Do LCDs Fry Your Eyes?

[zebrax2]

No No Yes

When i went from CRT to LCD it did fry my eyes for the first week. Man those days suck i wake up in the morning go to the computer, try to use the computer even if i squint my eyes then the next thing i know i can't read the whole day because my vision become blurry. But after a week it stopped. I think it just need getting used to

 

[tvdang7]

actually i had an lcd and ive been perfect vision for a long time now i have to have glasses which surprised me. i use my lcd in my apartment with lights on from now on to make sure i have the right amount of light. Quality samsung lcd also.

 

[Avalon]

The high brightness bothers me eyes, but that's very easily remedied by...turning down the brightness!

I still prefer a good AG CRT over all LCDs except for IPS panel LCDs, or a *really* good *VA...problem is, I can't afford those, or they're hard to find...or both.

 

[badnewcastle]

CRT's hurt my eyes.

 

[DasFox]

Originally posted by: CP5670

For me the 60hz does bother me on an LCD, it has more of a buzzing, vibrating looking to the screen. If you place a CRT that normally runs at 85hz on 60hz and then look at you'll get what I mean. Now if this isn't what I'm interpreting with my eyes, because 60hz won't affect you the same was as a CRT, then the brightness is something I can never lower far enough without it bothering me.

This doesn't sound like it has anything to do with the refresh rate, but have you tried a (proper) 75hz LCD for comparison? A few of them exist in the 19" and smaller sizes.

Any sort of "vibrating" look is probably either the screen door effect or something to do with the backlight though. The 60hz refresh rate will limit the framerate to 60fps, which can be annoying and is noticeable with mouse movements in Windows, but that shouldn't cause the effects you describe.

I guess my analogy isn't exactly correct, I meant to say that 60hz feels brighter on my eyes, at least on a CRT you can see this brightness, now does that make sense when it comes to an LCD?

I haven't seen any 75hz LCDs.

I want to give this Samsung 2253BW a go next:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16824001268

Samsungs are going to be the only LCDs I test for awhile, unless someone has something better they can show me, because from what I gather Samsungs have been at the top of their game for quite some time with their stuff...

 

[ArchAngel777]

Some LCDs are configured right out of the box far, far to bright. You will need to calibrate them with a brightness you can tolerate. It will also take a bit of time for your eyes to adjust to it. The eye is a complex and very impressive device and it will adapt, it just takes time.

CRTs at anything 75Hz and under will give me an instant headache. If I have to fix someone's computer who still has a CRT, I make a mad dash to increase refresh rate and if I cannot get it above 75Hz, I will lower resolution in order to do it. If I do not do it quick enough, I will have a headache for hours. Never used to have the problem, but I guess after 10 years in front of a CRT, it wreaks hovac.

 

[LumbergTech]

CRTs fry my eyes, i can use my LCD all day long and never get a headache, i used to get one every single day with my CRT

admittedly, i use the computer way too much, nonetheless LCD doesnt give me a headache, even with extended usage.

 

[Modelworks]

Blink more often.
It is a fact that pc users don't blink as often as they should causing our eyes to dry out , making eye strain happen more easily.

Also try to close your eyes for 10 seconds every hour , it really helps !

found some tips:

If you spend more time in front of the computer, you get eye strain.

If you stare at computer monitor for longer hours, you forget to blink.

If you don?t blink your eyes, the natural moisture in your eyes gets evaporated and your eyes become dry and irritated.

Dry eyes results in double vision, blurry, color fringes, or fatigued sensations.

The major eye irritant is due to the brightness of the screen and the area surrounding the screen.

Working with bright light directly behind the screen or working in a dark room causes eye strain.

Sitting in front of a large window and exposure to sun glare on your monitor can cause eye strain.

Computer usage does not usually damage the eye, but it places strain on eye muscles affecting individual?s vision and job performance. If you can?t see the screen comfortably or steadily, productivity decreases.

 

[lifeobry]

when i switched to LCD from CRT, my eyes were REALLY strained for about a week and then a lesser extent for the next week after that. but now i'm perfectly fine. it's just getting used to it

 

[DasFox]

I highly recommend Similasan products, great drops, all natural from Switzerland...

I always use the dry eye relief one...

http://www.similasanusa.com/

 

[Leyawiin]

Some are overly bright on default settings. I calibrate mine using a hardware calibrator and after that its pretty good. I personally wouldn't want to go back to a CRT. Made my desk sag (from the weight!).

 

[BassBomb]

it took me getting used to

 

[Captante]

My LCD bothered me until I lowered the brightness & contrast about 85% of the way down ... now that its properly adjusted & I'm used to it I wouldn't even consider going back to a CRT except for certain gaming situations which call for the highest possible FPS. (ie: shooters)

 

[secretanchitman]

no
no
yes
Dell 2407 WFP (A04)

to me, a decent LCD over DVI or HDMI looks as good, if not better than a real good CRT.

 

[EddieX]

Hi, found this thread searching for other people having problems with their eyes. I own a samsung 245b and spend quite many hours working with it. Last month i started feeling pain in my eyes. Now I can not even look at the screen without them hurting, i have to take long pauses. Its the whole eyeball that hurts and the skin around. Before it went this far I used to turn the screen up to get that special "contrast" it helped. Im very intrigued by this and think its kind of bigger and complexed than we think. I can "feel" something unpleasant as soon as I get the panel in front of me, even if standing quit a bit from it, even if the page or background is dark. To me it seems that these panels have some radiation of some kind of light that is no good. Of couse some are more sensitive than others but i think this is not a healthy thing we are doing sitting there for hours every day looking straight into these screens.

 

[EddieX]

I think i found something that should intrest you. http://www.freewebs.com/eclect...or_pain_categories.htm

 

[Denithor]

No
No
Yes
Dell 2709W

Of course, I always had high end CRT monitors and ran them with 85+ refresh rates so I never had any problems with eye strain anyway. But I have had no issues with using LCD screens and at this point wouldn't even consider going back to a CRT.

 

[Mark R]

Most LCDs have zero flicker. The only exception I've come across are super high-end LCDs with calibrated auto-tracking backlights, where the backlight is controlled with PWM, and where the PWM frequency is too low - unfortunately, we have these at work, the backlight PWM brightness control (not the inverter PWM) is driven at about 200 Hz and it drives me spare, as I see flickery trails every time I focus on a new point (a significant problem when you have 2 or 4 20" screens in front of you). Again, this is manufacturer specific - I've found this to be a problem with Barco monitors, but Eizo use a much higher frequency brightness control PWM, and I'm fine with them.

Low end LCDs do have a 'shimmering' effect - this is the result of dithering (usually called FRC), and is sometimes referred to as 'screen door' effect. Most LCDs screens only have 6 bit digital-to-analog converters in them, so in order to display more than 262k colors, they rapidly switch pixels from one color to another, to try to create an intermediate one. The result is a effect like subtle 'snowstorm' bad reception on old analog TVs. A lot of people seem to perceive this as flicker, even though it isn't really flickering. This isn't a problem with high-end panels that offer true 16.7 million colors.

I've just got a new HP LP2475W, and it's absolutely perfect. Not a hint of flicker or shimmer. Absolutely rock steady picture - no eye strain whatsoever - and, believe me, I'm picky.

One problem that people have with LCDs, especially when new, is that the backlight is extremely bright. The factory settings on my HP were intolerably bright - only after reducing the brightness control to 0, did I get a comfortable level. I suspect that as the back light ages and beds in, the excess brightness will fade, and I'll be able to adjust the brightness up to a stable setting.

 

[BurnItDwn]

CRTs offer more resolution flexibillity, better black levels, higher contrast, and faster response times.

LCDs are equal or better in pretty much every comparison.

 

[LittleNemoNES]

coming up next: VGA vs DVI!

 

[eplebnista]

no, no, yes, and acer