I am looking for monitors and wanted to know the must get specs for 8 hrs a day 5 days a week. VA panels ok or IPS a must? Am i only looking at the blue light reduction and eye comfort written or do they mean different per monitor brand? 75hz+?
I have been looking at 2x 27" but been recommended 2x 32" or 2x 34" curved.
Hoping to find something under $300 each that would be good for the eye.
You can use a program called f.lux which you can choose what colour temperature to the display so you dont get eye strain from the blue light staring at screen all day.
Windows now has this built in. It's called Night Light.
I have eye problems (misalignment and astigmatism) and suffer migraines. Glare reduction on glasses, if you wear them, raising the monitor so your eyeline is straight and being far enough away that you can see the whole monitor or are turning your head/body rather than your eyes are much more of an influence than the screen in my experience. Also consider dark mode on apps you use for a long time. If you have a dual monitor setup, one straight on and one to the side is best. I have 2 27inch (one Samsung, one LG, both HD), not curved- curved messes with my eyes like crazy. Also find the Hz that is most comfortable for you and stick to it.
Of course YMMV, but that's what I have found with my monitors
Advice and opinions out there really seem to differ, unfortunately.
For me IPS has always been easier on the eyes than VA. (I've heard people say the opposite, but I think most agree with me.)
And using dark mode and low brightness as much as possible is great.
Also, if the resolution is the same as 32", I'd prefer 27". More pixels per inch, clearer text.
Cheap IPS panels are absolutely worse for eye fatigue than cheap VA panels, mostly just because of how they're backlit.
IPS requires a stronger back light which inherantly causes worse fatigue, especially in a dimly lit room.
Cheap monitors also use Pulse Width Modulation, which is like staring at a lightbulb while flicking the lightswitch as fast as you can, it's either at full brightness or off. When combined with the stronger backlight for IPS, it really hurts your eyes. VA is dimmer, so it hurts less.
Better quality monitors use DC Dimming, which is like staring at a lightbulb and spinning a dimmer switch, getting a variable amount of light instead of on or off. It's often advertised as Flicker Free, which eliminates 90% of flicker fatigue, but it's more expensive to implement.
So expensive IPS panels will cause less fatigue than cheap VA panels, but cheap VA panels will cause less fatigue than cheap IPS panels.
Interesting, thanks for that info!
I wonder though, does this one fall into your cheap IPS category? https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/lenovo-21-…
Weirdly, it's a very cheap little IPS that I find doesn't hurt my eyes like a lot of other monitors do. Maybe it gets away with it because it's so small?
It's TÜV Rheinland certified, which means that it has to be flicker-free. But their definition of flicker-free does allow for PWM, it just has to be outside of the range of perception for most people: https://www.certipedia.com/keywords/1830?locale=en
It typically is less of a problem for small screens, especially small 1080p screens. As you scale up in size and resolution, heat and power consumption becomes more of an issue due to backlight density. Cheap 31.5" 4k IPS monitors are some of the worst for this.
What Monitor Specs to Look for for Eye Comfort
If you need specs you’re best off going to an optometrist
I use glasses with an extremely mild prescription and a blue light filter and have no problems. If I don't wear the glasses, my eyes fatigue extremely quickly. I have no major vision problems, I should note, other than eye floaters. I am an occasional migraine sufferer, though.
If I were you I'd just go and see an optometrist.
Is that the glasses on your profile picture?
Only when I browse OzBargain.
I'm far from an expert, but I think the right mounting is also important to help keep the monitor at a comfortable eye level (do a Google images search for monitor or desk ergonomics).
I have a 24" Dell 1920x1200 monitor (U2415) with height/tilt/angle adjustable mount. A lot of cheap monitors lack adjustment options, in particular height.
Tips
-The higher the refresh rate the better.
-Make sure the standard text font size is suitable at the resolution you want to run it in.
-IPS only.
-The faster the response time the better.
-Get yourself a monitor light bar.
-Place a light bulb or lamp behind your monitor.
-Go to an optometrist and make sure you are using glasses if you need them.
IMHO rtings does the best monitor reviews.
Price.