The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Work is getting dual monitors, and I'm getting a headache.
EmperorSeth
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Basically, everyone in our customer service department is getting an upgrade consisting of a second monitor. I don't have a problem with that, and the extra screen room is very useful. However, one of the monitor is HDMI, and the other is VGA. So during my entire workday, I'm staring at one clear screen, and one with exactly the same material, but darker and blurrier.
This seems like a perfect recipe for eye strain, and in just the two days since we've had it, I've noticed some symptoms, like headaches, frequent yawning, and possibly even slight nausea, that could possibly be based on the monitors. Is this a frequent problem with dual monitor systems? I didn't find anything specific on Google. More importantly, how can I fix it? Are there workarounds I could use, or do I have to hope they'll just upgrade the other monitor eventually? Hell, can you even dual monitor with two of the same input type?
This seems like a perfect recipe for eye strain, and in just the two days since we've had it, I've noticed some symptoms, like headaches, frequent yawning, and possibly even slight nausea, that could possibly be based on the monitors. Is this a frequent problem with dual monitor systems? I didn't find anything specific on Google. More importantly, how can I fix it? Are there workarounds I could use, or do I have to hope they'll just upgrade the other monitor eventually? Hell, can you even dual monitor with two of the same input type?
You know what? Nanowrimo's cancelled on account of the world is stupid.
0
Posts
It shouldn't be blurry, either.
It is certainly possible to have dual monitors on the same input type. It's a matter of what your computer has for outputs and your monitors for inputs. Chances are you have onboard video and a dedicated video card, so they're running VGA from your onboard and HDMI from your dedicated. Not a great setup, but running two monitors from your dedicated card might not be possible if it doesn't have two outputs.
Check what cables your monitors can take. Some DisplayPort capable monitors can be daisy chained.
The only way to really solve the problem is putting both monitors on VGA or HDMI. You can try messing with settings, but because it's two different connections on two different monitors it will be very difficult to get the same picture quality on both monitors. My TV, which has both VGA and HDMI inputs, will produce drastically different pictures from the same source and no amount of messing with the settings will change that. Talk to your boss, explain what's going on while also explaining it is very detrimental to your production and hopefully he can get a replacement for one of the monitors.
As a last resort if your boss can't (or wont) and you don't mind being on the bad side of management, you can get a doctor's note saying this is a problem and will continue to be a problem until it's fixed and then force the issue if it doesn't get fixed. Again, odds are this will not go down well with management and put you in the "trouble maker" category so I'd only go the medical route if it really is a problem that is making you think of looking for other work. When I worked in a call center, anyone that brought in doctor's notes were usually fired within a couple weeks for petty but real reasons (such as not using all caps in call notes as required, while others who never used caps continued on as if nothing was wrong. I know this because I was part of the call QA process). Unfortunately for most workers the squeaky wheel doesn't get the grease, it gets replaced.
Unless they're the exact same brand of monitor with the exact same settings they won't look exactly the same, but using a digital connection will help tremendously with the blurriness.
What would be better is to take an old one and put it with another old one, and take a new one and put it with another new one. This way they're the same style on the same workstation.
Yeah, switch with a neighbor if you can.
It took about a week for the eye strain headaches to stop, and occasionally I did resort to my stupid yellow Gunnars to help reduce the eye strain but it worked. I'm very prone to migraines and I believe I had one or two during the adjustment period that were probably linked to the extra real estate, but in the end I adjusted.
For me the key was to sort of "bundle" my windows together to reduce strain. The stuff I'd use during a call or email with a customer I keep on the left hand screen. My admin stuff, email, basically everything else is on the right screen. That way I reduce how much I'm bouncing around between monitors.
I tried changing the VGA monitor to a higher resolution. The screen is clearer now, but the smaller font might not be any better.
Whine that it broke and you need a new one.
Can you change the font size in the applications you're using? Not sure if you access them through a browser or not, but if you do, it might help in the short term.
Hold Ctrl and use the mouse wheel to adjust the zoom in the browser.
Either way, follow Lindsey's advice about organizing your windows to minimize bouncing back and forth between the screens as much as possible. You may be surprised how much it helps.
It does sound like classic call center/customer service management though. "Hey, doing X can massively increase productivity!" "Great, now do X for as little money as possible."
It would be easier to give advice with some more details. What resolutions are you running on the two screens, what size are they and what operating system are you using. Still here is a bit of info.
Because, if you can, bring in an old GPU from home, one with dual HDMI/DVI outputs.
If you're a gamer, you've probably got an old one lying around (or know a friend with an old one lying around), which would still beat the pants out of your work GPU.
I've come to realize that, at a certain point, not spending your own money to make your workspace better is like cutting off your nose to spite your face. Yes, work should cover it, but if they don't, well, you spend 2000 hours a year at work, so at a certain point it still makes sense to spend your own money.
Before you do anything, I'd recommend swapping the monitors (i.e. VGA -> HDMI and HDMI -> VGA). Does the one that's crappy now still look crappy? Also, check the resolution you have the monitors set at vs. their native resolution (thirty seconds of Google should find that).
Also, try playing with your monitor settings - you should be able to change the brightness / sharpness to get the picture you need (even if they might not be the exact same tints / colors).
Final choice would be to have work give you two of the same monitors. I'm using an HP and Dell right now and it's fine, but if I had a problem I'd probably swap out one so they were the same make / model.
For now, I was able to "brute force" solution. I changed the VGA monitor to the highest resolution, making the text clearer but too small. So I moved the VGA mod closer and the HDMI monitor behind it, so they look about the same size. I'll have to see how it works in the long-term, but I didn't have headaches this afternoon at least.
the thread is trying to tell you that the difference is more due to the screen than the wire connecting it, so try using two of the older models instead.
...oh, I see what you're getting at. I honestly thought that you couldn't use an HDMI monitor with a VGA port, and visa versa. I'll have to try switching them on Monday.
Unless said monitor have both HDMI and VGA inputs then that is a no go. However some monitors will accept both HDMI, VGA and then likely also DVI inputs.
Often you will also find that on the computer the VGA output is actually there due to a little adapter plugged into a DVI port, so it's possible your computer really has both the VGA and HDMI you are using now and a DVI as well. And to make the confusion complete HDMI is really DVI with extra connections for sound(which many computer monitors just ignores), so you can find cables that go from DVI to HDMI or vice versa.
To check if your computer has VGA or really DVI/VGA, official name is DVI-I, simply look at where the VGA cable is connected now. If the VGA cable is plugged into a blue D-shaped connector then that is VGA, but if the VGA cable is connected via a adapter then you'll find the adapter is connected to a white connector on the computer (that is then a DVI-I).
Here is the hard info on DVI: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface