Responding to Surging Levels of Screen Time, World’s Largest Panel Makers Now Leading Effort to Protect Consumers from Dangerous Blue Light
TÜV Rheinland Announces that the World’s Largest Panel Makers are Adopting Eyesafe® Display Certifications to Filter Low Blue Light and Offset Impact of Increased Screen Time
- Announcement includes BOE, Wistron, TCL/China Star, AUO, and LG Display, while display manufacturers Innoloux and EverDisplay are planning to roll out Eyesafe low blue light certification later in the year;
- TÜV Rheinland announcement signals that display manufacturers, representing the majority of global market for monitor, laptop, and tablet panel manufacturing, have adopted Eyesafe as the preferred certification for blue light protection;
- Recent data from around the world indicates that Screen Time, which was steadily increasing in recent years, is up significantly as Shelter-in-Place, Work-from-Home and eLearning mandates have proliferated around the globe. In the US, a recent Nielsen study indicates that average screen time is now approaching 14 hours a day;
- The Eyesafe Display Certification is now the most widely adopted Blue Light requirements to date for the global display industry, which aligns manufacturers to streamline and drive efficiencies across the consumer electronics industry supply chain;
- TÜV Rheinland is working with manufacturers to ensure that new panel designs meet the demands for Eyesafe Display certification, the industry leading health-based requirements for reduced levels of blue light and color performance.
SHANGHAI, CHINA and BERLIN, GERMANY // May 12th, 2020 // The international independent third-party testing, inspection, and certification organization, TÜV Rheinland Group, today announced that display manufacturers LG Display, AUO, BOE, Wistron, and China Star have been achieved Eyesafe Display certification, the industry’s standard for low blue light and color performance management. The Eyesafe® standard is the world’s leading set of health-based requirements for the consumer electronics industry developed in conjunction over 250 leading ophthalmologists, optometrists, and engineers who have been conducting clinical health and safety research. TÜV Rheinland also announced that display manufacturers Innoloux and EverDisplay have panels that are in the process of being certified as Eyesafe and should be able to bring certified panels to market later this year.Consumer and industry-wide interest in low blue light solutions and standards has dramatically increased in recent years, forcing many companies to pursue their own low blue light management hardware and software solutions, which has resulted in significant confusion in the marketplace about the differences in the various solutions and standards. By adopting industry-leading standards that display manufacturers can certify against, TÜV Rheinland is bringing much-needed order and consistency to the marketplace, creating uniform standards and a more comprehensive means for the industry to talk to end-consumers about the health impacts of toxic blue light.Today’s announcement comes just over a month after TÜV Rheinland announced that it would begin certifying against the Eyesafe Display standard. The announcement comes on the heels of significant data pouring in from across the globe on rising levels of Screen Time by end-consumers. The average amount of hours in front of displays, which has been growing at alarming rates in recent years, has spiked significantly as Shelter-in-Place, Work-from-Home and eLearning mandates have proliferated around the globe. In the US, a recent Nielsen study indicates that average screen time is now approaching 14 hours a day.“Ever since announcing in early March that we would begin certifying displays against the Eyesafe Standard, demand from across the panel manufacturing sector has been outstanding,” said Kalyan Varma, Vice President of TÜV Rheinland, Business Field Electrical, Global, at the launch. “There was clearly pent-up demand for industry-wide standards for low blue light and color performance management. Today’s announcement, which brings together many of the leading panel suppliers in the world, shows that the industry is serious about the health and safety of the end-consumers. TÜV Rheinland is excited to be playing a leading role in consolidating industry support around a single, best-in-class standard.”The panel makers that have certified their products by TÜV Rheinland to meet the Eyesafe Display requirements, BOE, Wistron, TCL/China Star, AUO, and LG Display, I addition to Innolux and EverDisplay which are in the process of meeting the Eyesafe certification and plan on bringing Eyesafe-certified panels to market later in 2020, collectively account for the majority of the worlds display manufacturing for desktop monitors, all-in-one PCs, and laptops. As of today, over 15 different panels have been certified by these industry leading panel makers, a number which is likely to grow in coming months.
- BOE: 6 Eyesafe Display Certified Panels
- Wistron: 4 Eyesafe Display Certified Panels
- TCL/China Star: 3 Eyesafe Display Certified Panels
- AUO: 1 Eyesafe Display Certified Panel
- LG Display: 1 Eyesafe Display Certified Panel
The Eyesafe Standard is an industry-leading set of requirements available for all manufacturers across the display industry. Products that have passed the Eyesafe Display Standard requirements will receive an AK Certificate (Certificate of Conformance) issued by TÜV Rheinland, including the test report. Consumers can obtain information on certified products on the TÜV Rheinland certificate database Certipedia, which helps facilitate consumers’ understanding of a product and enhance confidence in the purchase. With TÜV Rheinland AK Certificate, all manufacturers can apply for using the Eyesafe Display label authorized by Eyesafe®.“Up until recently the standards for blue light management have been a little like the ‘Wild West’ – or we might say “Wild Far East” – a bit all over the place,” observed Justin Barrett, CEO and cofounder of Eyesafe, the healthcare research, technology and advocacy firm responsible for developing the standard. “Today’s announcement not only brings tremendous amount of clarity to the marketplace, but also ensures that the global standards for managing toxic blue light emissions and color performance are driven by healthcare, clinical research and scientific study.”The repercussions of today’s announcement extend far beyond the largely Asia-based consumer-electronics supply chain; with Eyesafe emerging as the global marquee standard for low blue light emissions, government and policy leaders, regulators, insurance executives in the academic community see far ranging implications.“The Eyesafe Display Standard was designed in consideration of the leading published research relating to the most toxic portions of the blue light spectrum and the human eye,” said Dr. David Friess, an internationally-recognized optometrist and member of the Eyesafe Vision Health Advisory Board, the entity responsible for advising the Eyesafe engineering team on the health components of the standard. “It is gratifying to see the display technology industry rapidly move towards adopting this new standard to bring improved display solutions to market based on clinical health research which ultimately benefit consumers.”Manufacturers interested in certification against the Eyesafe Display standard are encouraged to contact TÜV Rheinland.About the Eyesafe Display StandardSupported by Eyesafe®’s Vision Health Advisory Board, the EyesafeDisplay requirements are based on the growing body of research that suggests potential health impacts of blue light exposure and the consumer electronics industry’s requirements for accurate color performance. The Eyesafe Display Standard has been developed to provide transparency to consumers and is further built upon existing standards and guidelines developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), Eyesafe and TÜV Rheinland. Recent studies have shown growing concerns over potential long-term eye health impacts from digital screen usage and cumulative blue light exposure, in addition to recognized impacts of device use on circadian rhythms and sleep patterns. Blue light exposure research and studies on animals’ cells have shown that blue light in a range of 415 to 455 nm generated the greatest phototoxic risk to retinal pigment epithelium cells, with photoreceptor cell apoptosis seen early after the retina is damaged by blue light*.*See www.eyesafe.com/researchAbout TÜV RheinlandTÜV Rheinland is a global leader in independent inspection services, founded nearly 150 years ago. The group maintains a worldwide presence of more than 20,000 people; annual turnover is EUR 2 billion. The independent experts stand for quality and safety for people, technology and the environment in nearly all aspects of life. TÜV Rheinland inspects technical equipment, products and services, oversees projects, and helps to shape processes and information security for companies. Its experts train people in a wide range of careers and industries. To this end, TÜV Rheinland employs a global network of approved labs, testing and education centers. Since 2006, TÜV Rheinland has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact to promote sustainability and combat corruption. Website: www.TÜV.com
