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Is there any actual scientific study saying anything either way? I'm aware of a lot of anecdotal evidence in favor of e-ink displays being easier on the eyes t

by wolrah 1y ago

Is there any actual scientific study saying anything either way? I'm aware of a lot of anecdotal evidence in favor of e-ink displays being easier on the eyes than normal LCDs in some way, my own personal experience included, but I will happily admit I'm wrong if there are studies indicating otherwise. I like my Kindle and DIY e-ink weather display but I'm not religious about it. I wouldn't be shocked to find out it was just a weird placebo thing because it's different.

luqtas 1y ago
i don't think there are much but i made my research a decade ago after realizing i was having a good time with my smartphone compared to my e-reader [1] suggests that LCD even increases processing speed compared to e-ink [0] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22762257/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22762257/ [1] https://bop.unibe.ch/JEMR/article/view/2338/3534 https://bop.unibe.ch/JEMR/article/view/2338/3534 there's a study from Havard concluding "e-ink is 3 times better for eye health than LCD" but it feels rather dubious from the claims (blue light stressing more the retina... like i couldn't use a glass or apply a filter on my screen), light intensity (again...), in-vitro study and who funded the study (a great e-ink screen producer) -> https://sid.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jsid.1191 https://sid.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jsid.1191 i probably read hundred books since i sold my e-reader and moved to my smartphone. i really like having a single device. battery is fine. physical books with images still rocks but maybe becuse i don't have a tablet :)
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- Aerroon 1y ago
  I've spent thousands of hours (I think) reading on a phone. I even prefer it over a physical book because it doesn't have that annoying crease and it doesn't spoil the story by telling me how far along in the book I am.
  - broken-kebab 1y ago
    Well, not sure about your eyes, but you are certainly inviting neck problems, and carpal tunnel syndrome.
wtallis 1y ago
The problem is that there's not even a hypothesis for how light reflecting off an e-ink display could be easier on the eyes than light emitted from an LCD, unless the LCD is using PWM dimming of the backlight and thus flickering. I've never seen a claim that e-ink displays are easier on the eyes get further than the most obvious question: have you tried e-ink and LCD at the same brightness and similar color temperature?
- ewoodrich 1y ago
  How would that comparison work using an e-ink display illuminated only with ambient light in the room? (i.e. setting the "frontlight" brightness to 0% on a Kindle, which would also eliminate color temperature control other than room ambient light). It does seem hard to believe that e-ink + a reflected frontlight would be any easier on the eyes than an LCD backlight (particularly since it's probably also using PWM). But an e-ink display on its own at least removes an additional light source pointing directly at the eyes, which could provide a potential mechanism for different effects on the eyes/brain.
  - bmicraft 1y ago
    > But an e-ink display on its own at least removes an additional light source pointing directly at the eyes, which could provide a potential mechanism for different effects on the eyes/brain. Not really, since LCD/OLED aren't an additional light source, but absorb and thus replace the ambient light that would be coming from their direction.
    - toyg 1y ago
      I don't know the science, but my experience is that my brain is simply able to process and retain information so much better with eInk than with LCD screens. I started as a teenager with cathodic tubes, which were killing my eyes and bringing daily headaches; moved on to LCDs which stopped the headaches but still tire my eyes significantly (some of them literally make me cry after a few minutes); and then found eInk and it's so much better, I will definitely move to that once prices of large color monitors at 60hz get into my price range. I honestly don't care about power draw one bit.

by wolrah 1y ago

luqtas 1y ago

i don't think there are much but i made my research a decade ago after realizing i was having a good time with my smartphone compared to my e-reader [1] suggests that LCD even increases processing speed compared to e-ink [0] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22762257/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22762257/ [1] https://bop.unibe.ch/JEMR/article/view/2338/3534 https://bop.unibe.ch/JEMR/article/view/2338/3534 there's a study from Havard concluding "e-ink is 3 times better for eye health than LCD" but it feels rather dubious from the claims (blue light stressing more the retina... like i couldn't use a glass or apply a filter on my screen), light intensity (again...), in-vitro study and who funded the study (a great e-ink screen producer) -> https://sid.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jsid.1191 https://sid.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jsid.1191 i probably read hundred books since i sold my e-reader and moved to my smartphone. i really like having a single device. battery is fine. physical books with images still rocks but maybe becuse i don't have a tablet :)

deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
Aerroon 1y ago
I've spent thousands of hours (I think) reading on a phone. I even prefer it over a physical book because it doesn't have that annoying crease and it doesn't spoil the story by telling me how far along in the book I am.
- broken-kebab 1y ago
  Well, not sure about your eyes, but you are certainly inviting neck problems, and carpal tunnel syndrome.

wtallis 1y ago

The problem is that there's not even a hypothesis for how light reflecting off an e-ink display could be easier on the eyes than light emitted from an LCD, unless the LCD is using PWM dimming of the backlight and thus flickering. I've never seen a claim that e-ink displays are easier on the eyes get further than the most obvious question: have you tried e-ink and LCD at the same brightness and similar color temperature?

ewoodrich 1y ago
How would that comparison work using an e-ink display illuminated only with ambient light in the room? (i.e. setting the "frontlight" brightness to 0% on a Kindle, which would also eliminate color temperature control other than room ambient light). It does seem hard to believe that e-ink + a reflected frontlight would be any easier on the eyes than an LCD backlight (particularly since it's probably also using PWM). But an e-ink display on its own at least removes an additional light source pointing directly at the eyes, which could provide a potential mechanism for different effects on the eyes/brain.
- bmicraft 1y ago
  > But an e-ink display on its own at least removes an additional light source pointing directly at the eyes, which could provide a potential mechanism for different effects on the eyes/brain. Not really, since LCD/OLED aren't an additional light source, but absorb and thus replace the ambient light that would be coming from their direction.
  - toyg 1y ago
    I don't know the science, but my experience is that my brain is simply able to process and retain information so much better with eInk than with LCD screens. I started as a teenager with cathodic tubes, which were killing my eyes and bringing daily headaches; moved on to LCDs which stopped the headaches but still tire my eyes significantly (some of them literally make me cry after a few minutes); and then found eInk and it's so much better, I will definitely move to that once prices of large color monitors at 60hz get into my price range. I honestly don't care about power draw one bit.