Computer settings for healthiest working environment ?

[andy55]

Hi guys,

I'm a freelancer graphic designer & due to excessive work load i'm under lot of stress. I cannot work any longer, I've developed high blood pressure, feeling numbness in my left hand, muscle twitching & many other small inexplicable things. I'm assuming that i might have developed these problems due to radiations emitted by monitor. Basically its a stress born out of computer, this much i'm very sure.

Now i'm looking for solution whereby i can sit at long distance from computer & still be able to work. May be projecting it on wall or getting ultra big monitor so that i can sit at least 8 ft away from it. Please help me guys to overcome this problem, i'm so worried, there's so much work pending & i'm unable to work. Pls help.

Thanks
Andy

 

[Rustyy117]

First off... I'm no expert but I think you should see your doctor.

A projector isn't a bad idea, you could also get a wireless keyboard and mouse which would allow you to sit far back from the monitor/projection.

I would recommend you take regular brakes, maybe 10minutes every hour and drink alot of water.

 

[weehamish]

Sue

 

[andy55]

Thnx omgitzfatal, weeamish for your kind words. I'll surely work on these tips. Thnx again.

Can someone suggest me as in how to get 'sharp images' if i work from distance. Is there anyone already working with this kind of setup.?

 

[Rustyy117]

I would recommend a 30" monitor with a resolution of 2560 x 1600, that would give you a very clear and sharp image and it would be large enough for you to be able to sit far back from it.

Maybe something like this: http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/monitors/monitor_3007wfp/pd.aspx?refid=monitor_3007wfp&cs=19&s=dhs

 

[mactronix]

You should be more than 8 feet away from a large monitor anyway. What about running through a large HD TV ? You can set the font to large and you will see every thing quite clearly i would think.

Mactronix

 

[andy55]

Thnx for the link omgitzfatal. Its a nice option. right now with 17" monitor i'm sitting at little less than one arm distance, 30" will though double the distance but will that be enough. ?

@ mactronix - may be yes i can use it but i think large monitors or projectors with good luminance wud be better option. isn't it ?

 

[Rustyy117]

You should definitely be further away than that from your monitor, about 2-3 meters would be alot better, I know if I sit to close to my TV/monitor for awhile, my eyes start to hurt and I get a headache.

A TV isn't a bad option if you get a high end full HD TV, I use my Toshiba Regza 32" HD TV as a monitor, However the picture quality isn't as good as most high end monitors like that dell I linked too, Also that dell monitor can go as high as 2650 x 1600 which is a fair bit higher than full HD giving you better image quality.

The down side is it costs alot.

 

[andy55]

Let me see if i can afford 42" monitor..ok i checked.. its costing me $800. May be i can go with this option. It will push me at least 3 times away. Moreover i'm working on CRT monitor at present. LCD or LED are more Eco friendly & radiation free i suppose.

 

[srynznfyra]

One word of advice: do NOT get a 30" 2560x1600 monitor, you need to sit really close to them as they're so sharp (100 pixels per inch) that if you sit further away you simply don't see anything.

Get a 42 inch full HD TV, or a full HD projector if you can afford it (they're very expensive). You can also get remote controls that you can use instead of a keyboard and mouse but I'd recommend putting the TV where you'd normally put a TV and using a wireless (preferably bluetooth as they have good range) keyboard and mouse on a table.

The reason I recommend a very large TV is because if you sit a long distance away from it, it has to have a relatively low pixel per inch count for you to see any detail (limits of the human eye or something like that - the further away a pixel is the smaller it becomes, so you want the pixels as large as possible to begin with. that way when you look at it from a distance they'll appear the same size as normal-sized pixels viewed close by).

 

[andy55]

@srynznfyra

Thanks buddy for this technical insight. Ok what if i get 42" monitor instead of TV. Will it work any better or it also has the same problem of being too sharp ?

I have this doubt that HD TV are not as clear as HD widescreen monitors. Am i right ?

 

[mactronix]

@ srynznfyra,

That's why i suggest increasing the font size. If you try and run the thing at native res and normal settings then of course you wont see any thing as the text will be too small.

Here is a handy tip that i use with my 1920 x1080p monitor as the above issue comes into play with some web pages but not others.

Ctrl & + on the Number pad will zoom the screen for you


Mactronix

 

[Darshebag]

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Vizio-E420VO/13904834#ProductDetail

42" vizio 1920x1080. I use it, it works great. Walmart has lower prices then any other place I found that Vizio. It works great if you use HDMI. It also supports VGA 15-pin

If I am sitting far away from it I change the resolution to 1366x768 and it makes everything huge yet still sharp.

