infrageeks
In the wake of the iPad announcement, there’s been much discussion regarding the relative merits of eInk vs LCD screens for reading, and googling around finds many discussions, but very little in the way of actual scientific studies.
I did manage to find a study that compared the relative eyestrain between LCD and Plasma devices, where the conclusion shows that plasma results in less eyestrain.
There are other studies concerning the old fashioned CRT video displays, but I have yet to find any papers that review the relative merits of LCD vs. eInk. I did find one study: “Preferred viewing distance and screen angle of electronic paper displays”, but this is limited to the designated subject and does no comparison with LCD, either from a preferred viewing distance or eyestrain.
While I don’t have access to the actual content of the two studies, I wonder if that’s also something that should be revisited, since much of problem with LCDs is their limited viewing angles. The newer IPS displays have much wider viewing angles so you can choose the optimum angle and distance without the previous limitations.
I strongly suspect that this is a very personal thing since on many forums I see people expounding on how they find the eInk to be easier on the eyes, but my personal (limited) experience with eInk has been that it’s not that dramatic a difference. Personally, I found that the eInk displays were more difficult to read, but then I spend a huge amount of time on LCD displays so that may simply be because it’s what I’m used to.
From what I can gather eyestrain has more to do with keeping your eyes limited to a specific focal plane for long periods, whether the surface is back-lit or reflective.
When I was younger I was told that reading too much was bad for my eyes. I guess that’s still true no matter where those letters are displayed...
Comments
Joe (unauthenticated)
Feb 4, 2010
Like anything else, there won't be a single answer. A great eInk display might be better than a bad LCD while a great LCD could be better than a bad eInk. There is such a wide range of quality in LCD displays, that a generic "one is better than the other" doesn't make sense.
What we know is that Apple products typically have outstanding display quality. The high resolution (132 ppi, IIRC) of the iPad will also improve readability. The Kindle has slightly better resolution, while other eInk displays are much worse - so you really need to compare one specific product to another than just 'eInk vs LCD'.
Frankly, I spend 10 hours per day looking at a computer screen and never felt eye fatigue. I'm not worried about the iPad.
alphageek
Feb 5, 2010
@Joe - that's pretty much my take on it as well. There are a multitude of quality variations hidden under those two labels that make any kind of generic study pretty useless. Not to mention the evolution over time. TFT LCD's were pretty sucky, but IPS is really very nice. earlier (and cheaper) eInk displays are pretty ugly, but the newer generations are very crisp.
PM (unauthenticated)
Feb 23, 2010
And what about image blinking on LCD displays? Luminous backlight lamp is blinking, but e-ink screen based on reflection of external light. Also brightness of LCD displays seems to be much bigger than e-ink screens have. Very bright image also causes eye fatigue I think.