Does display pwm flicker-free anti-flicker make a difference

[Bucic]

BenQ GL2250 vs iiyama ProLite E2278HD vs iiyama ProLite E2283HS Flicker-Free affordable 22" fullhd (1920x1080) displays

 

I have a BenQ display (GL2250) with that feature. It recently died (with my help) so I started reading on whether I should bother with the feature at all when looking for a new display. Since there are many conflicting opinions on the net I've decided to drop my two cents. Since I'm not one of those who don't see the difference between 30 and 60 FPS you should at least consider my input :)

http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/the-truth-about-anti-flicker-lcd-technology-1205231

http://carny.hubpages.com/hub/led-backlight-flicker

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=flicker-free+lcd

 

I bought iiyama PL E2278HD without the feature, partially to see for myself. The display is around 20% more expensive than the one from BenQ. Here are my impressions on the differences between the two displays:

- looking at BenQ is like looking at a piece of paper. With iiyama a slight noise is visible on bright uniform backgrounds.

- flickering is definitelly there with iiyama. Apart from being observable using a digital camera (moving stripes) it is also noticeable with bare eye. Especially on very bright areas, when you shift your focus far from one part of the display to another.

 

In summary:

The difference is clearly noticeable. I don't imagine how non-flickering display could not be worth pursuing since it often doesn't require more investment.

 

Other:

- BenQ has much more uniform backlight. Both in terms of general area backlight as well as near edges.

- BenQ may be more succeptible to pressure on the display surface than any display I've ever owned. It also has gaps on the circumference of the display area where a cleaning agent may penetrate inside and destroy the display. This is how mine died (pressure or agent or both).

- BenQ has gamma adjustment. iiyama lacks this feature.

- BenQ has ridiculous menu layout. It requires far too many steps to adjust contrast and brightness.

- Neither has a room lighting sensor.

- Both have bollocks finishing. A plastic so shiny it even reflects the contents of the display sometimes. Great body grease collector too. Both are intended features, I'm sure.

- BenQ base is terribly squeeky.

- BenQ has no DVI cable included.

- iiyama has a ridiculous in-your-face bright blue power led.

- BenQ has much less grainy coating (matrix) so that text is extremely clear even when looking from 20-30 centimeters

 

Eye strain / fatigue:

No difference observed yet. Edit: I felt the difference after just few hours while using the displays at low brightness levels where flickering is more visible.

 

Edit:

E2283HS:

- has Flicker-Free and blue light reduction

- has a million-dollar non-glossy (matte and brushed) housing, front and everything else!

- no blinding blue power led

- better view angles than E2278HD and more uniform backlight

- for other aspects the notes on E2278HD apply

Edited April 24, 2015 by Bucic

[AceRevo]

You may not see the difference between 30 and 60fps, but you will FEEL the difference, which basically is a huge.

[GeorgeLKMT]

Congrats on your purchase. Next step: Discovering IPS vs TN ;)

[Hadwell]

I just bought

 

BenQ GW2765HT 27in IPS WQHD Monitor 2560X1440 4MS HDMI DVI VGA DP Speakers Pivot HAS Flicker Free

 

I wanted a 1440p display with good colour, low backlight bleed, and easy on the eyes, all signs pointed to that one, though it doesn't have the best response times in the world, it's not TN and not all that expensive compared to some of the others.

 

I don't have it yet, still being shipped...

 

my current monitor is a 27" 1080p samsung, will compare them... I'm really curious about the flicker thing too

Edited April 18, 2015 by Hadwell

[Wolf Rider]

using digital camera to record the image on a monitor will always cause flickering unless the monitor's Hz and camera's scan rate match. It is also the same case for trying to capture a CRT screen... even analogue (clapper) cameras

 

This has always been a problem in film shoots... especially when trying to get a night shot of a town and many neon signs are present

 

 

if the match was correct... I wouldn't go near the flickery monitor

Edited April 18, 2015 by Wolf Rider

[Bucic]

Congrats on your purchase. Next step: Discovering IPS vs TN ;)

If color reproduction is all there is to it, I'm not even interested as game designers make colors suck anyway. I'm interested only in pixel density, image clarity in general and value for money. Nothing more.

 

using digital camera to record the image on a monitor will always cause flickering unless the monitor's Hz and camera's scan rate match. It is also the same case for trying to capture a CRT screen... even analogue (clapper) cameras

 

This has always been a problem in film shoots... especially when trying to get a night shot of a town and many neon signs are present

 

if the match was correct... I wouldn't go near the flickery monitor

With a flicker-free display there's nothing to match as, for a static image or a semi-static image, there's no 'blinking' hence no frequency.

