CRT screens or TFT displays? A detailed analysis of TFT screens for reading efficiency

摘要

Two experiments are presented that focus on worker productivity and oculomotor effort in screen reading. A CRT (cathode ray tube) and a TFT (thin flimmer transistor) display were compared regarding visual performance (search speed), oculomotor effort (fixation time and frequency) as well as rated eyestrain. Moreover, it was examined if current electronic displays can match the quality of paper. In experiment 1, the differences between paper, CRTs and TFTs for the above-mentioned measures have been addressed. Visual performance was best on paper, with the fastest search and fixation times and the fewest fixations per line, followed by TFT that was superior to CRT. In experiment 2, two CRTs at different refresh rates (100 and 140 Hz) were compared to TFT. Performance was best for the TFT display, followed by the CRT (with 100 Hz refresh rate) being better than the screen with 140 Hz refresh rate. Thus, with respect to visual performance, a clear order was found in the two experiments, with paper in the first place, followed by the TFT, and CRT. These results confirm that TFT technology might be an important step in screen technology, optimizing visual performance and minimizing eye strain. However, none of the current electronic displays seems to provide conditions under which the performance level of the paper condition was matched.