The first thing most people consider before buying a modern display is the refresh rate, resolution, or color accuracy. However, another feature that is no less important in the long run is eye comfort. Whether it’s a workday full of spreadsheets, a gaming night on a 120Hz monitor, or a binge of your favorite series on a large screen TV, your eyes are exposed to flicker, glare, and blue light throughout the entire process. Over time, these environmental stressors make your eyes feel exhausted and cause long-term vision problems.
Eye-Care Technology by BenQ was developed to protect the eyesight of the users while providing a comfortable viewing experience for prolonged periods. BenQ displays that feature Eye-Care Technology are fundamentally different from traditional monitors. Instead of simply putting extra emphasis on crisp and vivid picture quality, Eye-Care Technology takes visual performance a step further by focusing on health-conscious technological engineering. In this article, we will provide an in-depth description of BenQ Eye-Care, how it works, key features of Eye-Care Technology, and how the display performs in comparison with OLED monitors, Mini LED computer monitors, and 120Hz monitors.
Before learning what BenQ Eye-Care Technology is and why it matters in general, let’s address the question: “Why do we even need a feature such as Eye-Care in the first place?”
Why do we need Eye-Care Technology?
Screen time has now become an integrated part of our lives. In a typical day, the average person will spend at least 8 to 10 hours or more looking at a screen of some sort, be it a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone, or television. All of this prolonged time in front of a screen can lead to a collection of visual discomforts and is commonly known as Digital Eye Strain (DES), also known as Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). Some common symptoms of DES include:
- Dry, itchy eyes
- Blurry or double vision
- Headaches
- Neck and shoulder pain
- Difficulty focusing
Traditional displays are largely responsible for these symptoms due to the high rate of screen flicker (due to backlight modulation), sharp blue light emission, and lack of adaptation to the ambient light. In this regard, even an hour or two in front of a computer monitor can lead to a feeling of tired eyes. BenQ was quick to identify the challenge and subsequently created several breakthrough innovations that directly target each of the visual pain points mentioned above.
What is BenQ Eye-Care Technology?
BenQ Eye-Care Technology is a collection of tools that work to help avoid straining and tiring your eyes during long hours of screen use. Eye-Care Technology comprises several other technologies in it, each of which specifically targets one of the causes of eye stress. This design means that users can work, play, or watch on a BenQ Eye-Care monitor without concern for their eyes.
The main components of BenQ Eye-Care Technology include:
- Low Blue Light Plus Technology
- Flicker-Free Technology
- Brightness Intelligence (B.I.) and B.I.+ Sensor
- Color Weakness Mode
- ePaper and Reading Modes
- Anti-Glare Display Surface
Now, let’s take a look at all the features and how they help achieve ultimate eye comfort.
1. Low Blue Light Plus Technology
Blue light is the portion of the visible light spectrum that is produced by digital screens. We need a certain level of blue light for maintaining healthy sleeping patterns and energy during the day. But too much of it, especially the higher energy wavelengths around 420–455 nm, can harm the retina and cause eye fatigue.
BenQ Low Blue Light Plus Technology cuts out the high-energy blue-violet rays on the screen but in a way that does not interfere with color accuracy. Unlike the traditional blue light filter technology that turns the screen display yellow, BenQ’s proprietary filter does not affect the natural color balance.
This means that users can enjoy bright and natural display visuals whether they are working or gaming on a 120Hz monitor without suffering the usual eye discomforts.
2. Flicker-Free Technology
Traditional monitors use a process known as Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) to control the display brightness level. This backlight process turns on and off at a very high frequency so that the flicker is invisible to the human eye, although the eyes are quite sensitive to this type of flicker. This leads to headaches, tired eyes, and vision problems over a long period of time.
The technology from BenQ known as Flicker-Free turns off PWM flickering and provides smooth backlight regulation. It means the brightness is consistent and does not change at all according to different settings, reducing strain even over a long time.
Combined with fast-refresh panels such as a 120Hz monitor, the overall visual fluidity increases, making the gameplay, video editing, or even movie streaming smoother and more healthy on the eyes.
3. Brightness Intelligence (B.I.) and Brightness Intelligence Plus (B.I.+)
Ambient lighting conditions are another significant factor that affects vision comfort. Watching a bright screen in a dark room and vice versa causes the eyes to continuously refocus and adjust light sensitivity, which causes visual strain and discomfort.
BenQ’s Brightness Intelligence (B.I.) is a smart sensor that automatically recognizes the changes in ambient lighting conditions and automatically adjusts the screen brightness in real-time. The more advanced version of B.I., known as B.I.+ also calibrates color temperature based on the room’s color temperature, shifting to warmer hues for dark rooms and cooler hues for bright spaces.
This feature is particularly useful for those professionals who work in a dark room during the night and outdoors in daylight during the day, or gamers who prefer to game in the dark. The adaptive feature provides a consistent viewing comfort with each setting change and when combined with crisp and vivid panels such as OLED monitors and Mini LED computer monitors, it can also enhance visual accuracy.
