Best format for 505

[TGS]

I'm just waiting to take delivery of a second-hand 505 for my wife. I've been using an IREX DR800S and mostly convert everything to PDF - largely academic stuff and a few PD novels (mostly because they come as PDF and I've got Adobe Acrobat so I can make them look reasonable).

So, some question for y'all;
Am I right in thinking the 505 isn't great at handling PDF - does it depend on firmware version?
Do I need to put things into ePub format to get the best out of the unit?
What's this 505+ that I've read about?
Is LRF dead and buried or is it still a good format?
Any other tips and hints to make my wife's ereading experience enjoyable on the 505 greatly appreciated (mostly so she doesn't go ape when I suggest spending another few hundred quid on new "toys").

[pepak]

Originally Posted by TGS

Do I need to put things into ePub format to get the best out of the unit?

It's not a black-and-white issue. Every format has something the others lack.

What's this 505+ that I've read about?

Read here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64510

Is LRF dead and buried or is it still a good format?

It still beats every other available format as far as my needs are concerned. If Adobe and Sony put enough effort into their EPUB implementation, it may sometime in the future be a better choice, but I rather doubt it will ever happen.

[grooks]

PDF is not handled well on any 6" device

The best formats for the 505 will be ePub and LRF. ePub only supports left justification while LRF supports full justification.

[Worldwalker]

There are some issues with PDF, yes, mostly to do with reflowing.

In my opinion, at least, converting to epub when practical is a good idea.

PRS+ is basically a user-written upgrade for the Reader's own software.

Even Sony is dropping lrf in favor of epub.

Hmmm ... tips and hints ... get calibre ... point her at MobileRead, Project Gutenberg, Feedbooks, Manybooks, and the Baen Free Library ... that's really about it. Oh, maybe add a small clip-on booklight that can clip to the back of the case.

I hope that helps!

[TGS]

Thanks to all for your input - enough to get me started.

Even Sony is dropping lrf in favor of epub.

Does that mean they are dropping it from their bookstore, or dropping support for it on their readers?

get calibre

I already use calibre for managing my my own stuff so I hope using it to interface with the 505 will be fairly straightforward.

point her at MobileRead, Project Gutenberg, Feedbooks, Manybooks, and the Baen Free Library ...

Unfortunately I'm not sure pointing her anywhere except to the on/off button and the page turn button is going to work - but I'm hoping the 505 will cure her congenital technophobia (not to say Luddism), and before long she will become a fully independent ebook enthusiast

Oh, maybe add a small clip-on booklight that can clip to the back of the case.

The unit is coming with a Lightwedge case I think - is that any good?

[grooks]

Sony is not dropping support for LRF but all books sold through their store are now ePUb.

The lightwedge case should work pretty well. I had one for a while and liked it.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by TGS

I'm just waiting to take delivery of a second-hand 505 for my wife. I've been using an IREX DR800S and mostly convert everything to PDF - largely academic stuff and a few PD novels (mostly because they come as PDF and I've got Adobe Acrobat so I can make them look reasonable).

Normally I say to stay away from PDF for the 505 but since you have Acrobat you should be able to format the output to the screen size of the 505 and enable re-flow during the creation and create PDFs that should work fine.

I always convert my novels to ePub myself.

[Amalthia]

the default settings for LRF look much nicer than the default settings for Epub. For epub the main reason I haven't switched over has to do with the page numbers on the side margin, it drives me nuts when the numbers overlap the text.

[Zipr]

I'm a long time lrf user that tried epub for a while based on all the praise I read here on these forums. Well, after using them for a few months, I'm back to using lrf exclusively. The epubs were hit or miss for me. Some worked great but others would slow to a crawl somewhere in the middle of them. Also, I really don't like the page number format in epubs and I certainly don't like the page number being displayed over my text in the right margin.

True, you can't buy lrf from Sony any more. But, I buy epubs, strip the DRM and then convert to lrf. Calibre makes it simple to convert back and forth. Actually, I now have an epub and a lrf version of all the books I own.

[Falbe Publishing]

Originally Posted by Zipr

I'm a long time lrf user that tried epub for a while based on all the praise I read here on these forums. Well, after using them for a few months, I'm back to using lrf exclusively. The epubs were hit or miss for me. Some worked great but others would slow to a crawl somewhere in the middle of them. Also, I really don't like the page number format in epubs and I certainly don't like the page number being displayed over my text in the right margin.

True, you can't buy lrf from Sony any more. But, I buy epubs, strip the DRM and then convert to lrf. Calibre makes it simple to convert back and forth. Actually, I now have an epub and a lrf version of all the books I own.

I must agree that LRF is ideal for my Sony 505. I understand why you are maintaining 2 versions. With LRF everything works quickly. Epub works, but it is slower and yes the page numbering is a little strange but I live with it. I see the need to try to adopt a common format, but LRF remains great for Sony.

I think people are mostly accepting epub. As an ebook seller, I used to sell the LRF versions frequently and now hardly ever. Most sales are going to epub and pdf.

[Solitaire1]

Of the formats I've used with my Sony ereader, I've found that PDF works the best as long as the ebook is formatted for its screen size. Although reflow is available, I don't like the results and avoid it.

[TGS]

Just one more question before I go to the post office to pick up my wife's new (well, second-hand), 505. Am I right in thinking that I don't need to use the Sony Library software and I can just side-load lrf and/or epubs through Calibre?

Many thanks

[grooks]

You don't need to use Sony Library software. Most, if not all, books can be side-loaded through Calibre. If you purchase books with DRM you will eventually need to download Adobe Digital Editions (ADE).

[kartu]

You don't need to use Sony Library software. Most, if not all, books can be side-loaded through Calibre.

Or directly copied from Windows/Linux/Whatever.

However, books loaded by Sony Library software are pre-formatted, which saves you 5-15 secs (depending on the book size) when opening the book _for_the_first_time_.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by kartu

However, books loaded by Sony Library software are pre-formatted, which saves you 5-15 secs (depending on the book size) when opening the book _for_the_first_time_.

I don't have first hand knowledge but the other day I read in another thread someone who stated that the most recent version of Sony's 3.x software no longer pre-paginates the lrf books prior to sending them. He actually went back to an older version of their new software.