Control e-book device screen from PC?

[Schnuggel]

Hello everyone!

I would like to connect an e-book device (e-ink technology) to a personal computer and use it as a display device; i.e., the desktop computer sends images (JPG or so) to the device where they are rendered. A frequency of, say, a picture change every five seconds would be sufficient.

I'm aware of all the e-ink drawbacks (latency, limited gray scale range); however, what's absolutely mandatory for me is a display device that works with (and only with) ambient light.

Yet, I haven't even been able to pin down this problem to some keywords for google or this forum, so I hope some human intelligence might give me a hint. Any idea would be appreciated.

Best regards, Marius

[susan_cassidy]

No. I know of no eink reader with a video out option. Just install the reader application onto the pc, and read the book that way, if you want to read it on the monitor. Or, get a tablet, if you want the backlight experience.

Edited to add: I think I got it backwards - you want video in. That would never work on an e-ink reader. Resolution, etc. would be all wrong for an e-ink screen.

[frostschutz]

It'd be interesting for sure, but I don't know any device that can actually do this. Most devices turn themselves off (umount their filesystems) while connected through USB so the filesystems can be mounted by the PC instead. In other words, the Reader has no access to the files you're copying on it while you're copying them.

You might have better luck using Wifi than USB. Any reader with a simple web browser might do then. If you're lucky the browser will support refresh so you could do a webcam like thing on your reader.

[rkomar]

Originally Posted by frostschutz

You might have better luck using Wifi than USB. Any reader with a simple web browser might do then. If you're lucky the browser will support refresh so you could do a webcam like thing on your reader.

That is a good idea! Please don't patent it.

I suppose another option is to just upload pictures regularly over the USB to a known directory, and have some local image viewing program automatically update the display. Or set up a pipe on the device's directory and direct the images to that, while having an image viewing program read the pipe and display the results. These require a special image viewing program to be created, but it wouldn't be as hard as trying to port true remote display technology.

[Schnuggel]

Hello everyone,

thanks a lot already for your ideas. I was a bit confused yesterday, maybe it helps when I (try to) explain what I want to do:

I'm working at an university (psychology), and when cleaning up the cellar, we found an old tachystoscope; i.e., an old-fashoined device that enables one to show pictures for very short time intervals. One has to look into a cube of solid metal, and by firing a flash bulb one can see the picture (inserted at the rear side) for, say, 1/1000 of a second (adjustable).

Such short time intervals are impossible to generate with standard TFT/ LCD/ CRT monitors, so using this old device is quite a temptation. We could run experiments that have been conducted some 30 or 40 years ago, and that have never been re-produced ever since because such hardware is hard to get.

However, manually changing pieces of cardboard is a bit too old-school, we'd like to use a display instead. Any device other than an e-book-reader won't work, as soon as any light apart from the flash bulb is emitted into the cube, the picture is visible all the time. Additionally, the flash bulb is very bright, so the "the more light the better readable"-feature of e-ink-displays is great.

Personally, I own a Cybook Opus, just for reading books, but that's how I got the idea of trying an e-ink display.

OK, that was background info, but maybe it helps to understand my problem. And your ideas (using WiFi instead of USB, doing the update via a built-in web browser) are extremly helpful. Do you have suggestions which device (i.e., brand and model) I could try for this?

I love my Cybook, but your suggestions wouldn't work on it, no WiFi, no web browser, no options to run own code. I would need---from all the dozens of available devices---one or two that give a programmer some freedom, and, as you suggest, a web browser with JavaScript support could be an option. And looking at data sheets is one thing; asking people with experience and clever ideas another (and much better) before actually spending some hundred $ / € to try it.

So thanks a lot already; if you have some hints or experience which devices are versatile enough to be used for your suggestions---just drop me a note.

Cheers!

Marius

[John F]

Try posting in the Nook Developers forum. The Nook Touch has Android and Wifi, so someone should be able to crank something out (that's easy for me to say).

Good luck, let us know what you find.

[paola]

Originally Posted by Schnuggel

Hello everyone,

thanks a lot already for your ideas. I was a bit confused yesterday, maybe it helps when I (try to) explain what I want to do:

I'm working at an university (psychology), and when cleaning up the cellar, we found an old tachystoscope; i.e., an old-fashoined device that enables one to show pictures for very short time intervals. One has to look into a cube of solid metal, and by firing a flash bulb one can see the picture (inserted at the rear side) for, say, 1/1000 of a second (adjustable).

Such short time intervals are impossible to generate with standard TFT/ LCD/ CRT monitors, so using this old device is quite a temptation. We could run experiments that have been conducted some 30 or 40 years ago, and that have never been re-produced ever since because such hardware is hard to get.

