My thoughts, PRS-300, PRS-600, PRS-505, PRS-700, Kindle 2

[lisreed]

I don't know what glare you are talking about on the kindle 2. It does not have an extra layer like the Sony 600 so it by no means has that much glare. I had a 600 and returned it because the glare was bad. I could see my reflection in low lighting situations. That is never the case with the kindle 2. And the contrast on the kindle 2 is still a bit better and with the font hack is just as good as the sony 300 & 505.

[zacheryjensen]

Originally Posted by lisreed

I don't know what glare you are talking about on the kindle 2. It does not have an extra layer like the Sony 600 so it by no means has that much glare. I had a 600 and returned it because the glare was bad. I could see my reflection in low lighting situations. That is never the case with the kindle 2. And the contrast on the kindle 2 is still a bit better and with the font hack is just as good as the sony 300 & 505.

I'm sure if you've followed Kindle 2 discussion you're aware that there are several variations of the actual screen in use. So whatever you're experience, it might differ from my device. In my case if there is spot lighting (like a regular light bulb in the house) as the light source then there will be, at certain angles, a very bright reflection, or glare from that light. It's not a problem because I can tilt the Kindle, but, it does exist and it is impossible for me to see through that glare when I don't tilt. The PRS-600 I used had the exact same effect. I noticed no other reflection problems otherwise, but, I also don't read in low light situations. I always have at least a 60 watt equivalent light source nearby or on the device.

It may be worth noting that I'm also a fan of glossy screens like those found on iMacs or some laptops. It's interesting how given the exact same surface some people's eyes will focus on the reflection on the surface and others will focus on the screen below the surface and never notice the reflections except for bright blinding lights. Maybe that's the case here.

In any case, there are merely my experiences and not meant to be a scientific breakdown of what these products will or won't do.

[richman]

Originally Posted by DrMoze

No, no, no. The 300 has a slightly whiter background and slightly better contrast than the 505--not a big difference, but definitely in favor of the 300. And the number of greyscales has nothing to do with text contrast. The edges of individual characters are sharper on the 300 than on the 505. And this is fact, not a matter of opinion.

Gee, that type of opinion " this is fact, not a matter of opinion" , seems so old school. Did you have someone from past that used to talk to you like that? "My way is the LAW" and all the other people are stupid. That attitude starts the "religious wars" and "cold wars". How do you like it if I said to you? "It's a FACT the 505 screen is Blacker than the 300 and it's not an opinion but a FACT." Then start a FEUD on this board, or start a fist fight to PROVE to me you are RIGHT? Childish behavior but most of humanity still engages in it.

Bro it's better to say, "when I look at it the 300 looks whiter and blacker than 505", then quote a PRO source or 2 that confirms it". It seems that most people seem to say the white on the 300 is whiter than 505, but there are conflicting views on if the BLACK is as Black. More than one person has commented on it. So the 300 seems to have washed out appearance compared to 505. But the 300 is much better in contrast to the 600 and much, much better than the 700.

I should add I have not seen the 300 so I can't give my opinion, but I have been reading the reviews from the pro writers and people on this board that own both of them or have gone into store to compare them, and see there is some difference in opinion on comparing contrast on 300 and 505. Gee, if 10 people look at them and some say one thing and some say another thing, seems like it's open to interpretation to me.
It isn't a big deal, because both 300 and 505 are great devices.

I hacked my 505 and put on it a Bold Black font on it so I'm not sure I would compare them because I'm not using the default font. The 300 is not hacked yet , but hopefully it will be and then we can see if a different font makes it blacker or if it's just the screen that sony altered slightly to give a more whiter appearance at the expense of slightly less Black print. I don't know but that could be possibility.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by richman

Bro it's better to say, "when I look at it the 300 looks whiter and blacker than 505", then quote a PRO source or 2 that confirms it". It seems that most people seem to say the white on the 300 is whiter than 505, but there are conflicting views on if the BLACK is as Black. More than one person has commented on it. So the 300 seems to have washed out appearance compared to 505. But the 300 is much better in contrast to the 600 and much, much better than the 700.

The PRS-300, CyBook Opus, BeBook Mini, etc, all use the same 5" screen, made on the same production line in the same factory by the same company; PVI in Taiwan. They really all should have an identical background colour. When I compare the screen background of my Opus with that of my other device, side by side, the screen background (to me) appears to be an absolutely identical shade of grey.

