So since very long ago I had ccfl monitor acer al1916w, its nothing special but it served me well. Some years down the line I decided to get new monitor to get more resolution because 1440x900 isnt that much for programs with lot of menus
. Bought AOC ips 24". Around 1-3 minutes after looking at it I felt like I got needles in both my eyes, it was very aggresive feeling, then the headache came. I tried to ignore it as I thought I just need adjust time, played with contrast brightness etc. on day 3, the pain was not going away and looking at that thing was torture, I started researching those symptoms and found out this model had really bad(slow) PWM. I returned it becaue nothing I could do made thing better.
Some time after that I decided to borrow monitor from friend, it was benq ips supposed to be flicker free, it was bit better, but still very uncomfortable. At that point I gave up on new monitors because I suspected LED could be at fault here. Recently I was browsing sales offers in searching for CCFL monitor I found the exact same model as I was using, even tho I wanted more resolution I decided to buy it as it was cheap (converted to USD around 12 dollars) and it was supposed to be hardy ever used. So after bringing it back home it really was barely ever used so I was glad, plugged it in and after some adjustment started using it, and to my suprise it wasnt as comfortable as the old one. It was still MUCH better than any led I used, just not as good as the previous.
So I decided to plug both at once. New one into 1050ti with vga>hdmi connector, and old one as second into motherboard, intel i3 6100 graphics. To my huge surprise the picture was very different on both on them, so I started doing anything possible to match new colors to the old one. It turned out to be impossible. I started wandering about what is going on, and one thing coming to my mind was ccfl degradation, after all old one needed to be set to 78 brightness and new one is at 29 to be the same brightness. It turned out old monitor is very warm, kinda pink/orange compared to the new one, and this effect is impossible to achive through any pixel modification, after all you cant change backlight color with pixel entirely.
So I started wondering what if it was possible to make led monitor with rgb adjustable backlight, so the user would be able to freely adjust light to his tastes? Would that make eye strain go away? After all those 2 monitors are identical, the only difference is one have very old ccfl that started to be orange/pink instead of white. I understand the color reproduction isnt spot on with something like this, but most people dont do color sensitive work on thir monitors, and even those who do dont need it 100% of time, so adjustable RGB backlit would be ideal. Please tell me what do you think about it, I feel like Im slowly going insane having that huge problem that no one I know is able to see.

    Welcome, you'll find lots of people with similar experiences to yourself here.

    Something to consider, both the monitors you could not use were IPS type LCDs, the ones you can use are TN type (I think). I personally can't use IPS monitors, but find most TN monitors with flicker free back lights to be comfortable.

      Seagull yes, the acer is TN type. Do you also experience the same problem with VA panels? I never had VA panel and don't know anyone who have one and could lend me to try. I think about buying one but Im afraid its the horrible LED backlit that cause problems for me.

          Frustrated

          I'm not sure about VA. I've never used a VA monitor, but I am generally ok with TVs, which are often VA. I might have a look on ebay and see if there are any cheap VAs on there, been meaning to try them for a while.

              Frustrated

              The only LED backlit TV I've ever been able to use comfortably happens to be a VA panel

              Outside of a couple of phone screens I haven't come across an IPS panel I find comfortable to use yet.

                  Soreeyes IPS phone screens have been fine for you but not IPS desktop monitors?

                    Seagull Why do you think TNs are comfortable for you yet IPS isn't? What's the difference?

                      For me I have 2 IPS screens and 1 VA. I am returning the VA because it is straining my eyes more than either IPS. Fortunately Amazon is good about returns. I haven't used a TN in many years, but I'm assuming TN technology is more similar to VA than to IPS.

                      Based on what I have, the IPS screens work better for my eyes, but the sample size is small. My low haze IPS is the better of the two, but both are better for me than the VA "eye care" model.

                      I should also mention I go without glasses whenever possible. I've read VA gives one a better surface to "focus on" versus IPS. People who wear glasses all the time tend to have a need to rigidly focus versus using their eyes more easily. They stare and require perfect detail versus taking in visuals more passively.

                      Since I have myopia but go without glasses most of the time, I am used to less than perfect vision. When I put on contacts or glasses and have clearer vision, I notice a difference in how I am using my eyes, and in my psyche as well.

                      Aldous Huxley wrote a book called The Art of Seeing about some of these ideas.

                      Also when I have on my glasses or contacts I am much more easily distracted by the opposite sex whereas without the eye correction I'm better anchored to higher realities.

                      So those of you preferring TN to IPS, are you heavy glasses wearers with a tendency to rigidly stare at the world?

                        K-Moss

                        VA pixels work like IPS but rotated 90degrees. TN is more different.

                        I don't know why TN is ok, but IPS not. I've ruled out colour and polarisation. That leaves pixel response times and other flicker. Right now I am thinking it is because IPS pixels might have greater variation in their response times creating a high frequency flicker. Testing that is night on impossible though.

                          Frustrated While it's the exact same 'screen' I suspect you'll find that they're different lcd 'panels' from different manufacturers.

                          I have a good Macbook Pro from 2013 that I can use, but another similar vintage laptop with identical specs is not so comfortable. I've dug into it and yup - different [lcd panel] manufacturers.

                          I'm having near identical problems with my own CCFL screens. One dies and I replace it with a supposedly identical monitor but it's not as comfortable.

                          That said, I AM suspicious that Windows 10 is doing different things with these monitors... what I don't know.

                          • JTL replied to this.

                              AgentX20 While it's the exact same 'screen' I suspect you'll find that they're different lcd 'panels' from different manufacturers.

                              It has happened before, but most of the time it's not trivial to determine the internal LCD panel of a monitor without disassembly of the monitor housing. Almost always not reported by EDID, etc.

                                dev