Update on screen dimming

pruss · 12-17-2011, 03:31 PM

Happy news: I figured out how to do the kind of backlight dimming that my SuperDim normally needs root for without root. Just tried it out on my wife's Fire and on my Archos 43. Very pleasantly surprised how easy it was. It should be much better than using ScreenFilter, since ScreenFilter doesn't dim the blacks, and in a dark setting blacks look gray.

I don't know yet if I'll make that into a paid utility or just add it as an extra feature to my SuperDim.

weatherman · 12-17-2011, 04:14 PM

Keep us posted, and let us know if you need beta testers!

pruss · 12-17-2011, 04:32 PM

Email me ( arpruss@gmail.com ). I am pretty close to a beta. (I just used the SuperDim code as my base.)

I think it will be a paid app in the end, but beta testers will have a free version (but maybe not free updates--too much trouble to send them all out).

Blossom · 12-17-2011, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pruss

Email me ( arpruss@gmail.com ). I am pretty close to a beta. (I just used the SuperDim code as my base.)

I think it will be a paid app in the end, but beta testers will have a free version (but maybe not free updates--too much trouble to send them all out).

Email sent!

I am really excited about this!

pruss · 12-17-2011, 09:30 PM

OK, I have enough beta testers now (five!).

tjsoundguy · 12-18-2011, 09:35 AM

VERY cool! Looking forward to using this...

pruss · 12-18-2011, 10:44 AM

The app right now has two separate sliders. A brightness slider that adjusts the backlight and a contrast slider that does exactly what ScreenFilter does. It is stable according to my testers.

I'd like to sell it for $0.99 (with a seven day trial version). :-) I wonder if Amazon will accept it for the Kindle on their appstore. It takes them about a week to approve an application for the appstore, and then I don't know how many more days to accept it for the Kindle. Maybe I can accept paypal payments in the meanwhile, though advice would be appreciated.

I still need to add one more feature, namely access from the notification bar.

Blossom · 12-18-2011, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pruss

The app right now has two separate sliders. A brightness slider that adjusts the backlight and a contrast slider that does exactly what ScreenFilter does. It is stable according to my testers.

I'd like to sell it for $0.99 (with a seven day trial version). :-) I wonder if Amazon will accept it for the Kindle on their appstore. It takes them about a week to approve an application for the appstore, and then I don't know how many more days to accept it for the Kindle. Maybe I can accept paypal payments in the meanwhile, though advice would be appreciated.

I still need to add one more feature, namely access from the notification bar.

I'd have no problem paying 99 cents for it. I don't know if Amazon will approve it but I guess it couldn't hurt to try. There are other markets like SlideME and AndriodPit also sell apps so you might want to look into those.

I am so looking forward to the Notification bar access being added.

Thank you for developing this app. It's much needed for all us Kindle Fire users!

pruss · 12-18-2011, 01:35 PM

Thanks for the kind words. I was very happy to get this working, since there are a lot of users who for legal or technical reasons don't root their device and for whom my SuperDim, which requires root (but it's free!), isn't helpful. I rolled ScreenDim together quickly yesterday by re-using much of SuperDim code.

Something I'd like to add if I could figure out how would be a screen tint feature. I know it can be done because there is a paid version of something in the Market like the Fader utility (or whatever it's called) that does it. (But it also doesn't adjust brightness, just contrast.)

It's nice that on the Kindle the notification bar shows up in most apps. On my Archos 43, it disappears in most apps.

weatherman · 12-18-2011, 02:49 PM

I'm testing this right now and it's looking really good. I don't know about the need for a "tint" feature though - seems like this is something best kept basic, simple and cheap.

BTW what are some of the problems/conflicts that people have had with SuperDim? I'd like to be able to try to replicate them on my device with ScreenDim and I know people have had some conflicts. So far, ScreenDim seems to be working flawlessly.

pruss · 12-18-2011, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by weatherman

I'm testing this right now and it's looking really good. I don't know about the need for a "tint" feature though - seems like this is something best kept basic, simple and cheap.

BTW what are some of the problems/conflicts that people have had with SuperDim? I'd like to be able to try to replicate them on my device with ScreenDim and I know people have had some conflicts. So far, ScreenDim seems to be working flawlessly.

I don't know of problems with conflicts with SuperDim, except that it does need root. Unless the fact that some apps can override SuperDim counts as a conflict. I think ScreenDim may be harder to override.

weatherman · 12-18-2011, 03:08 PM

I thought Blossom (or maybe it was someone else) ran in to an issue with SuperDim that required her to reboot at some point. It was in a different thread.

tjsoundguy · 12-18-2011, 03:35 PM

I'd definitely pay .99 or even 1.99, considering how often I would use this feature. I've been reading before sleep a lot now, thanks to the Fire. Reading without waking my wife is a good thing!

pruss · 12-18-2011, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by weatherman

I thought Blossom (or maybe it was someone else) ran in to an issue with SuperDim that required her to reboot at some point. It was in a different thread.

