My computer screen / display monitor text is blur and fuzzy !

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How to ensure your computer display is as SHARP as possible

Note: My post is based on a LCD monitor and laptop setup, with VGA wire connection. This post is not meant to cater for every possible setup out there, but as a general guide on how to optimize the display clarity with what existing software and hardware that you have. We do not attempt to cover smartphones, TV, and other devices here.


Many times we want the best for our eyes, as they are indeed a very great asset. However in the modern cities, we are spending more and more hours in front of a screen, whether from smartphones, laptops, TV, and other devices. Below are some tips you can try to make the best of your situation.

Hardware Tips

1. Ensure that you have a good quality wire connecting your computer/laptop to your monitor. This usually means wires that are thicker, and with bigger ferrite beads - sometimes also called ferrite chokes. This will minimize electronic interference.
   
   

   

   Ferrite beads or Ferrite chokes

   
   

   
   



2. Your monitor usually comes with some buttons to configure its settings. Don't stick to manufacturer's default! Make the best of it.

Monitor display hardware settings

My recommended settings are:
- Set contrast to high (70~80%). This increases the difference between dark and bright things on the display, and hence makes things appear sharper, and thus less strain to the eyes.

- Set brightness to low (about 30%) . Many people confuse this by setting it to a very high setting, thinking that it should make the screen clearer. In fact, with today's LCD/LED monitors, they are able to display too much brightness for our eyes in my opinion, unless you work outdoors in the sun. For most of us office go-ers, its fine. This goes hand-in-hand with the contrast setting above.

- Angle the monitor so that reflected ambient light ie. the ceiling light, does not interfere with what you are trying to see.

- For users with the older VGA connectors, use the monitor's auto adjust feature to calibrate the details like frequency clock, phase etc as the auto detection usually works well.

VGA connector

- For our better off counterparts who use the newer DVI connectors, there won't be this auto adjust feature available.

DVI connector

Software Tips

1. Sometimes in Advanced settings, you will be able to adjust the settings that come with your graphic cards and its particular drivers. The configuration here really depends on your setup which i will not elaborate on. The key is to try different settings, like graphics hardware acceleration etc to see what works for you.
2. Clear-type settings: With Windows 7, they introduced ClearType technology. It was meant to make text sharper and easier to read. This was not the case however, as many users on the web complained about blur screens. 
• I wrote about this in another blog post. I believe this has got to do with the quality of your display, and whether it is able to display the smooth font gradients as required. Otherwise, this technology can backfire on unsuspecting users who upgraded to Windows 7. I suggest to play around with the settings to see which way appears clearer for you.





ClearType Technology. Makes things worse?



3. Adjust the OS display settings to the native monitor resolution. Which means, make the OS display in settings that the monitor was manufactured for. This will give best results.   
4. Chrome settings: Depending on which software you use the most in your everyday work, the specific software settings if mis-configured can really take its toil on the eyes. Recently, Chrome introduced ClearType as well in a recent version upgrade. This made many users upset. If you are experiencing blur text suddenly, do check out their bug report for a solution.
   
   For me, it worked by switching off "direct write" via a little known setting. Just enter chrome://flags/#disable-direct-write directly into your chrome URL bar. And toggle it off.

Turn DirectWrite OFF

Have other suggestions? Found a way? Tell us in the blog comments.