Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Screens & Gaming - Bigger or Closer? (self.Blind)
submitted by Westane
Hey all!
I'm legally blind as a result of albinism with an acuity of 20/270 in my good eye and 20/400 in my other eye. Despite struggling, I've been a lifelong consumer of games, TV and movies. As screen technology has improved (and cheapened) over the years I've found myself upgrading my displays ever couple of years or so.
Recently, I moved into a new house where I finally had the opportunity to build my home theater room with a nice big 70" TV at the center of it. It's great for movies, but I still have to drag up a chair a foot or so away to play any games that have any UI elements in them. In fact, I'm almost finding it harder to enjoy gaming than I did on smaller TV's I've had in the past. Similarly, my ultrawide PC monitor that I work (and occasionally game) on is causing similar issues, since I need to be about 4" away from it with my 0.6" thick prescription reading glasses to see clearly.
Lately, I've been wondering if I need to start taking things in the opposite direction and start looking for a smaller monitor with a lower resolution to work and play on. Since I need to be so close to the screen anyway, I would think having a smaller display would give me a wider field of view?
I just thought I'd get some input before I go and spend money on something that doesn't really make sense.
I'm legally blind as a result of albinism with an acuity of 20/270 in my good eye and 20/400 in my other eye. Despite struggling, I've been a lifelong consumer of games, TV and movies. As screen technology has improved (and cheapened) over the years I've found myself upgrading my displays ever couple of years or so.
Recently, I moved into a new house where I finally had the opportunity to build my home theater room with a nice big 70" TV at the center of it. It's great for movies, but I still have to drag up a chair a foot or so away to play any games that have any UI elements in them. In fact, I'm almost finding it harder to enjoy gaming than I did on smaller TV's I've had in the past. Similarly, my ultrawide PC monitor that I work (and occasionally game) on is causing similar issues, since I need to be about 4" away from it with my 0.6" thick prescription reading glasses to see clearly.
Lately, I've been wondering if I need to start taking things in the opposite direction and start looking for a smaller monitor with a lower resolution to work and play on. Since I need to be so close to the screen anyway, I would think having a smaller display would give me a wider field of view?
I just thought I'd get some input before I go and spend money on something that doesn't really make sense.
ABlindManPlays 3 points 3y ago
Sitting closer helps me more than screen size.
Duriello 2 points 3y ago
I've experienced the same with 10% or 20/200 acuity. In 2009 I bought a 42" TV and the first thing I tried was to connect it to my computer and play World of Warcraft. However I ended up returning to my 21" display since with the TV I had to stand up in order to see the map in the corner of the screen.
PungentMushrooms 1 points 3y ago
I'm in the same boat as you. For me, it's way more comfortable to use a smaller screen and a digital magnifier. The basic one on Windows 10 works great.
TheFake_VIP_yt 1 points 3y ago
I don't game but use an iPad for most day-to-day content consumption for this reason: I find it much easier to see more detail on a smaller screen that can be inches from my face, as apposed to even my 32 inch TV that I use as my main computer monitor, which is about 2 feet away.
sparkxcat 1 points 3y ago
I need to be too close for a big TV or screen to be comfortable. I miss so much of what's on the screen if it's too big. I had to look at quite a few screen sizes to find a comfortable size that worked for me.
BabyBaphomet_ 1 points 3y ago
I'm also legally blind and I've noticed I do best with a small screen up close. Like the Nintendo Switch in handheld or emulators on my tablet. Laptops are also okayish but not as good.
Remy_C 1 points 3y ago
I use my 32 inch TV for both PC and console gaming, along with all my music, sound design and other hobbies. At first it was amazing! Everything on the screen was just so big! But lately I too have wondered if a smaller, maybe 27 inch screen might work better. If something is too small to see, I can always just magnify it these days. Back when I started out that was not really an option. I know I definetly see more detail the closer I get. and there's a balance between being close enough to see detail and far enough away to see as much screen coverage as my porriferal vision in one eye will permit.
codeplaysleep 1 points 3y ago
I have the same issue. I use an ultrawide monitor, but it's 29in, anything bigger and it's too much head turning/moving around to see things. Even then, I end up using half of the screen for less important things.
B-dub31 1 points 3y ago
I have a restricted visual field and similar acuity and when I game, I find that screen size only matters so much. We have a 60” TV and it’s hard for me to play full-screen games because I can’t see the entire screen. However, when I play a game in a window (I mostly play retro emulators do I can use save states) I often can’t read the text or see details. However, if my visual field wasn’t restricted, I’d say go as large as possible with the screen size.
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