Anyone else affected by PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)?

[donline]

Hi folks, I just bought a new laptop (ASUS X-series with 1080HD LED screen) and I've been getting headaches, nausea, dizziness and generally feeling I can't really focus my eyes on the screen...

Has anyone else had this experience and does it sound like something caused by PWM?

Any modern laptops you recommend that are flicker/PWM-free?

Thanks!

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

Nah, that's just marketing scams, bud.

Lower the monitor temperature, reduce brightness, blink more often.

What you're describing is CVS, ComputerVisionSyndrome.

One of the most common things that causes CVS, is using a glossy monitor coating.

I'm a display expert, but not an eye doctor. However, it's important to note that CVS isn't permanent, it's temporary.

Read about it here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_vision_syndrome


Questions? Just ask, I've got some experience with this.



All the best!

 

[donline]

Nah, that's just marketing scams, bud.

Lower the monitor temperature, reduce brightness, blink more often.

What you're describing is CVS, ComputerVisionSyndrome.

One of the most common things that causes CVS, is using a glossy monitor coating.

I'm a display expert, but not an eye doctor. However, it's important to note that CVS isn't permanent, it's temporary.

Read about it here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_vision_syndrome


Questions? Just ask, I've got some experience with this.



All the best!

Thank you Suzuki!

I'll try those things you mention and see how it goes...

How do you reduce the monitor temperature on a laptop, and what's the ideal brightness level (I was playing around with this for a while but couldn't decide)?

As a general comment, when running Windows 10 now (with 1080 Full HD display), it seems like everything is generally very small (so I adjusted the scaling option in Win10 to scale to 150% which helped a bit). It seems like Win10 is trying to compensate and adjust scaling and it doesn't always look good in applications.

My monitor is a 15.6", 1920 x 1080 (Full HD), 16:9 ratio, 200 cd/m2, LED screen and it's matte (I was looking at glossy screens in the shops and didn't like them).

I was also wondering about viewing angle and distance, and specifically what angle to tilt the screen?

Thanks

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

It won't really matter what direction you tilt the screen, as long as you're comfortable looking at it, distance is also subjective.

Try this: https://justgetflux.com/

Read up on CVS is my advice to you.

Brightness is usually one of the function keys on laptops. You may also be able to adjust the brightness in the control panel.

 

[donline]

It won't really matter what direction you tilt the screen, as long as you're comfortable looking at it, distance is also subjective.

Try this: https://justgetflux.com/

Read up on CVS is my advice to you.

Brightness is usually one of the function keys on laptops. You may also be able to adjust the brightness in the control panel.

Thanks Suzuki

Actually I did download f.lux the other day, but only played around with it very briefly. I'll take another look.

Yep, no problem adjusting the brightness, was just wondering if there's a recommended level of brightness? I usually have it on 100% (sometimes 90%).

You mentioned about adjusting monitor temperature - how would you do this on a laptop?

Also, I sit with my desk side-ways on to my window and wondered if the lighting might be an issue? I can't see any glare (matte screen) but maybe this positioning isn't good?

Cheers

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

Read up on CVS is my advice to you. All the BS people have been spreading about PWM is giving me a headache instead.

Brightness is usually one of the function keys on laptops. You may also be able to adjust the brightness in the control panel. Now, it's important to balance brightness with your room temperature, not just color temperature. The brighter the display, the brighter the room needs to be, or you be further away to compensate.

----

F.lux is changing your color temperature, it's measured in Kelvin, lower = warmer, higher = colder.

 

[donline]

Read up on CVS is my advice to you. All the BS people have been spreading about PWM is giving me a headache instead.

Brightness is usually one of the function keys on laptops. You may also be able to adjust the brightness in the control panel. Now, it's important to balance brightness with your room temperature, not just color temperature. The brighter the display, the brighter the room needs to be, or you be further away to compensate.

----

F.lux is changing your color temperature, it's measured in Kelvin, lower = warmer, higher = colder.

Thanks Suzuki

That's interesting with balancing brightness with room temperature... had not heard of/considered that before.

