Claim I saw about LED backlit TV's causing permanent eye damage

I've been researching TVs to replace one that's kaput. I have finally decided on the LG 42LH90. The only thing that concerns me is one review I read (and I read hundreds, lol). I'd love to get your opinion on this, please let me know what you think.

The one review (that is copied and pasted on several review sites) claims that:

www.youreviewelectronics.com...

Led backlit tv causes permanent eye damage!
After having vision problems after purchasing a LG LED-backlit TV unit (without knowing nothing about LEDs) I made a research now on LED backlit technology and since the LED lights are directed towards the viewer, watching a LED-backlit TV screen creates a direct health hazard to every viewer. I personally noticed that on my eyes vision after few months of watching LG Model # 42LH90 with LED-backlit screen and my vision became much worse, I need new glasses and my eyes now get tired just a few minutes after watching this TV. The screen is way too bright to watch it with covering one’s eyes when it goes bright. I now turned the LED lights completely off and the TV picture is dark and ugly, but this is the only way I can watch it now.

BEWARE: WATCHING LED-BACKLIT TV SCREEN PERMANENT EYE DAMAGE MAY OCCUR!

That is only a portion of the review this guy gives so if you need more info then go to the link.



[edit on 2/1/2010 by Iamonlyhuman]

What, so one person has some vision problems are changing T.V. and suddenly they're dangerous as a cause?

White LEDs are commonly used for backlighting LCDs already. The reviewer claims it's bad to look at LEDs for more than 90 seconds-- straight on, unshielded maybe and definitely if it's actually a laser diode. The thing is that the light is diffused, not direct. The LED TV isn't inherently brighter than any other. The only difference is the back illumination is varied by section to increase contrast ratios.

It sounds like a case of insanity or...

Conspiracy angle: A competitor badmouthing LG online?

You would think that if it were a problem it would be common knowledge by now, considering how many people have these types of sets.

However their is a theory that led's can damage your eyes, specifically the blue ones. I don't remember the exact reason behind it but it was something to do with them giving off light at a specific frequency which damaged the eye with repeted and prolonged expossure.

When i read it it was reffering to LED's being used for lighting, not in tv sets. So it might not have anything to do with it.

the blue christmas tree lights make my wii controller not work. Not related, but shows how much they can effect things.

I work in the LED lighting industry (design engineer) and I can categorically say that this is pure nonsense. This guy isn't going blind because he watches a TV that is lit by LEDs -- I would happily state this in court too.

A LCD screen has a very diffused and even lighting -- I can't think of a product that would use a more diffused light off the top of my head. The intention is to light the surface as evenly as possible. The only difference for the human eye between an LED lit screen and a fluorescent lit screen would be the constituent colours that make up the white light because white LEDs are actually blue LEDs with a yellow phosphorous coating that makes it appear white.

If you look directly at the LED (the actual light source) then you WILL damage your eyes. They are nasty little things because it is a very concentrated point of light. However, if you diffuse the light over a bigger area then it becomes much more tolerable and are basically no different to any other light source. Diffused to the level of a LCD screen would not affect your eyes any differently to looking at any bright light.

Sstark -- The reason your Christmas tree lights affect your Wii is because the Wii Sensor Bar contains a few little tiny infrared LEDs in either end and the Wii Remote detects them and uses them for orientation and triangulation, having many point sources of light is confusing the camera in the front of the Wii Remote. The blue lights must be coloured (painted) bulbs to show-up in the IR range of the spectrum.

Manta -- I can't think of a reason why a blue LED would be any worse than looking at any colour LED. As standby indicators on appliances they are brighter than the old red and orange ones, so perhaps that is where that myth comes from.

Funnily enough, I don't really like LEDs, especially for white lighting. But they'll be all over the place in the next decade, street lighting for instance (I designed one a couple of years ago as a DTI project.)

[edit on 2/1/10 by CarlosG] Grammar -- twice!

[edit on 2/1/10 by CarlosG]

Thank you all! This has cemented my choice then.

Originally posted by CarlosG

Manta -- I can't think of a reason why a blue LED would be any worse than looking at any colour LED. As standby indicators on appliances they are brighter than the old red and orange ones, so perhaps that is where that myth comes from.

I do have to come to Manta’s defense here because I had heard the same thing and, when this issue came up, “researched” it a little and found a couple of sites talking about it like this one:

texyt.com...

What's all the fuss about blue LEDs? Surely a light is just a light, no matter what the color. How can there be a difference between blue and red, green, or amber?

In fact, blue light causes greater eyestrain and fatigue than other colors. It is harder for the eye to focus and causes greater glare and dazzle effects. It can also interfere with our internal body clocks, disrupting sleep patterns. Some researchers believe that even very low levels of blue light during sleep might weaken the immune system and have serious negative implications for health.

And because of Nakamura's innovation, blue LEDs really are different from old fashioned LEDs. They are much brighter.

I have also noticed that LED car headlights are extremely bright and I can’t look at them. Actually, this is what made me ask the question here to all of you.

In any case, one of the other sets I was looking at used RGB LED backlighting – I think it was Sony – and would have been the one I would have chosen (because of the RGB) but the TV was just too big for my space. Apparently this one LG model is the only 42” of any brand that has any kind of LED backlighting at all – that stinks but it seems to be a good TV so…

Do you really think, they will sell you a tv. if ther is any chance it will cause a situation in which you will deffenitly won't by any tv in the future annymore, never.

I am using LED monitors for work (about 2 years now) also LED at my home computers , did not notice any issue at all.

reply to post by Romanian
reply to post by Sinter Klaas

Thanks to both of you and Sinter Klaas, I didn’t think that it would have been intentional for the very reason you stated but, as with anything, new information could come along…

reply to post by Iamonlyhuman


It's true and now you can read all the answer in life science journal.
www.lifesciencesite.com...

Your eyes will be damage after using it in a long time.

I personally repair LG LED TVs.

Most LED TVs are edge lit with white LEDs. Meaning the light you see has been reflected through several diffuser panels before it gets to the LCD display panel.
The LCD display panel decides which colors to allow through for your eyes to see.

Now I have seen the LED assemblies removed from their panel and fired up. They are too bright to look at. If you could bunch them up into a small package you would have a nice headlight.

But this is just another case of someone not knowing what they are talking about.