Making monitors better for reading

Muel · 27 Nov 2012 at 08:32

I have a fairly serious problem, I find reading text on a monitor very uncomfortable. This is a problem because I'm trying to do a computing degree. I feel it's really starting to hold me back.

Not sure what to do really. I have found that black text on a light grey background is easier, so should I try reducing my backlight level?

Anyone have the same/similar issue?

Baddass · 27 Nov 2012 at 10:01

what screen are you using?

could be any number of things potentially. too small a pixel pitch, poorly set up gamma or brightness, affects caused by Pulse Width modulation backlight dimming, dodgy / broken screen or cables

Muel · 27 Nov 2012 at 10:22

Hannspree HF287. I actually have 3 of them so I can compare results.

Playing around with zoom, sitting position, brightness etc seems to have only done so much, I still much prefer reading things on paper.

Maybe part of the problem is just me... Reading reports is boring, so focusing on paper and standing up seems to force me to concentrate more. It's a waste of paper though!

Baddass · 27 Nov 2012 at 11:09

Well I doubt you're alone in that and it's often not as easy to focus on a large screen as on a good old piece of paper

You may perhaps be seeing some issues with PWM use for backlight dimming? If you've not heard of that before read the article at tftcentral linked in my sig

sunama · 27 Nov 2012 at 20:32

Have you tried activating clear text?
Control Panel >> Display settings >> Adjust Clear Type text
...then follow on screen instructions.

With regards easy reading, I suggest you reduce your brightness level and contrast level. This will make reading for extended periods easier on your eyes. All my monitors are set up to be very soft on the eyes (low brightness and low contrast).

Hope this helps.

Rroff · 30 Nov 2012 at 00:26

Would it be worth getting something like the kindle (not sure if the kindle can be used in this fashion as its probably too locked down) to upload stuff you have to read a lot of to? i.e. ereaders that have displays designed for prolonged reading from.

sunama · 30 Nov 2012 at 01:27

Kindle would be "locked down", however, you could get a tablet PC, to remove the locks and simulate the feel of reading a piece of paper. I think tablet PCs are relatively cheap these days.

Personally though, I feel that a good/sharp IPS screen is great for text reading and as good as reading from paper.

For me, Dell U2311H is the best monitor I have owned for reading text. Its terrible for graphics/movies, but great for text.