I have a mini dedicated to HTPC use with a Plasma monitor. I have taken several steps to reduce burn-in problems, but the only truly static screen element I can't remove is the top Finder Menu bar.

Has anyone ever developed a widgit of some sort to hide that? I would love it to be hidden a la the dock...:confused:

what plasma do you have? I have a Panasonic plasma monitor and I can leave my screen on pause for like 10 hours without even the slightest hint of retention, let alone stand burn in!

Well, I see I mis-spoke. I have a Panasonic television, which I am using as a monitor. I have heard that the television models are for some reason more susceptible to burn-in than the proper monitors.

I haven't noticed any burn-in problems due to the Mac desktop as yet, but I do have an issue from too much 4:3 black bar display - when my screen goes black the outside edges are noticeably darker than the center of the screen.

You could hide the dock. System preferences> Dock> Auto hide show dock.

If the picture and contrast levels are not set to the torch mode most of the time burn
in is eliminated an avia or digital video essentials dvd will help you set the display
correctly.

You could hide the dock. System preferences> Dock> Auto hide show dock.

Yes, I have hidden the dock - what I want to hide is the menu bar at the top.

If the picture and contrast levels are not set to the torch mode most of the time burn in is eliminated an avia or digital video essentials dvd will help you set the display
correctly.

I've dialed the levels way back, using the DVE, but I would still like to kill this last remaining bit of static display...

There are utilities out there that do this...Menushade is one that comes to mind immediately.

Have you tried a Google search? Or Macupdate/Versiontracker?

There are utilities out there that do this...Menushade is one that comes to mind immediately.

Have you tried a Google search? Or Macupdate/Versiontracker?

I have tried searching and not found anything that seems relevant. Menushade evidently doesn't work on Leopard yet, and I'm not clear from the description if it's even going to do what I want - evidently it lightens the menu rather than hiding/revealing it... I can't find anything else on macupdate...:( If I search for the word "menu" I get zero results?! That doesn't seem right.

update - found another one, "menufela" that also doesn't work with Leopard...

update - found one that claims to work, I will have to try it when I get home:
PresentYourApps (http://www.eternalstorms.at/utilities/presentyourapps/)