APC75 Can you still use the touch screen when the tablet is plugged in? I suppose the screen goes off. If you don't need a touch screen, you could buy an ODROID-C2. I use it myself with a wireless keyboard. It runs Android and is usable for me (many devices aren't).

    APC75 I have tried the Roku stick and Fire stick. Both caused instant eye strain, I have not tried any other device since then

      2 months later

      Well my Plasma TV, which i can use without any eye strain whatsoever, now has problems, and I need to find a replacement. This worries me. Plasma is no longer available, so only LED TVs. Many LED TVs now have Android TV built in, but with Android built it also concerns me, will it cause eye strain (like some Android phones do)? So now we have to worry about PWM and graphics driver in TVs as well.

      Anyone can use any 2017 Sony LED TVs without eye strain? If yes, can you share the model number.

        Kray

        The X850E from Sony's 2017 lineup is pretty good. I wrote about it a bit earlier in this thread. In terms of PQ it is the best non-PWM LED-backlit (and non-OLED) TV available, and it has a VA panel. I have the 65" version but have not used the 75" version which according to Rtings has an IPS panel and so might as well be a different TV. I've looked at it for several hours without issue. The backlight is not that dim even at 0% so I am forced to turn the contrast quite low for extended viewing, to a level that impacts the PQ negatively.

        From what I've seen from Rtings reviews the backlight is actually dim in comparison to many other LED-backlit TVs, which must be painful.

        I think if you are not sensitive to brightness I would give it a shot.

        The Android TV on it is useless it is so slow and clunky. I don't really care about smart TV features but like you I am concerned if Android has any effect on non-Android TV content. Recently it got an update to 7.0 when I wasn't there and I'm not sure how it's going to effect me. I already did a factory reset since the update to address some serious lag in the settings UI so I'm not sure if it's still possible for me to downgrade (if it ever was).

        My eyes still can't relax on it 100% like they do on my Panasonic plasma. It's just not the same. It's in a family viewing area in a bright room so it was the best compromise I could think of to replace a pounding headache inducing TV (early LED-backlit LG) that was there previously. Because of that I keep the brightness at 0 and adjust the contrast based on time of day. 65 for daytime and 25-30 for nighttime, which are the lowest levels to retain all the necessary detail in dark scenes.

            degen

            Thanks, that's a very good point. I do not want to worry about Android TV updating itself to Nougat and causing eye strain. So I have to take Android TV off my list then. Will just go for normal Smart TV, and buy an Android Box. If it causes eye strain, can always remove the box, or replace with another one.

                Kray You should be able to test TV's in a Best Buy of other store and see how you react. You can request the remote control for an individual TV and fiddle with the settings while you are there. This is how I bought my LED TV (Panasonic 55" Viera) and was reasonably confident it wouldn't cause me any issues

                    Kray I probably could have prevented the upgrade if I had the foresight to turn automatic updates off.

                      ensete The overhead lighting and other TVs right beside the one you are looking at make this difficult. Thankfully Best Buy has no fault return for TVs so if you don't like it just return and try again. I dislike people abusing brick and mortar return policies but in this case I think it's justified as a TV that gives even a small % of the population a migraine can be considered a defective product.

                        I have an observation about plasma that I'd like to share.

                        In a dark room with an LED TV, no matter how I calibrate it the light I can see reflected on the ceiling and walls is always the same shade of blue. I'm pretty sure this comes as a surprise to no one.

                        However, in a dark room with my plasma TV, when I calibrate differently the light reflected on the ceilings and walls is different. I am using D-Nice's settings (considered very warm) for my Plasma ST60 and the light on the walls and ceilings is almost equal parts green(!) and blue.

                        Maybe this isn't really news but it affirms to me that trying to get the blue light out of WLED-backlit displays is.. not quite futile but pretty close. It's also one more reason why I think plasma is so gentle on my eyes.

                        Would oled tvs present a problem when it comes to temporal dithering? Do they display temporal dithering the same way lcd panels do?

                        6 days later

                        That website rtings.com is really quite good, it tells which TV models has PWM and which does not, the type of display panels used, the flickering factor etc.

