We are increasingly placing electronic devices in the main furniture of the living room. smart televisionone or more audio systems, consoles, router, PLC, WiFi access pointmultimedia player, television decoder, smart speakers, LED lamps, etc.

One way to save on imaginary consumption and make it all a little more controlled use the extension cord as the main core of electrical connections. We plug all the devices into a single extension cord with multiple outlets, and at night we can disconnect them all at once by flipping a switch.

However, in practice, there are some elements that should not be left completely disconnected from each other. This is the state of the router, for example, if we want to continue accessing the Internet and local network operation. However, there is a more extreme and important situation: Some modern televisions When they go into standby mode, we cannot separate them from the electrical current. after turning it off from the remote control.

OLED TVs always fit better

We have stated many times before that one of the most important flaws of OLED televisions is that they are made of organic compounds that can be subject to certain degradation with use; This can cause what is known as “OLED” in the short term. “image retention” and in the long run this can lead to: terrible “burnt” If we’re not careful.

Burned on OLED TV

Fortunately, manufacturers are aware of this inconvenience and have implemented functions in their models that try to avoid it. And one of these functions is known as: “compensation cycles”It is a pixel control system that allows extending the life of the panels.

The idea is simple but powerful. Often TV analyzes the status of pixels Panel by changing the voltage as needed to maintain integrity at all subpixels so that we do not notice these retentions or burn-ins.

How often do you do it? Well, the usual thing is After 4 hours of use On TV, the operating system flags the to-do list that it needs to do a quick make-up cycle; this is something it does automatically when we press the off button on the remote.

What happens if we turn off the TV directly from the extension cable? Okay then these cycles never happen Over time, pixel degradation caused by logos and static text accumulates, which in the long run will lead to the proverbial burns that no longer have a solution.

This is something that could happen can be easily observed in many storesLeaving dozens of TVs connected to the same extension cord or differential and shutting down when they turn off, accumulating pixels with these distortions and giving OLED technology a very bad name.

So, if we have an OLED television, it is always recommended to do this. let’s turn it off from the remote control and let’s leave it at that “Standby” mode plugged into power supplyIn case you decide to do these cycles or more general cycles that are usually performed every 2000 hours.

So will I use more electricity if I have to leave the extension cord on with all devices connected? The following models are available for these situations: extension cords with separate switches for each outlet This allows us to leave the TV on and the rest off.

And if what worries us is that the LED indicator on the TV remains dim all day long, there are models that allow us to manage its operation from the configuration menu. close completely. You can also leave the TV in standby mode, turn it on remotely via WiFi, with voice assistants, send content from a Chromecast type player, etc. We won’t lose options.

A previous version of this article was published in 2022.

Cover image | panasonic

at Xataka Smart Home | I’ve been using an OLED Smart TV for six years and I don’t even see any burn marks: this is what I do to protect it