RTINGS: Edge Rot found in 14 of 16 WOLED TVs after 18,000-hour accelerated test
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.
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. cursorinfo.co.il
cursorinfo.co.ilcursorinfo.co.ilOpen source ↗ The company ran an accelerated durability test of 18,000 hours, equivalent to about 12 years of use at four hours a day. The sample consisted mainly of 2020–2022 models with LG Display panels. The defect appeared in LG, Sony and Vizio sets.
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. In some cases it can be seen only on test images; in others it is noticeable during ordinary viewing.
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. The usual burn-in prevention methods do not protect against it.
Results by panel type
The older WBC version of WOLED panels was affected most: the defect was found in 9 of 10 TVs. cursorinfo.co.il
cursorinfo.co.ilcursorinfo.co.ilOpen source ↗ Of six TVs with the newer WBE panels, five had damage, generally less pronounced. Three QD-OLED models, the Samsung S95B, Samsung S95C and Sony A95K, showed no such defects after 18,000 hours. The sample is too small to draw conclusions about an advantage of that technology.
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. The test data call that explanation into question: some TVs with similar damage were used in ordinary home conditions without extreme loads.
Panels made since 2024 are presumed to be more reliable, but long-term tests of newer generations are not yet sufficient to confirm this. 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.
