Grey/low-contrast Reader screen?

[JSWolf]

Look at the stickies. The info on the mods is there someplace in (I think) the developer's section in the Sony forum section.

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by ugar69

But the biggest issue I have is with bleed through. Is this normal? Every previous page shows through when viewing the next page, making it hard to read. Is there a fix or do I just need to learn to live with it?

It sounds like you're talking about what we often call "ghosting" -- that is to say that it looks like a very pale shadow of the last page is still there on a new page, are we talking about the same thing?

Assuming the answer is yes to that, I'd tell you that ghosting seems to be more pronounced on a new display, and generally diminishes over time and use. I've had mine since ... um, fall sometime, anyway, and it used to be fairly pronounced in the ghosting department, but there's barely any at all now.

Additionally, there is a variable resistor on one of the circuit boards inside the Reader that adjusts contrast. Usually more contrast brings more ghosting, however. You'll have to search the forum for details on that one, I'm afraid I don't recall off hand the details (perhaps someone else will, though ), and I don't know how you feel about the idea of doing surgery on your toys.

[Colt]

I'm slowly going through the whole troubleshooting forum and this kind of worries me now. How many people are experiencing this fading? While I know I'll probably be buying a better reader in a couple of years, will my current one be faded as badly as in the posted pictures after not even a year of regular use? This makes me concerned more than anything else I've seen. - Colt

[Alexander Turcic]

Colt, I've had the Reader since its initial launch, and I cannot observe any increase in fading or ghosting. On the other hand, recently my girlfriend bought a new Reader, and while it has a slightly better contrast than mine, it also has more ghosting (especially around the edges). I guess it's really device-specific.

[NatCh]

I think mine's faded some since I got it (shortly after launch), but the ghosting has decreased too. There does seem to be some 'wear in' fading that occurs on most/all e-ink, but it should be minor and limited (i.e. it should stop fading).

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Colt

I'm slowly going through the whole troubleshooting forum and this kind of worries me now. How many people are experiencing this fading? While I know I'll probably be buying a better reader in a couple of years, will my current one be faded as badly as in the posted pictures after not even a year of regular use? This makes me concerned more than anything else I've seen. - Colt

You forget the fundamental rule. Most people who have no problems don't just out and post "my reader is wonderful, no problems". It's the people who have the problems who post "my reader is not so wonderful because I have a problem". For every person who posts "I have a problem", there are more who don't have a problem. My reader is wonderful, no problems.

[NatCh]

My Reader is wonderful too, no problems here either.

Maybe we should start a thread ....

[Colt]

Oh, I know that most people with no issues never post saying so... But when several people document the same thing, it makes me worry some naturally.

[NatCh]

Well, sure, perfectly natural.

That's when it gets tricky: how much weight should such reports be given? I could list the things I do to try and decide that, but they're probably the same things you do, so ....

[Alexander Turcic]

Originally Posted by Colt

Oh, I know that most people with no issues never post saying so... But when several people document the same thing, it makes me worry some naturally.

I am like you when it comes to buying gadgets. I seek as much advise as possible from online reports. The problem is that most of the time I am more confused afterwards than I was before. As someone who is really picky about choosing his gadgets let me say that I never regretted buying the Reader!