[boomkeg]

Hello Adam and everyone.

Been struggling with viewing comfort particularly towards the evening (my astigmatism surely is a contributing cause to this) but I haven’t been able to pinpoint why it’s been more of an issue on modern LCD models. In my personal experience, eliminating most factors such as LCD tech used (TN,IPS,VA), PWM, Low Blue Light, Brightness levels, Ambient lighting, things seem to point towards either overly aggressive matte coatings or something in the chain of modern backlight (LEDs used, phophors, diffusion layers, brightness enhancement layers). Wish I knew better but I’m only anecdotally guessing that it “could” be due to some variation in wavelengths emitted due to LCDs evolving to reproduce color better with wider gamuts and higher brightness, some eyes might be sensitive to something being emitted there since I’m not the only one who has this issue with modern LCDs. (still inconclusive, because i tried a more modern lower gamut, peak 250cd/m² display and it still bothered me).

Anyway, I saw the new HP OMEN 27q that has “Eyesafe 2.0” certificate and I thought, what the heck, might as well check it out, not that I’m a huge believer, it’s more wishful thinking that this certificate would ensure a better viewing comfort since it claims to adhere to certain parameters such as less HEV (Blue Light) and better color accuracy out of the box (atleast in temperature range) since this monitor is 95% DCI-P3 and I don’t have a calibration tool. It’s also QHD and I’ve only used 1080p till now, maybe this would improve eye comfort due to higher PPI.

The problem is when I saw “ClearMR” certificate, it’s some kind of new VESA certificate they use to represent motion clarity, and HP model is rated at 5000. The ratings themselves are quite confusing, they are not specifying the refresh rate correctly on some models, some are rated higher than others whilst response times complying well with refresh rate cycles based on actual reviews of the models, 27GP850 vs 32GP850 which are rated at 7000 and 6000 for example. Hard to tell if rating is lower due to lower refresh rate and persistence blur or slower pixel response times on the HP OMEN 27q, not a big fan when response times don’t comply well with refresh rate, it’s a loss in clarity.

Thoughts on Eyesafe 2.0 and ClearMR? Gimmicky certificates or something to consider since there are no reviews currently for the HP OMEN 27q.

[PCM2]

Hi boomkeg and welcome,

A special thank you for formatting your post so nicely with all the links! I usually end up adding those myself and it can be quite time consuming. 🙂

I’m really not a fan of the ClearMR certification program and I feel, ironically, it’s anything but “clear” to the consumer what to expect based on the number. As you say they try to roll too many things into one number. And with numbers like ‘6000’ and ‘7000’ they really don’t speak to people in a meaningful way and let them know what to actually expect from the monitor based on this. I discussed this with Simon Baker of TFT Central last year and we both shared similar thoughts on this, which he’s encapsulated into a nice article. The tiers really don’t seem to align well with the sort of performance that has been demonstrated in reviews of these products (or those sharing their panel) and when a 260Hz and 165Hz monitor using similar panel technology share the same tier (without reviews of the 260Hz model indicating any major weaknesses in pixel responsiveness) you really need to question the usefulness of such a system. Except perhaps to line VESA’s pockets. No that’s far too cynical, sorry. 😉 Either way, you’ll see from my articles on such monitors that I don’t even mention the specification, because I really don’t feel it’s something I want to promote.

‘Eyesafe 2.0’ on the other hand and Eyesafe more generally I do feel has merit and it’s something I’ll happily mention and explore a little bit in reviews for products that feature it. Having reduced energetic blue light output from the monitor is certainly a good thing in my book when it comes to viewing comfort, but as you’re aware from your research and own experiences there are so many factors to consider and this is just one. I’m also aware based on feedback from users who have quite fussy eyes for various reasons that ‘Eyesafe’ panels aren’t always sufficient to prevent viewing comfort issues. And actually, I’ve received feedback from a user of an Eyesafe-certified monitor (M32U) who found it uncomfortable but swapped it out for a model with QD-LED backlight (EX3210U) and found that very comfortable. Eyesafe 2.0 is a bit stricter but for this individual I’m not sure it would’ve made a difference. In this case there’s obviously a completely different panel and not just the backlight has changed, but both are IPS and the same resolution and refresh rate plus very similar size. And QD-LED backlights diminish HEVL output not by shifting the blue peak specifically, but due to their spectrum being more balanced with relatively strong green and red energy. This really seems to do the trick for some people, but for others the Eyesafe route also works nicely.

