working to show that black and not just "turning the pixel off" er whatever?
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Yes, if I'm understanding you correctly that is what I'm talking about. That glowing, almost grey effect shouldn't need to occur in order to show black. I hope it is something that can be hacked, but I don't know.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

I guess this makes me lucky to have 1 pixel stuck on blue. I can easily see the screen turn off in almost any lighting condition.

Couldn't it be that what you're seeing is some kind of residual charge left at power off or some pixels that change states at slightly different rates? I've seen it too and it seems to be a different pattern every time. Also, some of the forums regarding screen burn have talked about samoled break-in so maybe that has an impact as well. Can't factor out power supply leakage either, I guess.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

garywojdan81 said:
Couldn't it be that what you're seeing is some kind of residual charge left at power off or some pixels that change states at slightly different rates? I've seen it too and it seems to be a different pattern every time. Also, some of the forums regarding screen burn have talked about samoled break-in so maybe that has an impact as well. Can't factor out power supply leakage either, I guess.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
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It is true all of those things could be probable, but in order to prove that the pixels aren't turning off you could disable the lock and screen dimming functions with an app and display a black image. Then in low light conditions you could easily see the blacks are actually a very dark shade of grey. If the pixels were turning off the image would over time obtain deeper blacks as the residual charge runs out.
I, and many others, suspect the phones are programmed to not turn off the pixels. Only question is, why? The only thing this type of test wouldn't be able to prove or disprove is power supply leakage.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

atrich0608 said:
I guess this makes me lucky to have 1 pixel stuck on blue. I can easily see the screen turn off in almost any lighting condition.
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That sucks to have a stuck pixel! Have you tried having the phone replaced? I don't know for sure but a stuck pixel might fall in the manufacturer defect category, so you might be able to have the phone swapped for free?
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

Or you can go and download Screen Test and get to the black screen part of the test. It is so hard to notice, but blacks are ever so slightly lighter than if you were to turn the screen off, but it is really hard to catch. Either way, they trump any LCD black levels. They even make my Panny plasma look bad

GoogleAndroid said:
Or you can go and download Screen Test and get to the black screen part of the test. It is so hard to notice, but blacks are ever so slightly lighter than if you were to turn the screen off, but it is really hard to catch. Either way, they trump any LCD black levels. They even make my Panny plasma look bad
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Didn't know about that app but I'm sure it would work just as you say. And by the way that would be much easier to notice if you were in complete darkness. I'm completely satisfied with these amazing screens, but it would be awesome if we could obtain true black.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

evilhunter101 said:
Didn't know about that app but I'm sure it would work just as you say. And by the way that would be much easier to notice if you were in complete darkness. I'm completely satisfied with these amazing screens, but it would be awesome if we could obtain true black.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk
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I HAVE tested it in darkness. It is just such a small difference most people's eyes probably couldn't even pick up on it. Blacks are pretty black on this.

evilhunter101 said:
That sucks to have a stuck pixel! Have you tried having the phone replaced? I don't know for sure but a stuck pixel might fall in the manufacturer defect category, so you might be able to have the phone swapped for free?
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk
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It's only one and it's on the side, it does work sometimes. I use noled and it seams to come on at the exact same time as the notifications. Cover the proc sensor and it turns off.

Have you tried jscreenfix from the market? It's free and alot of feedback suggests it can work on stuck pixels.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

GoogleAndroid said:
I HAVE tested it in darkness. It is just such a small difference most people's eyes probably couldn't even pick up on it. Blacks are pretty black on this.
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Calm down man, was just a suggestion lol. But that's interesting, considering mine is extremely noticible in darkness even with the brightness turned all the way down. I suppose each phone would behave differently in this respect though.
atrich0608 said:
It's only one and it's on the side, it does work sometimes. I use noled and it seams to come on at the exact same time as the notifications. Cover the proc sensor and it turns off.
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Well I guess that isn't too bad, hopefully it isn't a sign of things to come. Back when I had my Storm 1, I had a red stuck pixel. It wasn't too bad either until it started spreading a few months later. That's okay though, I was one of the lucky ones who got a Storm 2 as a replacement from Verizon. If you havent, you should definitely try that app mentioned above though.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

