RTings Identifies Edge Rot Defect in 87.5% of Tested LG WOLED TVs

Specialists from the RTings testing laboratory discovered massive pixel degradation on television panels using LG WOLED matrices during long-term burn-in tests, according to mezha.media mezha.uamezha.mediamezha.uaOpen source ↗. The observed anomaly manifests as clusters of inactive black pixels resembling mould, leading researchers to designate the issue as edge rot. The defect affected 14 out of 16 tested devices, representing 87.5% of the evaluation sample.

Failure Characteristics and Affected Models

Unlike standard static burn-in artifacts, edge rot cannot be mitigated by altering displayed content or using standard screen-maintenance routines. The issue primarily affects TVs manufactured between 2020 and 2023, while similar failures were reported by an owner of a 2019 model and documented by users on Reddit. Clusters of dead subpixels create visible black spots during normal video playback, and identical failure symptoms were occasionally noted on displays from other brands.

Potential Physical Degradation Mechanisms

In WOLED architecture, white organic light-emitting diodes pass radiation through RGB color filters, with LG acting as the primary manufacturer of these matrices. Engineers hypothesize that edge rot stems from factory contamination during production, encapsulation defects in the organic stack, or natural degradation of protective barrier layers over operating time. A combination of these structural weaknesses or other unconfirmed degradation mechanisms remains under consideration.