Eye Strain, Fatigue, CVS, Home Cinema Projector, Plasmas,
Hello
In an HD movie home theater cinema room with a room design and equipment configured to reduce eye glare/eye strain which setup will produce less computer vision syndrome/eyestrain/eye fatigue a 70 inch plasma or a home theatre cinema projector.
How does computer vision syndrome/eyestrain/eye fatigue compare after watching 2 or 3 movies in one day on a 70 plasma vs. a home theater projector. Which is easier on the eyes?
Thanks for all the replies.
Budget for FULLHD home cinema projector or fullhd plasma is 1900 USD.
Edit:
Interested in learning about eye fatigue, eye strain, or computer vision syndrome?
Research Video Calibration and you will understand that if the device be it a TV or projection screen is properly calibrated for the room environment, there should be NO eye strain..
I have no idea what half those terms you used were, but any reflective source will be easier on the eyes than an emissive source.
therefore, watching a projector is basically zero eye strain(unless you get eye strain from looking at everything), and will be less than a plasma, or lcd.
For whatever it's worth, the guidelines for theaters to limit brightness to 14ftL (16ftL wide open got naturally lowered to 14ftL once a filmreel was in place) was supposedly established to minimize eye-strain in a totally blackened room.
With a backlight being used to keep the eyes adjusted for a certain limit of dark-adaption (keeping the pupils from changing dilation too much between bright and dim scene changes) a brighter/higher ftL number can comfortably be used as this is how professional video editors around the world perform their jobs both for accuracy and comfort.
I doubt light reflecting from a surface or being evenly emitted from one makes much difference in eye-strain as the only difference between techniques (post calibration) would be that light is traveling through the room twice for projection..which would theoretically make short-throw and furthermore ultrashort-throw more strenuous than standard as eventually the extreme is reached where there is only light being reflected (essentially emitted) from a surface (not to mention rear-projection). A screen with higher than natural gain will have limited viewing angles and color-shifting like a poor LCD flatpanel TV and worse than a decent plasma..so projection isn't by default immune to these problems.
Perhaps someone else has a good theory how light traveling through the room twice (remember it's still just as dark during dark scenes and bright during bright scenes, so backlighting would still be necessary in the same circumstances) affects our eyes and brains?
I am not a doctor, optometrist, etc. This is only based on my personal experience.
1) the closer I am to a "glowing object" the more intense eye strain is, and the shorter the time it takes me to get eye strain.
2) The smaller the screen size, the closer my eyes are to the light. Phones? a few inches away. Laptops - probably about a foot. 55" TV - about 5-7 feet. 120" projection screen? between 10 and 15 feet.
3) my personal observation, and I may be all wet on this, is that there seems to be a perceived difference between the direct light of phones, TV, etc. and indirect light from a front projection screen. I don't think it is just the result of #2 . For example, I can feel the heat from the LCD screens when viewed close. I have stood close to a projection screen and don't feel that heat on my eyes. And obviously sitting 10 to 15 I wouldn't feel anything.
Net: I can watch movies on a large projection screen for hours without fatigue. Watching movies on laptops and TVS? I get eye fatigue.
Again, I have no scientific data to support this. Only my personal experience.
It's a valid point.
I've noticed that back when I used to spend long hours in front of a monitor my eyes would become very irritated after days of prolonged use..I later switched to using a 55" LCD TV as a monitor from a 4-6' distance and it significantly lengthened the amount of days I could stand for prolonged periods.
I used to use a PC to read and would get pretty bloodshot from it, but switched over to a smartphone when android got flashplayer support and even longer hours reading from a modestly bright phone-screen doesn't bother my eyes.
In my case, I'd have to guess it's a change to lower brightness and possibly less restrictive viewing angles (if that's even able to cause trouble) because there hasn't been much else that's changed.
I haven't noticed any problems with long hours from my projectors nor plasma (which I've been marathoning GameOfThrones on because I've missed the last several seasons).
In general I think movie watching should be less irritating than long hours of text reading. I also think any decent TV/PJ that's using modest and comfortable brightness and natural looking (close to rec) settings should be able to provide a majority of viewers with a comfortable movie experience for several hours at a time.
But, if you're looking for an excuse to try a projector, it IS a big and comfortable screen that can really add some extra fun to the whole viewing experience. If you can darken a room and fit an excitingly large screen (or painted wall) I say learn your best options here, find a place with a decent return policy and go for it.
I don't have a lot of issues with eye strain. but I would say I've had more trouble with the f8500 than anything else. when I first got it, it was way too bright and that was definitely an issue. I've tried turning down the cell light to 50%, and currently I'm running it in eco mode to help dim the screen.
anyway, at comparable brightness levels, I find that the most eyestrain I experience is from plasma, then lcd, and nothing with projector. I can conclusively state that I experience more eyestrain watching my f8500 than my jvc x35. but I don't normally watch the projector at a comparable brightness level, I prefer it darker.
Apparently, the reflective display of a projector will allow the viewer to truly, without (or with less) discomfort, relax while watching a movie.
If less eye strain and less CVS is better, then projector seems the way to go.
If one would not stare into a bright lit light bulb for hours, would one stare into a TV? The thought of having the TV display slowly build up discomfort while watching a movie, a time meant for meditative relaxation (for some people), just doesn´t make sense, to some people.
Just a point a view.
Plus, certain people will already come home, after work, with a certain degree of eye strain from working in an office with a laptop. So why make the accumulated eye strain of the day worse at night by watching a movie on a TV, instead of a projector.
The CVS studies don't apply much because of the significant differences between a decent movie watching environment VS college/workplace PC use. The monitor at school/work is small, bright, reflecting ambient light, and usually text-based and rigorous. The movie environment is large, darker, less ambient light reflecting against the screen, and rarely text-based.
How often do you see someone lean forward and squint at a monitor? How often do you see that happen with a well set up display during a film?
I'd wager if those same numbers of affected viewers were likewise affected during television, that we'd have a lot lower average viewing hours than current.
I'm not saying it isn't lessened with projection..just betting it isn't a significant issue for properly positioned, sized, set, and lit viewing conditions of ANY decent display.
If you're having trouble with your eyes at home on the computer, if possible, lower the backlight control, place a lamp behind and facing the wall and turn out (or dim) the room lights. Position your monitor height level with your eyes while in a comfortable seating position. If you're monitor shopping, measure the distance from your eyes (when seated) to your planned monitor position and look for a screen that's width is about 2/3 that measurement.
These are all things performed for many home theaters..often without that much thought because a lot of positioning is instinctive and lower brightness in a dark (or backlit) room is par for the course.
Treat your PC to the same diligence and you'll likely find your eyes reaping the rewards.
^^I agree. I think you can fix the viewing environment and calibration on the display to make plasma, lcd, oled, crt, or whatever emissive display not cause eye strain for the vast majority of ppl(some may have issues with 'flicker' still?). I've watched my fair share of plasmas, crts, and lcd's. the f8500 is the first that's been 'affecting' me. I'm sure I could solve the issue by changing some settings, but it's 'good enough' right now.
but I'd say you are far more likely to have something that needs to be fixed on one of those displays, compared to a projector.
Position your monitor height level with your eyes while in a comfortable seating position. If you're monitor shopping, measure the distance from your eyes (when seated)
to your planned monitor position and look for a screen that's width is about 2/3 that measurement
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