                        Many Samsung TVs have PWM, so those are out. LG panels seems to give me eye strain when looking at it at the store. Sharp TVs, somehow I am not keen on how their picture quality looks. So far I can use Sony LED TVs without any eye strain whatsoever. So I am hoping that I can use their newer models also without eye strain.

                        So far my shortlisted TVs right now are:

                        Sony KDL-55W650D - 55 inch. This is a 2016 model, 650 series is entry level. Has less features i.e. no HDR, no Triluminos etc. I figured the less graphics "features" there are are, the less the risk of one of those "features" causing me eye strain. The picture quality is ok, pretty good, for an entry level series. I looked at the 700 series (which has HDR and Triluminos), and didnt like the colors so much...a bit too saturated for my taste.

                        Sony KDL-50W800C - 50 inch. This is a 2015 model. 800 series is the upper mid-range model. No HDR and Triluminous, but really good picture quality. Has Android TV. I looked at the settings, it came with Android 5.1 and the update can be turned off. So at least I dont have to worry the TV getting a Marshmallow or Nougat update. Surprisingly the Android TV seems to be better for my eyes, at least in the brief period of time when I was looking at it at the store. I dont mind getting a 2015 model. I figured, the older the model, the less risk of it having whatever it is that is causing eye strain on today's newer display devices.

                        Right now I am leaning towards the 800C, even though it is smaller size and older model. Is anyone using any of these 2 models above? Do they give you eye strain?

                          Kray Honestly TV's are so hit or miss that it's really what works for you. I'd always personally rather have a one year older upper model than a one year newer lower model, so if it were me sight unseen I'd take the 800C.

                          I don't know how the triluminous plays with our eyes, in theory it SEEMS good - three different colored lights, that can be turned up and down independently. But in practice on phones it was dreadful, so staying away from it might be a good plan regardless.

                            it tells which TV models has PWM and which does not, the type of display panels used, the flickering factor etc.

                            Literally zero of the TV's I have had problems using have used PWM or flicker.

                            a year later

                            I have a Sony 50W800C. It's a bit older, but I have no problems with it except when I'm already dizzy to the point of wanting to look at nothing.

                            You can change the settings on it to turn off any flicker too, which was why I originally chose it over Samsung. Android plus Kodi is great too.

                            4 months later

                            degen

                            I have been through 5 T.V.'s so far (all from 2019) including a Sony that was not supposed to have PWM according to rtings.com (X850F) with no luck! Is the X850E still treating you well? Would you recommend for those of us with sensitive eyes? I am kinda desperate at this point to gets something that I can watch for more than 20 min without intense eye strain/headaches/dizziness etc. Let me know if you have any insights, thanks!

                              Kray

                              I have the W800C (55inch) and had zero issues with it on game mode, so if you want to be super safe you can go with that one, just wont get 4k, which is what I am searching for now.

                                  Thanks for the tip on game mode.

                                  I've bought a new Sony KDL-50W660F LED TV about a year ago. I purposely chose a 1080p model (I don't watch a lot of 4k content, plus i dont like how 720p or 1080p content look when scaled up to 4k) and also one that does not have Android TV.

                                  At first, I do get some mild eye strain and I would not be able to watch whole movie (1-2 hours straight) without feeling dry and fatigue eyes. But after a while, my eyes must've adjusted or gotten use to it, because now I can watch entire movie (2-3 hours movie) without a problem. So I am happy.

                                  I think for some TV or display panels, if you get just mild eye strain, maybe can try to use it and see if your eyes can adjust to get use to it. May not work for everyone though.

                                  voidv2 Odd you mention game mode, my TV causes incredible pain but in Game Mode the pain vanishes, so we keep it on Game mode all the time. any idea what Game mode does?

                                      ensete Probably disables all (most) color enhancements modern TV usually enforce on the picture. This costs time so would undesirably increase input lag while gaming.

                                        4 days later

                                        ensete If game mode works for you I would say you made some great progress diagnosing yourself. LED is really slow and has tons of motion blur. Game mode, over drive, black frame insertion and super high refresh rate are probably the answers you are looking for.

                                          dev