4 ms·

I have a 13.3-inch Dasung e-ink monitor, and use it daily for three to six hours (basically, whenever I use my PC). Some days ago the HDMI cable it came with br

by Funes- 6y ago

I have a 13.3-inch Dasung e-ink monitor, and use it daily for three to six hours (basically, whenever I use my PC). Some days ago the HDMI cable it came with broke, so before I had the opportunity to replace it, I had to switch back to an LED monitor for the time being. Well, surely anyone can already guess what happened... After just a couple of days, I came upon a long forgotten enemy: eye fatigue. Blurry vision, trouble focusing it, and a light headache. Like many others here, I wish the technology could have advanced faster and been made more accessible for everyone. Without the obstacles it still faces, I'm sure we would already have color screens with a good refresh rate. C'est la vie.

tyler109 6y ago
I hope color eink monitors become a reality soon. For those who suffer from eye strain through conventional LED this would be a game changer.
InvOfSmallC 6y ago
Can I ask you how is the feedback when you write on your keyboard? Isn't there a delay?
- Funes- 6y ago
  The refresh rate is really good for an e-ink screen. There's no significant delay when typing. It's not blazing fast, but it never gets noticeable enough to be annoying. I even watch videos on this thing, although I account for the lag by adding a 200 ms A-V delay on mpv (Ctrl++).
  - exikyut 6y ago
    To be completely clear, do you mean that there's a median of ~200ms of latency? That's kind of my "oww, server is too far away" point with SSH...
    - Funes- 6y ago
      It's closer to 150 ms. mpv only lets you increase or decrease delay in intervals of a hundred milliseconds, as far as I know.
      - exikyut 6y ago
        Thanks. FWIW, that's what the default keybindings configure. You can create your own input.conf to override this - ^F for `audio-delay`: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mpv-player/mpv/master/etc/input.conf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mpv-player/mpv/master/etc/... You can also specify --audio-delay (^F in https://mpv.io/manual/master/ https://mpv.io/manual/master/) which accepts fractions of seconds, but that makes for much slower iteration.
seanwilson 6y ago
> Well, surely anyone can already guess what happened... After just a couple of days, I came upon a long forgotten enemy: eye fatigue. Blurry vision, trouble focusing it, and a light headache. Is this actually a common problem? I've never had this with even 12 hours a day in front of a screen, or is this just luck?
- toyg 6y ago
  Some people are more sensitive to this issue than others. Age is a big factor, weight is another (because of faster dehydration), and of course monitor calibration, environmental light, etc. But yes, monitors eventually kill eyes and brains, even flatscreens.
  - seanwilson 6y ago
    > But yes, monitors eventually kill eyes Are you sure? https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/safeguarding-your-sight https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/safeguarding-your-... "Myth: Reading in dim light will worsen your vision. Fact: Although dim lighting will not adversely affect your eyesight, it will tire your eyes out more quickly." "Myth: Staring at a computer screen all day is bad for the eyes. Fact: Although using a computer will not harm your eyes, staring at a computer screen all day will contribute to eyestrain or tired eyes. Adjust lighting so that it does not create a glare or harsh reflection on the screen."
    - majewsky 6y ago
      I'm going to repeat my comment from 11 days ago where you posted the same thing: > So the myth is true, unless for some reason you don't consider eyestrain and tired eyes "bad for the eyes".
      - seanwilson 6y ago
        I think you're confusing me with someone else as I don't believe I've ever posted that link before. > So the myth is true, unless for some reason you don't consider eyestrain and tired eyes "bad for the eyes". I was replying to "monitors eventually kill eyes and brains". I would equate "kill" to "permanently damage" and not "temporarily tired" so maybe we're just disagreeing on definitions? And how bad is it really? Do you have anything to back what you mean and its severity? Most activities cause temporary fatigue after several hours so what makes this special?
AntiImperialis2 6y ago
Have you tried using OLEDs? I can't imagine how eInk would be different from an OLED on grayscale and low brightness settings... other than the fact that OLED will be better in terms of availability, refresh rates, response times, resolution and price.
rahimiali 6y ago
Anyone here understand why LCD would cause eye strain and EInk wouldn't? Is it emissive vs reflective? Why would this make a difference? The only source of strain I can imagine for a monitor is if 1) it's too bright, 2) it's at bad distance so your eyes have to accommodate or verge uncomfortably. Does it have something with the spectrum of the reflected light?
- tyler109 6y ago
  There are many reasons. Accomodation, Nerves, Bad Sight, Weak Muscles, Heterophoria, etc. There is a whole community dedicated to LED Strain: https://ledstrain.org/ https://ledstrain.org/
  - tyler109 6y ago
    You can also read more here: https://pcmonitors.info/articles/factors-influencing-pc-monitor-viewing-comfort/ https://pcmonitors.info/articles/factors-influencing-pc-moni...

by Funes- 6y ago

tyler109 6y ago

I hope color eink monitors become a reality soon. For those who suffer from eye strain through conventional LED this would be a game changer.

