Troubleshooting PW 2 text fade

peaceridge · 07-04-2014, 12:16 PM

I've looked through the threads and can't find this particular problem - if I've missed it, please point me in the right direction.

When I turn a page in my PW2, as the page is turning, the text is nice and dark, but as soon as the page "stabilizes?" the text is grey/light looking. This is with refresh on each page - actually doesn't matter, it greys out regardless.

I thought I'd just make all the text bold, but I can't figure out how to do that!

Would jail breaking fix this problem, or do I just have a bad PW?

NiLuJe · 07-04-2014, 02:31 PM

Ah, summer. When eInk screens start to suffer

.

If I'm getting this right, you're using the black flash on every page, right?

If so, that's pretty much how eInk works. Heat makes the symptoms worse, because the black flash lasts longer.
You can try to trade-off the lighter text for ghosting by disabling the black flash on every page (or using your device in a climate controlled environment).

(As usual with eInk screens, there might be some variances between production runs, but it mostly always behaves the same on that front. If you have access to a Kobo Aura, you can check if their weird grey-checkered flash helps in these conditions, but, err, we can't do that on a Kindle anyway, so that's just as a point of comparison ^^).

Those are some pretty crappy workarounds, I know

.

peaceridge · 07-04-2014, 02:51 PM

Thanks NiLuJe,

But it's not the black flash that is the problem. It is the letters themselves. If they didn't turn nice and black when the page turned, then I'd think it was just eink. But the letters are nice and black during the page turn, only to fade out after the turn. Is this eink? My Kobo Glo doesn't do this. Is there a way to make all the letters bold? That might help.

I'd given up on my PW2 and thought I'd try it again for outdoor reading. Alas, looks like I was correct in giving up on it earlier.

Appreciate your trying to help.

NiLuJe · 07-04-2014, 03:08 PM

Hmm, not sure I follow then. Because stuff is actually inverted during the black flash (i.e., letters are white, background in black).

What I was talking about is the side-effect of the black-flash that's usually perceived as a lightening of the font (it eats away at the fuzziness around the edges, so: no more ghosting, sharper fonts, but possibly perceived as 'lighter').

Are you or are you not using the black flash on every page turn?

The Kobo Glo *might* also be using the weird checkerboard flash, it's been a while since I've seen one in person and in good lighting condition.

peaceridge · 07-04-2014, 03:16 PM

It happen both ways - Page Refresh on and Page Refresh off. Ah, I think I get what you are saying now. It is a trick of my eye. When the black appears, it looks like, to me, that the letters are darker only because they are against the black when the black goes away. Then they appear lighter only because the black is gone! Thank you so much for clarifying this for me!

So, I guess my only resolution is jail braking and trying different fonts to see if one will give me darker letters, maybe installing a bold font would work.

Again, appreciate your questioning my question so I actually looked harder at what was going on!

Dr. Drib · 07-06-2014, 07:26 AM

A few years back, there was was a problem with some Sony screens due to their fading when in direct sunlight. However, I've heard of no problems with newer screens on newer models - from any company.

NiLuJe · 07-06-2014, 09:32 AM

Yep, (some? Mine sure did ;p) K2/K2i suffered from the same flaw, too

.

Dr. Drib · 07-06-2014, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

Yep, (some? Mine sure did ;p) K2/K2i suffered from the same flaw, too

.

I think that was somewhere during the time period I mentioned when there was trouble with Sony's screens - a fading of the screen when in direct sunlight.

I personally never had any problems when I owned my older Sony devices. I only remember a few older threads here on Mobileread.

HarryT · 07-06-2014, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I think that was somewhere during the time period I mentioned when there was trouble with Sony's screens - a fading of the screen when in direct sunlight.

I personally never had any problems when I owned my older Sony devices. I only remember a few older threads here on Mobileread.

It was a faulty batch of screens manufactured by LG. It affected small numbers of readers from all the major manufacturers at the time, but that was years ago. No current reader should have that problem.

peaceridge · 07-06-2014, 10:48 AM

I don't think it is the faulty screen on mine. When I compare the same story on my PW2 and my Kobo Glo, the Kobo text appears darker, but I think it is the background that is whiter on the Glo that makes the text appear darker. Sure wish I'd never gotten rid of my PW1!

