Eye strain and monitor

[Escapee]

I'm currently using a 17" crt monitor for work. My eyes get tired easily after more than an hour of work staring on the screen . I'm wondering if LCD is a good option for reducing eye strain ?

Any sharing of experience (from CRT -> LCD ) would be greatly appreciated .

[Cartman]

I know that the refresh rate can affect your eyes. I would make sure you are somewhere above 72mHz on your screen settings. I'm currently on LCD's only. I use two at work and one at home. I haven't noticed any differences in my eye iritation.

You might also want to have your eyes checked. I found a few years ago that I was having alot of eye fatigue and it turned out it was an astigma. Had to get glasses, but have alot less eye problems now.

[wibble]

I've used LCDs for quite a few years now and my eyes are definitely better than when I used CRTs. I'm not sure if it's something to do with the refresh rate, less glare, etc. It just seems much easier to work on.

On thing to beware of is figuring out your preferred resolution (mine is 1400 x 1050 on a laptop) and making sure that you get an LCD screen of the same native resolution. Stretching to a higher/lower res makes the screen hard to read and will kill your eyes.

[barrygamer]

I think the accepted wisdom is that LCDs are much better for the eyes, due to their more stable, sharp picture. I think you should definitely treat yourself to a good quality LCD if you can, your work will be much more pleasurable. 19 inch if you can (?)-- I've got a good 17 inch and I feel its a tad small for getting a lot of windows in view. The only downside I can think of for LCD is the need to use the native resolution, as mentioned above.

[electronicStar]

I've been using a LCD for one and a half year now and I've noticed no difference.
The refresh rate and the monitor quality are very important, a CRT with good quality and good refresh rate is as good as a LCD.
Only minor improvement is that now I get to look at a perfectly square (flat) picture, so there might be an improvement for peripheral vision.

[tau]

I second the fact that when I switched to only LCD, my eyes feel much better.
For CRTs, my optimum refresh rate was 75.

[Escapee]

I just got myself a samsung LCD. More space and easy on eyes with a little adjustment on the brightness, contrast and color. I also hope to see some minor energy saving by the end of month.

Thanks all .

[StarLite Moon]

Anyone having trouble with eye strain, I use Systane eyedrops they work really good for me. I also have allergies and I find it a lot better than Visine. :)

[Videogame Biscuit]

I use a desk light that I place behind the monitor so the wall behind it is illuminated. Really makes my old 17" CRT a lot easier on the eyes!

[ulfster]

use a crt and maintain a distance of at least 60-80cm. also use these eyedrops wich keep the eyes wet even if you dont feel like needing them.

when sitting in front of a monitor your eyes dont blink so much like in a natural environment. these eyedrops really help your eyes a lot.

i also suggest making short brakes after 3-4 hours looking strait at a monitor no matter if crt or lcd. but if you have a chance getting a lcd instead of crt do so!

a side effect of cause is your skin wont be as brown as when you use a crt :p

[noob_coder]

I recently switched from a 17" CRT to a 22" inch widescreen TFT, the difference is massive. It's so much better on my eyes.

[mrobert]

I use a laptop for development for the past 4 years. No problems at all.
And TFT's got dirt cheap these days.

[Mike Boeh]

I have never been able to get used to LCD-based monitors. I use two 22" diamondtron monitors, and have two more brand new ones waiting in reserve :)

But, these glossy-coated 22" lcd monitors from HP and Acer are *very* nice, so maybe someday I will make the switch.....

Oh, also, I use 100 hz....

[fog4711]

I just got myself a samsung LCD. More space and easy on eyes with a little adjustment on the brightness, contrast and color. I also hope to see some minor energy saving by the end of month.

Thanks all .

I also got a Samsung (synchmaster 226BW) just recently. I totally agree with Escapee that they make nice stuff very good for the eyes:) .
However I have some problems running the monitor under Vista so right now I have to use my old screen :o

//fog

[mrobert]

I use a very compact laptop ... 13" display :)
The pixels are so smooth :)

[Olivier]

ulfster got some good points to reduce eye fatigue. I also suggest to not use your computer in a dark room. When you're looking at your monitor, you should always have another source of light in your field of vision (also applies to TV of course).

[mrobert]

At nights, I have small desk lamp I always leave one ... it helps better see the keyboard aswell.

[Sol_HSA]

As some people have already pointed out: make sure you're not sitting in the dark! Also take breaks every now and then. Not only will taking breaks be good for your eyes, they will help your brain work better.

[supagu]

yeah i definately noticed an good improvement going from CRT to LCD a few years ago, now looking at a CRT for more than 5 minutes hurts.

Also at work i turn down the brightness a little, so the white is more of a gray, this also helps a lot if your a programmer (black text on white background in particular). Probably not so good if your an artist i guess as your art is gonna look wrong