I'll read up some more on CVS and see how things go

Thanks again and have a great weekend

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

Indoor lights are around 3000k, so if the room temperature is very warm, then change F.lux to 3000k as well, and see if it's easier on your eyes.

//Reposted twice to not lose any of my points incase you miss them.

 

[donline]

Indoor lights are around 3000k, so if the room temperature is very warm, then change F.lux to 3000k as well, and see if it's easier on your eyes.

//Reposted twice to not lose any of my points incase you miss them.

Thanks again Suzuki

I usually try to just have natural/outdoor lighting as much as possible (it looks like f.lux adjusts according to time of day and location). Good to know with the indoor lights though as I'll be using those more in the winter.

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

Relying on outdoor sunlight isn't the best idea, because a room won't be equally bright, if that makes sense, or consistent, since the sun is moving I guess makes more sense. If it's a perfect scenario, it blasts your room, then rely on it and adjust F.lux accordingly.

The thing about the automatic adjustments is that it might not always be accurate. If you have a street light outside your window and it shines through, the indoor lights and the street light mix and give you a colder color than your indoor lights alone. For me personally, around 3500K is perfect during the night.

And yep, have a nice weekend bud!

 

[donline]

Relying on outdoor sunlight isn't the best idea, because a room won't be equally bright, if that makes sense, or consistent, since the sun is moving I guess makes more sense. If it's a perfect scenario, it blasts your room, then rely on it and adjust F.lux accordingly.

The thing about the automatic adjustments is that it might not always be accurate. If you have a street light outside your window and it shines through, the indoor lights and the street light mix and give you a colder color than your indoor lights alone. For me personally, around 3500K is perfect during the night.

And yep, have a nice weekend bud!

All sounds a bit complicated but will do my best, thanks

Just had a couple of questions string to mind...

I've been using two other laptops in the same location (so same light etc) and not had the nausea etc, so that didn't make sense to me that the new laptop would create this problem?

Also, I've seen quite a few monitors being sold stating that they reduce 'blue light' - is this another marketing ploy or useful feature?

Cheers

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

That's marketing, but can manually be taken care of, F.lux is doing it too -- they're referring to CVS, see:

Straight from BenQ:

"Have you ever experienced eyestrain after an extensive movie night or working late on your computer? Have you noticed headaches or red, burning eyes, or feelings of overall fatigue and discomfort? If so, then you might have experienced Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS)."

Source: http://www.benq.com/solution/eye-care-monitors

 

[donline]

That's marketing, but can manually be taken care of, F.lux is doing it too -- they're referring to CVS, see:

Straight from BenQ:

"Have you ever experienced eyestrain after an extensive movie night or working late on your computer? Have you noticed headaches or red, burning eyes, or feelings of overall fatigue and discomfort? If so, then you might have experienced Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS)."

Source: http://www.benq.com/solution/eye-care-monitors

Ok thanks, thought it might be marketing

And with the different laptops and only one making me feel ill? (All on same settings, brightness, and same location in my room). Any ideas with that?

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

Could be a lot of things, but PWM isn't one of them.

We could investigate over time.

I'll ask the different manufacturers tomorrow, and I'll post what they have to say about their "technology".

 

[donline]

Could be a lot of things, but PWM isn't one of them.

We could investigate over time.

I'll ask the different manufacturers tomorrow, and I'll post what they have to say about their "technology".

Thanks Suzuki, sounds interesting with asking the manufacturers!

It would be nice to get to the bottom of things and feel better when using the laptop

Some people have mentioned about setting the brightness level to 100% (e.g. via the keyboard shortcut keys) and then lowering it via the graphics card settings (apparently this doesn't adjust the backlighting, it only changes the way it's computed and output?).

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

If it doesn't change the brightness, then what does it change?

 

[donline]

If it doesn't change the brightness, then what does it change?

I'll check and get back to you on that one!
I know some people also put brightness up to 100% but then adjust the contrast (and/or use f.lux) to make the screen less bright.