Gurm to follow up on my last post. After not playing much xbox one s since October when Black Ops 4 came out, I turned it on and updated. I tried playing the master chief collection and eye strain kicked in right away on the home screen and loading screens. My eyes were bloodshot after playing a few rounds of slayer and I had to give up.
SeniorTaquito it might be the latest updates killing it. I'm going to try rolling mine back to last summer. I don't know how long I can prevent updates before some games become unplayable, but if I have to block the updates indefinitely I will.
Gurm haven't logged in for a while since reading through a lot of the posts increases my anxiety and I lose hope. Did rolling back the update work? I haven't turned my xbox on since my last post. I was always upset that nintendo didn't keep up with the other consoles but now I'm happy about it. Switch is the only current gen console I can play without issue.
Hey I haven't responded to this in a while. I have good and bad days. On good days, I can play the current release of XBox (original hardware, not S or X) and on bad days I can't. I never got around to rolling back the update, and as a result haven't gamed much on the XBox One in the past... year, as it turns out.
Gurm I've been thinking about picking up a used Xbone for media/gaming but keep feeling discouraged everytime I see reports like this.
There is an upshot to all of this; as this issue is now ubiquitous on PC/Games Console/Smartphone then it's not tied to a particular manufacturer/driver, correct? Phones aren't using these types of chips at all but still induce strain. A software update causes it to go bad.
So essentially I think a new rendering technique has sneaked it's way into all devices, possibly in the wake of 4k/HDR to allow for more vibrant color. Dithering?
O/T slightly but I also notice now with media players (MPC-HC/Kodi) if I use the latest version it induces some strain. However if I use a circa 2010/2011 version it is fine. So regardless of drivers or OS these rendering techniques are creeping into software (like some here have difficulty with web browsers).
I'm fine on an original Xbox 360 Elite console. I tried beta Xbox One hardware and it caused low levels of eye strain.
As you say, it is apparent that new rendering techniques are creeping in everywhere.
diop That's pretty much it, spot on. I suspect there's some new, ubiquitous low-level rendering technique. The odd occasion when we find a usable device from the last few years, it's something like Paranoid Android where they are using a stripped-down linux distribution to build their OS.
Even cable boxes are starting to bother me, sometimes. My wife has a Roku, and some apps hurt while others don't - but the same apps on my LG smart tv, or my PS3, or my XB360 are just fine.
So it's new OS'es, new chips, but I strongly STRONGLY suspect the display code.
Gurm Paranoid Android where they are using a stripped-down linux distribution to build their OS.
Pretty sure Paranoid Android is just modified AOSP from Google. Not "stripped down Linux".
A few ideas that jump out to me.
Played through gears of wars 5 on xbox one x. Sat for 5 hours staring. Compared to my ryzen laptop , maybe 2 % strain. Nothing to complain about for me.
Plsnostrain I think they might have gotten better. See, the XBox One is a Windows box, but the version of Windows 10 it runs lags WAY behind. Like, far enough behind that it was running Windows 8 long after Windows 10 came out. I want to say the XBox OS version of Win10 lags about a year behind, but they may have tightened that up recently. So just like Windows 10 v1803/1809/1903 are "ok" for me (as in I can use for a few hours without dying) I think the XBox might be better now. I hope so, because I really want an XBox One X. In the next couple weeks I'll sink some time into my Elite and see how it feels.
I had a chance to test Xbox One X and PS4 Slim side by side on my Panasonic ST60, and the Xbox One X is significantly more comfortable. Playable, even. Previously I found Xbox One X unusable (Spring 2018ish I believe). Games tested on XB1X were Forza Horizon 4 and Deliverance: Kingdom Come. On the PS4 Slim I tested LTOU Remastered. TBH XB1X output looked pretty clean. One big difference is that this time I used the XB1X on a 1080p screen and last time I was making use of a 4K HDR capable display. Also as @Gurm points out Windows rendering may have changed between now and over a year ago.
degen I absolutely think that Microsoft has "fixed" something. I now work all day at work (with frequent breaks) on Windows 10 x1909 (latest build) but it's been pretty usable lately. XBox always lags about 6 months behind, so if I had to guess I'd say the latest version on the XBone is probably 1903 or maybe even 1809. My XBox One got BAD around the October 2018 update, which I assume was actually a 2017 build (known for being awful on the eyes). I can fire it up and pull a version number and see if we can cross-reference that.
Gurm I absolutely think that Microsoft has "fixed" something.
Interesting, as I've had something of the opposite experience. I've gone from 100% OK to more like 70% sometime just before 1909 came out. That said there were some external factors at play that I'm still working through eg new glasses.
I can't justify spending time (or eye/brain "resources") with this causing low-level stress. I can play here and there on the Xbox for a limited time, but I'm always butting up against my limits, and that's always in the back of my mind and that's not a pleasant or relaxing experience, which is the only reason I would game to begin with.
I have never had an xbox one but could use PS4 on 43 sony FHD TV all days... when switched to 50" 4k Sony headaches.. that sux. Strangly no issues on PC connected to same TV.
I was gifted an Xbox One S this week so have had a few test sessions. 
After about 10-15mins the usual symptoms appear again, which is a shame.
However one thing I did think was, would remote play be any better? The Xbox app only installs with W10 (and at least a 2019 version and above). I tested out remote play on a W10 20H2 build and IMO it looked slightly more comfortable than the native output, however because of the OS requirements, any W10 install is going to cause issues as well.
If anybody here has a bad Xbox one but a good W10 20xx setup, may be worth trying remote play to see if there is a difference.