TÜV Rheinland’s "Eye Comfort" certification classifies displays for eye comfort within a 5-star rating system.
According to TÜV Rheinland, the “Eye Comfort” certification process examines three technical dimensions – image quality, ambient light management, and eye care technology – using 15 different test categories that it says have been shown to have a significant impact on eye comfort.
"Features like good image quality, high refresh rate and good ambient light management, such as intelligent brightness and CCT adaptation to ambient light, help reduce visual fatigue," said Stanley Liu, display certification expert for TÜV Rheinland. "For example, the higher the refresh rate, the smoother the image and the higher the eye comfort and the corresponding score."
Only if a screen achieves a 5-star rating in all 15 categories will the overall result also be a 5-star rating, said TÜV Rheinland. Consumers can access a detailed presentation of the different test categories via TÜV Rheinland's Certipedia certificate database, the company said.
Dell will be the first tech company to launch displays with the new "Eye Comfort" certification, when it debuts two new Dell UltraSharp displays later this month.
According to TÜV, recent advances in display technology have led to improvements in display quality for pixel density, color accuracy, consistency, color space coverage and refresh rate. To keep pace with these advances, TÜV Rheinland has completely revised its existing certifications.
"The new generation of eye comfort certification is no longer limited to the old low blue light or flicker-free labels," TÜV said in a statement. "Instead, it is a completely redesigned test standard that covers a broader range of safety indicators, such as ambient brightness, color temperature adjustment and regulation, and brightness uniformity."
According to TÜV Rheinland, a 5-Star-certified monitor will have a high refresh rate (≥ 120 Hz) and high color accuracy and feature hardware to reduce blue light and flicker, as well as brightness and color temperature control for ambient lighting. These features are known to enhance health protection and reduce visual fatigue.