Guides
Everything we know about testing, cleaning and living with a screen — written so you can act on it in five minutes.
How to Test for Dead Pixels (and Tell Them From Stuck Pixels)A five-minute method for finding dead and stuck pixels on any screen, what the difference is, and what your manufacturer will actually replace.How to Clean a Monitor Without Damaging the CoatingThe right way to clean an LCD, OLED or laptop screen: what to use, what destroys anti-glare coatings, and why you should never spray the panel.How to Fix a Stuck Pixel: What Works and What Does NotStuck pixels can sometimes be recovered with colour cycling or gentle pressure. Here is the realistic success rate and how to avoid making things worse.Backlight Bleed and IPS Glow: What Is Normal and What Is a DefectHow to tell backlight bleed from IPS glow, how to test for it properly, and how much is normal on a panel you should not return.How to Prevent OLED Burn-In (and What to Do If It Starts)What actually causes OLED burn-in, how to tell it from temporary image retention, and the settings that make the biggest difference.Best Lighting for Video Calls (Using What You Already Own)How to look properly lit on Zoom, Teams and Meet without buying anything — including how to use a second screen as a soft key light.Monitor Calibration Guide: What You Can Do by EyeHow far you can get calibrating a display by eye with test patterns, where visual calibration stops being reliable, and when a colorimeter is worth buying.Why Is My Screen Flickering? A Diagnostic Order of OperationsA step-by-step way to narrow screen flicker down to cable, refresh rate, driver, power or panel — starting with the checks that cost nothing.White Screen of Death: What It Means on a Phone, PC or WebsiteThe same symptom, three completely different causes. How to tell whether a blank white screen is a display fault, a system crash or a server-side error.How to Check Your Screen Refresh RateHow to confirm the refresh rate your display is actually running at, why it is often lower than advertised, and how to fix it.IPS vs VA vs TN vs OLED: Which Panel Type Should You BuyA practical comparison of the four panel technologies — contrast, viewing angles, speed, burn-in risk — and which one fits which kind of use.How to Reduce Eye Strain From Screens (What Actually Helps)Evidence-led adjustments for digital eye strain: brightness, contrast, distance and blink rate — and an honest look at blue light filters.