Eye-Care Technology / Flicker Free, Backlight Strobing etc.

[Shyzo]

Hello,

am currently looking for 2 new monitors.I have a few questions about the general features of monitors.


So here's the thing: Every day I look at my monitors for a long time and I want to do as little as possible harm to my eyes.
Now I have read about Eye-Care technologies.Amongst others, Blue-Light Filtering (is it different from just turning on night mode in Windows or adjusting the color temperature on the monitor?) and Flicker Free Technology (makes sense in theory, but is it any good?).
I have one more question about Flicker Free.
I'm also looking for a gaming monitor right now and many people swear by so called backlight strobing to reduce motion blur. Wouldn't that be totally harmful for the eyes? After all, there are a lot of dark images blended in very quickly (as I understood it). That would be exactly what Flicker-Free wants to avoid.

Your input would be very welcome. If you know anything more about this topic, please feel free to tell us more (i.e. sitting in front of the monitor as unstrained as possible).
Thanks a lot

[74tm]

When it comes to monitors viewing comfort is also my main concern. To minimize the strain you'd want to avoid most types of flickering. The major and most impact one would be PWM dimming, while some are unaffected by it a decent amount of people find it to cause eye-strain and headaches. Another thing would be to check if the monitor uses temporal dithering which is a much more subtle type of flickering between two similar colors. An 8 bit monitor that uses dithering would have it's color depth presented in this way: 8 Bit (6Bit+frc) as apose to True 8 bit or just 8 bit. Other than that just make sure to adjust your brightness relative to your surrounding brightness and take regular breaks. If you want to learn all there is when it comes to viewing comfort I'd recommend pcmonitors' "Viewing comfort" video or article it's super informative.

As far as things go in regards to backlight strobing and motion blur reduction technologies you'd want to avoid using them if you're looking to minimize eye strain. I am not entirely sure but from what I know the flicker they produce is comparable to PWM flicker. However, this shouldn't be a problem as they can be toggled on or off from the monitor's settings.

Also "eye care technology" is just a way of saying that the monitor is flicker free and has the option to change the temperature of the monitor to warmer one. And make sure to verify that a monitor really is flicker free through external websites and reviewers. Some Samsung monitors that are advertised as flicker free when they do in fact use PWM dimming.

[mello]

If people are worried about eye health when using monitors and things like eye-strain, headaches etc. i would suggest looking into nutrition (especially Vitamin A in retinol form) and covering potential nutrient deficiencies. Apart from that, you need to find out your personal preferences and thresholds, what kind of things bother you when look at static/moving images etc. Also, when sitting in front of the monitor for long period of time, the introduction of a few minute breaks (and focusing eyes of further objects) seems to be a good idea.

[Shyzo]

Thank you a lot guys.
Really great input )

Even if I don´t feel the eye strain, I guess it will still be there in cases of PWM for example. So I think it will be the better option to get a monitor that uses another method to lower the brightness.

Another thing would be to check if the monitor uses temporal dithering which is a much more subtle type of flickering between two similar colors. An 8 bit monitor that uses dithering would have it's color depth presented in this way: 8 Bit (6Bit+frc) as apose to True 8 bit or just 8 bit

Uhm, I didnt quite understand. So I should purchase 8 Bit /10 Bit over 6bit+frc/ 8bit+frc?
Did I understand corrently?

[74tm]

Keep in mind that even a good monitor that meets all the requirements to provide a comfortable viewing experience will cause some level of eye strain. It's about minimizing the amount of strain and the period of time you can go without noticeable strain.

There is no reason not to go with a flicker free monitor. Most LCD monitors from 2013+ are most likely flicker free. As I said the only manufacturer that seems to use PWM is Samsung for some reason. And even they only use it at very low brightness settings.

As for dithering yes you understood what I was trying to say 8 Bit over (6bit + frc) and 10bit over (8Bit+frc). Although shouldn't be a problem unless you're really sensitive. I myself find myself sensitive to it, all the 144hz+ monitors that I've owned caused me strain. The one thing they had in common was dithering. I now just got the VG259qm which doesn't use dithering and so far it seems to be easy on the eyes.

I'd say for most people you're main concern should be whether it's flicker free or not. If a flicker free monitor still causes you strain then start eliminating other factors.

[Shyzo]

Alrighty.

I mean, even if I do not notice something it would be just better to not have your monitor dithering and so on.

It´s like, even if you don´t feel any strain by watching tv 10 hours straight, it still is not healthy for your eyes.

Kinda like this I guess?

[74tm]

Alrighty.

I mean, even if I do not notice something it would be just better to not have your monitor dithering and so on.

It´s like, even if you don´t feel any strain by watching tv 10 hours straight, it still is not healthy for your eyes.

Kinda like this I guess?

I'm not really informed about the harm that display could cause to one eyes, all I talked about was factors that effect strain and how to minimize it. However, it would be good to avoid any form of possible flicker even if it's for the peace of mind. So yeah I'd advise to go with monitor that does not use dithering if possible.

[rasmas]

...
I'm not really informed about the harm that display could cause to one eyes, all I talked about was factors that effect strain and how to minimize it. However, it would be good to avoid any form of possible flicker even if it's for the peace of mind. So yeah I'd advise to go with monitor that does not use dithering if possible.

Can i ask you: does is show somewhere on Windows if it uses 6+2, or it will always show 8-Bits even if is not real 8bits? I want to know if the current monitor i have is actually 8 bits.

Also, do you have any "symptoms" or just eye strain and headache?

Thanks anyway .

[74tm]

...
I'm not really informed about the harm that display could cause to one eyes, all I talked about was factors that effect strain and how to minimize it. However, it would be good to avoid any form of possible flicker even if it's for the peace of mind. So yeah I'd advise to go with monitor that does not use dithering if possible.

Can i ask you: does is show somewhere on Windows if it uses 6+2, or it will always show 8-Bits even if is not real 8bits? I want to know if the current monitor i have is actually 8 bits.

Also, do you have any "symptoms" or just eye strain and headache?

Thanks anyway .

Keep in mind dithering remains a pretty minor factor. But, no windows won't show whether the monitor dithers or not. A monitor that is 8 bit with dithering will show as 8bit. You should check third party websites or reviewers for this type of info. Also when I had only experienced eye strain with my previous monitors that did use dithering. That is if the dithering was even the cause of the strain.

[rasmas]

...
Can i ask you: does is show somewhere on Windows if it uses 6+2, or it will always show 8-Bits even if is not real 8bits? I want to know if the current monitor i have is actually 8 bits.

Also, do you have any "symptoms" or just eye strain and headache?

Thanks anyway .

Keep in mind dithering remains a pretty minor factor. But, no windows won't show whether the monitor dithers or not. A monitor that is 8 bit with dithering will show as 8bit. You should check third party websites or reviewers for this type of info. Also when I had only experienced eye strain with my previous monitors that did use dithering. That is if the dithering was even the cause of the strain.

Thanks for the answer, i'm having a hard time trying to find a good or decent enough monitor so i'm trying to find as much "tricks" as possible .

Maybe i just have to get used to the new LCDs after i've been using a CRT for 2 years, that's why i asked about sypmtoms as maybe mine are normal .
If you don't mind, what monitor did you have before (that didn't hurt your eyes)?

Thanks .