[boomkeg]

Thank you for referring to this article, I actually had a peek at it before but I’ll make sure to read it this time. Definitely appreciated that you opt out of coveing something that can be misleading and maybe “involve someone’s pockets“.

Also, interesting point about the Gigabyte M32U and BenQ EX3210U, for some reason I associated “Quantum Dot” being negatively similar to “Nano IPS” for viewing comfort since I’ve seen users reporting strain with Nano IPS on the web, but they do seem to differ on wavelength spectrum as displayed here, will definitely look into QD displays and investigate if users have problems with them.

When I was at the local store before I didn’t have a good look at QD since it was only on TV’s there but oddly enough I happen to have a picture of a (QLed Samsung QN85B) when I was investigating “polarisation” as a possible cause for discomfort and it seems to have an unusual polarisation that is not linear compared to other displays, usually they block light when you tilt polarising glasses to a certain angle and don’t have a rainbow effect:

https://i.imgur.com/50tw5Mk.jpg

I’m not saying polarisation is the reason but there’s definitely a difference to them so if QD-Led really seems easier on the eyes I will attempt to get ahold of G274QPF-QD or maybe something else cheaper if available but will make sure to try using affiliate links if possible to support.

[PCM2]

That polarisation effect is likely related to the screen surface used rather than the backlight technology, so it could be specific to that TV but not something that carries over to monitors. Although the plane of polarisation can differ for different monitors, LCDs with matte screen surfaces always have an outer polarising layer included as part of the screen surface that behaves as you’d expect. So you should observe the usual blackout from a certain angle without that rainbow effect.

[boomkeg]

I see, thanks for clarifying. Vast majority of displays were vertically polarised, atleast at the store I was checking out.

Also saw your latest poll that included the OMEN 27q, still on my radar in case QD doesn’t provide better viewing comfort for me, so if the review ends up happening it would be helpful and appreciated. I imagine it will take time to get ahold of a review sample and it’s mostly worth if there is user interest, considering that the spotlight seems to be mostly on OLED monitors at the moment.

I understand the hype, I did hook my PC to a 4k OLED in the living room for the first time and I realised I didn’t fully grasp the difference until I looked at the same content and games on it as opposed to my 1080p LCD. It was also easier on the eyes, maybe due to being glossy or just the bigger size and resolution, definitely aiming for one next time when budget allows it.

[boomkeg]

Little update about the HP OMEN 27q, it appears that it can come with different panels based on this reddit post. The revision labeled LIM111 on the box comes with LG’s LM270WQA-SSB3 panel (similar to a previous model “X 27Q” which had LG’s LM270WQA panel but maybe with a different suffix) and the one labeled BIM111 appears to come with BOE’s MV270QHM-NF5 panel.

If true I have my concerns about this, no way of knowing if the panels perform very similarly or one is superior in speed and/or contrast ratio.

[PCM2]

Thanks for bringing this up. That’s really a pet hate of mine, when monitors use different panels interchangeably. If buying online people don’t have a way of identifying which one they’ll get and it also seems some people in that Reddit thread claim they can’t actually see “LIM111” or “BIM111” on the box anywhere, which doesn’t inspire much confidence. The performance characteristics can indeed be a bit different and it can be difficult for people to know what to expect. And indeed could be mislead by some of the findings in reviews of one panel if they receive a unit with a different panel. 🙁

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