[romanes]

Yes, the grainy screen surface is probably what bothers me about the P2415Q. Thank you for noticing that!

I’ve checked your article and I would be open to get either the Philips 288E2UAE or the LG 32UN650. How is the screen surface of the LG compared to the Philips? Moreover, does the LG just have a bigger screen or is there anything in particular that it does better than the Philips?

[PCM2]

I can’t comment on the screen surface of the LG specifically as I haven’t seen it in person. The recommendation for the LG is based on largely positive user experiences with that model – they’re usually impressed by how much monitor you get for your money and enjoy the overall big screen ‘4K’ experience. But I haven’t received any detailed feedback on the screen surface texture. Another thing to be aware of is that LG has a ~95% DCI-P3 colour gamut whereas the Philips has ~87% DCI-P3. The difference is mainly in the green to red region and this gives some shades a more saturated and vibrant appearance on the LG. With the Philips some shades will appear less ‘overdone’ as a result and more as intended – personal preferences would dictate which is preferred. I wouldn’t expect this difference to affect the viewing comfort side of things, specifically.

[romanes]

Yes, thank you very much this helps a lot.
One more thing I am not really sure about if these monitors are TÜV eye-safe certified. Both of them have a flicker-free & blue light mode and have some sort of TÜV certification (Philips: ISO9241-307, with the LG I have no idea), but TÜV does certify other things as well, so I am not sure if it is regarding the eye safety features. Also, I am not sure how important the certification ultimately is, but it seems to me like a good thing to have, right? Some brands like Benq heavily market how safe it is for the eyes but with Philips and LG you cannot find specific information about that.

[PCM2]

TÜV Eyesafe certification is very specific and means a monitor has patented technology from US-based company Eyesafe. This includes a significant shift in the blue peak to a less energetic wavelength and a reduced amplitude of the peak. This will be described in more detail in our upcoming XV282K KV review. Relatively few products are certified in this way, but that doesn’t mean they are bad for viewing comfort. The first panel manufacturer to really push things in this direction is Innolux, who also makes the panel for the 288E2UAE (288E2E). That one is not Eyesafe certified, specifically, but has certification for flicker-free and blue light levels through TÜV. I don’t have the equipment to measure it, but it’s possible the blue peak is slightly shifted as well – much like Innolux did with their panel used on the likes of the BenQ EX2780Q.

[uncia]

Our eyes are unique to each of us, of course. So how we perceive things such as a monitor is subjective. I realize a more technical calibration is necessary, but for now this works. I agree that a lot is missed out on the technical side of things. We still perceive a lot in ways difficult to convey. Human senses are analog. That’s a lot messier than the digital, neat, math of a colorimeter. I do find this model pleasing for daily use now. The sRGB color space is better overall than the full gamut. I don’t like the intensity of the reds, still almost neon, though I’d use it for HDR content if I were viewing it. I haven’t any games of that type to try though.

Nor can I do much testing right now due to the limitations of my graphics card. It doesn’t look like I’ll be able to replace it anytime soon. So with daily use and media viewing to go by, I’m enjoying the experience. Gamma being set properly loses some of the initial contrast, so I’d recommend some users leave it alone if they’re not needing to do color critical work, or don’t mind black crush. I don’t want to lose darker shades when working with graphics and photos, so I’ll leave it at 2.2.

There has been a new development. Whether I was simply too excited to be using a new monitor at first or it’s developed since, there is now a single dead pixel in the upper right quadrant. I’m watching the monitor to see if any others develop. It’s not immediately obvious, seeing as how small the pixels are, but it’s also not something I can unsee now that I’ve noticed it. I’m not sure it’s worth sending a monitor in for a replacement over something so small though. Nor is there any guarantee a replacement wouldn’t have a dead pixel/s. There’s no telling what you’ll get with BLB either. The gamble is entirely unfair with the cost of displays. I have noticed IPS is less likely to have dead pixels. I’ve never seen one on an IPS display, but every VA I try out seems to have at least one. I have two weeks left in the return window, so I’ll keep an eye out. I do want to stick with this model. If further pixels show up, I’d just get a replacement.

I’ll note last that there is definite color shift when changing viewing angle. I’d noticed this before. It’s most easily picked up on when viewing screen tests of solid colors. It’s not a major issue with daily use though. I’d not let it put people off buying it. OD is still set at 60 for 100Hz. This video card definitely has something wrong with it. I’m still erring on giving credit to something with that LG’s displayport damaging it. Though there’s no way to know if it’s causation or just correlation. 100Hz it will have to be for now. It’s not a bad experience even with this limitation.

