Wrightpt1
In some ways the image actually improves. There might be slightly more ips glow and maybe slightly reduced contrast levels. But the overall image uniformity improves (especially wen viewing the screen at angles), and the screen is far easier to focus on. Also at the edges of the screen you can seen a slight non-uniform pattern caused by the edge lighting leds. But this is just a minor trade off for the reduction in eye fatigue.
Here's a picture of the slight edge lit led nonuniformity. https://imgur.com/a/8mlsmtY
Regarding eyestrain. I experience things similar to what many people report on this forum. The overall of becoming somewhat "allergic" to screens. Being able to tell in a few seconds how a screen just looks wrong, with that weird almost glarish glowiness that gives you blurry vision and red eyes and that otherworldly brain fog. The symptoms of how even when the screen is set super dark, it paradoxically always seems too bright and still hurts your eyes. Pretty much all of these symptoms were reduced by removing the semitransparent layer.
I've tried a lot of things. Various panels, projectors. I've removed antiglare coatings, removed entire front polarizer films, removed/ rearranged the various plastic panel diffusers, ccfl backlights, led backlights, janky diy incandescent backlights(which was actually pretty nice), messed around with uvex blue blockers, gunnars, maui jim sunglasses. I've partially concluded that the semitransparent film layer is definitely a cause of eye strain. And I can be relatively sure that the pure white diffusive layers are most likely not causing eyestrain. Because if they were, then looking at those old library analog microfilm machines or staring at a back lit shoji screen would cause that characteristic mind numbing eyestrain, which they don't.
Though the eyestrain has not completely been eliminated it has allowed computer screens to be relatively tolerable, vs feeling like I'm going blind at the end of the day. This would obviously not help fix any pwm caused eyestrain.
Try this.
If you look at your monitor (in my case ips) at an angle see if you notice if the part of the screen closest to you almost darkens in what I can only describe as a washed out silverish glare, while the part of the screen farthest from you stays relatively free from this glare. This isn't ips glow but an effect caused by the semitransparent layer. Removing this layer has interestingly removed that washing out effect and allowed the screen to stay more uniform.