Hi Guys,
Just found this website. I do not know why it never popped up before when I searched.
I very recently posted on another site - guess I can paste the link? - but did not get any comment (yet).
https://www.notebookchat.com/index.php/topic,57410.msg328221.html#msg328221
Until a few weeks ago my troubles were limited to monitors and laptop displays. I really enjoyed the experience with my first smartphone, a very basic model, Samsung Galaxy On5. I could stare at it for hours no problem.
Recently I was forced to buy a new one, because I relocated and the old phone does not get connectivity where I am. I bought a Freetel Kiwami 2 with an OLED display. It hurt from the first instant. Please note the display is 5.7" versus 5", so it is definitely not a matter of smaller size / font. I read about eyestrain issues some people have been facing since upgrading to IPhone X and the new Samsung models with OLED displays, and I was thinking PWM / OLED are the culprit. However, after further reading, I understand PWM is not being used only for OLED screens, is it? Pardon, I am not an expert. By the way, I had to get rid of my new phone...and I am struggling finding something easy on my eyes...
What is so different in the new phones? I have owned only one, but I have used others from friends and relatives in the past and never observed similar symptoms!
PWM? Is there a chance that my basic Samsung released in 2016 does not dim the brightness that way?
Also, I would like to get an input on some other observations with regard to monitors and laptop displays.
In the past I often found helpful to lower the display resolution from the native one. It was not about how small things were, but at the highest resolution I could sort of see the pixels pulsing in the background with consequent instantaneous eye pain. Instantaneous, but it would last for a few days if I insisted to use the computer. Please note that eyestrain would develop even by staring at the display, without needing to read and focus.
In the specific case of a Lenovo ThinkPad T60 from 2007, reducing the resolution greatly helped and I could use the laptop for 12-15 hours a day without any problem. I went on with that laptop until I could, but a few months ago I upgraded from Windows XP to Windows 10 (quite a jump) and the "old trick" does not work anymore. Since then I have not been able to use the laptop without immediate eyestrain even at 1024 x 768 resolution. Initially I had issues with configuring the Nvidia graphic card because I could not retrieve a driver compatible with Windows 10, but then I made it. Eyestrain is still there. Meanwhile I had read some blogs/forums about how Intel Graphic cards hurt eyes, and I see a point is made on this thread as well. In my University I was using a number of PCs/monitors, and I noticed all the ones which were bothering my eyes mounted an Intel graphic card. However, it could be a coincidence?
Finally there is another finding which puzzled me. In two occasions (two different working places at a distance of 10 years so likely with different technologies) I could work without problem with a DELL monitor but not with another monitor of the same brand and type connected to another PC. As a non-expert of hardware, I tried to look for differences and verified that the graphic cards were not the same. Unfortunately, due to some constraints at work, I did not switch the monitors.
In summary, I am very confused. Is there any reason why PWM would produce different side effects depending on the display resolution? What else could make the lower resolution easier on my eyes? Again, it is not about the size of the font.
Does it make sense to you that a monitor could produce eyestrain or not depending on the PC it is attached to? In which case, PWM would not be the culprit anymore, would it? Or is PWM controlled by other hardware than the monitor, as I seem to grasp from some posts? When you say the graphic card has an impact on eyestrain, do you mean it affects flickering?
Thanks!