Yep I tried that app. I kind of like it now, maybe I will name it lol. I will save it for later, if I scratch the screen or something It will give me an excuse to get a new phone

IMPORTANT: Screen

So can anyone confirm that the striations or lines on the screen are normal??
Im talking about when you pull down the notifications bar there are light lines that come down vertically and soma cases are horizontal.
Please let me know I got 30 days with it. thanks!

azzeh3 said:
So can anyone confirm that the striations or lines on the screen are normal??
Im talking about when you pull down the notifications bar there are light lines that come down vertically and soma cases are horizontal.
Please let me know I got 30 days with it. thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my first nexus s had darker whites than the display model at the store. I would recommend comparing yours with the store display or another persons nexus s, I think this is the best way, since we cant physically see how your phone screen looks. good luck

Are you referring to the gray section where your service provider is listed? Or the very dark area where the notifications are listed?
If I stare I can see some lines in the gray area.
I do see a slight grid pattern in the power control widget.

No I'm talking about grey section where your messages show up
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

I think its screen burn in already
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

I don't have a Nexus S, but I have a Galaxy S i9000M which has a similar (if not exactly the same) screen. If I bring up a screen that is a solid colour, I do notice some imperfections like you describe. They are hardly noticeable though.

Weird. My nexus doesn't have that and I would know, I modded my nexus 1 to be pretty much like gingerbread 6 months back, massive burn in.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

actually no.... mine doesn't have any lines or defects.
the only lines are the horizontal ones separating the notifications.

I think I know what you mean. My N1 on certain backgrounds has very faint grey lines. Not always visible, even on white web pages
Sent from my Nexus One

dudeimgeorge said:
Weird. My nexus doesn't have that and I would know, I modded my nexus 1 to be pretty much like gingerbread 6 months back, massive burn in.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
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Why would that cause burn in more than anything else?

I don't know but I don't want it to get worse over time
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

Yes, I can see it. I can see it on any AMOLED/SAMOLED phone I've ever come in contact with. It's the nature of AMOLED screens unlike most LCD screens. With AMOLED, each pixel is individually powered, and it's impossible to have each pixel (or subpixel) be identical, which leads to slight differences in output and color reproduction. An LCD screen is backlight by either florescent tubes or recently, LEDs, which produce an even backlight (usually) where the colors are controlled by filtering each pixel, rather than having to illuminate each pixel.
Anyway, I only really notice it when the brightness is at the minimum and it's very dark in the place I'm using my phone. If I crank up the brightness or if I'm in a well lit area, I don't notice it at all really. Although if it's VERY obvious, you might have a screen that's significantly lower quality than average... it happens, bad QC or something, exchange it.
Oh, and if you stare at a plasma TV long enough you'll notice the same thing... similar technology, each pixel illuminated individually.

[IDEA] Completely Turn off Pixels in AMOLED to save Battery

Dear Developers,
I have been messing with my phone lately and got to know something.
1. Pull out the Battery and reinsert it.
2. Go to a Pitch black room and boot the phone.
3. At the Galaxy S Screen, you can notice that the Black portion of the screen is totally black, meaning that the pixels are totally OFF.
4. Once the Phone boots up, Power Off the phone, just before the phone turns off, you will be able to see a bare illumination as if there is some backlight, which means that the Black pixels are not totally off. You can even notice the same with a black image on your screen.
I am not a Technical Person, but I guess the screen driver is powering down the pixels instead of totally turning them off, like it happens during the boot. Maybe we can tweak the driver to totally power down pixels for black content. This would help the screen show deeper black levels and also will help save the battery, keeping in mind that the screen is the biggest battery hog.
Maybe any Developer can share a word on this.
Thanks!

they always give some light . But when there is something at the screen (like the logo), you can't see it because of the high contrast.