However, manually changing pieces of cardboard is a bit too old-school, we'd like to use a display instead. Any device other than an e-book-reader won't work, as soon as any light apart from the flash bulb is emitted into the cube, the picture is visible all the time. Additionally, the flash bulb is very bright, so the "the more light the better readable"-feature of e-ink-displays is great.

Personally, I own a Cybook Opus, just for reading books, but that's how I got the idea of trying an e-ink display.

OK, that was background info, but maybe it helps to understand my problem. And your ideas (using WiFi instead of USB, doing the update via a built-in web browser) are extremly helpful. Do you have suggestions which device (i.e., brand and model) I could try for this?

I love my Cybook, but your suggestions wouldn't work on it, no WiFi, no web browser, no options to run own code. I would need---from all the dozens of available devices---one or two that give a programmer some freedom, and, as you suggest, a web browser with JavaScript support could be an option. And looking at data sheets is one thing; asking people with experience and clever ideas another (and much better) before actually spending some hundred $ / € to try it.

So thanks a lot already; if you have some hints or experience which devices are versatile enough to be used for your suggestions---just drop me a note.

Cheers!

Marius

Hi Marius,
fascinating stuff! The pocketbooks too have a web browser - see also here for more options. Good luck!

[Hellmark]

The only thing I can think of is an android based eink device, like the Nook (original and touch), Sony PRS-T1, or Entourage Edge, running a VNC server (several exist already). You'd just connect using a VNC client on a computer, and you would have full control.

I'd say you might have best luck with the Edge, since you wouldn't need to root it.

[andyh2000]

Depending on your electronics skills (or access to others) you could always make your own display device. This is a reflective display module (not eInk) sold by SparkFun: http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9560 or in the UK: http://proto-pic.co.uk/kent-display-240x160x2-9/

Andrew

A couple of thoughts:

A lot of these tablets are Linux based and should provide access to the frame buffer, so a half decent developer should be able to create a program for you.

Another option is something like an XO. With the backlight turned off, it is a purely reflective display. (I think the person who developed the screen for the XO started up Pixel Qi.)

[toddos]

Originally Posted by andyh2000

Depending on your electronics skills (or access to others) you could always make your own display device. This is a reflective display module (not eInk) sold by SparkFun: http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9560 or in the UK: http://proto-pic.co.uk/kent-display-240x160x2-9/

Andrew

This. What you need is a reflective LCD screen programmable over a serial port interface. There are many of these available as commodity parts, depending on what resolution/size you need (and if you have special requirements, I'm sure you can find a manufacturer who will build one for you for a price). No electronic skills necessary, just the ability to write custom software to push the data you need the display to render.

I did something similar building a clock for my HTPC, though I used a backlit LCD rather than reflective. If you're not familiar with reflective LCD panels, think of Gameboys before they had built-in lights (all old Gameboys with black-and-white panels, as well as the original GBA with its reflective color panel).

[Gunnerp245]

Originally Posted by Schnuggel

Hello everyone! I would like to connect an e-book device (e-ink technology) to a personal computer and use it as a display device; i.e., the desktop computer sends images (JPG or so) to the device where they are rendered. A frequency of, say, a picture change every five seconds would be sufficient.

Originally Posted by Hellmark

The only thing I can think of is an android based eink ... or Entourage Edge... I'd say you might have best luck with the Edge, since you wouldn't need to root it.

Originally Posted by BWinmill

A couple of thoughts: A lot of these tablets are Linux based and should provide access to the frame buffer, so a half decent developer should be able to create a program for you.

I believe if I understand correctly that forum member javese has accomplished this on the entourage; lcd2eink

[toddos]

Originally Posted by Gunnerp245

I believe if I understand correctly that forum member javese has accomplished this on the entourage; lcd2eink

Not sure that's what's being asked for here. That's a tool for the enTourage Pocket eDge reader that has both an LCD screen and an eink screen, and the tool just mirrors whatever's on the LCD screen to the eink screen. Maybe that would be sufficient for this, but it's not the same as driving an eink screen from a PC.

[Gunnerp245]

Originally Posted by toddos

Not sure that's what's being asked for here. That's a tool for the enTourage Pocket eDge reader that has both an LCD screen and an eink screen, and the tool just mirrors whatever's on the LCD screen to the eink screen. Maybe that would be sufficient for this, but it's not the same as driving an eink screen from a PC.

Maybe, but it shows there is a method to do it albeit with the edge.

[Schnuggel]

Hello everyone,

already thanks a lot for all these helpful ideas. I'd just wanted to give you a short feedback that I'll explore this hints, together with our technician (who's a master of the soldering iron), but I'm sure this will take some time (from browsing Nook froums over checking out the sparkfun-display to reading about the enTourage Pocket). So it's no impoliteness when I won't post for some time. But I want to investigate each suggestion, and now indeed I have some starting points for further exploration. In any case, I'll post here when I've come closer to a solution.

Thanks a lot again, best regards, Marius