Further thoughts will be posted as they come. I’d like to give feedback after a longer period of use.

[alinescoo]

Fist of all, I am glad I’ve found this site. Really helpful information in reviews and in forum posts. Congratulations on all the hard work and time!

I am using my PC most of the time for programming or reading and given with age pass I am starting to get eyes tired/strained. I’ve had multiple checks and my vision and eyes are fine. I have been using an ultrawide Philips 29″ IPS 2560×1080 @60Hz for the past few years which seems to have a good pixel pitch for my eyes. The model has no PWM but no words on low blue light. I keep the monitor at arm’s length.
Based on my readings and experience, I’ve saw that ambient light and monitor brightness could help reduce eye strain over time. Having too high brightness on dark room doesn’t feel right. Plus, there are other technologies that help.

So basically, I am looking to see if I can find a good PC monitor to take as much care of my eyes as possible:
– no PWM
-low blue light
-light sensor for brightness auto-adjustments

Now let’s talk a bit about diagonal and resolution. As I’ve said, I am mostly using the monitor with text and I don’t want to scale in Windows because it may not look good. So,
– 27″ with 1920×1080 seems to have higher pixel pitch than I currently have and should be good on the readability. However I have a bit of a concern related to pixels being “visible” and to loosing some workspace.
Here I’ve found BenQ GW2780 and Philips 272B1G. Both have all the features, are TUV Certified for eye care and run at 75Hz

– 27″ with 2560×1440 – I think it has pixel pitch too small which translates into small text, harder to read resulting in eye strain. However, I may be wrong as 27″ should fit better in the visual field and the extra pixels won in height would come very handy.

– 32″ with 2560×1440 – seems to have similar pixel pitch with what I currently have. I would get some extra work space on height but I am concerned about the size of the monitor. I’ve read that big displays could create eye strain because of edge distortions.
Here I’ve found Philips 326P1H which also has a webcam and USB hub and Philips 325B1L which doesn’t have the camera, usb and TUV eye certification but it seem to have the same technologies used.
The other model I’ve found is Samsung S32A600 which has light sensor, is flat, has VA panel and has TUV Certification.

I was almost ready to buy the Samsung but then I found out about VA issues: from fuzzy text to black smearing. I don’t think I could cope with those. So it seems that IPS is best for text but also suffers from light bleed and glow. I also don’t think I could get used with curved displays.

Oh my… so hard to find a monitor these days. Is 27″ @1080p too chunky, is 27@1440 hard on the eyes, is 32 @1440p too big? Does this auto brightness work or maybe I’ll disable it because it has too high brightness? If auto brightness doesn’t work as expected, then I could look into other models that offer no PWM and LBL.

I would appreciate any advice. Thank you for your time!

[PCM2]

Hi alinescoo and welcome,

I’m glad you’ve found the website helpful. As a general point there are many factors to consider when it comes to viewing comfort, but you at least have a good reference to work with as a 29″ IPS model with 2560 x 1080 resolution and IPS panel. And that didn’t cause any particular viewing comfort issues for you. For reference, the Philips model is very similar to the AOC Q2963PM (Q2963PQ) we reviewed many moons ago. Those models have a pretty standard (but flicker-free) WLED backlight, so it doesn’t appear your eyes are too ‘spectrally sensitive’ and can cope without a less energetic blue peak or balanced spectrum (wide gamut) added required for extra comfort. I agree that easy accessible Low Blue Light (LBL) settings are a useful addition.

The light sensors are generally pretty hit and miss on monitors to be honest. I’ve used quite a few models with such a feature recently, such as; the BenQ EW3880R, ASUS PG32UQX, Acer XV282K KV, BenQ EX2710 and Philips 279P1. We always cover this feature in the OSD videos. The issue here is you have no say in the brightness adjustments they make. If you’re quite tolerant to a fair brightness range then that’s fine and you might just get on with the adjustments they happen to make. Otherwise you’re generally better off simply setting the brightness manually to a comfortable day time level and reducing brightness in the evenings. I do this myself by simply switching over to a preset with lower brightness plus an LBL setting applied. I find ~160 cd/m² (which I calibrate to in reviews) fine as long as the room isn’t very bright – if the room does become very bright you’ll likely find it’s best (if possible) to moderate the room lighting instead of trying to compensate by raising screen brightness a lot. I know this isn’t always possible so I can see the appeal of having the monitor making some automatic adjustments for you, in theory at least. For dimmer lighting in the evenings I’ll usually go for closer to 100-120 cd/m² (with an LBL setting applied). These are just my preferences, but a brightness sensor wouldn’t necessarily follow anywhere close to these levels.

