Reading performance and visual comfort on a high-resolution large monitor compared to a VGA monitor

Abstract

Reading performance, measured by lines of text read during 30-mm sessions, and visual comfort, measured with a questionnaire at the end of each trial, were compared for a group of 15 subjects, with four trials on each of three monitor conditions: a VGA monitor where a mouse and scroll bar were used to advance the text (VGA Scroll), an experimental VGA condition in which a single keystroke was used to advance the text (VGA Page), and a higher resolution dual-page (HiRes DP) monitor with a single-keystroke text advance. Luminance and text size were matched between the VGA and HiRes DP. Font types were selected based on the most similar pair available on the two monitors. The primary visual differences in the displays were two pages of text displayed on the HiRes DP compared to one on the VGA, more frequent line wrapping on the HiRes DP compared to the VGA, a higher dot density on the HiRes DP, a higher refresh rate on the HiRes DP, a difference in the font type, and the VGA was three phosphor, while the HiRes DP was monochrome—both appeared white. Significantly more lines were read with VGA Page compared to VGA Scroll (13.9%, p p p < 0.02) on the HiRes DP monitor.