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Anyone else NOT prefer LED backlighting to CCFL backlighting?

W

WilliamG

macrumors G4
Original poster
Mar 29, 2008
10,043
3,953
Seattle
So I used to own a 23" Apple Cinema Display. You know, the CCFL model. Since then, I've switched to a 24" Apple Cinema Display, which is LED-lit. And now I have an iMac 27", which is LED-lit.

While I appreciate the extra contrast etc etc and advances in IPS tech (no more shimmering from the new IPS panels), I find the brightness of these new LED monitors troubling to my eyes. Even at the lowest brightness level, there's something just BRIGHT about these screens. I had no trouble using my 23" Cinema Display with medium brightness. In fact, I probably used my 23" CCFL display at a HIGHER brightness level than I do my new LED panels. There's just something about the whites on LED displays - they SEAR my eyeballs.

Maybe it's just me and I'm getting old (just turned 29), but I just miss that "warmth" of the older tech... *sigh*
 
WilliamG said:
So I used to own a 23" Apple Cinema Display. You know, the CCFL model. Since then, I've switched to a 24" Apple Cinema Display, which is LED-lit. And now I have an iMac 27", which is LED-lit.

While I appreciate the extra contrast etc etc and advances in IPS tech (no more shimmering from the new IPS panels), I find the brightness of these new LED monitors troubling to my eyes. Even at the lowest brightness level, there's something just BRIGHT about these screens. I had no trouble using my 23" Cinema Display with medium brightness. In fact, I probably used my 23" CCFL display at a HIGHER brightness level than I do my new LED panels. There's just something about the whites on LED displays - they SEAR my eyeballs.

Maybe it's just me and I'm getting old (just turned 29), but I just miss that "warmth" of the older tech... *sigh*
Click to expand...

Wow, ok, I'm not the only one! I've noticed that after a few hours on my new iMac, even with the brightness turned down halfway, my eyes just ACHE. Anyone know what the deal with that is?
 
knewsom said:
Wow, ok, I'm not the only one! I've noticed that after a few hours on my new iMac, even with the brightness turned down halfway, my eyes just ACHE. Anyone know what the deal with that is?
Click to expand...

I'm "glad" I'm not the one one. Websites with a lot of white color KILL me. :(
 
Don't worry guys its not the age! I'm only 20 and I almost never put my iMac (27") above 1/3 brightness. Did the same to my old 24" LED ACD as well. Previous ACD models, I used at 2/3 brightness most of the time. Just reduce the brightness and you'll be fine. I think one thing that bothers eyes a little is the fact that all the new models are glass.
 
I have to wonder if it has more to do with diffusion. LEDs tend to have a very direct wave pattern - more narrow than the typically diffused CFL light. Very narrow wave pattern light can be harmful to eyes, hence the warning label on lasers. I have to wonder if the LEDs and the combination of the directional voodoo in the displays has a laser-like effect on the light, hence the piercing like effect on our eyes.
 
WilliamG said:
Maybe it's just me and I'm getting old (just turned 29), but I just miss that "warmth" of the older tech... *sigh*
Click to expand...

So if you are getting "old" at 29, where does turning 48 like me fit in? Ancient? :rolleyes: Ha, I'm class of 1980 and we are having our 30th reunion this fall.

Back to thread.
Timely posting, I'm on fencepost of buying 27" iMac 2TB i7, was at the Apple store last night for 30-ish minutes using one, but that's in bright store light and not enough time to really know it.
I'll be following this thread.

My current 24"iMac (bought Nov-2007) panel spec is
24-inch (viewable) glossy widescreen TFT active-matrix LCD, 1920 by 1200 pixels, millions of colors
Click to expand...
 
mtbdudex, I really wouldn't worry. Those of us with "issues" with the LED-lit displays do appear to be fairly few and far between. I love my iMac, that's for sure. Watching movies and doing photography work on it is certainly a blessing. It's a pretty substantial resolution/size increase from your 24". I have my 24" LED Cinema Display parked to the left of my iMac, and the 27" dwarfs it. :)

Right now in a fairly-well lit room, my iMac is set to 2 brightness bars. 2!! Out of 16! Crazy. :)
 
Anyone who is unhappy with websites with a lot white color should just hit apple+option+ctrl+8 upon seeing one. Hit the same combo to reverse.
 
I'm loving the LED backlighting. INSTANT ON and INSTANTLY STABLE. I'm not sure why anyone sees any difference in brightness other than the CCFL lighting is not instantly bright and takes some time to warm up (up to 30 minutes) before it finally hits the brightness level that you have set. That's why it's recommended to have the monitor on for at least an hour if you're going to do a screen calibration with a hardware puck. (with CCFL backlighting)

I'm betting that the lower brightness on startup of the CCFL screen is easier to deal with and allows your eyes time to adjust as it warms up to full brightness.

My new 27" is calibrated with a Spyder3 and the middle position on the brightness slider is showing around 120cd/m2 for brightness luminance which is somewhat of the de-facto standard for screen luminance calibration.

The only thing I can think of otherwise is that typically, LED backlighting has a very slight blue colour cast to it which makes the colours (especially white) look very "cool" as far as colour temperature and a little more intense. CCFL's produce a warmer colour by comparison and may seem to be a little easier on the eyes.

My Spyder3 did detect this and pulled the blue cast out with the profile it created and I'm happy now, much warmer and more accurate colours. Might be something to check out if it's really bugging you. Please note though that you need a current hardware puck to work with LED backlighting. I had to replace my Spyder2 with a Spyder3 as the manufacturer indicated the old version wasn't recommended for LED backlighting or Wide Gamut screens. Spyder3 works perfectly in this regard using ColorEyes software. My old Spyder2 completely missed the blue colour cast so I guess they were right! Cheers!

James
 
Don't worry at all, LED lighting has this effect on many people (just check the apple support forums!).

It is something to do with the way that they create white light: through the reaction of UV light with a special chemical. This results in a white that is towards the blue end of the spectrum, which is far less comfortable than the red end of the spectrum that CCFL screens tend towards.

I had to swap my unibody macbook for an older white (CCFL) macbook for precisely this reason: would get headaches within 20 minutes of using the LED screen, but can work for hours without any discomfort on CCFL displays.

There is potential in RGB LED backlit screens, which use red, blue and green LEDs to make white light, for more comfortable viewing, but they are not used by many manufacturers at this time.

Until they are, I will not be buying any more products using LED backlighting tech, and I'm not giving up my 23" ACD or CCFL macbook for anyone!
 
i had and still actually have a 24 acd that i am selling .. when i used it i would get bad eye strain .. even at a low brightness the websites like macrumors would kill my eyes ..

im currently using a 30inch acd and have it just under 50% brightness and the whites are still very strong but it doesnt hurt my eyes like the led backlight monitor did
 
I seem to be affected by this, too. I'm on an anti-glare uMBP. I got a little used to it, though, as it's not nearly as bad as when I got the computer in October.
 
krimsen said:
I seem to be affected by this, too. I'm on an anti-glare uMBP. I got a little used to it, though, as it's not nearly as bad as when I got the computer in October.
Click to expand...

it is not the glare from glossy (although this can aggravate the situation), it is the quality of the white emitted from LEDs (see above)
 
WilliamG said:
100% correct. It's not the brightness.
Click to expand...

thankyou

hopefully this will be realised some time soon. At the moment I could not buy another mac with a screen built in, and in a couple of years when it is time for me to upgrade again, I will be forced to switch if this still isn't remedied
 
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