Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Retina and Headaches

D

datapusher

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 14, 2011
29
1
Here is something i haven't seen really discussed. I went to an Apple Store to check out the retinas they had on display before I pulled the trigger. I was watching some 1920x1080 SMAC videos at full screen to see how the interface looked on the retinas, some smpte color bars and a few sites. All in all I was on this thing fo 20/30 minutes max. I was using both the best retina setting and the 1920x1200 setting.

I'll be damned if I haven't had a headache for the last few hours. Now it could have been a coincidence, not enough caffeine or perhaps someone with a voodoo doll of me... but it was enough to give me pause on my purchase.

Now I plan on going back sometime next week and playing around with a retina and mimicking what i did today to see if the headache returns. If not I will probably pull the trigger.

Has anyone else experienced this?

For the record, I am supposed to wear glasses and haven't since 1st grade. I work double what the normal american works, all in front of a computer screen/broadcast monitors and I never really get headaches except if i skip coffee that day (I had 2 cups today).

Thanks for any input.

EDIT: Really? A down vote?
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: MJF1977
Yea on June 11th after Apple said it shipped out "Today" and then 1 day later seeing shipping go to 3-4 weeks ive been having seizures. ;)
 
Yeah...I'm using retina and for some reason chrome isn't retinized. I've been web browsing for an hour or so and I have a huge headache. I do NOT want to use safari.
 
Obviously when your eyes are struggling to focus your gonna get some eye strain which will lead to a headache.

Get some glasses, eat a good meal before you go and try not to point your head down. Lean down a bit. You might have a few guys slap your ass but hey, at least you can see that retina screen without a headache.
 
Here's a coincidence for you.

Last year, almost one full year to be exact, I had laser eye surgery; initially my right eye scored a 20/15 but then after a few months it looked like astigmatism settled in and I had blurry vision both close up and far away in that eye. I chucked it up to scar tissue or them not getting the correction perfectly right. Anyway the visual aberration persisted with small fluctuations, sometimes a little better, sometimes a little worse, until today. What's so special about today? Well, I got my Retina Macbook Pro two days ago and have been working on it constantly, as I always do (work on my comp 10+ hours a day).

Here's the kicker folks: Miraculously, all blurriness has disappeared; I have considerably less eye-stain, and my vision has never been this crisp. I can't wait to get another eye exam to find out where it stands, and hopefully this new found glory will last!

Talk about a coincidence... Anyway, I'm holding this Retina 15" a good foot further away than my old 15" and the screen brightness is much lower than my old one. I don't know the cause, but if it lasts I'm likely to think it had to do with the screen. Had I not sold my old MBP yesterday morning, I could have done a test to see if upon working on the old machine the visual aberration returned.

So if someone wants to conduct an experiment, send me your computer for a week or two and I'll send it back to you after I run the test. ;)
 
BlazednSleepy said:
Obviously when your eyes are struggling to focus your gonna get some eye strain which will lead to a headache.

Get some glasses, eat a good meal before you go and try not to point your head down. Lean down a bit. You might have a few guys slap your ass but hey, at least you can see that retina screen without a headache.
Click to expand...

In the Santa Monica store? I would be surprised if someone didn't grab my ass.
 
I'm pretty sure it's the screen brightness that's the key here...I don't have an RMBP, but I do have an iPad 3....For the first couple of weeks I was getting headaches, specifically when browsing with Safari and with a couple of games.

I lowered the brightness and it might be a coincidence but the headaches went. I don't suffer from them normally, and can spend hours on my MBA MBP and iMac without any problems at all. More pixels = headache? Not sure, any Doctors here?
 
Macman45 said:
I'm pretty sure it's the screen brightness that's the key here...I don't have an RMBP, but I do have an iPad 3....For the first couple of weeks I was getting headaches, specifically when browsing with Safari and with a couple of games.

I lowered the brightness and it might be a coincidence but the headaches went. I don't suffer from them normally, and can spend hours on my MBA MBP and iMac without any problems at all. More pixels = headache? Not sure, any Doctors here?
Click to expand...

There is so much contradictory info out there right now it's hard to see what the real story is. Hoping to find a level ground between the haters and the fanboys. As far as the display goes, nothing is really optimized for it so I could care less about the retina. However the specs are pretty sweet and it's nice to think that a purchase like this would be forward thinking.

But if I can't use the damn thing it's a fancy paperweight. I will know more once I try it out again. I am interested in hearing more stories though.
 
BlazednSleepy said:
haha I go to school in santa monica.:D

What a small world we live in.
Click to expand...