4. Color Weakness Mode
BenQ’s line of Eye-Care monitors is unique in that they also take into account color-deficient viewers. Color Weakness Mode helps people with red-green color blindness by modifying the intensity of red and green color on the screen to make it easier for them to distinguish between various colors.
It allows the monitor to be more accessible for professional graphic designers, architects, and other engineers who rely on true colors for their work.
5. ePaper and Reading Modes
Reading articles or books on a bright and colorful screen can be strenuous for the eyes. To solve this problem, BenQ created an ePaper mode, which provides a true paper look to the screen display. It works by providing a uniform brightness to the screen, and applying a grayscale effect that simulates the real paper feel.
Another reading mode called Reading Mode on the BenQ Eye-Care also helps in reducing blue light and applies a warm color tone to the screen to simulate the traditional paper-reading conditions. These features are ideal for those who like to read eBooks, students, or professionals who need to go through many long pages and reports.
Whether you are using the Mini LED computer monitor by BenQ for reviewing technical engineering details or browsing online content, both these modes help you read without straining your eyes.
6. Anti-Glare Display Surface
Reflection and glare from nearby light sources, especially from glossy screen surfaces, make it hard to view the content. It forces the user to either squint their eyes or continuously change their position in relation to the screen to get a better angle.
Anti-glare display surface provided by BenQ helps diffuse the reflection off the screen with a matte coating to maintain high clarity even in a well-lit room. This is a big advantage for office users with fluorescent overhead lights and windows that are harder to manage reflection in.
In contrast, many premium OLED monitors come with glossy surface finishes for ultra-deep contrast levels but suffer from a lot of glare in bright rooms. In this case, BenQ’s matte-based approach provides a more tailored solution for real-world use-cases.
Eye-Care Technology and BenQ in the Real World
Beyond technical aspects, what is BenQ Eye-Care also works to make a difference in the comfort of our day-to-day work, play, and entertainment. Let’s look at some of the benefits for different types of users:
Office Workers
Sitting in front of a computer for 8+ hours staring at colorful spreadsheets and documents is a surefire way to tire out the eyes. The combination of the two technologies, Flicker-Free, and Low Blue Light Plus work to ensure that brightness adjustment, as well as color fidelity, remains consistent and comfortable throughout the entire day.
Gamers
Gamers especially those on fast-refresh displays such as 120Hz monitors often play games for hours at a stretch. This is where flicker-free backlighting and adaptive brightness help to ensure that gamers have as little fatigue as possible. This is extremely important to help maintain focus and quick reaction times even over a long period.
Designers & Content Creators
Eye color accuracy is extremely important for graphic designers, video editors, and photographers. Normal filters distort color and cannot be used with such professional use-cases. With its high color accuracy maintained, BenQ’s Eye-Care Technology works great with such professional high-precision screens such as OLED and Mini LED monitors used for editing, video animations, graphic design, and photography.
Students
Online classes, digital textbooks, and reading articles are some of the more common use-cases for students. Students will benefit a lot from using ePaper and Reading Modes on BenQ monitors. These modes help make those long hours of study less of an eye-fatiguing chore while still maintaining the real paper reading feel.
Eye-Care Technology and Modern Display Trends
As newer and better display panels and technologies become available in the consumer electronics industry, BenQ’s Eye-Care features are designed to complement advanced panel features to work together for a consistent viewing experience.
Eye-Care Meets OLED Monitors
OLED monitors are some of the brightest displays in the market, with one of the best contrast ratios, picture quality, and true blacks. However, this high luminosity can sometimes translate into more blue light being emitted from the screen as compared to LED-backlit displays. Eye-Care Technology keeps a check on OLED’s otherwise eye-straining performance by adding protection with its Low Blue Light and adaptive brightness features.
Eye-Care Meets Mini LED Computer Monitors
Mini LED is a technology that is taking the market by storm right now. Mini LED computer monitors provide incredibly bright screens with dedicated dimming zones. This allows them to offer one of the best HDR (high dynamic range) performances. Eye-Care features work in tandem with Mini LED screens to adapt brightness levels automatically to the room’s lighting to avoid discomfort due to the extremely bright highlights that the screen might have.
Eye-Care Meets 120Hz Monitors
120Hz monitors are a gamer’s delight, as it offers the ultra-smoothest motion clarity possible to provide an unparalleled gaming experience. This is a must-have for gamers, movie enthusiasts, video editors, and other creative professionals. Pairing the feature with Flicker-Free and Low Blue Light Plus, the gamer or content creator gets to experience both extreme smoothness without added fatigue.
Eye-Care Technology: Scientific Facts and Certifications
BenQ Eye-Care features are much more than marketing jargon, they are certified by the industry standards. BenQ’s monitors are independently certified by TÜV Rheinland, a well-known global quality and safety certification organization, to meet their performance standards in both Low Blue Light and Flicker-Free emissions.