Screen life

Screen aging is inevitable, just like the aging of, for example, brake pads or tires on your car. In the field of televisions, the lifespan of a product is measured as the time it takes for the screen brightness to reach half its original value. CRT screens age in two ways - an oxidation layer forms on the cathode of the electron gun, causing lower power and a weaker beam; and the phosphor layer ages and becomes less efficient at converting the energy of electrons into light. The time when a CRT reaches half its brightness occurs between 10,000 and 20,000 hours of operation, depending on the design of the electron gun. The only element that ages on an LCD monitor is the backlight system, consisting of one or more fluorescent tubes and a transmission under-hood that ensures uniform illumination of the entire LCD. The typical lifespan of these tubes before the brightness is reduced to half its original value is about 50,000 hours.