Used of a 19" high-end CRT at home for many years. Recently bought a widscreen LCD and after using it have experienced some wicked eyepain, vision artifacts and mild offhand headaches. Before I chuck the LCD and go back to the CRT I was wondering if the esteemed crowd of this forum has any opinions or suggestions on the matter.
This page best describes my experiences and thinking about this:
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You have a good article. I will just add a few simple points.
While LCDs are better than CRTs in many respects, these are some problems of LCD technology.
1. They loose their crystal clear sharpness if the default resolution is changed.
2. The depth of the black color is not as good in LCD as in CRT. CRT produces almost perfect black and has better contrast than LCD although LCD has better color depth and range for most other colors.
3. Refresh rates are usually lower for LCD making them less suitable for fast animations.
4. You should usually sit very straight and make no angles.
Check if (1) is your problem. (2) is always going to be a problem for myopes who have inherest problem in imagining good black. If you are using the computer mostly for fast animations such as movies or games, CRT is probably better for the eyes as well. (4) could cause considerable discomfort to many people as the many ways in which we relax ( by changing our posture) using the CRT is lost. When I use my computer at home, I stand, I skip, sit on the chair, sit on the floor alternatively and break the tension in all sorts of ways and I will never use an LCD for this single reason alone.
The brightness of the LCD is not its problem per se. Brightness becomes a problem when accompanied by poor contrast. LCD has poor black depth thus creating a rather artificially bright screen not mimicing mother nature. And whatever is not natural will almost always affect the eyes but as Dr.Bates says if you can adjust it could be beneficial as well and the initial discomfort may finally go away. In all probability, those with good natural vision will easily adjust to the LCD - if you can look at the sun without discomfort then what else can bother you?
Thanks for the input, Ram! I also tend to shift position infront of the screen alot.
Ram Wrote:The brightness of the LCD is not its problem per se. Brightness becomes a problem when accompanied by poor contrast. LCD has poor black depth thus creating a rather artificially bright screen not mimicing mother nature. And whatever is not natural will almost always affect the eyes but as Dr.Bates says if you can adjust it could be beneficial as well and the initial discomfort may finally go away. In all probability, those with good natural vision will easily adjust to the LCD - if you can look at the sun without discomfort then what else can bother you?
This is interesting and contrary to belief in common circles. I also recall the writing by Bates that there is no reason to make it easy for the eyes to read in any way.
My only concern left is about the properties of the light that comes out from the LCD. As I understand it covers the natural (the sun) light spectrum even less than a CRT. And that it has, as someone mentiones as a reply to the article, high energy at specific points in the spectrum. That would explain my sense of looking at something bright even if the screen does not seem more bright (when configured thus) than my CRT.
I had the same problem.
2 years using the old bulky monitor, small 13 inch (Like the old televisions) and eyes fine, i can work 10+ hours and never feel eyestrain, blur.
This year I bought a new 19 inch wide, thin flat screen monitor because they are light weight so i can easily lift it up and down to adjust for sitting and standing.
I developed burning eyelids, eyepain, and less clear vision using this new thin monitor.
Just using it for a couple minutes and the eyes start burning.
Also, it distorted my scanned pictures on the screen so i could not figure out how to resize pictures and view/print original true size.
I have noticed that the new flat, thin screen televisions also cause eye pain, blur.
A large screen seems to reduce small eye shifting, central fixation which also results in strain, blur.
I brought the new thin monitor back to the store and went back to the old fashioned monitor and my eyes immediately returned to normal; no pain, no burning and vision clear.
Pictures correct size.
Went to thrift store and bought a few old monitors.
clarknight Wrote:I had the same problem.
2 years using the old bulky monitor, small 13 inch (Like the old televisions) and eyes fine, i can work 10+ hours and never feel eyestrain, blur.
This year I bought a new 19 inch wide, thin flat screen monitor because they are light weight so i can easily lift it up and down to adjust for sitting and standing.
I have a knob on the table and chair( which I ordered specially in a furniture mart) that lets me vary its height so I can sit in any posture or stand. I can also use the machine while I sit on the floor too which I found very relaxing to the back. The chair is the root cause of most back problems people get with long computer use. And back/neck strain is connected to vision as well. Sometimes I also completely lie down and use the computer( while I type this I am lying down sidewise on the floor with one of my hands supporting my head!!) and it takes away almost all the strain.
More important than these posture changes is the need to do physical exercise regularly which keeps the muscles toned and flexible. I do Yoga for 30 min every morning and also do strength training on week ends and also run 15 miles/week. I think most people who complain about the computer screen are not only having problem with the eyes but also with general vitality. Without physical exercise, back muscles are weak and the strain will carry over to the eyes as well. We keep complaining about the 'bright screen' often without realizing that we are not caring enough for the body and the body will complain if you dont maintain it properly with nutrition, exercise and rest.
