I presented this question at the Adafruit forum
https://forums.adafruit.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=71249 but haven't had any responses so I figured I'd try and get some input here.
My question is the interpretation of the "Storage Life Time = 20,000 hours" spec in the datasheet
http://www.buydisplay.com/download/manual/ER-OLED0.96_Series_Datasheet.pdf for this
http://www.buydisplay.com/default/datasheet-128x64-oled-module-spi-0-96-inch-graphic-displays-white-on-black OLED display. I asked the seller, and got a kinda "loose" answer:
"Storage lifespan not mean it shall not work, It still works only the brightness of the display will decrease to half brightness (50% brightness as before)"
However, as I mentioned in the Adafruit forum post, I had one running 24/7 and it was half as bright after a few months and completely dark after about 10,000 hours (a little over a year). It still worked - confirmed by testing signals from MCU in and out of it. So since the spec is for 10,000 hours of completely on, and mine was completely dark thereafter, does the 20,000 hours mean the same may happen if it's stored on a shelf for 20,000 hours? From what I've read just "Googling" the OLED, unlike the LCD does degrade with time just because of the way it's made.
This is likely one of the most commonly used little displays by DIY'ers, so it would be a real shame if they all start going dark, even just sitting around after 3-5 years. And how about the ones that may have sat on shelves for a couple of years waiting to be sold which are then sold and go dark after just another year or two?
Since OLED is such an incredible technology (anyone seen some of the new OLED televisions?), I wonder if some major issues with it are actually being swept under the rug. Anyone have any ideas or interpretation of what the "Storage Life Time = 20,000 hours" actually means?
Thanks for any input,
Tim