Eyes hurting - Monitor issue?

KnightStalker

KnightStalker

KnightStalker

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Joined
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Hey, i know this is a strange question to be asking on here..
Firstly ive had an eye test (4 days ago) and ive got perfect eye sight needing no glasses.
After about 30 mins of sitting down at the computer, my eyes start to get to get sore and very dry, this doesnt happen watching TV or doing anything else..
Ive adjusted the brightness and contrast to make them lower and more darker yet the same problem still happens, renderning me uselss after 30 mins as my eyes cant take much more.

Monitor in question is a Haans-G HW19 D (19"WS) connected to a HD4850 VIA straight DVI connection, Refresh rate is only 60 as thats all it takes, running at native res 1440x900.

Im at a loss as to what else i can do, any suggestions?, as i said earlier ive had an eye test recently and thats fine.
 
just got my tape measure out, im currently sitting 2 and half foot away lol, any further and i wont be able to see the screen...Deuce, mine only shows 60...although if i remember correctly 75 isnt really for TFT.
 
You can get eye drops that lubricate your eyes, some people are just more sensetive than others sometimes. I only tried them once but they stopped my eyes hurting when I got tired in the evening and had to be up till 4am.
 
Make sure you blink regularly, keep the brightness as low as you can without having to strain to see the picture on the screen. Also, and most important, make sure your eye level is aligned with the TOP of the monitor, so you look down at the screen.
 
At work someone just went on some HSE course, and is now going around examining how everyone sits etc.

One of the things he's said is that you should actually be able to touch your monitor from the sitting position (this was the only thing I was actually doing wrong!). I thought it was better to sit a bit further away, but supposedly not. Apparently it strains your eyes if you sit further than this for an extended period. Perhaps try sitting closer, rather than further away?

Your eyes should also be looking more towards the top of the screen in your normal sitting position.

You should also apparently take a 10 minute break for every hour you look at the screen, as you tend to stop blinking so often or something, and your eyes start to go dry. Eye drops, as previously mentioned, could be a plan..

I say apparently as I don't know for sure, I'm just going by what someone who's been on a course has told me :D
 
KnightStalker said:
Monitor in question is a Haans-G HW19 D (19"WS) connected to a HD4850 VIA straight DVI connection, Refresh rate is only 60 as thats all it takes, running at native res 1440x900
Click to expand...

Refresh rate on an LCD isn't like the old CRT refresh rates eye-strain (of flicker) wise. On a CRT, an electron beam scans across and down the screen, lighting up a small patch of Phosphor. This fades over a few milliseconds and the lower the refresh rate, the more it faded - leading to a flicker which could cause some people real problems eye strain wise. This is why we saw 100hz televisions and the like.

LCD's are a whole different kettle of fish, once lit, a pixel stays in that state until it's told to change to another state - no flicker, even with refresh rates as low as 1hz.

As for eye strain, make sure you aren't using the computer in a dark room, make sure the text is a comfortable size for reading (try putting the windows DPI up) and you take regular breaks. Computer use is different from watching media as you are reading/writing small text in the former.

Also, try switching on cleartype if you haven't already - I find it makes a big difference.
 
To add to the general advice you should try to look away from the screen periodically, look at the wall behind the screen, the ceiling, the corner of the room, anywhere that allows your eyes to adjust focus.

Is this a new monitor ?

Is the problem at its worst when reading text or is the problem equally bad when watching movies, viewing images, playing games ?

The sensitivity of some to CRT refresh is well recorded and while LCD's are free from the effects of the scanning electron beam and phosphor fade time they do feature a number of other quirks that some may find distressing.

Variation in colour and contrast due to viewing angle results in the eyes receiving slightly different images. Where movement is involved the near instant switch from frame to frame combined with natural retina retention causes a blurring that may result in problems with focus. When the backlight is dimmed the entire screen is actually flashing at somewhere between 150 to 300Hz (nominally), this can also cause the ccfl's to produce brief coloured 'sparkles'. Some may find LCD's to be just to sharp, a mixture of their inherent brightness, polarised light and pixel pitch. etc.

A lot to consider, I find ambient lighting and viewing angle to have the greatest effect. Your millage and sensitivities may vary ;)

Edit:
I forgot to mention, be aware of environmental factors that contribute to drying your eyes. Heating, possibly even heat from the monitor panel, and drafts.
 
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cheers for the replies much appreciated, sitting closer actually did relieve the problem, but as soon as i move away it starts again, so it looks like im gonna have to re-think my seating/table lol

also The Deuce whats your brightness/contrast set to? mine B30 C89
 
is this problem during the day or night? with the lights off? where is the window? is there much reflection on the monitor?

Hz levels on a LCD monitor won't make any difference.

are you drinking enough water? ;) blink more :)
 
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