I searched for "SuperDim" site-wide and didn't find it.

SuperDim is completely different from ScreenDim in how it gets the device to dim the backlight. ScreenDim is a more elegant and, I think, simpler solution. But I'm going to continue using SuperDim on my rooted Archos (Archos releases developer edition software that makes rooting easy).

beckywc · 12-18-2011, 03:59 PM

I'd pay as well.

12-17-2011, 03:31 PM	#1
pruss Evangelist Posts: 461 Karma: 819417 Join Date: Nov 2004	Update on screen dimming Happy news: I figured out how to do the kind of backlight dimming that my SuperDim normally needs root for without root. Just tried it out on my wife's Fire and on my Archos 43. Very pleasantly surprised how easy it was. It should be much better than using ScreenFilter, since ScreenFilter doesn't dim the blacks, and in a dark setting blacks look gray. I don't know yet if I'll make that into a paid utility or just add it as an extra feature to my SuperDim.

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12-17-2011, 04:14 PM	#2
weatherman Addict Posts: 385 Karma: 1010052 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: (previous: Kindle 2, Kindle Fire) Kindle 4 WiFi, K3K, KPW	Keep us posted, and let us know if you need beta testers!

12-17-2011, 04:32 PM	#3
pruss Evangelist Posts: 461 Karma: 819417 Join Date: Nov 2004	Email me ( arpruss@gmail.com ). I am pretty close to a beta. (I just used the SuperDim code as my base.) I think it will be a paid app in the end, but beta testers will have a free version (but maybe not free updates--too much trouble to send them all out).

12-17-2011, 09:30 PM	#5
pruss Evangelist Posts: 461 Karma: 819417 Join Date: Nov 2004	OK, I have enough beta testers now (five!).

12-18-2011, 09:35 AM	#6
tjsoundguy Enthusiast Posts: 28 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2011 Device: Kindle Fire / Touch /Paperwhite	VERY cool! Looking forward to using this...

12-18-2011, 10:44 AM	#7
pruss Evangelist Posts: 461 Karma: 819417 Join Date: Nov 2004	The app right now has two separate sliders. A brightness slider that adjusts the backlight and a contrast slider that does exactly what ScreenFilter does. It is stable according to my testers. I'd like to sell it for $0.99 (with a seven day trial version). :-) I wonder if Amazon will accept it for the Kindle on their appstore. It takes them about a week to approve an application for the appstore, and then I don't know how many more days to accept it for the Kindle. Maybe I can accept paypal payments in the meanwhile, though advice would be appreciated. I still need to add one more feature, namely access from the notification bar.

12-18-2011, 01:35 PM	#9
pruss Evangelist Posts: 461 Karma: 819417 Join Date: Nov 2004	Thanks for the kind words. I was very happy to get this working, since there are a lot of users who for legal or technical reasons don't root their device and for whom my SuperDim, which requires root (but it's free!), isn't helpful. I rolled ScreenDim together quickly yesterday by re-using much of SuperDim code. Something I'd like to add if I could figure out how would be a screen tint feature. I know it can be done because there is a paid version of something in the Market like the Fader utility (or whatever it's called) that does it. (But it also doesn't adjust brightness, just contrast.) It's nice that on the Kindle the notification bar shows up in most apps. On my Archos 43, it disappears in most apps.

12-18-2011, 02:49 PM	#10
weatherman Addict Posts: 385 Karma: 1010052 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: (previous: Kindle 2, Kindle Fire) Kindle 4 WiFi, K3K, KPW	I'm testing this right now and it's looking really good. I don't know about the need for a "tint" feature though - seems like this is something best kept basic, simple and cheap. BTW what are some of the problems/conflicts that people have had with SuperDim? I'd like to be able to try to replicate them on my device with ScreenDim and I know people have had some conflicts. So far, ScreenDim seems to be working flawlessly.

12-18-2011, 03:08 PM	#12
weatherman Addict Posts: 385 Karma: 1010052 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: (previous: Kindle 2, Kindle Fire) Kindle 4 WiFi, K3K, KPW	I thought Blossom (or maybe it was someone else) ran in to an issue with SuperDim that required her to reboot at some point. It was in a different thread.

12-18-2011, 03:35 PM	#13
tjsoundguy Enthusiast Posts: 28 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2011 Device: Kindle Fire / Touch /Paperwhite	I'd definitely pay .99 or even 1.99, considering how often I would use this feature. I've been reading before sleep a lot now, thanks to the Fire. Reading without waking my wife is a good thing!

12-18-2011, 03:59 PM	#15
beckywc Addict Posts: 272 Karma: 1050426 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: California Device: iPad Mini w/Retina, Kindle 3, Kindle Fire HDX 8.9, & Asus Transformer	I'd pay as well.