[ciabo18]

perfect thank you very much. could you also suggest a less expensive solution even if it entailed a loss of size and resolution? this in case the boss wanted a less expensive solution

[PCM2]

Any of the models you mentioned would be fine. All things considered, including price and viewing comfort primarily, the BenQ EW2775ZH stands out to me as a strong choice.

[Njojo]

Hello there, I spend a lot of time working in front of an old monitor (I’m using a flatron L1750SQ) i’m working with maximum brightness to try to avoid the flicker thing from pwm. Instead i use f.lux to dim (Alt-PgDn and Alt-PgUp) supposedly that increases the black level (or so i read) so it gives that feeling that i decresead the brightness.

I’m not sure if that’s good “remedy”, but still, i want to buy a good monitor for the eye strain. After some research, i’ve been thinking of buying but i wanted to know your opinion or if there’s a better alternative:

https://www.displayspecifications.com/en/model/528a73d

thank you

P.D: I found on Amazon an Eizo monitor 23″ which i heard they were good for the eyes. This one was at 250 euros and i added it to my watchlist. but it went to 400 the next day…coincidence?

[PCM2]

You must be referring to the Eizo Flexscan EV2336WFS-BK? They only have 1 in stock, so to be honest I wouldn’t be surprised if they hiked up the price like that after you were very interested in depiriving them of it. 😉

If you reduce digital brightness, using F.lux or other means, you reduce contrast. That’s because the black point in uneffected, but other shades are dimmed. This is actually fantastic if you’ve got an OLED screen as you can retain amazing contrast and have the backlight at 100% brightness (no PWM) whilst dimming things nicely. I do this on my partner’s laptop. But for LCDs you just end up with a washed-out image and poor contrast. Obviously F.lux is great to use at appropriate times (as are LBL settings), but it’s always best on LCDs to dim using a brightness control on the monitor itself.

The monitor you linked to, BenQ GW2270HM, is certainly a decent choice for viewing comfort and its larger cousin mentioned earlier on in this thread. The only issue I see with it is that it has a poor factory calibration. The GW2470H would be a better choice in that respect and it’s one I quite frequently recommend to users over email looking for this sort of thing. Some users would find the slightly looser pixel density nice as well, so if you’re happy with a 23.8″ screen you might as well go for the larger one seeing as it’s a bit better and only marginally more expensive.

[phoenix512]

You should be aware of something here about color temperature. The real color temperature is dependent of the temperature of the light source and in the case of a monitor it cannot be changed. What is changes is correlated color temperature. So, when you use f.lux the color you see becomes correlated with a source with a lower temperature. This is something that you can easily be fooled with. Technology is very deceiving.

[PCM2]

Not sure what you’ve been reading, but you’re providing factually incorrect information and are taking CCTs out of context. The actual perceived colour temperature is not purely down to the light source, it is also affected by the filtering that occurs to the light. The LCD matrix subpixels. And that is altered when you use f.lux, so the light emitted by the monitor and indeed the colour temperature is changed. You are correct that the spectral output is defined by the light source (in this case diode), but I don’t see the relevance of that in this discussion. Perceived colour temperature and brightness is altered appropriately by f.lux, it does the intended job.

It isn’t about deception or being fooled. So rather than conflating two separate issues, it’s important to separate them out. Spectral sensitivity has been discussed elsewhere in this thread and I know what you were getting at with your reply. It is certainly an additional consideration and for some users an important one. But it doesn’t change importance of colour temperature and changes that occur to the light following the application of f.lux or an LBL setting of the monitor. Those changes are real, tangible and measureable changes that have important physiological effects. If you’re trying to suggest otherwise, you’ve been ill-informed.

[Njojo]

Thanks a lot!

[phoenix512]

Thanks for the clarification. I just wanted to emphasis that changing the color temperature cannot solve the spectral related problems of digital light in general. But do you think using f.lux is as effective as using an anti blue light glasses?

[PCM2]

I thought that might be the case, and you’re right that is an important point to bring up. As some users will find they just don’t get on with some backlights for that reason.

[phoenix512]

I think we can test how much blue light a screen projects qualitatively very easily. Just open Display Setting and then go to Color Setting. Here you should see some sliders related to green, blue, and red. Decrease the blue light to the lowest possible level. You are supposed to have no blue color but you can easily detect blue if you open a picture with blue color. However, the blue is tinted toward yellow or orange. I guess this proves that you can never get rid of the blue light and this is because of the nature of the back-light and the quality of filters which produce different colors.
I’ve heard that some of the more expensive computer eyeglasses provide a near 100% filter of blue but I haven’t tested them yet.

[PCM2]

You’re correct, you won’t entirely block blue light with any filter – be it via the GPU (as you suggest here) or the monitor OSD controls. Then again, it is entirely pointless to completely block out blue light. You need to minimise your exposure at certain times of the day for physiological reasons (e.g. preventing sleep hormone disruption) but you don’t need to eliminate it completely. As explored in detail here, natural blue light exposure is far more significant than that coming from a monitor – but, again, you’re not naturally exposed to that during the night and that’s what messes with you physiologically. It’s about being sensible and only exposing yourself to HEVL at the right times of the day and minimising overall exposure – but that’s something to be more concerned about outside rather than inside.

