Are Low Refresh Rates Bad for the Eyes? 27
suwalski asks: "Often when I go over to someone's house to help them with 'computer stuff' (translation: free support), I notice that many people who don't know better still use 60Hz as their refresh rate. XP seems to automatically tune higher, but for the others, I immediately bump it up, because it hurts my eyes. They say they don't see the difference. Am I right to assume that low refresh rates that make my eyes water are not healthy? If people don't notice the low refresh rate, does it still damage their eyes? Anyone know of any studies or papers?"
Re:It's fucking Christmas (Score:1)
Yes, yes they are. (Score:1, Informative)
Flatscreens are another matter. They hold the colour consistantly. There is no problem with flicker, only bluring.
First post you mother fucking sp0rks.
Re:Yes, yes they are. (Score:2)
Glad I'm Not The Only One (Score:2)
However, a low refresh rate is worse if there are flourescent lights in the room - which of course strobe a lot more noticeably than filament bulbs. Perhaps this is contributing to the problem?
Then of course, if you're always staring at a TV, your eyes might become accustomed to it.
It irks me too (Score:2)
Some people may not notice, but those are usually the non-serious users. The "Computers are cool, but Word scares me" crowd don't usually notice much of anything. I once sat a guy in front of my dvorak keyboard (IBM Model M, removable key caps!) and he didn't notice for quite a while (minutes even!)...
Re:It irks me too (Score:1)
refresh rates (Score:1)
Re:refresh rates (Score:1)
This is why it defaults "lower". Actually, XP does a good job of defaulting higher.. My box defaulted to 75 and 1024x768 (17 inch monitor) which, of course, I upped to 85 @ 1152x864
While I agree that WinXP should be better at detecting and auto-implementing these things, it's still way ahead of the ballgame in this area. Plug an older or even newer monitor into a Mac, and you've got a 50-50 shot of ending up with "Out of Sync" message on the screen. Better odds with OS X, but I'm still seeing it after swapping my monitor out with an older monitor that likes being set at 1024x768. WinXP? Swap it out with a 21 inch monitor set to a scary-high rez, then with a 12 inch LCD screen that can only display 256 colors and at 640x480, and it recognizes these limitations and adjusts accordingly. Which is good--cuz if you can't access the damned computer 'cuz the monitor's set too high and the OS isn't dealing with it, then you can't do a whole hell of a lot. If you can access it, and the monitor's set too low, then hey... That's fixable, no?
-Sara
Yep (Score:4, Informative)
On another note, Windows users should check out RefreshForce [pagehosting.co.uk], which automatically sets the highest possible refresh rate every time you (or a game, or other app) switches resolutions or color depths in Windows. I run it on a couple machines wit no trouble.
Now it's everything else...... (Score:1)
Re:Now it's everything else...... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Now it's everything else...... (Score:2)
My Optitions Advice (Score:2, Informative)
He said to make sure that the refresh is above 75Hz if not more, the higher the better (well my current monitor is doing 64.9 =/)
And yes it is the low refresh that is hurting your eyes. One way to spot exceptional bad refresh to look just over the top of the monitor, if you can see it flicker then the refresh is way too low.
The word you are looking for is "optician" (Score:2)
But good idea. Ask a professional.
I think it depends... (Score:1)
What I found very useful is photocromatic lenses (I have a heavy myopia). It seems that polarizing light helps my sight!
ciao,
whoope (Score:1)