Best eBook format for PRS-505?

[Apoteker]

Hi All,

This is only my second post so I hope this is the correct forum. Can anyone tell me what is the best format to buy/download for the 505? I think I read somewhere that even the LRF files have an abnormally large margin on the right side of the screen. I'm doing advance research as I bought my wife a 505 for Christmas. Any help or advice that anyone could give me would be greatly appreciated or if someone could just point me in the right direction on the forums I would be glad to do the research myself. Thanks in advance!

[JuristDoctor]

Apoteker,

I have consistently found the LRF format to be best on the 505. I convert many non-LRF books to LRF using Calibre. I'm not sure about the margin issue you mentioned. It may be a subjective because I've always thought the margins looked normal ... just like a paperback.

It would probably be best to try a couple of different formats (as I did) to see which you (or your wife) likes best.

As an aside, not every LRF I've looked at was formatted exactly the same. Many variations seem to exist.

JD

[dordale]

When you create LRF files, you can specify the margin size you want. For some reason, the books Sony sells have very large margins and since these are DRM'ed there is no way to change the margins.

Using either Calibre or BookDesigner to create LRF files, there are options to specify the margin you want.

Hope this helps!

dordale

[Falbe Publishing]

I also like the LRF format. It has a functioning Table of Contents and I have no complaints. I did just hear from another source someone complaining about wide margins, but that has to be caused by whoever formatted the ebook. Nothing about LRF format itself automatically results in wide margins.

I've heard that epub format works on Sony too. I'm still looking into this. I tried to load one on my 505 and it didn't work, but that was just one try. Probably something I did wrong.

PDF formats work OK on the Sony, but I'd buy the LRF before the PDF if it's available.

[dordale]

Originally Posted by Falbe Publishing

I've heard that epub format works on Sony too. I'm still looking into this. I tried to load one on my 505 and it didn't work, but that was just one try. Probably something I did wrong.

Have you upgraded the firmware on your 505? e-pub only works on the 505 with the updated firmware.

dordale

[astra]

The best format for Sony Reader is LRF.

[ShellShock]

Originally Posted by JuristDoctor

I have consistently found the LRF format to be best on the 505. I convert many non-LRF books to LRF using Calibre. I'm not sure about the margin issue you mentioned. It may be a subjective because I've always thought the margins looked normal ... just like a paperback.

Personally I don't want margins just like a paperback - too much waste of valuable screen space

I buy Microsoft format (LIT) - you can remove the DRM and using Calibre set the margins (and other options) to whatever you want when you convert it to LRF/EPUB.

This is one of the disadvantages of the free ebooks on MR - many are in LRF format, and calibre does not convert LRF to LRF, reformatting as you go. There other utilities for doing this (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=180, but I ended up writing my own (that way I could get exactly what I wanted). However, I wish calibre would do it natively for me. Ah well--we can't have everything.

[Apoteker]

Thanks to all for your input! It seems that LRF is the popular consensus for the 505. I have downloaded the Calibre software and noticed the default profile is for the Sony 500 but I assume it is essentially the same as the 505 and cannot be changed. Does anyone have any opinions on what would be the best source format for converting to LRF or does it really not make that much of a difference? Again, thanks to everyone for helping me navigate through this new technology, I really appreciate your help.

[astra]

I believe almost anything, would be good for converting.
RTF, DOC, HTML, LIT

[ShellShock]

I've been very happy with the conversions that calibre does from LIT (Microsoft) to LRF format, and I'm quite picky.

[DDHarriman]

Calibre as a sequential list of converting formats, in its FAQ, second item (http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/user_manual/faq.html).

BTW: has you are at it, I advise you to read carefully all the FAQ as you will find great information in there.

Best regards,

[Amalthia]

I found that HTML is best for converting because at least before loading it into Calibre you can adjust the settings.

LIT is my second favorite but not as flexible.

[BlackVoid]

LIT is the best format to convert from in my experience.

For PDF conversion, BookDesigner is MUCH better than Calibre. Not sure about the other formats, since I do not use Calibre anymore, only BookDesigner.

[JSWolf]

PDF conversion in Book Designer is only so-so at best. BD loses all styles and graphics. And you then have go through the PDF to find all the styles to fix. Then you also have to screen grab and cut/paste to get the graphics. Basically, it's too much work for very little return.

[Apoteker]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

PDF conversion in Book Designer is only so-so at best. BD loses all styles and graphics. And you then have go through the PDF to find all the styles to fix. Then you also have to screen grab and cut/paste to get the graphics. Basically, it's too much work for very little return.

Thanks for the input. I've been reading a lot of threads on this site and saw a rather spirited debate over a program called pdflrf v0.99 which is evidently a program in exile. Was that the defacto standard for pdf to lrf conversion? Is Calibre the next best option? Many different opinions out there but I value each input as all of you have more experience with these readers and programs than I do. BTW, nice avatar...didn't mean to copy