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Partial Screensaver

Protect the parts that need protecting.
 
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Have any of you guys ever seen a security camera monitor? You know, the screens that show the views from multiple cameras, each in its own little window with a black line separating them? Ever see one switched off? Those little black lines are burned into the screen, because, while the camera images are constantly changing, those black lines do not.

Or how about when you watch a movie on your computer, but don't think to put it on full screen because the viewing window is big enough? You disable the screensaver, or set it for the full length of the movie, so it doesn't activate mid-movie and interrupt your viewing, but forget to put it back to its original settings afterword? I've done this many a time.

But the truth is, I really want that screensaver going during the movie, because I don't want the rest of the screen, outside the viewing window, just sitting there, getting burned in. Or when I'm reading a lengthy e-book or news article, or a science journal or tech manual. The part of the screen with the text gets changed everytime I scroll or click something within it. But what about the toolbars, or the status bars? I don't want those getting burned into the screen.

What is needed is a partial screensaver, a screensaver that comes on at its regularly scheduled interval, but only affects the portions of the screen that aren't moving or changing frequently enough. Maybe something subtle, so it doesn't distract from what you're viewing, but just dynamic enough to prevent phosphor burn-in on older monitors.

21 Quest, Jun 19 2009

Oscilloscope clock with anti-burn-in feature http://www.dutchtronix.com/ScopeClock.htm
This oscilloscope clock slowly drifts the clock pattern around the CRT screen to avoid burn-in. [rmutt, Nov 22 2010]

[link]






       Please explain how a black line would be burned into the screen. Surely, on a CRT, black is achieved by *not* aiming any electrons (=cathode rays?) at that part of the screen - so what's doing the burning? I'm not disputing what you've observed, [21], I'm just a little puzzled.
pertinax, Jun 19 2009
  

       You got me. Just what I've seen. Maybe the lines aren't black, maybe they're gray or a different shade of black when it's turned on.
21 Quest, Jun 19 2009
  

       The black lines are not struck by electrons; the areas immediately adjacent are; over time the appearance will diverge, leaving permanent lines. No mystery, really.
  

       On mac OS-X it's possible to set the desktop to display a screensaver. Don't most movie players disable the screensaver while a movie is playing? Neither is quite what you are after, though.
spidermother, Jun 20 2009
  

       Doesn't this only affect old CRT-screens?
hippo, Jun 20 2009
  

       CRT and plasma. And there are a LOT of CRT monitors still floating around.
21 Quest, Jun 20 2009
  

       I would like something like this, *not* for saving the screen, but rather as a tool for use with presentations, so that I could obscure parts of a slide I don't want the audience to look at right now. (I would want it for Mac OS X.)
seifej, Nov 22 2010
  
      
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