Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Clave on December 07, 2004, 11:21:50 am
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Be careful when using a screensaver on a LCD display (esp. laptops and notebooks). A pixel on an LCD screen is on when it's dark; therefore, the screen savers that blacken the screens is of no use and may cause damage in the long run.
Is this true?....
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Sounds like it, in a way. Mind, my own LCD hasn't got much to loose with a broken column or 5. (Free replacement due to garantuee, this is the 3 screen on it in a year, all due to some subpixel column breaking.)
IIRC an LCD works by changing the christal structure of a pixel. So only change would take power. The fact that they eat power anyway is due to the backlight. IIRC, AFAIK and not checked at all.
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Hmm. That would explain the need to have backlighting... yeah, makes sense, otherwise you wouldn't be able to have LCD projectors. OTOH, I don't know if a pixel being "on" causes wear and tear... :-/
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Might be true for a LCD monitor.
But LCD != TFT
A TFT pixel is "on" when it's glowing.
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Well, the Screensaver was designed to stop this particular problem on CRT monitors. People were turning off their monitors and finding that, espectially if the program had been running a few days, that the electron gun had etched the image onto the glass of the screen. So a program was written so that if the computer was idle for a long period of time, the screen would do different thngs to prevent that etching.
This, admittedly, was back in the days when colour video games involved the manufacturer sticking bits of coloured plastic to the screen ;)
Fact is these days, with LCD, CRT and other technologies is that screensavers aren't really needed.
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a pixel on an lcd creen will change color depending on the voltage aplied to it, but it doesnt actually produce light like a phosphorous cell in a crt. lcds are subrtactive, they take away from the light produced by the blacklight, where crts are additive they create light directly (all while blasting your face with an elevtron gun). an lcd display may be transparent if need be, but those require ambiant light to function. in the case of lcd projectors, they use the same kind of lighting used in film projectors its just instead of going through film, it goes through a fixed transparent lcd wich produces the same effect. they probibly also use the most power running a very high wattage lightbulb. as for screensavers, never use em, the bast way to save your screen is to turn it off when you are not using it.
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Screensaves do have a function still if used with the password protection function in a communal setting.
Apart from that they're a waste of time and have a habit of turning themselves one when you're watching movies on your computer.
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Also, anyone who does 3D rendering soon pays the price for having a screensaver kick in mid-render ;)
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Anyone remember After Dark's Flying Toasters? ;)
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Awesome. :yes: Had that on our Apple Mac we got in 1989. :D
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Originally posted by Sandwich
Anyone remember After Dark's Flying Toasters? ;)
:yes:
I have seti@home running as my screensaver
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I haven't, because my processors clock back to save power and stop cooling fans. I'd rather have a silent PC then an alien knocking on my door asking about me DOSsing them :P
I've got a "my images" thing on my laptop, because I need something to watch during classes, and playing a DVD would be a bit OTT. I basicly watch a FoxTrot, Ctrl+Alt+Del and political cartoon slideshow mixed with renders and SCP screens, plus PeachE's art.
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Bleh, just configure your comp to turn off the screen after 1 hour of inacticity or so and you'll never have to worry.
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Originally posted by Flipside
Also, anyone who does 3D rendering soon pays the price for having a screensaver kick in mid-render ;)
i've had many a photoshop session do that on me.. :blah:
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Originally posted by Tiara
Bleh, just configure your comp to turn off the screen after 1 hour of inacticity or so and you'll never have to worry.
Still a bit of a bugger if you're watching a movie on your PC :D
I think the easiest solution is to just turn off the monitor when you're not using it.
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...if you are watching a movie, the screensaver won't start and enither will your screen shut down (if you configure the player correctly).
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Depends on your player and whether you can be bothered to figure out how to configure it.
Besides even if you configure your computer to turn off the screen after an hours inactivity that still means wasting an hours worth of electricity. Turning off the screen saves you money instantly :D
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Originally posted by Sandwich
Anyone remember After Dark's Flying Toasters? ;)
Aye, I miss those guys... I kinda liked the lawnmower as well. :nod: