Does LCD technology matter for eye strain?

[gevorg]

Does different panel type makes different strain on the eyes? In other words, does one panel type is better than another in terms of how easy it is on the eyes?

Assuming that the monitor for each panel type is calibrated, equally bright, etc.

 

[MyLeftNut]

Not that I would know of. However, there are other characteristics of different panel technologies that might cause eye strain. For example, the whites on an IPS panel can be overly bright even when you have brightness set to a low level. My NEC 20WMGX2 is extremely bright even with the backlight turned to a very low level, so the whites on that can be bothersome to some.

Other things that might cause eyestrain is the voltage regulation in the monitor's components itself. Over certain tones or patterns, you may notice the flickering which may have an effect like on a crt when the refresh rate is too low.

 

[TC91]

im going to say that if i look at my laptop's screen for a while when web browsing or whatever (15.4inch samsung something tn panel according to everest) it gives me eye strain, while my desktop viewsonic usually does not give me any eye strain.

 

[gevorg]

So what LCD characteristics affect eye stain?

 

[kmmatney]

Originally posted by: gevorg
So what LCD characteristics affect eye stain?

I think the pizel size matters more than anything else for a lot of people. I was getting a loty of eye strain at work using a 20" LCD, and it went away when I started using my current 28" Hanns-G TN LCD, with nice large pixels. If the monitor was any bigger, I'd strain my neck from having to cover all the screen area.

I have a 24" LCD at home, and that pixel size is about perfect (or at least as small as I can go without eye strain).

 

[wwswimming]

Originally posted by: gevorg
So what LCD characteristics affect eye stain?

i've gradually worked my way up from a 17" monitor (about .27 mm pixels)
to a 27" monitor (about .5 mm pixels) the last 10 years.

when i had LASIK, the focal point of my corneas was modified from about
1 foot to about 2 feet (meaning now i can see most clearly at 2 feet).

there are other aspects to vision besides the ability to see letters on
a high-contrast background, e.g. contrast sensitivity (people often use
gray scale images of the moon as an example of this.)

a good way to find a good monitor is to go to a store that has a whole
bunch, and find one that "feels right". i would say that it's better to
do this with a one computer - one monitor situation, i.e. so you're
looking at video NOT coming through a splitter. but, splitters may
have better amps in them these days.

short answer - pixel size.

also, for some people, background color.

 

[HumblePie]

It all depends on the screen. Typically IPS lcd's have really bad screen door effect, where you notice the black transistor lines and for me that is VERY bothersome and eye straining. TN panels have very bad color inversion so if you don't sit in the middle that can cause some colors to mess with your eye and cause strain.

Some makers of different panels go through different quality control where some don't have even backlighting or un even white or black.

Basically, there is so many variables that can cause eye strain based off both the individual and the LCD that it's best to go see for yourself each screen you are interested in if possible before you purchase one.

The types typically in and of themselves don't cause the strain, it's just bad products with in each type that does.