You won't get vision impairments so easily anymore

Sep 18, 2014 08:57 GMT  ·  By

There are two elements in display technologies that can cause eye fatigue, strain and eventual vision problems. Worldwide monitor and TV maker AOC has decided to release a solution that neutralizes one of them.

Monitors, TVs and pretty much every other device that uses LED-backlit display technology has two “problems”: flicker and blue light.

Flicker can't be discerned with the naked eye, but it is, nonetheless, very much there, causing eye fatigue to rise faster than it otherwise would.

The other problem is harder to solve because you can't exactly produce a good-looking, accurate image without all three parts of the RGH color spectrum (red, green, blue).

Until now, displays makers have mostly been implementing flicker-free panels and blue light reduction technologies in their better products.

Now, though, AOC has come up with an alternative, of sorts, which reduces the intensity and strength of shortwave blue light (340-450nm) without affecting image quality and color accuracy.

The AOC Anti-Blue-Light technology, or ABL for short

The technology works by fine-tuning the LED backlight to reduce shortwave blue light by over 90%, all the while without dimming or distorting colors like filters or software settings would.

This way, there is almost nothing there to lead to macular degeneration (AMD), a permanent loss of vision in the center of the eye (due to a damage retina).

The technology tweaks blue light emissions right at the source, via an LED technology that shifts the wavelength peak from 450 nm to 460nm, essentially moving it out of the harmful range. It might seem like a small difference, but it's not like the difference between violet and ultraviolet rays is that high, and yet UV is still invisible to normal eyesight. This is a similar case.

Uses for the new technology

AOC hasn't patented ABL yet, but it is waiting for the patent to go through. In the meantime, it has been working to integrate the tech into its new AOC 76V Series Anti-Blue Light displays.

What's left is to see if any other display makers come up with something similar, or if they choose to patent AOC's invention. Probably the former, though we wouldn't be averse to the latter, especially if it cuts down on the time it takes to launch an eye-friendly generation of TVs and monitors.

The Anti-Blue Light technology shouldn't add too much to the price of whatever display it is incorporated in, but AOC may price the first one or two products higher than normal just on principle. Squeezing as much cash as possible out of each new achievement is standard marketing, alas.

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