Pixel density, screen size and what is considered acceptable is very subjective (relevant thread). It depends on your eyes, viewing distance, expectations and tolerances. I’ll happily use ~27″ ‘4K’ UHD monitors without scaling. This is a bit extreme for most and not something people would generally want to do, but I don’t think you should fear scaling or application-specific zoom as a Windows user, as noted in the article I linked to and reaffirmed in our reviews (example). The safe option would be to stick to a similar pixel density to what you’re currently using if you find that comfortable, but 27″ 2560 x 1440 (WQHD or 1440p) shouldn’t be too much of a stretch from what you’re currently used to, either. You’ll likely find a loss of ‘desktop real estate’ difficult if you go for an outright lower resolution, too. Generally you’ll adapt to larger screens in time, as long as you don’t have to sit too close and aren’t too space limited. I consider ~70cm+ fine for ~32″ 16:9, for example, but others will have their own preferences there. I’d advise looking through our productivity recommendations for some inspiration. I’d also advise forgetting the light sensor for reasons mentioned in the first paragraph. Really it’s just too inflexible and the feature is best considered a minor added convenience for a feature you might not find practical to use anyway. It should be low down on your list of considerations when choosing a monitor, in my view.

[EsaT]

Low resolution/pixel density doesn’t really improve readability but the opposite:
Reason why even smaller printed text is comfortable to read is its very high PPI resolution.
That makes characters always accurate with sharp but smooth curves etc instead of blocky and rough.

Another comfort factor is brightness and contrast.
Paper media doesn’t actually have such high contrast, because that white paper isn’t shining light by itself.

That’s why reading from monitor is more comfortable when it isn’t black text on white background.
And why I prefer “dark theme” with darkish (not full black) background and light text in forums.
Alternately you need to crank that brightness really low.

[PCM2]

Yes indeed – and I’d generally advise people to take the leap of faith when it comes to pixel density for this reason. You might need to spend some time adjusting to text and UI elements looking smaller than you’re used to. But the extra definition and clearer representation of text and fine edges from the higher pixel definition is useful. And fortunately these clarity benefits from the higher pixel density remain for most applications even if scaling or application-specific zoom is used. 🙂

[alinescoo]

Thank you @ PCM2 for the long and detailed answer. Looking at the links you’ve posted on the OSD videos, indeed it seems that none of the implementations are customizable enough to be useful. I generally prefer dimmer screens so an auto-brightness could end up simply being disabled.

Another thing I’ve noticed in your videos is that the LBL effect is very similar to what f.lux or windows night light would do if turned on during daytime. I know that there are some hardware solutions for LBL but I am not sure how big is the difference in terms of comfort between a hardware implementation and a software filter.

Another things that worries me a bit is the temporal dithering as it could cause some “invisible” flicker.

@ EsaT thank you for the information. I’ve used dark themes a lot in the past but I’ve come to the conclusion that for me readability and eye comfort is better on light themes. I think this has to do because of the fact that the pupil doesn’t need to dilate so much in this case.

I think I’m going to try a 27″ @1440p. One of the monitors that seems to fit my needs is S2722DZ from Dell as it also has a webcam and mics which comes handy during meetings. This is an IPS display runs at 75Hz (not sure if visible from 60Hz but it’s nice to have). I see you’ve reviewed the 4k version of it even if it only has that ComfortView for LBL (no fancy other options with levels) it may do the job.

[PCM2]

Temporal dithering is covered in the viewing comfort article. It’s essentially a non-issue – especially for 8-bit + FRC since most content you view is 8-bit and by default the dithering stage is basically entirely unused or even disabled anyway. I’ve now emphasised that last point a bit more in the article. The S2722DZ is a decent shout really, it does share some similarities with the higher resolution S2722QC we’ve reviewed. The ‘ComfortView’ setting is pretty well balanced as far as LBL settings – you could use f.lux instead or even the integrated ‘Night light’ setting in newer versions of Windows. If you find that better balanced, visually, or more convenient to use perhaps. But it has less of an impact on image, shade range and variety if those sort of drastic adjustments are done on the monitor side rather than with software (as noted in the LBL thread). Both achieve the goal of LBL and creating a more relaxing viewing experience.

