# RTINGS: Edge Rot found in 14 of 16 WOLED TVs after 18,000-hour accelerated test

- Published: 2026-11-14 23:56 UTC
- Section: Machines & Making › Electronics
- Tags: Edge Rot, OLED TV defect, WOLED durability test, RTINGS test, dead pixels OLED, burn-in, LG Display, QD-OLED, 18,000 hours
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-e2097d542990644b2eb2b145_rtings_edge_rot/

**In an accelerated 18,000-hour test of 16 WOLED TVs, RTINGS found dead pixels along screen edges on 14. The three QD-OLED models tested showed none.**

![RTINGS: Edge Rot found in 14 of 16 WOLED TVs after 18,000-hour accelerated test](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/2939b5ba5cb7ba70.jpg)
*Samsung Galaxy Note 10, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0*

Researchers at RTINGS reported a defect they call Edge Rot in 14 of 16 tested OLED TVs with WOLED panels, or 87.5%, according to cursorinfo.co.il. [1] The company ran an accelerated durability test of 18,000 hours, equivalent to about 12 years of use at four hours a day. [1] The sample consisted mainly of 2020–2022 models with LG Display panels. [1] The defect appeared in LG, Sony and Vizio sets. [1]

## What Edge Rot is

Edge Rot is the term for dead pixels, groups of non-working pixels and other visible damage along the edges of an OLED screen. [1] In some cases it can be seen only on test images; in others it is noticeable during ordinary viewing. [1]

It differs from burn-in, which usually results from long display of static elements. The suspected causes of Edge Rot are panel manufacturing features and air getting inside the display. [1] The usual burn-in prevention methods do not protect against it. [1]

## Results by panel type

The older WBC version of WOLED panels was affected most: the defect was found in 9 of 10 TVs. [1] Of six TVs with the newer WBE panels, five had damage, generally less pronounced. [1] Three QD-OLED models, the Samsung S95B, Samsung S95C and Sony A95K, showed no such defects after 18,000 hours. [1] The sample is too small to draw conclusions about an advantage of that technology. [1]

LG Electronics and LG Display acknowledged that such defects can occur. According to the manufacturers, this concerns a small number of devices that spent a long time in high temperature, elevated humidity or other adverse conditions. [1] The test data call that explanation into question: some TVs with similar damage were used in ordinary home conditions without extreme loads. [1]

Panels made since 2024 are presumed to be more reliable, but long-term tests of newer generations are not yet sufficient to confirm this. [1] RTINGS notes that 87.5% does not equal the probability of the defect in any OLED TV, since the sample had only 16 models, mostly of older generations. [1]

## Sources

1. [cursorinfo.co.il](https://cursorinfo.co.il/interest/kakoj-defekt-oled-ekranov-nashli-u-bolshinstva-protestirovannyh-modelej)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-e2097d542990644b2eb2b145_rtings_edge_rot/