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Safe level of gamma for desktop?

Discussion in 'Techno-Magic' started by Barmy Army, Apr 10, 2006.

  1. Barmy Army

    Barmy Army Simple mind, simple pleasures... Adored Veteran

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    Remove all ads!
    Does anyone have any idea what a 'safe' level of gamma is for a monitor? I've heard high levels can do damage to your eyes...

    Cheers!
     
    Barmy Army, Apr 10, 2006
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  2. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

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    You'll start noticing discomfort way before any real damage happens. Simply set it to what you eyes can comfortably tolerate for several hours.
     
    Taluntain, Apr 11, 2006
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  3. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    I would be skeptical of anyone who told me a monitor could be bright enough to damage my eyes.
     
    Blackthorne TA, Apr 11, 2006
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  4. Barmy Army

    Barmy Army Simple mind, simple pleasures... Adored Veteran

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    Cheers Tal.

    Well, I was too BTA. Until my mate used my computer the other day and complained at how bright everything was and that is hurt his eyes. He said I should turn it down before i damage my eyes. I can't say as I've ever suffered discomfort from it, But I wondered if I had just become used to it, which is why I wondered if there's a sort of ball-park 'safe' maximum. It's 1.31 at the minute, my mate has his set at 0. I'm interested what other peoples are...
     
    Barmy Army, Apr 11, 2006
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  5. chevalier

    chevalier Knight of Everfull Chalice ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran

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    Display frequencies below 75 are hurtful. Contrast or brightness like Tal says, if you can put up with it for hours, it's most likely relatively safe.
     
    chevalier, Apr 11, 2006
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  6. Kitrax

    Kitrax Pantaloons are supposed to go where!?!?

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    The gamma on my laptop is at 1.0. Anything higher makes things look washed out. But since my screen is a flat panel, it might look different if the same settings were applied to a tube monitor. :rolling:
     
    Kitrax, Apr 11, 2006
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  7. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

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    There is no "general" gamma setting that'd work for everyone. It's more a matter of personal preference and what you get used to than anything else. I use what I consider to be optimal balance, but this can vary from one monitor to another. I've seen some people work with the picture so dark that it was hard for me to see anything, or so bright that it hurt my eyes.

    It's the same with refresh rates. Some people can work comfortably at 75 Hertz, whereas 100 Hertz and up is the only refresh rate that I can work with for more than an hour without my eyes and head starting to hurt. I've worked for years at 120 Hertz refresh so 100 is a minimum for me, and I can actually see the flickering at 75 Hertz.

    So it's all very subjective. A good test of brightness is the background on the SP site pages (not board pages). If your brightness is set too low, it'll look black, but it's actually a dark-blue/black wallpaper image that makes a seamless pattern.
     
    Taluntain, Apr 11, 2006
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  8. Harbourboy

    Harbourboy Take thy form from off my door! Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    :confused:

    When I read this topic, I thought it was something to do with the Incredible Hulk.

    But everyone here seems to be serious. There are gamma rays in computer screens? And there is a setting to decide how much gamma you want to have? Where do I even look to find this setting? Is it only fancy new screens that have gamma rays? Is it really a health risk?
     
    Harbourboy, Apr 11, 2006
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  9. Barmy Army

    Barmy Army Simple mind, simple pleasures... Adored Veteran

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    Yeah, monitors have gamma settings. Setting it to a high level is dangerous to the retina's in your eyes. Whereas setting it really low will make your screen really dark. It's a case of finding the middle ground. Although I think the gamma would need to be set stupidly high to really be any risk. So don't start panicking :lol: . You can find it out by going into your video card settings (you'll have an nVidia or Catalyst icon in your system tray most probably - it's in there).

    And thanks for that explanation Tal :) .
     
    Barmy Army, Apr 11, 2006
    #9
  10. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    The gamma correction is a power level setting (gamma being the greek letter used to represent the variable power setting). It is really supposed to be used for color correction so that pictures look the same on your monitor as they do when you print them out or when you scanned them in. For brightness and contrast, you should use (what else?) the brightness and contrast controls.

    There are no gamma rays in your monitor, and like I said I would be skeptical of anyone who told me a monitor could be made bright enough to actually damage anyone's eyes. Giving you a headache or whatnot, sure, but damage to your retinas? Not a chance.
     
    Blackthorne TA, Apr 11, 2006
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  11. hedron Gems: 7/31
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    I've been using computers on a daily basis for the past few years, and my eyesight has gone to sh*t since then. Really, it has.

    I think it depends on the monitor. I have a monitor that can do 60Hz max, and while it does strain my eyes after a long session, I notice no flickering what-so-ever. I have another monitor, which I can set to 100Hz and I notice flickering and I'm thoroughly convinced if I were to use it as a regular monitor I'd be legally blind by weeks end. :xx:
     
    hedron, Apr 16, 2006
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  12. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

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    I highly doubt that you've got the figures right. At 60Hz a half-blind man would notice serious flickering. And at 100Hz+ there's almost no way anyone could. Provided the monitors were working properly, of course.
     
    Taluntain, Apr 16, 2006
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  13. hedron Gems: 7/31
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    I used the 60Hz monitor for 2-3 years and I never noticed flickering once. I looked at it right side up, upside down and sideways, and there was no flickering. Even compared it with 800x600 @ 85Hz and it looked exactly the same. However, you are correct in saying that the 100Hz monitor isn't working properly, I found it on the street, so it's a wonder they threw it out. :p
     
    hedron, Apr 17, 2006
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