# Eye Strain and tv size



## the_rookie (Sep 30, 2008)

I know that common myth is that sitting too close to the tv is bad for your eyes.

Well I think the opposite is true. Sitting too far when concentrating can cause the eyes to strain when focusing on details and the distance causes loss of details and that causes the eye to strain when attempting to focus on it.

For example, I play lots of Xbox One, mostly racing games where I have to focus on hitting corner apex's with precision accuracy at speeds from 60-200mph. Yes a game, but demanding on my brain to calculate if the road is wet, dry, got a bump in the road, off camber whatever...demanding on the eyes to take in that information and determine my speed entering, midcorner speed and exit speed also varying each time depending on the car driving, how its built, and even tuned.

So I have been noticing more and more at my present distance and tv size I may be taxing my eyes. I am running, as seen in my sig, a 2009 46" Panasonic Plasma. At my present state I am about 112"s away from the tv. The room has adequate lighting, a single 810 lumen LED bulb at 6000k light temperature with a CRI of greater than 80.

Now with THX specs I should be running a 94" screen. Dolby would recommend at least a 46" screen as worries of individual pixel localization could be problematic.

Any advice? I have been looking into a new OLED 65" E6. Might be worth the money if it looks better and may reduce eye fatigue. May also take more breaks...i do. Maybe not often enough, but i tend to take 20-30 min breaks every couple hours. Usually on my phone.

Opinions?


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## Alan Brown (Jun 7, 2006)

Correctly implemented bias lighting has been the international video industry recommended technique for relieving eye strain and viewing fatigue in dark viewing conditions: http://cinemaquestinc.com/blb.htm . It was difficult to tell from your post how your lighting is implemented. 

Screen size is related to viewing distance. Sit closer and the image will occupy more of your field of view.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Eye strain is cause by three things. Hi contrast (too bright) and by not wearing glasses if you need them. The color temp of the image can also play a factor. 
The size of the image does play a big part in eye strain as if you sit too close with the image filling a much larger area than your view and you have to move your eyes a lot to see the entire area your eye muscles will get strained.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

the_rookie said:


> I know that common myth is that sitting too close to the tv is bad for your eyes.
> 
> Well I think the opposite is true. Sitting too far when concentrating can cause the eyes to strain when focusing on details and the distance causes loss of details and that causes the eye to strain when attempting to focus on it.
> 
> ...


Going with a larger screen I think can reduce your eyes strain IMO. I play racing games too on our 195" diagonal screen and I get zero eye strain, plus it is life size!


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

tonyvdb said:


> Eye strain is cause by three things. Hi contrast (too bright) and by not wearing glasses if you need them. The color temp of the image can also play a factor.


I agree that hi contrast is a factor. When I had a BenQ w1070 projector/ 134" diagonal screen setup I used to have eyestrain sitting further away than I do from our 195" diagonal setup. The BenQ w1070 gave me over 20FL where this setup is less than 10FL. I know I need more FLs and will get more with my next setup ($$$).


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## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

I like to figure 1" of screen to every 1.5" to the PLP. Thant would make your screen size 74.6". We all know this is not written in stone & going larger is a good thing. The cost of these big TV's becomes the limiting factor which plays into the projector arena. I think you could easily accommodate a 100" screen.


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## the_rookie (Sep 30, 2008)

So the light is from a floor lamp. The floor lamp is behind the tv that stands on the tv stand. The vaulted ceiling allows for about 18"s of room from the lamp to the ceiling.

I would love to sit closer but than the audio field gets reduced and would sound funny sitting closer. Plus there is a coffee table in-between the recliner and tv. But I have noticed when I did play closer the other day, not only could I have less eye fatigue, the amount of visual data I could see was 10x more. I could see the camber of the road, far away details of how the corner curved allowed for me to have my mid and exit corner trajectory be spot on the have more speed leaving corners. So all in all, either a larger screen or closer would benefit. But at the same time I would like to not mess with the sound field.

I have used the THX app for iPhone and the THX disk settings to help calibrate the TV settings. Picture settings on the TV goes as follows;
Setting Custom
Picture: 100
Brightness: 52
Color: 50
Tint: +6
Sharpness: 65
Color Temp: Warm
Color Mgmt: Off
XV Color: Auto
Black Level: Light

Those were the settings I have come up with using the THX apps to help better calibrate the image.

I do wear glasses and usually do not go without them. The eye doctor has said it would be beneficial to not use them sometimes, especially when im using my close field of vision. For a limited time, like 30-60 minutes every 5-6 hours. And play in a lit room which is fairly lit. Since I was a kid i preferred a dark room, like a movie theater style.

But I think at my distance, it currently feels like when I am racing, I am in the back seat trying to see and steer instead of the front seat.

And yes a 96-75" screen would be preferable. As I would love an OLED 77" But thats a bit out of price range. The room has some light control, but there are 2 very large windows and 2 smaller ones in the room. And PQ might be an issue in a room that lit.

The LG 65" E6 has been on my radar for some time. I was thinking about the 9600, 9500, or 9300 before that. Been watching, waiting and seeing the tech grow. Contrast has been a problem, and this gen is the 1st with remarkably better contrast levels and overall increased brightness. So maybe next gen might see some increased screen size for a lighter wallet hit. Not sure yet.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Have you thought about wearing headphones?


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## Alan Brown (Jun 7, 2006)

Another cause of eye strain and viewing fatigue is the repeated, erratic, fluctuation of scene brightness throughout most video programs. It is similar to driving into oncoming headlights on the highway at night. This "strobing" effect is stressful in a dark room without bias lighting. Projected images are less likely to cause strain because the image is typically much less bright than a direct-view television or monitor (7-16 ftL versus 30-65 ftL).


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