QD-OLED? LTPO? What may be causing these issues?

ricchi

Hey Guys!

Not sure if I have a problem with PWM or some other display feature, but this community seems quite experienced and knowledgeable on these type of issues, so I figured I share my experience. I first noticed severe eye strain and headache when trying out some QD-IPS monitors, but this wasn't a huge problem as I just went back to regular IPS. I also use an LG B1 OLED TV with no issues, but couldn't use a Samsung QLED for the same issue as the quantum dot monitors. Monitors, TVs and phones in general I can use all day with no problem, as long as they are not quantum dot.

Then came the Pixel 8 pro, which gave me the same symptoms. Again, didn't think too much of it, returned the phone and kept using one that was fine for years... but now 6 years on the same phone, I would really want to use something a bit more up to date. I got a Xiaomi 14, only to experience the same issues. I am getting worried that all "new" displays will be a problem and was hoping you guys can see a common thread I fail to notice.

Here are my phones, including some ancient amoled ones, that I had zero issues with before.

The only thing that sticks out to me is the LTPO element, but I have been using variable refresh rate on PC for years (g-sync module) with no problem. Anyway, I would really appreciate any insight or even a wild guess as to what I might be dealing with, I have tried to research this as much as I could with not being any closer to a solution - although i expect a solution may not exist, it would be good to gain a better understanding of the cause and what to avoid 🙂

Thank you!

Light

ricchi Someone on the eye strain telegram group found the xiaomi 14 to use temporal dithering regardless what color mode its set to. They advertise 12bit colors which you would think srgb mode would prevent but unfortunately it does not. The pixel 8 also mentions the use of dithering in its kernel from what I read from someone else. Possibly that's your issue?

qb74

ricchi
It seems that you've diagnosed yourself to have issues with one type of WCG (wide-color gamut) W-LED backlight, namely quantum dot (QD) in this case, that's commonly available on the market.

Thankfully, the QD-based solutions in the desktop space aren't that common, so you can choose a KSF/PFS-based W-LED backlight display or the standard (classic) YAG phosphor W-LED backlight (used after CCFL era and pre-WCG, so 2009–2025)
If you want to get a desktop display, take a look at panels branded as W-OLED (LG technology), ideally RGBW ones to have the best possible pixel rendering.

I would recommend you to avoid any Mini-LED desktop displays though. They have severe flicker.

When it comes to smartphones, you could take a look at the Motorola Edge+ 2023, it has a “Flicker Prevention” setting which changes the dimming method from PWM to PAM (pulse amplitude modulation)-based or what is colloquially referred to as “DC-dimming” by most people online.

Do keep in mind that OLED in itself is not a good display technology if one wants to avoid all potential eye strain concerns, as it still exhibits flicker due to the internal capacitance of the driver. I usually refer to it as “display scan-out brightness dip”

If you want to grab a LCD smartphone, the Poco X4 GT looked like a nice, modern option.

If you need any kind of desktop display recommendations, feel free to ask. Make sure to state your price budget as well, as the market is very vast.

JTL

Light The pixel 8 also mentions the use of dithering in its kernel from what I read from someone else

If you could the citation that might be useful

Light

JTL I read it from another person's post. I don't remember which it was now. Its been a bit.

Clokwork

I came here to this site to post a question, and still will, but this hits on my main concern that I believe causes my issues, and that is temporal dithering. It's the only common ground I can find with the devices that cause me issues.