Does anyone make zero-flicker computer monitors?

[robengine]

TL;DR Summary

Ideally I’m looking for something completely flicker-free like the LG EVO OLED TVs but smaller.

Are any of the low-flicker monitors completely flicker free, not just low enough flicker to meet some low-flicker certification. Ideally I’m looking for something completely flicker-free like the LG EVO OLED TVs but smaller. I do not know all the terminology but some things I’ve been told to look for are monitors with no PWM (pulse width modulation), no DSLR, and no temporal dithering.

 

[.Scott]

With modern flat-screen monitors, there are two main contributors to "flickering": the video refresh process and the backlighting.

The Back-lighting: PWM is a method for adjusting the overall brightness of the screen. It is the main contributor of "flickering".
Here is an article that describes this effect. But a word of caution: That article shows side-by-side photographs of a computer screen - one without the PWM flicker (no bars), and one with (horizontal bars). But you can also see bars with a flicker-free screen. Those bars are formed by the Moire' pattern formed by the difference in pixel boundaries between your camera and the monitor. It should be easy to distinguish a Moire pattern from PWM bars. Before you snap the photo, the bars in the Moire pattern should be very easy to see and can be made to shift and curve with roll and yaw movements of the camera. While the PWM bars are more regular and may not be noticeable until you look at the picture after it has been taken.

You mentioned DSLR: DSLR is a digital camera technology. It doesn't have a lot to do with monitors.

You mentioned "temporal dithering": Old color CRTs showed temporal dithering when tuned into the old low-res color broadcast signals. Interlaced video is a form of temporal dithering. Other than interlaced video, I do not know of any modern display that uses it.

Refresh: The second major source of flickering is the video refresh process - and this can be a real issue because sensitivity to it varies hugely from viewer to viewer. I had a coworker who had a flicker problem with his display that I couldn't see without very careful inspection. Most people couldn't see it - yet many could. After solving his problem we found a pile of 20 monitors in a closet that, over a four-year period, had been discarded because of the same difficulty.
The refresh process is a combination of the display source (your PC or the TV broadcast station), the display, and in some cases the display environment. The good news is that improvements in all of these has reduce the refresh flickering: The refresh rates are higher, flat screens are almost immune to magnetic fields in the display environment, and the display technology itself isn't noticeably haunted by anything analoguous to "phosphor persistence".

My advice: I was tempted to ask you why you were concerned about the flickering. But it doesn't really matter. The solution is the same regardless of whther you are concerned with eye-strain or how the image will show up on camera. In both cases, your best bet is to try it out before buying it. And when you try it out, try it in the same lighting conditions you will be using, with the same cameras or eyes you will be using, and with the same source signals (HiDef TV, PC, DVD, etc) you will be using. In my experience, if you are exceptionally sensitive to flickering, only a realistic test will suit you. So find a salesman who's willing to play ball with you, and if your successful, make sure you make it worth his while.

 

[Tom.G]

Be aware that a scene change requires a screen update -- there are ways around this by updating only the pixels that change without re-drawing the whole screen.

Also, the light source must be either DC powered or at a frequency higher than you can perceive flicker; people can readily see 50Hz flicker (25Hz driving an incandescent lamp), but very few, if any, can detect the 120Hz from a 60Hz power source.

There is such a device available. The chip is called a Digital Mirror Device, or DMD.
Projectors using this technology are named Digital Light Projectors, or DLP.

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=dmd+projector
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=dlp+mini+projector

The underlying technology is briefly described at:


Of course to take advantage of the above technology, you need a video source that does not emit a raster-scanned signal; be it embedded in the display or supplied in an external screen buffer.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Nik_2213]

Back in 'mega-bottle' TV days, I remembered my beloved wife had had mild epilepsy for several years after an adolescent clay-court fall. I convinced her to let me pay the extra to upgrade our planned big Sony TV to 100 Hz version.
When we got 'cable', the bemused tech sat and stared at this TV's pics for a remarkably long time. Like you, like me, he had a 'low' flicker threshold, yet found this screen 'Perfect'...

FWIW, the TV also had a splendid 'BONG !!' when you engaged the system menu's de-Gauss facility...

 

[Rive]

Was e-ink / e-paper monitors mentioned already?

 

[robengine]

Was e-ink / e-paper monitors mentioned already?

What are those? Can you recommend the cheapest 4K, 0 flicker ones that are acceptable and can play 23.9/24hz movies at 23/24hz or 47/48 or 71/72 or 95/96 or 119/120 or 143/144 hz?

 

[robengine]

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Whats it mean some of these say PWM 0HZ some say 1000HZ.

Regardless, which monitor of these is best overall? And which is best <$500? I need one that can play 23.9/24hz movies at 23/24hz or 47/48 or 71/72 or 95/96 or 119/120 or 143/144 hz.