Thanks for the replies.

Dr. Drib · 07-06-2014, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peaceridge

I don't think it is the faulty screen on mine. When I compare the same story on my PW2 and my Kobo Glo, the Kobo text appears darker, but I think it is the background that is whiter on the Glo that makes the text appear darker. Sure wish I'd never gotten rid of my PW1!

Thanks for the replies.

Since you have experience with the PW1, then you should be seeing a WHOLE LOT BETTER SCREEN with the PW2. For one thing, those colored rainbow blotches were fixed with the PW2.

Based upon the fact that you owned a PW1 and are presumably quite familiar with that device, then I would say that you have a defective PW2.

peaceridge · 07-06-2014, 12:59 PM

I got it last Sept (2013) and have been trying to like it ever since - between the "XXX" updates and the brightness problem, I try it for a while, then stop using it in favor of other readers. I don't think I can exchange it at this point and I can't sell it back to them as I don't have the box it came in. I guess I'll just hold on to it as a backup to my Kobo and Nexus.

NiLuJe · 07-06-2014, 01:06 PM

I concur w/ Dr. Drib, the PW2 is a *vast* improvement over the PW1 (or at least it should be, mine really is).

But as I said, haven't played with a Glo/Aura/AuraHD in good lighting condition for a while, so I can't say much about them, besides generalities

.

BookCat · 07-06-2014, 06:30 PM

Just in case this is a form of 'flash blindness' try reading while wearing a pair of lightly tinted polaroid sunglasses. This may help a little.

Try colouring a red centimetre square on some white paper. Have another sheet of white paper handy. Then stare at the square for approx 30 seconds. Quickly switch your gaze to the other white sheet. Unless you're colour blind, you'll see a green square which will gradually fade. This is the same sort of thing which happens when a page-turn flash flashes a negative image at your retina then you look at another eink page: you see the font as darker, but the effect wears off.

I would suggest setting your page turns to refresh less often and wearing polaroid glasses which may help with the glare.

07-04-2014, 12:16 PM	#1
peaceridge Wizard Posts: 1,019 Karma: 4407864 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: North Carolina Device: Kobo Aura1, Nexus7.2, Galaxy Tab A 8.4, Ipad Air & Mini 6	PW 2 text fade I've looked through the threads and can't find this particular problem - if I've missed it, please point me in the right direction. When I turn a page in my PW2, as the page is turning, the text is nice and dark, but as soon as the page "stabilizes?" the text is grey/light looking. This is with refresh on each page - actually doesn't matter, it greys out regardless. I thought I'd just make all the text bold, but I can't figure out how to do that! Would jail breaking fix this problem, or do I just have a bad PW?

07-04-2014, 02:31 PM	#2
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,506 Karma: 26047202 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	Ah, summer. When eInk screens start to suffer . If I'm getting this right, you're using the black flash on every page, right? If so, that's pretty much how eInk works. Heat makes the symptoms worse, because the black flash lasts longer. You can try to trade-off the lighter text for ghosting by disabling the black flash on every page (or using your device in a climate controlled environment). (As usual with eInk screens, there might be some variances between production runs, but it mostly always behaves the same on that front. If you have access to a Kobo Aura, you can check if their weird grey-checkered flash helps in these conditions, but, err, we can't do that on a Kindle anyway, so that's just as a point of comparison ^^). Those are some pretty crappy workarounds, I know . Last edited by NiLuJe; 07-04-2014 at 02:33 PM.

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07-04-2014, 02:51 PM	#3
peaceridge Wizard Posts: 1,019 Karma: 4407864 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: North Carolina Device: Kobo Aura1, Nexus7.2, Galaxy Tab A 8.4, Ipad Air & Mini 6	Thanks NiLuJe, But it's not the black flash that is the problem. It is the letters themselves. If they didn't turn nice and black when the page turned, then I'd think it was just eink. But the letters are nice and black during the page turn, only to fade out after the turn. Is this eink? My Kobo Glo doesn't do this. Is there a way to make all the letters bold? That might help. I'd given up on my PW2 and thought I'd try it again for outdoor reading. Alas, looks like I was correct in giving up on it earlier. Appreciate your trying to help.

