Performance measures and subjective evaluations for two color displays

Abstract

The current study investigated the task performance and subjective preference for two color displays with differing image generation technologies, the standard cathode ray tube shadow mask (CRT) display and the newer liquid crystal/cathode ray tube (LC/CRT) display. Six subjects performed three different information processing tasks using each of the two color display technologies and expressed their display preference via evaluation questionnaires. Ambient illumination measurements were obtained to determine preferred conditions for each display.

A four-way factorial design was used to collect task performance data and ambient illumination preferences; performance data were collected as errors per unit task quantity for each of the task types. Subjective evaluations consisted of 20 five-interval bipolar adjective scales and a forced choice rating on eight display parameters. An analysis of variance procedure and post-hoc Newman-Keuls analyses were employed in the analyses of the performance and subjective bipolar adjective scale data; the forced choice rating scales were evaluated using the Sign Test.

The task performance results indicate that neither display produced better task performance. The subjective data revealed mixed results; while the bipolar adjective scales indicate no differences between the two display technologies, the forced choice rating shows a preference for the LC/CRT display on some display parameters.

A significant difference between the two displays was demonstrated for ambient illumination preferences; the LC/CRT was viewed in greater ambient illumination than the CRT display.