Why is my new LCD hurting my eyes?

[Slick5150]

I recently bought a new 19" Acer LCD to replace my 19" Samsung CRT. I have never had a problem with eye strain before, and have a dell LCD as my secondary display, and another Dell LCD as my office monitor.

But lately, if I'm sitting at my computer for a short while, my eyes will start to "burn" (for lack of a better term). Is there something in particular with the Acer display that might be causing this? I have the refresh setting at 75mhz, so there shouldn't be any flicker causing it I wouldn't think.

Any other ideas? Or am I just going generally insane?

 

[jlbenedict]

ensure you have the proper and most up to date drivers for your graphics adapter and for the Acer LCD.

maybe change your fonts to "ClearType" fonts..

I have found this works out better on my Dell 2005FPW

 

[corkyg]

It doesn't matter what you set refresh at - LCDs do not refresh - the pixels are on or off - no scanning - no flicker.

Have you optimized your display for LCD? (Especially text.) Have you selected large enough fonts to see them clearly?

 

[Slick5150]

The fonts should be ok. Everything is set the same as my work LCD (Same resolution, same font size, etc..)

It even does it during gaming, which is puzzling.

 

[mircea]

I think it's the brightness and contrast of an LCD compared to an CRT. A CRT is much smoother in brighness and contrast because of the thick front glass compared to the LCD. You'r eyes will get used to that though. Anyways best to lower the brightness, if it hurts more than a small anoyance of getting used to.

 

[drum]

definately try to crank down the brightness and see if it helps. i had my brightness at 0 on my 2005fpw, and i have it at 75 on my 2405fpw so it depends

 

[jlbenedict]

Originally posted by: drum
definately try to crank down the brightness and see if it helps. i had my brightness at 0 on my 2005fpw, and i have it at 75 on my 2405fpw so it depends

same here on my 2005fpw

 

[mircea]

I just checked and I have it down to 0 on my 2005fpw as well

 

[ForumMaster]

i have mine on 10. i know what you mean. LCD's take a bit of time to get used to. i had my tiny 15in. CRT for a long time and although it sucked, i watch it for hours without getting eyestrain. then i got an LCD. at first, my eyes would hurt after 1 hour. i would have to take a break. this was wierd cause LCD's are supposed to be better for the eyes with less eyestrain. but now i can be on my computer for hours. it just takes getting used to. like everybody said here, turn down the brightness. at the store, the sale guys turn the birghtness to 100 so that you'll notice it. that doesn't mean that it's the best setting. turn the brightnes to 0 and start going up until you can see properly.

 

[One43637]

another vote for the brightness settings. when i first got my 2005FPW, i got a headache after 5 minutes. i toned down the setting and all was good.

 

[Slick5150]

Thanks guys. I'll try to tone down the brightness when I get home tonight and see if that helps

 

[Auric]

Agh teh megahurtz! Try standard 60 Hz. Turn down the display's brightness? Not in a completely dark room I trust? Otherwise if the lighting and such seems okay 'tis perhaps remotely possible you are reacting to fumes from new plastics and/or adhesives and/or solvents curing and/or being heated? Experiment sitting there with the display on but turned away from you so the source of the irritation cannot possibly be the light?

 

[0roo0roo]

yup refresh is nothing. 1hz would be perfectly non flicker on an lcd. but u'd only get 1fps lol

brightness, newer lcds can go very bright..too bright for normal use

backlighting, make sure room is not completely dark or your eyes be confused and dialate more than necessary for the screen.

 

[mshan]

Is it possible that this LCD display is a lot brighter than the other displays you had before?

If so, maybe try improving room lighting so there isn't such a contrast between the screen and the room background.

(I assume you have the display resolution at the LCD panel's native resolution?)

 

[imported_Imp]

Probably some to do with brightness, some more to do with the smaller text. Took me over 3 months to finally not notice my eyes burning when I got my LCD.

 

[Auric]

Okay, seriousry guys, Slick5150 is running it at 75 MHz. That's prolly causing a tear in the space-time continuum or something else appropriately geeky, mmm'kay?

Personally, I've got my brightness and contrast each @ only 8/34. The higher settings are like staring at the frickin sun. But yeah, a common trick for HT viewing is to illuminate the wall behind the display somewhat so as to avoid eye strain. Staring at an LCD cranked up to supernova setting in the dark is a recipe for pain. CRT's tend to dim over time so the potential for a striking difference betwixt the old and new is even more pronounced.

 

[Slick5150]

Originally posted by: Auric
Okay, seriousry guys, Slick5150 is running it at 75 MHz. That's prolly causing a tear in the space-time continuum or something else appropriately geeky, mmm'kay?

Personally, I've got my brightness and contrast each @ only 8/34. The higher settings are like staring at the frickin sun. But yeah, a common trick for HT viewing is to illuminate the wall behind the display somewhat so as to avoid eye strain. Staring at an LCD cranked up to supernova setting in the dark is a recipe for pain. CRT's tend to dim over time so the potential for a striking difference betwixt the old and new is even more pronounced.

heh. Nice catch on the MHz.

In any case, I think you guys were right. I turned the brightness all the way down to 0, and the effects don't seem nearly as bad.

 

[mshan]

If the screen looks dull now, just try increasing room lighting.

Your eyes may be straining trying to constantly adjust between the high contrast of a relatively dark room (e.g. wall behind your monitor) and bright relative to room lighting monitor.

 

[EatSpam]

Turn the brightness and contrast down. Many displays ship with those maxed out.

 

[fire400]

I got a something around a 500:1 contrast ratio, it hurts my eyes like hell........ could be wise to invest in anti-glare coating for glasses specially used for comp use.

probably find a 3M overlay screen to filter out bright lights from the LCD.

yeah I'd turn the brightness down like some1 sed earlier.

HP.com has good stuff on computer safety, check it out when you get the chance.

oh yeah, one more thing, some people's eyes get accustomed to LCD displays and then when they try to use CRT's again, it hurts their eyes even more.

I barely watch TV anymore, but I know that that hurts my eyes sometimes too when I sit down and watch a show with someone past 30 minutes.

getting enough rest is also key, as our eyes need rest from over exposure of some elements, check the lighting in your room as well, a well lit area is a good thing when you're using a monitor.

I used to play video games at nite without lights, to this day, my eyes are terrible without corrective lenses.

 

[imported_rod]

Don't most LCD manufacturers recommend that you set the refresh to 60Hz?

Otherwise, try the brightness or contrast.

If all that fails: yes you are going insane.

RoD