[richman]

Yeah , that's why I think DrMoze comment seemed too absolute, seems like either some screens may come out of production line with slight tint on them making them appear whiter, or sony adds something , or people just "project" their stuff onto the screen, or the lighting is different in room they are testing. I don't know but I was just commenting that it doesn't seem to be a black and white issue. (pun intended)

Now the 6 inch screen from production line in past and the 5 inch screen production from NOW could be different so we are in a way trying to see if tech level increased or if they are the same or to cut costs they are using inferior process? I don't know and I guess that is what we are trying to figure out. Also the process itself may have ability to adjust settings via computers to make it appear either more whiter (milky) or grayer background to make the black print darker. That is also a possibility. The same as I do on my computer screen , I can turn down the contrast and make the Black less black or turn up the contrast and make the LIGHT less light and make the black darker. I can have one or the other, but not both.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The PRS-300, CyBook Opus, BeBook Mini, etc, all use the same 5" screen, made on the same production line in the same factory by the same company; PVI in Taiwan. They really all should have an identical background colour. When I compare the screen background of my Opus with that of my other device, side by side, the screen background (to me) appears to be an absolutely identical shade of grey.

The Opus and Pocket Pro screens look identical to me, and both look no different than that of the 505.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

The Opus and Pocket Pro screens look identical to me, and both look no different than that of the 505.

And the Opus, Gen3, and DR1000S screen backgrounds look identical to me. The PRS-600 has a somewhat different "tint" to it, presumably because of the touch screen.

[richman]

So both you guys seem to be saying the background color is the same, do you find the Black print the same too, or are you seeing differences in Blackness levels on the different models? I would assume you would say they are all the same, but since you guys seemed to be commenting on the background color , was just trying to find out is the Black the same, could be different from added blackness levels 4 or 8 levels or not and I would like comments on that, if you don't mind.

[HarryT]

The number of grey scales simply affects the number of "steps" between "black" and "white". It has no bearing on how black the black is, or how white the white is.

What can affect the apparent contrast is the choice of font. Eg, the Sony has a "bolder" default font than the Opus, making it look "blacker", but it's not really blacker - the lines are just thicker.

[akira28]

Originally Posted by HarryT

And the Opus, Gen3, and DR1000S screen backgrounds look identical to me. The PRS-600 has a somewhat different "tint" to it, presumably because of the touch screen.

Harry,

You are correct about the tint, which makes the 600's background slightly darker compared to the 300. But none of these screens are remotely near white. They are gray, gray, gray.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by akira28

Harry,

You are correct about the tint, which makes the 600's background slightly darker compared to the 300. But none of these screens are remotely near white. They are gray, gray, gray.

True, but neither are paperback books printed on white paper. Pure white paper is to "glarey" to comfortably read on. I would say personally that, under reasonable lighting conditions, an eInk screen is as readable as a typical paperback book is.

[akira28]

Originally Posted by HarryT

True, but neither are paperback books printed on white paper. Pure white paper is to "glarey" to comfortably read on. I would say personally that, under reasonable lighting conditions, an eInk screen is as readable as a typical paperback book is.

I wish my eye/brain had your tolerance.

[richman]

For me the eink is better than paper , since the print on paper is too small for me NOW and I can adjust the print size on these ereaders so I can read it!

[sminarovich]

Does anyone have any experience comparing the 500 with the 600? I was always aware of the greyness of the 500 but after awhile you just get over it. I don't know if the 500 has a glare problem if i can't read the screen a shift till I can? Will I find the screen as easy to read as the 500 if the answer is yes then i'll be thrilled..I imagine that the next edition will be ready in about 2 years anyway which is about as long as i've had my 500.

[igorsk]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The PRS-300, CyBook Opus, BeBook Mini, etc, all use the same 5" screen, made on the same production line in the same factory by the same company; PVI in Taiwan. They really all should have an identical background colour. When I compare the screen background of my Opus with that of my other device, side by side, the screen background (to me) appears to be an absolutely identical shade of grey.

No, LG makes screens too. There can be a variation in whiteness/contrast between screen batches, and depending on the VCOM resistor adjustment.