07-04-2014, 03:08 PM	#4
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,506 Karma: 26047202 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	Hmm, not sure I follow then. Because stuff is actually inverted during the black flash (i.e., letters are white, background in black). What I was talking about is the side-effect of the black-flash that's usually perceived as a lightening of the font (it eats away at the fuzziness around the edges, so: no more ghosting, sharper fonts, but possibly perceived as 'lighter'). Are you or are you not using the black flash on every page turn? The Kobo Glo might also be using the weird checkerboard flash, it's been a while since I've seen one in person and in good lighting condition.

07-04-2014, 03:16 PM	#5
peaceridge Wizard Posts: 1,019 Karma: 4407864 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: North Carolina Device: Kobo Aura1, Nexus7.2, Galaxy Tab A 8.4, Ipad Air & Mini 6	It happen both ways - Page Refresh on and Page Refresh off. Ah, I think I get what you are saying now. It is a trick of my eye. When the black appears, it looks like, to me, that the letters are darker only because they are against the black when the black goes away. Then they appear lighter only because the black is gone! Thank you so much for clarifying this for me! So, I guess my only resolution is jail braking and trying different fonts to see if one will give me darker letters, maybe installing a bold font would work. Again, appreciate your questioning my question so I actually looked harder at what was going on!

07-06-2014, 07:26 AM	#6
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 45,441 Karma: 59592133 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: KINDLE: Oasis 3, Scribe (1st), Matcha; KOBO: Libra 2, Libra Colour	A few years back, there was was a problem with some Sony screens due to their fading when in direct sunlight. However, I've heard of no problems with newer screens on newer models - from any company.

07-06-2014, 09:32 AM	#7
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,506 Karma: 26047202 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	Yep, (some? Mine sure did ;p) K2/K2i suffered from the same flaw, too .

07-06-2014, 10:48 AM	#10
peaceridge Wizard Posts: 1,019 Karma: 4407864 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: North Carolina Device: Kobo Aura1, Nexus7.2, Galaxy Tab A 8.4, Ipad Air & Mini 6	I don't think it is the faulty screen on mine. When I compare the same story on my PW2 and my Kobo Glo, the Kobo text appears darker, but I think it is the background that is whiter on the Glo that makes the text appear darker. Sure wish I'd never gotten rid of my PW1! Thanks for the replies.

07-06-2014, 12:59 PM	#12
peaceridge Wizard Posts: 1,019 Karma: 4407864 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: North Carolina Device: Kobo Aura1, Nexus7.2, Galaxy Tab A 8.4, Ipad Air & Mini 6	I got it last Sept (2013) and have been trying to like it ever since - between the "XXX" updates and the brightness problem, I try it for a while, then stop using it in favor of other readers. I don't think I can exchange it at this point and I can't sell it back to them as I don't have the box it came in. I guess I'll just hold on to it as a backup to my Kobo and Nexus.

07-06-2014, 01:06 PM	#13
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,506 Karma: 26047202 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	I concur w/ Dr. Drib, the PW2 is a vast improvement over the PW1 (or at least it should be, mine really is). But as I said, haven't played with a Glo/Aura/AuraHD in good lighting condition for a while, so I can't say much about them, besides generalities .

07-06-2014, 06:30 PM	#14
BookCat C L J Posts: 2,911 Karma: 21115458 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Birmingham UK Device: Sony e-reader 505, Kindle PW2, Kindle PW3, Kobo Libra2	Just in case this is a form of 'flash blindness' try reading while wearing a pair of lightly tinted polaroid sunglasses. This may help a little. Try colouring a red centimetre square on some white paper. Have another sheet of white paper handy. Then stare at the square for approx 30 seconds. Quickly switch your gaze to the other white sheet. Unless you're colour blind, you'll see a green square which will gradually fade. This is the same sort of thing which happens when a page-turn flash flashes a negative image at your retina then you look at another eink page: you see the font as darker, but the effect wears off. I would suggest setting your page turns to refresh less often and wearing polaroid glasses which may help with the glare.

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