I have made several checks and I am pretty sure that the logo screen has totally black background, but after booting, the screen gives out some light.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Human eye can't see deeper levels of black what it is now and samsung would have tweaked it if it wouldn't harm phone, or if it would be even possible.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App

I am giving main emphasis on the battery life rather than colors. The boot screen shows perfect black so the screen can definitely support it..
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dhiru1602 said:
I am giving main emphasis on the battery life rather than colors. The boot screen shows perfect black so the screen can definitely support it..
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
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SAMOLED screens can display true black. If you want to get technical the contrast ratio of a SAMOLED screen is infinite. The battery life gains wouldn't be noticeable though.

My guess is that the 'almost-black' brightness is to maintain response time.
A non-linear device (like a diode or a transistor) that is completely off will have a transient to turn on because it's junction/channel capacitance(s) need to be charged up before it will start to conduct. In things like current DACs there will sometimes be a trickle current through 'off' devices whose purpose is to keep devices 'on' so that they will be faster to start conducting again when required.
Just guessing that this may be the reason for the non-zero minimum brightness (although it is pretty damn dark).

Op, i've just tried pulling pattery out - the screen still shines.
However, i would really like to see the completely off black pixels - for reading in dark, for example. We need to ask someone like Supercurio to sort everything out.

the NoLED app was made specially for this phone to conserve battery
when a OLED display is not on, it is not using power, it has no light
google OLED technology to learn more

AllGamer said:
the NoLED app was made specially for this phone to conserve battery
when a OLED display is not on, it is not using power, it has no light
google OLED technology to learn more
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Click to collapse
You are wrong. This app was not made to conserve battery, and it does not turn off light completely. Read the op-post here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=730692 Author had marked out statement about energy consumption, because black on Super Amoled doesn't behave as it should on OLED.

you mean this? http://www.devasque.com/noled/FAQ.php
Q: What about battery drainage ? How much battery percentage does this app consume per hour ?
A: To answer this question, I quote our friend evilhunter101 from xda-forums.com
"That's a question that simply can't be answered for you and everyone else who wonders. Why? Because all the available settings change the battery consumption, as well as what other apps you have installed and what kernel or OS you are using. Simply put, try the app. If you like it, keep it. If not, uninstall it. You have literally got nothing to lose.
P.s. I see no difference with or without NoLED, while others swear its a battery hog. I imagine we have it set up very differently."
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dhiru1602 said:
I have made several checks and I am pretty sure that the logo screen has totally black background, but after booting, the screen gives out some light.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
keep your finger over the logo and any other light sources and you will see the black still gives some light.

Sounds interesting
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

I believe this is current leakage or deliberate to boost response time. I think its just how it works period kind of like wishing the backlight didn't bleed through blacks on lcd screens... can't be changed with a driver mod sorry
Stock XXJVK, Voodoo GB hack Kernel, JQ1 modem

Burn-in anyone else?

Anyone but me have this problem?

Haven't checked... and not going to do either.... as it's a non issue in normal usage (i'm seldom staring at a completely white screen just to see that the status bar area has aged the screen differently) and a "feature" of amoled technology
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda premium

It's there on most colors! I took white cause it is easier to see on a photo but it is there all the time! I'm not retarded!
And the worst part is that the little part that is whiter is the only part that is really sharp like it used to be, while the rest of the screen never is really white and sharp but instead has an uneven yellowish color. And it is worse than I could capture on photo.
I love my phone im not trying to mock it.

I'm not even gonna check
Because if I do, I'll notice it every single time I use the phone, and it'll annoy me to death.

If you don't see it you don't have it. It's there all the time. Of course it's only in games or reading stuff that is full screen. But anything except the black status bar!

