Following on from my post about my eye problems, I have purchased a BenQ monitor – hoping their claims of eye care technology help me with working during my continued recovery.
This video was helpful in making the decision and goes into more detail than I will:
First impressions
A nice unpacking experience, I still love the new PC/tech smell – it sends me straight back to c.1996 and unboxing my first PC. However, once setup first impressions were not great. I had to deactivate the monitor’s automatic brightness adjustment and manually turn the brightness to the lowest setting. Unfortunately this still felt too bright in non dark mode apps for me. Therefore, it’s clear the eye care is for “normal” users. Not people with my kind of problem.
High Contrast Mode
Therefore, I have started using the “high contrast” mode in Windows to try and deal with the brightness. This is the mode that blows up some text, turns things to white/yellow/cyan on black and is probably something of a mystery to most Windows users. Indeed I have seen it for years without ever trying it (beyond a few experiments). Of course there are many accessibility features out there, both in Windows and in additional apps and plugins. Back when I worked in HE I was quite on top of accessibility issues and I will admit my knowledge in this area has dropped over time, whilst I still test my eLearning in a few ways actually now relying on some of these experiences is tricky. If the eye problems continue I will have to try some other accessibility features. In the meantime I have installed “Read Aloud” for reading web pages for the first time since I worked in HE.
Back to the monitor
This is more a personal situation/experience post than what you would get in a typical review but I wanted to put it out there in case others with eye problems are looking for how such a monitor might help. I am presuming the no flicker tech is definitely helping, my work laptop’s flicker was very noticeable when the brightness was turned down. Otherwise the BenQ monitor quality is good and the speakers are decent (certainly better than those built into my 2 laptops).
As in the above video, the monitor is clearly for coders and others who are trying to avoid eye problems from lots of screen time. The issue for what is best for people already with medical eye problems, like me, seems to be outstanding. Do get in touch if you know of better solutions.
Whose Education Is It Anyway? 