InvOfSmallC 6y ago

Can I ask you how is the feedback when you write on your keyboard? Isn't there a delay?

Funes- 6y ago
The refresh rate is really good for an e-ink screen. There's no significant delay when typing. It's not blazing fast, but it never gets noticeable enough to be annoying. I even watch videos on this thing, although I account for the lag by adding a 200 ms A-V delay on mpv (Ctrl++).
- exikyut 6y ago
  To be completely clear, do you mean that there's a median of ~200ms of latency? That's kind of my "oww, server is too far away" point with SSH...
  - Funes- 6y ago
    It's closer to 150 ms. mpv only lets you increase or decrease delay in intervals of a hundred milliseconds, as far as I know.
    - exikyut 6y ago
      Thanks. FWIW, that's what the default keybindings configure. You can create your own input.conf to override this - ^F for `audio-delay`: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mpv-player/mpv/master/etc/input.conf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mpv-player/mpv/master/etc/... You can also specify --audio-delay (^F in https://mpv.io/manual/master/ https://mpv.io/manual/master/) which accepts fractions of seconds, but that makes for much slower iteration.

seanwilson 6y ago

> Well, surely anyone can already guess what happened... After just a couple of days, I came upon a long forgotten enemy: eye fatigue. Blurry vision, trouble focusing it, and a light headache. Is this actually a common problem? I've never had this with even 12 hours a day in front of a screen, or is this just luck?

toyg 6y ago
Some people are more sensitive to this issue than others. Age is a big factor, weight is another (because of faster dehydration), and of course monitor calibration, environmental light, etc. But yes, monitors eventually kill eyes and brains, even flatscreens.
- seanwilson 6y ago
  > But yes, monitors eventually kill eyes Are you sure? https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/safeguarding-your-sight https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/safeguarding-your-... "Myth: Reading in dim light will worsen your vision. Fact: Although dim lighting will not adversely affect your eyesight, it will tire your eyes out more quickly." "Myth: Staring at a computer screen all day is bad for the eyes. Fact: Although using a computer will not harm your eyes, staring at a computer screen all day will contribute to eyestrain or tired eyes. Adjust lighting so that it does not create a glare or harsh reflection on the screen."
  - majewsky 6y ago
    I'm going to repeat my comment from 11 days ago where you posted the same thing: > So the myth is true, unless for some reason you don't consider eyestrain and tired eyes "bad for the eyes".
    - seanwilson 6y ago
      I think you're confusing me with someone else as I don't believe I've ever posted that link before. > So the myth is true, unless for some reason you don't consider eyestrain and tired eyes "bad for the eyes". I was replying to "monitors eventually kill eyes and brains". I would equate "kill" to "permanently damage" and not "temporarily tired" so maybe we're just disagreeing on definitions? And how bad is it really? Do you have anything to back what you mean and its severity? Most activities cause temporary fatigue after several hours so what makes this special?

AntiImperialis2 6y ago

Have you tried using OLEDs? I can't imagine how eInk would be different from an OLED on grayscale and low brightness settings... other than the fact that OLED will be better in terms of availability, refresh rates, response times, resolution and price.

rahimiali 6y ago

Anyone here understand why LCD would cause eye strain and EInk wouldn't? Is it emissive vs reflective? Why would this make a difference? The only source of strain I can imagine for a monitor is if 1) it's too bright, 2) it's at bad distance so your eyes have to accommodate or verge uncomfortably. Does it have something with the spectrum of the reflected light?

tyler109 6y ago
There are many reasons. Accomodation, Nerves, Bad Sight, Weak Muscles, Heterophoria, etc. There is a whole community dedicated to LED Strain: https://ledstrain.org/ https://ledstrain.org/
- tyler109 6y ago
  You can also read more here: https://pcmonitors.info/articles/factors-influencing-pc-monitor-viewing-comfort/ https://pcmonitors.info/articles/factors-influencing-pc-moni...