Eyes strain badly with new iMac display - 2014

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Level 1

5 points

Eyes strain badly with new iMac display - 2014

I recently bought a 2013 iMac 14.2 to replace my 2007 iMac 7.1.

I immediately noticed that my eyes were straining very badly in front of the new screen. No matter how I tweak the adjustments, I can't bear to look at the screen long enough to do any significant work.

Since I still have the old iMac in the same room, I can easily compare by just switching desks. With the old one, no problem. The moment I sit in front of the new screen, my eyes start aching and watering. It's not a question of ambient light, contrast, brightness, or any adjustable parameters that I'm aware of.

I checked on the Net, and a significant number of other people report the same type of issues. I have not found any solution, nor any explanation.

I remember that in the days of the CRT monitors on PCs, I had to adjust the refresh rate as high as possible in order to avoid headache and eye strain. Anything 60Hz or below was unbearable.

Is there a similar issue with the LED backlighting?

Does anyone have an in-depth knowledge of the specificities of LED-backlit screens, such as wavelength, variation in light intensity/flickering/refresh rate, etc.?

There is a technical explanation and - hopefully - solution, and it's not "all in your head", "get glasses", "blink twice and stare at the opposite wall for one minute"...

Posted on Jul 9, 2014 5:04 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

rob_theo

Level 1

12 points

Apr 28, 2016 2:00 AM in response to Begonela

I Have the same problem and it is very serious and threatening my career.

I work as a graphic designer and have used apple products for working over 20 years with no problems.

At present I work freelance at home on my Mac Pro with a matte display. I recently bought an iMac with a glossy screen as I felt my equipment need upgrading.

However I find it impossible to work on the iMac. Within minutes I have deep pains in both eyes and find the screen very uncomfortable to work with. I used it 3 days ago for an hour and today I still have pains coming and going in both eyes. Even to glance at the imac screen I find uncomfortabl.

I have tried many solutions and read many items in forums and am beginning to give up hope. I have tried glasses yellow and blue, uv reducing glasses. Different brightness for the screen, changing calibration. You name it I have tried it.

THis is not normal eye strain as I can work on my old Apple display for 12 hours straight with no problems, yet 1 hour on the iMac damages me for days.

I must say at this point that I can use my iPad for several hours as well with no problems which is strang.

I am now faced with th situation of having to become employed but most studios use imacs. Due to this I seriously think I will have to give up my career as it is just impossible for me to work on an iMac or one of the other new Apple glossy displays.

I would love to get to the bottom of this or for Apple to produce a matte display and see if it helps.

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Answer 2

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Jul 9, 2014 5:48 PM in response to Philip A. C.

Have you tried calibrating the display? System Preferences->Display->Color->click on Calibrate and select the advanced tools.

iMac (27-inch Mid 2011), OS X Mavericks (10.9.4), SL & ML, G4 450 MP w/Leopard, 9.2.2

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Answer 3

Philip A. C. Author

Level 1

5 points

Jul 9, 2014 10:25 PM in response to baltwo

Calibration affects the color, not the refresh rate, and I'm pretty sure that this is an issue of refresh rate.

Even though LED/LCD screens do not have the very noticeable flickering of a CRT when refreshing the image horizontally, there are still refresh frequencies used.

There is no direct access to these settings, and I wonder if there is a software out there that gives you access to the full display/GPU parameters.

My GPU is a NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M.

As I said earlier, there IS an issue here (other people are affected), and there IS a solution somewhere. Besides the fact that Apple should definitely look into it and come up with a permanent fix (like changing the default settings, or having a user-configurable display) I'm sure that users with the necessary knowledge will be able to work out a solution.

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Answer 4

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Jul 9, 2014 11:13 PM in response to Philip A. C.

Philip A. C. wrote:

Calibration affects the color, not the refresh rate, and I'm pretty sure that this is an issue of refresh rate.

If you say so. The only people I know who have issues has to do with the brightness, color, and contrast settings. Apple's defaults make me think I'm viewing my display outdoors in sunlight. I routinely darken everything so there's no strain.

iMac (27-inch Mid 2011), OS X Mavericks (10.9.4), SL & ML, G4 450 MP w/Leopard, 9.2.2

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Answer 5

Jul 10, 2014 2:17 AM in response to Philip A. C.

Try SwitchResX

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Answer 6

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Jul 10, 2014 12:49 PM in response to Gary Scotland

Or, try the freecscreen executable.

iMac (27-inch Mid 2011), OS X Mavericks (10.9.4), SL & ML, G4 450 MP w/Leopard, 9.2.2

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Answer 7

Begonela

Level 1

0 points

Mar 16, 2016 6:47 AM in response to Philip A. C.

Hi,

I have the same problem. So far, I had to plug another screen to be able not to damage my eyes (and consequently, my head). Did you find a solution?

Thanks in advance,

B.

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Answer 8

Apr 28, 2016 8:07 AM in response to rob_theo

Did you try to connect another display to the iMac? I realize that may be purpose defeating, but in an effort to get you up an working - pain free - perhaps it is a workable solution while a true fix comes from Apple. Just a thought.

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