A TechLore "Ask the Experts" Question...
Question:
For as long as I can remember, my Dad was very strict about turning the TV on and off. For example, the TV was on and I went to go turn the volume up, but accidentally hit the off button, and then quickly turned it back on. If he caught me doing this, I would be in lots of trouble. Do you know if this is a myth, or if it is true? How long should you wait to turn the TV back on after it has been turned off? Thank you for your time. This will help me deal with my own children now.
-submitted by JimM.
Answer:
Second guessing good 'ol Dad... you're grounded!
Actually, there may be some merit to his position on unnecessarily cycling the TV too quickly. However, it really depends on the type of TV, and it's doubtful that the occasional mishap would have any long-term effect on the life of the TV.
Take your car for example. You probably wouldn't sit in your garage and turn the car on and off over and over again. Occasionally, you will need to turn it off then back on quickly (like if you stalled it in an intersection), but the frequency of these actions would not affect the car unless done frequently.
On a tube TV (probably the kind you're talking about), turning on is the most stressful operation. It could be deduced that it's more stressful on certain components that have not had a chance to discharge or cool down before being kicked back on. I'd give a tube at least 2 minutes before restarting, which goes for tube-based projection TVs as well.
Some TVs may be more sensitive to this than others. Microdisplay projection TVs, for example, need a cool down period for the lamp to ensure long bulb life. Interrupting this cool down period to restart the TV may affect the bulb life. As soon as the fan shuts down it's safe to turn it back on. On the other hand, Plasma and LCD TVs have a softer boot process, so a quick turn on/off would be less stressful... but I still wouldn't recommend making a habit of it. I'd give these TVs 1 to 2 minutes before kicking them back on, but 30 seconds is probably enough.
In all honesty, I have not seen any long-term studies that have tried to measure the effects of reengaging a display prematurely; I can only speak in theory. However, I can tell you from experience that the better you treat your electronic components, the longer they will probably last.
I'm not one to give advice on how to raise your children, but accidentally cycling the TV too quickly isn't something that should merit big trouble. Maybe a quick, "don't do that" is all they'll need. Trying to play their peanut butter & jelly sandwich in the VCR... that's a whole other story...
Matt Whitlock - Editor, TechLore.com
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