Sharp light/flicker Easy on the eyes with Low blue free certifications

Sharp/NEC Projected Capacitive

Touch Screen Displays

LED desktop monitors first appeared on the market about 13 years ago. They provided many

benefits over traditional cathode ray tube (CRT) or even newer Cold Cathode Fluorescent

(CCFL) monitors, including better image quality and lower power consumption, and they

were much friendlier to the environment. However, LED technology introduced flickering as a

side effect of managing brightness. Blue light levels have become an emerging concern due

to our increased exposure to devices, including monitors and smartphones, that emit light.

Today, Low Blue Light and Flicker Free certifications have become important features that

should be considered when assessing an LED desktop monitor purchase. To ensure user

comfort and well-being, Sharp/NEC now offers many models with Low Blue Light and Flicker

Free certifications.

Low Blue Light and Flicker Free

Certifications Are Important

Lowering Blue Light Levels

At work and during leisure many people now spend long periods of time each day looking

at screens of some type — desktop monitors, laptops, mobile devices, or TVs. Many of these

screens, however, emit a higher level of blue light than natural light.

Blue light has been shown to cause

eye fatigue and discomfort

. Researchers have also

found a

link between blue light and sleep cycles

. That’s because blue light suppresses the

production of melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep patterns. Studies have shown

that exposure to blue light late at night makes it

harder to fall asleep

. Researchers continue

to investigate the

long-term effects of blue light on eye health

.

At Sharp/NEC, we have addressed customer concerns about blue light by engineering

LED desktop monitors that emit lower levels of blue light. In simple technical terms, we

accomplish this by using a color filter to shift a monitor’s color temperature (also known

as the white point). As a result, the temperature of the light emission from these monitors

drops from about 6500 degrees Kelvin, which is typical for LED monitors, to approximately

4300 degrees Kelvin.

In a side-by-side comparison with a standard LED monitor, a low blue light monitor will

appear slightly more yellow. However, few people will notice the difference when viewing a

low blue light monitor in isolation because the eyes adjust to the lower color temperature.

Using an NEC low blue light monitor means that you still get a bright, detailed image — but

without the risk of eye fatigue or other possible undesired effects.

Increasing Flicker Speed

The arrival of LED backlit monitors also made screen flicker a concern for monitor users.

That’s because the most straightforward way of enabling an LED monitor to be dimmed is to

design the monitor’s backlights to switch on and off rapidly, commonly accomplished using

Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) which, as a side effect, can make the monitor “flicker.” Most

early LED monitors were engineered with a PWM rate between 100 Hz to 200 Hz. For most

people, this level of flicker is not visible to the eye, although it may lead to eye discomfort

without the user knowing the cause. Other people, however, are able to perceive the flicker,

which is unpleasant to view and can cause eye strain and headaches.

In our latest generation of desktop monitors, NEC has upgraded to DC control for the LED

backlight, which eliminates the flicker effect. Users of our flicker free monitors will not have to

fret about being distracted by a flickering screen or about suffering eye fatigue due to flicker.