 

I just bought

 

BenQ GW2765HT 27in IPS WQHD Monitor 2560X1440 4MS HDMI DVI VGA DP Speakers Pivot HAS Flicker Free

 

I wanted a 1440p display with good colour, low backlight bleed, and easy on the eyes, all signs pointed to that one, though it doesn't have the best response times in the world, it's not TN and not all that expensive compared to some of the others.

 

I don't have it yet, still being shipped...

 

my current monitor is a 27" 1080p samsung, will compare them... I'm really curious about the flicker thing too

Please do let us know your experience with that piece. It would be great if you could post here instead of starting a new topic.

Edited April 18, 2015 by Bucic

[Wolf Rider]

 

~

 

With a flicker-free display there's nothing to match as, for a static image or a semi-static image, there's no 'blinking' hence no frequency.

 

~

 

 

"Flicker Free" lamp just uses a higher voltage and Hz... they're just a bit more evolved than their flickery cousins

[Bucic]

"Flicker Free" lamp just uses a higher voltage and Hz... they're just a bit more evolved than their flickery cousins

You may be right (PWM control?). Still, flicker is not observable in any meaningful way with those displays.

 

PS. I need to sand that shiny s%&te!

[Hadwell]

OK so my new monitor has arrived, I've been playing around with it for a day so far, and I'll never go back to 1080p...

 

I honestly don't know a lot about monitors... but this BenQ 27" 1440p is sitting right next to my Samsung 27" 1080p monitor and i can instantly tell that blacks are blacker, whites whiter, all the colours are way more vivid on the BenQ... it's just beautiful, the resolution doesn't make my games less playable(so far only tested grand theft auto 5 and DCS), it's just a nice upgrade if you have a system like mine or better.

 

As for the flicker free thing... if it makes any difference, I can't tell... between these two monitors anyway...

Edited April 23, 2015 by Hadwell

[doveman]

I've bought two BenQ GW2760HM 1080p monitors (for other people) and they use a MVA panel which is even better than IPS, especially for black levels, giving a glorious display for night time scenes in flight sims, where the sky is inky black but the stars, lights and clouds illuminated by the moon can still be clearly seen. It also uses PWM flicker-free technology, so should be less likely to cause eyestrain and headaches with prolonged use. They're also very reasonably priced at around £150-160. If my Dell 24" IPS breaks I'll certainly be looking for a MVA to replace it, maybe higher res than 1080p though.

 

I'd actually like to get a 40" 4k display to build a pit around but at the moment they'd all be TN and OLED is totally out of my price range, so I'll have to put that off for a while as I don't want to go back to the inferior picture of a TN.

[Wolf Rider]

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/panel_technologies.htm

 

just a head's up regarding the different panel technologies...

[doveman]

I should say that text on the BenQ MVA panels isn't great, it's a bit smudged/blurry, so if you're going to be using the monitor a lot for text it's probably not a great choice. Saying that, my Dad's eyesight isn't great and he hasn't complained at all about it being hard to read. I guess there's no panel type at the moment that's ideal for everything.

[Bucic]

I should say that text on the BenQ MVA panels isn't great, it's a bit smudged/blurry, so if you're going to be using the monitor a lot for text it's probably not a great choice. Saying that, my Dad's eyesight isn't great and he hasn't complained at all about it being hard to read. I guess there's no panel type at the moment that's ideal for everything.

Try adjusting ClearType parameters.

[doveman]

Try adjusting ClearType parameters.

 

I always set ClearType with a new monitor but it just seems to be a downside of these panels compared to IPS or TN. I was warned about it before I bought them, so I wasn't really surprised or disappointed and find the upsides outweigh the downsides anyway, certainly for gaming/flight sims.

[Bucic]

What do you know, the iyama ProLite E2278HD went tits up on me. A permanent red (sub)pixel. Or two. Well, sort of permanent as it comes and goes day to day. Makes a return within the frame of the 'iiyama zero bad pixels for the first 30 days warranty' pretty much impossible. I'm returning it to the store where I bought it online.

 

This time I've came around and ordered iiyama ProLite E2283HS with the Flicker-Free feature. Check out the updated OP for my notes on this one. Spoiler alert: confirms that flicker-free isn't a bogus.