If You Get HDTV, Get An Eye Exam, Says Totally Unbiased Study
from the biased?-us? dept
A new study says that people who are getting high-definition TV gear need to get an eye exam, too, so they can be certain they're getting the maximum benefit out of their new equipment. The recommendation comes from a study commissioned by -- wait for it -- a chain of opticians, which in no way calls into question the veracity of their argument. A spokesman for the chain says that even a tiny bit of shortsightedness can effect the quality of the picture a person sees. That's probably true, but won't the HD picture still look much better than the SD image regardless?Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Gimme a break.
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actually
I thought this article might have been referring to some useful bit of info on that topic, but of course, they are just pimping for money.
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Its true... HD LCD is not brilliant on the eyes....
When you get slow moving helicopter shots of scenery, it looks great, e.g. Travel programmes. You'll see that foreground objects blur and look jerky.
I think this is something to do with "latency" on LCD displays (trails in other words). Some TVs, my Samsung included have a "Movie Plus" mode to help with this - try turning it on, but this looks very odd and artificial sometimes because its creating frames that don't exist. So as usual, we have something that looks great sometimes, but still isn't perfect as a technology.
Watch something like Channel 4 (Uk's) "Dead Set" or another handheld camera nightmare and you'll see the problem.
Regrettably some directors currently favour wonky cameras - e.g. Quantum of Solace springs to mind - few programme producers understand that jerking the camera around does not help the flawed technology and us poor saps at the other end watching, it doesn't make it more exciting either, just makes it impossible to see the poor production values e.g. AVP2 fight scenes, or in Bond's case - hides the expensive ones! Hey, the steadycam was invented for a reason fools!
Rant aside about film-makers - I also agree with the comment about eyesight and HD displays. A smaller 28 inch 720P screen at 10 feet distance for someone with poor eyesight is hard to spot the difference from 1080P.
The rule is bigger or nearer your screen is to you... always go 1080P. If you stick a screen in the corner of a room like your parents love doing - stick with 720P and don't bother with the extra cost.
Please don't get me started on the "Progressive" versus "interlaced" debate either.
Imagine, if blog comments were around when colour TV was introduced, it would be a similar conversations and bizarre news reports... "colourblind people expected to pay extra for colour TV". In all seriousness - Thankfully the impaired community havent held back technology for the rest of us, well until government bodies start laying down rules ;)
PS. being 40 I might need glasses soon, so I reserve the right to recant this blog. And if I lose an eye, I too want to complain I don't want 3d display features in the next 5 years either
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"When you shave, does the hair grow back thicker?".
Believe it or not the expert, a representative from Gilette, said absolutely not!
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It's an old wives' tale. The Gilette rep is right.
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???!!!!
great logic.
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HDTV and eyestrain?
In addition, the picture is larger (covers more of the retina) and badly fitted glasses - especially bifocals or tri-focals - could cause discomfort.
Of course, none of this applies if people are viewing their 32" HDTV from 15 feet away.
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Take it from me
Take it from a guy who has fairly bad eyes. Yes it douse. I have to sit at least 3' away from the TV just to see it clearly (2' for perfect), but even from the couch (aprox 8') it's better.
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eyes for hd
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http://www.carltonbale.com/2006/11/1080p-does-matter/
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Re: 1080p vs 720p
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So, the opticians probably have a point, but they maybe need some PR people to get their message across.
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Finally, a reason!
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Re: Finally, a reason!
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You can't see it
From my engineering classes, here's what you need to do to prove it to yourself. Go to a theater and sit in a seat that's the most comfortable for viewing the film. Hold your hand out and with your fingers, measure the height of the screen. Then go back and look at your TV. If the TV is smaller than this height, you are too far back.
Or think of it this way. It's easy to prove that higher resolution isn't always better. Stand a foot away from the TV and look at the picture. If you are on a low res tube TV, you will easily see the lines. Keep moving back until you don't see the lines. That's the point when the resolution of the TV matches your seeing, any further back and you loose resolution.
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sigh
Also, tl;dr
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Eye Exercises for Vision Heatlh
Symptoms can include increased myopia, blurred vision, headaches, slow refocusing, difficulty concentrating, neck, shoulder and back pain
Eye strain can be reduced significantly by taking regular breaks from the computer, resting your eyes, stretching and doing eye exercises.
For a demo of 3 great eye exercises by Dr. Grossman, one of the Country's leading behavioral optometrists, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W10j2fL0hy0
Dr. Grossman also offers his free eye exercise booklet at his website at Natural Eye Care Free Eye Exercises with his 11 favorite eye exercises and acupressure eye points to massage regularly.
Finally, there is also an excellent section at his website on "Computer Eye Strain" under "Eye Diseases" that provides a Computer Eye Strain “Self-Help“ section with great tips of relieving eyestrain due to computer use.
For more information, go to Natural Eye Care for Computer Eye Strain
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Many People Can't Tell
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Thou shalt not quote the Daily Mail
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Missing out on HD is the least of my problems. My wife telling me I need new glasses is way above the HD problem, but yes, if you have bad vision, HD doesn't really work all that well.
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Eye exams for HDTV
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Miss Manners: What's the Best Response to Compliments on Her Looks?
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Eye Exam
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I read an article saying HEV glasses and melanin glasses can help.
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