[PCM2]

As per the updated original reply of mine in this thread, we’ve now got a detailed written and video article to accompany this topic. Enjoy 🙂

[katamaran]

Hello, first post so go easy on me.

So I would like to buy a monitor, probably 24 inches below 200 euros/ $240. I am going to use it mostly for my PC for reading/coding/movies/gaming and some months for my ps4. Since it is going to be the only monitor/tv for some months and I will use it for lots of hours I would like to make the right choice. Of course it must prevent eye strain as much as possible.

After a long search I ended up between BenQ GW2470H (VA panel) with the eye-care marketing of BenQ and the Acer B247Y bmiprzx (IPS). I couldn’t find any info or review for the latter.
Which one do you believe is better? Any other ideas?

[PCM2]

Hi katamaran and welcome,

As mentioned earlier in the thread and reinforced in our recent article, linked in my previous post, I feel that VA models such as the GW2470H would be an appropriate choice. They can give an edge in viewing comfort and will provide a nice experience for your movie watching as well. For gaming the strong contrast is also nice, although it depends on your sensitivity to ‘blur’ as to whether you’d find it good enough for such uses. Do you tend to suffer motion sickness easily? What is your current screen?

Given the stronger motion performance, IPS models could be a better choice if you are sensitive to motion performance. It’s very subjective and it’s unfortunately one of those things you have to work out for yourself though experience. I’m afraid I can’t enlighten you on the Acer B247Y (ignore other letters – that’s just Acer’s extended model code) as I don’t have experience or user feedback to share. From using models with similar panels, you can expect decent motion performance and a pretty good ‘out of the box’ image setup. You’ll probably find it quite comfortable, although as above I feel VA models have a slight edge in that respect.

Another consideration, perhaps minor depending on your perspective, is that the Low Blue Light settings on BenQ models are amongst the easiest to activate. On some models (possibly the Acer) you have to go deep into the menu and press several buttons to activate and also deactivate the ‘strongest’ setting. With BenQ models you can quite easily switch between or disable LBL settings without even entering the main menu.

[katamaran]

First of all, I really appreciate your effort.

Right now I have a really old TN LG budget 23″ monitor, so both monitors would be a huge upgrade. Also about the price the Benq costs about 120 and the newer Acer B247Y 170. The advantages of the second are 75 Hz, Freesync, which I can use it since I have an amd 570 and the monitor’s height is adjustable.
I also don’t suffer for motion sickness.

I guess, I will have to wait for someone who has seen the monitor or just pick the Acer, if I can spare the extra 50 euros since I understand that there isn’t a noticeable difference regarding eye strain.

[PCM2]

I believe you can run the GW2470H at a custom resolution at 72 – 75Hz, although that doesn’t improve pixel responsiveness and with your GPU I agree that FreeSync would be of benefit. I agree that either model would feel like a nice change from your current monitor, though. 🙂

[qwerty0906]

Hello, I am from Poland and I have a question about the monitor up to 24 inches, what do you think about the DELL S2417DG monitor? Is there something better?

  because I currently have a Philips 243S7EJMB / 00 monitor on the IPS and I’m not satisfied with it 🙁 it’s tiresome for the eyes and has a deep black depth and plans to replace it with something else that you recommend?

[PCM2]

Hi qwerty0906,

I’ve moved your post to a more appropriate place. When you say “has a deep black depth”, that’s actually a good thing because it means the contrast is strong. I assume you mean that dark shades are overly deep and therefore detail levels are poor? If that is the case and that is bothering you and perhaps you’re finding the ‘IPS glow’ to be visually annoying (understandable) then the S2417DG would be a good choice. You may also be sensitive to motion clarity in which case it would be a significant upgrade. You can see from the review that we rate it very highly for gaming and in particular responsiveness, it’s also featured as a recommendation.

As this article and indeed this thread demonstrates, there are many factors to consider when it comes to viewing comfort and everyone’s eyes and needs are different.

[qwerty0906]

Hello. Which would be better for the eyes of MSI Optix MAG241CR or S2417DG?

[PCM2]

As I’ve said and as explored on this thread and in the viewing comfort article linked to in my previous post, there are many factors which affect viewing comfort and you need to consider which apply to you. Or which are most important to you. Basic plus points for viewing comfort. These may or may not be important depending on your eyes and individual sensitivities.

Dell S2417DG:

+ Flicker-free
+ Light (non-grainy) matte screen surface
+ High refresh rate
+ Relatively high pixel density (some people prefer this) and no text rendering issues related to subpixels
+ Fast pixel responses and little overshoot

MSI Optix MAG241CR:

+ Flicker-free
+ Light (no obvious graininess) matte screen surface
+ High refresh rate
+ Pixel density is comfortable (but text sharpness is sub-optimal due to subpixels, see our reviews of similar models – may not be an issue for you)
+ Curved screen (some users like, some are neutral, relatively few dislike)
+ Effective Low Blue Light (LBL) settings

So you see, it’s not a straightforward comparison. They both have some shared benefits but some which are unique to each product. You’ll need to weigh things up yourself.

[Author]

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