I'm sure a Doctor could shed more light on this, and we do have them here! I am hyper sensitive to florescent lighting...I can actually "See" the tubes flickering if that makes sense...5 minutes in a room that's lit this way and I do get a blinding headache...I wonder if there is a connection?
 
Macman45 said:
I'm sure a Doctor could shed more light on this, and we do have them here! I am hyper sensitive to florescent lighting...I can actually "See" the tubes flickering if that makes sense...5 minutes in a room that's lit this way and I do get a blinding headache...I wonder if there is a connection?
Click to expand...

You mean people can't see the tubes flickering?

But knock on wood, with the amount I abuse my body in the name of work, the extreme lack of sleep and constant stress, I really never get headaches. Here's to hoping that today was just a fluke at the AS.
 
datapusher said:
You mean people can't see the tubes flickering?

But knock on wood, with the amount I abuse my body in the name of work, the extreme lack of sleep and constant stress, I really never get headaches. Here's to hoping that today was just a fluke at the AS.
Click to expand...

Actually, no they can't! I've asked lots of buddies and most say they just see a steady light....No flickering...Maybe we have hit on something?..:)
 
I have had some eye strain while using the rmbp at the apple store and had some while using it at home. Like you I am trying to figure out if it really is an issue. I will know in a few days of using the rmbp.

datapusher said:
Here is something i haven't seen really discussed. I went to an Apple Store to check out the retinas they had on display before I pulled the trigger. I was watching some 1920x1080 SMAC videos at full screen to see how the interface looked on the retinas, some smpte color bars and a few sites. All in all I was on this thing fo 20/30 minutes max. I was using both the best retina setting and the 1920x1200 setting.

I'll be damned if I haven't had a headache for the last few hours. Now it could have been a coincidence, not enough caffeine or perhaps someone with a voodoo doll of me... but it was enough to give me pause on my purchase.

Now I plan on going back sometime next week and playing around with a retina and mimicking what i did today to see if the headache returns. If not I will probably pull the trigger.

Has anyone else experienced this?

For the record, I am supposed to wear glasses and haven't since 1st grade. I work double what the normal american works, all in front of a computer screen/broadcast monitors and I never really get headaches except if i skip coffee that day (I had 2 cups today).

Thanks for any input.

EDIT: Really? A down vote?
Click to expand...
 
I'm waiting for the Ultra Retina Display. With text so small it's invisible.
 
I got glasses last year after being diagnosed with Astigmatism. I went to the eye doc when I got a combination of headaches and woozy/unbalanced feelings as a result of long hours and 80 hours a week behind a monitor or high-res laptop screen.

I don't think 30 minutes using a computer with a high-res screen would give you a headache if you didn't already have an eye problem that exhibited the same reaction from a regular screen. I could, however, be wrong.
 
The rMBP has been the best display i've ever used in terms of eye-strain (or lack thereof.)

It's a fantastic display and reading text on it is truly a pleasure.
 
I have experienced this with the MBA displays and also the 13" MBP but it wasn't nearly as bad as the MBA. I developed a headache within fifteen minutes and serious eyestrain symptoms that last over 8 hours after using an 11" MBA for 1.5 hours.

I have no eye problems that would cause such symptoms. In fact, I was under the care of an eye doctor for an unrelated issue when I used the MBA and there was nothing wrong with my eyes that would cause such symptoms. I wear reading glasses that are set-up for computer use. I have never had such serious eyestrain using CRT or LCD displays going back to 1995. I did have minor problems when I used a CRT for 8-10 hours a day but that is to be expected under those conditions. But nothing like what I went through after a very short period of time with an MBA.

Trust what you experienced vs. what others tell you: many people have no problems with Apple's LED backlit displays but some people have serious eyestrain issues.

Here is a lengthy thread on the display issue on the Apple forums: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1677617?start=0&tstart=0
 
Mojo1 said:
I have experienced this with the MBA displays and also the 13" MBP but it wasn't nearly as bad as the MBA. I developed a headache within fifteen minutes and serious eyestrain symptoms that last over 8 hours after using an 11" MBA for 1.5 hours.

Trust what you experienced vs. what others tell you: many people have no problems with Apple's LED backlit displays but some people have serious eyestrain issues.

Here is a lengthy thread on the display issue on the Apple forums: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1677617?start=0&tstart=0
Click to expand...
I agree. It's going to vary from individual to individual.

Personally, I've only had eyestrain on one monitor in my entire life.. a 13 inch crt that could only cover 1024X768 at something like a 50hrz refresh rate. It was like staring at a flickering fluorescent light all day. No monitors today have these issues.

I can't relate to eyestrain on modern equipment. :confused:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back