[alinescoo]

Thank you very much. I appreciate it so much!

As I’ve said, now I have a 29″ @1080p IPS PWM Free. Switching to 27″ @1440 won’t bring too much advantage, loosing the width, gaining some height pixels but risking to have too small text. Going to 32″ @1440 is kind of the same thing as what I have now in pixel size but risking of a too big size of the display.

My idea of the upgrade consisted in:
– LBL to prevent eye fatigue -> I can use my current monitor with software overlay
– Auto brightness -> it’s not working as expected so it could end up being disabled and do manual brightness, just as my current monitor
– Other technology -> was interested in VA but after doing some reading, it’s a no-go so keep IPS, just as my current monitor

So basically, I see no real reason to upgrade…. I have to give it some thought. Maybe it would be a better choice to switch to mac… I heard that macs do really good with scaling. That would allow me to have 4k and good rendering. Decisions, decisions…

One more question: can the LBL be reduced hardware by using 5000K Color temperature instead of l.lux? Is it better this way? What about setting manually RGB settings in color profile?

[PCM2]

As I’ve said, you shouldn’t fear scaling on Windows if you need it – and you may not. It’s handled well now, so there’s really no need to switch over to Mac for that particular reason. Unless you wanted to anyway. I think you’re overestimating how much of a difference the pixel density of a 27″ WQHD model will make to the size of text and UI elements compared to a 29″ 2560 x 1080, it shouldn’t be difficult to adapt to really. It’s the same sort of relative size difference shown in the 2nd image in this thread, which compares 27″ WQHD to 32″ WQHD – as you’ve identified, 32″ WQHD is similar to your current model in terms of pixel density. I know it’s difficult to visualise from the much smaller than real life images there, but take it in context (including how much smaller things look in the first image on that 32″ ‘4K’ UHD screen) and it helps give some perspective. You might also be underestimating how useful those extra vertical pixels and indeed the larger vertical height can be for productivity tasks when comparing a 27″ 16:9 monitor to your current 29″ 16:9 monitor.

A ‘5000K’ colour temperature setting on a monitor is an LBL setting, likewise simply reducing the blue colour channel in the OSD will have the same effect. You’ll probably want to reduce the green a bit to avoid a nasty green tint. Again, this is something I cover in the LBL thread so I’d recommend reading through that for reference.

[alinescoo]

Thank you. So much detail and attention in your answers! Such great reviews! Congratulations on all your activity!

So basically, if I want to upgrade I need to decide between 27 and 32 @1440p. For 27 I think a good choice for me is Dell S2722DZ as I’ve mentioned before.
Can you please recommend me a 32″ @1440 to look at? I saw in the recommended lists Acer XB323U GP which is pretty expensive and way to gamerish looking and others which are old like AOC Q3279VWFD8 which I don’t see available in my country. If it has good webcam, even better.

[PCM2]

No problem. 🙂 This thread runs through some alternatives to consider, such as the Gigabyte M32Q. The focus for that thread is on high refresh rate options, as the title suggests. Even more affordable options like the M32Q tend to be quite a bit pricier than lower refresh rate alternatives. This thread runs through some lower refresh rate options. The Q3279VWFD8 was certainly a ‘go to’ recommendation of mine as a highly affordable but still capable ~32″ WQHD option, but it has been discontinued now. The replacement is the Q32E2N which I feel is a nice option where available. There aren’t any ~32″ WQHD options I’d specifically recommend with integrated webcams.

[alinescoo]

Thank you very much.

-> 22″ 1600×1300 DPI: 90,91 Dot Pitch 0.2794
-> 29″ @1080 DPI: 95,81 Dot Pitch: 0,2651
These two I’ve used a lot of years.

-> 27″ @1440p DPI: 108,79 Dot Pitch: 0,2335
-> 32″ @1440p DPI: 91,79, Dot Pitch: 0,2767
So basically, 32″ would be a bit of a downgrade from what I have now but almost similar. At the current display I can see the pixels but only if I look really close. 27″ would be an upgrade in terms of sharpness. I guess I need to go somewhere to see live both sizes and decide.

Thank you again for all the valuable information! Keep up the fantastic job.

[alinescoo]

I’ve been giving it some thoughts and I think I’ll try to go something with at least 120Hz on 27″ 1440p. I think this will be a good spot for both ergonomics and eye care.
Any thoughts on the Benq Mobiuz EX2710Q? I saw it has good reviews, light sensor 🙂 which seems to work fine, eye care technology… The design isn’t great but that’s not really important. I’ve read a bit of models with nano IPS and I saw many users complaining about eye strain from it. Must be because of the more intense red pixels I guess.

[PCM2]

Relevant threads:

https://forum.pcmonitors.info/topic/making-sense-of-the-current-27-1440p-144hz-ips-segment/
https://forum.pcmonitors.info/topic/benq-ex2780q-vs-benq-ex2710q-differences/

The second one specifically includes some focused thoughts on the EX2710Q. To be honest, I struggle to recommend it over some of the other options (including the EX2780Q). The light sensor is similar to the other BenQ options we discussed earlier, so you say it seems to work “fine” but that entirely depends on your sensitivity to brightness and whether you agree with the adjustments it makes. I do like BenQ’s LBL settings and how they’re tuned, as I noted earlier. And the pixel responsiveness seems impressive. But I also feel it’s overpriced, the gamma tuning is a bit hit and miss, the brightness adjustment range is rather limited and it’s possible they interchangeably use multiple panels which introduces a bit of uncertainty. Some EX2710Qs also use Nano IPS panels.

The reason the 27″ Nano IPS panels and others with a similar backlight design are considered uncomfortable by some people is not to do with the gamut itself or the saturation of colours. Because the same people can find other models with an even more generous gamut comfortable or could run sRGB emulation on the problematic models but still have issues. It’s usually because of the energetic peak of blue light used by the backlights or the overall spectral profile of the backlight. The older EX2780Q and some newer models like the Acer XV272U KV offer a shifted peak of blue light which is less energetic, incidentally. Viewing comfort is a complex and very individual thing, so that doesn’t guarantee you’d find them comfortable or indeed the Nano IPS or ‘higher energy blue light’ alternatives uncomfortable.

[alinescoo]

I’ve saw users complaining that after some windows update they’ve started to have eye strain. Other can’t use MacOS because of dithering. Here is a very interesting theory on LedStrain forum But, as you say, viewing comfort is a very individual thing. On my case eye strain, started after using a Pixel 4 for about a month which is known to have fluctuating PWM with even below 100Hz rate. I’ve switched to a PWM free LCD screen phone (almost impossible to find a good one these days) and I was considering for next step the monitor. What I can say is that the amoled screen gave me the impression of hard to focus on screen and basically I think I can detect PWM screens with my eyes. There’s a discomfort while looking at it.

For the past days I’ve been using the monitor with 5000k (to reduce blue light) and I am comfortable with that. Brightness is at 28 and Contrast at 61. Probably the brightness and contrast don’t make much sense as it’s per device but I’ve tried to increase contrast and lower brightness so that reading is comfortable.

I wouldn’t want to risk by trying a nanoIPS because even the fact that I know it could cause problems will trigger some effects 🙂
Really detailed article on the Viewing comfort, like all your work. Congratulations.

So in the end, given the best eye care technologies, what 27″ @1440p @ at least 120Hz would you recommend me?
And secondly, integrated GPUs on intel and amd do handle 1440 at high refresh rates or I need a discreet GPU?

[PCM2]

I’d be tempted to say give the EX2780Q a try. It’s a long-running recommendation of mine and it ticks a lot of the viewing comfort boxes. Importantly, it’s also a model I’ve received a lot of positive feedback on from users and some of that has specifically focused on viewing comfort. This includes a user who migrated from a Nano IPS panel despite knowing they’d be taking a bit of a hit with pixel responsiveness, because they didn’t find it comfortable. They do find the EX2780Q comfortable and found its responsiveness perfectly fine, even for some semi-competitive gaming. As always ‘your mileage may vary’, but it seems to be a pretty solid choice with a focus on a comfortable experience.

Integrated graphics processors aren’t really my area of expertise, but I do have a bit of knowledge and experience with them. They should be able to handle (as in, run) at WQHD @120Hz+ via HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort. As long as the iGPU is a model from the last few years it will support suitable revisions of HDMI or DP to handle this. Running graphically intensive tasks at a high frame rate is a separate issue, but modern iGPUs should be fine for general desktop usage and movies.

[Author]

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