 

[srynznfyra]

@andy55
I think that if you used a 42 inch TV, if you looked at the picture as close as you normally look at a monitor, it wouldn't be very sharp. However, looking at it from the distance of a few meters, it would be just as sharp, as there are just as many pixels (in fact more than most) PC monitors. This is because the fact that you're further away means you still can't distinguish the pixels any more than on a PC monitor up close (which is the factor determining sharp-ness - ability to distinguish pixels).

EDIT: saw you were worried about it being too sharp, lol. The TV wouldn't be too sharp or as sharp as the 30" screen as if you think about it the HDTV has less pixels (1080 vertical lines) than the 30" (1600 lines) yet it is a hell of alot bigger. There is a formula for working out the PPI on this page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixels_per_inch

EDIT2: worked it out and the 30 inch is roughly 101 pixels per inch, vs. the 42 inch 1080p LCD TV @ 52 pixels per inch. Up close, the 42 inch would look, well, a little fuzzy. However, sitting a few meters away it would look at just the right balance between fine and readable. So, I recommend the HDTV

@mactronix
Increasing the font size doesn't help when doing things like, say, activating a menu.

You would *have* to run it at native res because LCDs don't display well at lower resolutions unlike CRT (tube) screens. You might be able to zoom web pages and all that but what about the graphic design and its associated programs that the OP mentioned? I'm sure they'd have lots of small toolbars and it would be an absolute nightmare squinting at a 30" monitor displaying them even smaller than normal. Actually I'm sure that would hurt/ruin the OP's eyes further :lol:

Plus, a 42" HDTV is waaaaaaaay cheaper than a 30" ultra hires monitor.

@the OP: I warn you again, do not get a 30 inch monitor! Unless you like sitting up close and have very good eyesight of course. In that case, a 30 inch monitor would be a dream possession.

 

[srynznfyra]

If you do decide on the HDTV, *make sure it has good specs in terms of colour quality, contrast ratio and viewing angles*. You can probably get a top of the line HDTV and still not spend nearly as much as you would on the cheapest 30 inch monitor.

EDIT: also, with the HDTV option I think 42" would be the minimum in terms of readability from a distance. The optimum (in terms of my guesswork) would be around 50-60" from couch-distance but I'm sure 42" would still be very readable, however smaller than that (e.g 37" / 32") would be pushing your luck (and eyesight) a bit. Bear in mind that I haven't actually used a HDTV like this so I'm only going by what I should imagine.

 

[andy55]

@srynznfyra

Thanks for you time & in detailed response.

" I'm sure they'd have lots of small toolbars and it would be an absolute nightmare squinting at a 30" monitor displaying them even smaller than normal."

Yes, you are very right i need lot of space as well along with good enlarged tool windows. I'll visit nearby store for demo & then decide between HDTV & PC Monitor. But as of now i'm more inclined towards buying 42" monitor instead of 60" HDTV. For GRAPHIC DESIGN work i think i need a dedicated PC monitor. With 42" monitor i will set the resolution at less than 1080 which will give me somewhat enlarged screen even from the distance.

Thanks for your input guys, It was really helpful. Keep sharing your experience & knowledge.

Thanks

 

[andy55]

I have this confusion..Lets suppose if i set the system resolution to 1366x768. Now what will be the difference between 42" FULL HDTV & 42" FULL HD Monitor, if both seen from the same distance of lets say 4 fts.

 

[srynznfyra]

A 42" TV is just a big monitor, well with a TV tuner and other gubbins built in but still essentially the same. I guess you might get a bit of an advantage if you get a 42" high quality IPS panel PC monitor for professional graphics work but they're extremely expensive (I should imagine) and unless you need to view pictures with the finest colour quality and contrast ratio etc., then it wouldn't be much point - and anyway you can get some pretty decent consumer HDTVs nowadays AFAIK, as in professional level colours and contrast, and decent brightness.

I suggest you go with a good quality high-end full-HD TV @ at least 42", but make sure it's a good high end one because I think you'd be dissapointed with most low-mid range consumer models.

Oh yeah and run it at 1920x1080 or whatever its native res is - don't run an LCD at less than its native resolution (e.g. 1366x768 on a FHD-TV) because things will look low-quality (as the LCD needs to do some sort of processing to display 768 pixels in the space of 1080 and it never looks very good).

PS. glad to help

 

[andy55]

Thanks srynzfyra, got your point. well yesterday i got a demo at SONY store. I hooked my laptop to both BRAVIA 42" & 32", though 32" was looking fine (but not as fine as monitor) but i couldn't sit far away so i guess 42" inch is right for me. I'm getting 42" 'Sony Bravia BX 400' Full HD with 2 HDMI ports for $1240.

 

[srynznfyra]

That sounds good