Ditto problem.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

@marber45 I've observed the same thing a few weeks ago. I think already many SGS2's displays are suffering of this

I have this problem
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

I noticed it just days before you made the post, interesting timing.

Hi All,
came across this thread when looking for a solution for SGS1.
it seems that Burn in is indeed a problem for AMOLED screens.
in my situation, I've found a burn cause by Waze (of course, any app that would leave the screen on would cause it).
sadly enough, my phone is only 6 months old and I use Waze ~30 min. a day - not much for a burn you think? wrong!
for now, I've set Waze to hide the point bar and the zoom control, but still many objects on the screen are static - including the notification bar.
does anyone has a good solution?

Same problem!
But in reality it is not a real problem..

AMOLED is still not ready for prime time, but at least Samsung is trying to improve on it with every iteration. Can't wait for 40"+ AMOLED HD TVs.

Before waranty goes off demand to change display..
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

Hey there, might be interesting to know on which built your phone is operating?
Mine was delivered in may w/ 2.3.3, since I'm on a 2.3.5 based rom, I got better colors / sharpness and less side effects (greenish tint)
Maybe Samsung changed the way how to control the display? (hardware drivers)
just my 2 cents..

Yes
Just changed the screen last month
Now its ok
Dunno if it will be burned again
Also dunno what caused it
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

Karpfenhai said:
Hey there, might be interesting to know on which built your phone is operating?
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Click to collapse
Irrelevant. It's an AMOLED hardware-related thing, nothing to do with software. My screen has burn-in, your screen has/will, every screen does/will.
When somebody says their screen has none they just don't see it. Because really, all our phones one day or later will show it.

I don't use any apps that ever hide the status bar so even if I did have it, it wouldn't bother me.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

Hi
My notification area is a bit darker than the rest of my screen. It's only visible when screen is white, and I can't identify any leftovers from any icons like the battery or Wifi icon.
My SGS2 is about ½ year old, and in daily use it's no problem at all, but I wonder how it will look when my SGS2 is 1 or 2 years old

Update... Check this out.
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marber45 said:
Update... Check this out.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
What do you want us to loook for ???

[Q] Static image screen burn in issues with GS4?

I have fallen in love with the Dashclock Widget. If you haven't tried it yet, I'd try it and see if you like it. It's very elegant and informational.
With that said, the widget integrates well with the "Day Dream" function. Basically, you can set it as something of a screensaver to scroll info about your phone throughout the day. I would like to be able to set day dream to "Static", which means I have the white text clock on a black background all day while charging at work. I would also have this set next to my bed as a faux alarm clock.
I have an older 2007 Plasma TV with a burned in ESPN scroll bar because I left the screen on a static image for too long. I would like for that NOT to happen with my new GS4.
Is there any chance of screen burn in with the GS4? I know the AMOLED is a much newer tech than the plasmas of old, but you can never be too sure.
Thanks! :good:

Yes. It will burn over time. It won't be as aggressive as a LCD or plasma screen, but it still burns. You should never leave your screen on with a black background and white text for hours. You should also not be charging it all the time as it appears that you want to. Charging produces heat, heat accelerates the burn. You should only charge the phone when it needs it.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

graydiggy said:
Yes. It will burn over time. It won't be as aggressive as a LCD or plasma screen, but it still burns. You should never leave your screen on with a black background and white text for hours. You should also not be charging it all the time as it appears that you want to. Charging produces heat, heat accelerates the burn. You should only charge the phone when it needs it.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the information!
Do you think turning the brightness to minimum would mitigate, or slow down, burn in issues?
There is also a "fade" option on day dream that fades the clock in and out every minute or so and places it on a new part of the screen. I think I'll stick to that for now.
Also, thanks for the charging tips. :good:

It will slow it down. But even with that you are looking at significant screen burn in about 6 to 8 months. Having a low screen brightness with the fade/ movement will be your best option.
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