DayVue LCD Screen Protector for LCD Screens Outdoors

Boaters are increasingly using electronics with LCD screens onboard, including laptop and netbook computer screens, chart plotters, smart phones, mp3 players, and DVD players. Bright sunlight typically makes it difficult to read LCD screens not designed specifically use in direct sunlight or bright conditions. The inexpensive DayVue screen protectors from NuShield can be applied to most LCD screens to make them easier to read in the boat’s cockpit.

I was rather cynical about whether a thin film stuck on my laptop’s screen would actually make the screen more viewable in sunlight, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised in my testing of the DayVue screens. Although not a magical solution to make any screen look as bright as when inside, the film does work well to improve viewability outdoors. Boaters who use laptops, smartphones, and other devices onboard and who have struggled to make out words or images on the LCD in bright sunlight should appreciate the improved view.

I conducted two tests using partially covered LCD screens to compare before and after effects, as in the photo shown above. On my laptop that has a shiny reflective screen I saw the greatest improvement. Outdoors this screen originally was so dark and so reflective of any stray light that it was close to worthless in bright light. The section covered with the DayVue screen, however, became less reflective while images beneath grew brighter. It’s not as ideal as we’d like, but the laptop became more usable in more circumstances.

I did the same test with my netbook that has a nonreflective LCD screen. With this screen, the DayVue screen section became more reflective (the film does reflect light—though much less than from a standard reflective screen), and it did irritate me to suddenly be getting reflections, even indoors, where I had not before. Still, in bright light and outdoors, the screen section covered by the DayVue screen was brighter and easier to read. I conclude that the DayVue screen is quite successful for devices that have reflective screens, but for devices with nonreflective screens you should weigh the loss of nonreflectivity against the increased brightness of the screen outdoors.

The instructions for installing the film are well written and the process not difficult, though with a large screen one needs to be very careful to ensure the screen is perfectly clean first and to apply the film very precisely to avoid bubbles that can be distracting from certain angles. Still, for a device to be used frequently outdoors, the effort is worth it.

Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.