Format comparison

tonyaldr · 05-03-2012, 02:08 PM

I have both a Nook Color and an iPad which allows me to read both Nook and Kindle editions. If one finds a book in both formats, is there an advantage to buying one over the other? I almost exclusively use my iPad which has both apps installed. Just wondering if one format gives a little extra over the other. I notice that this particular ebook is twice the price in the Nook format. Is that due to that format having some quality or feature advantages? Thanx!

ATDrake · 05-03-2012, 02:26 PM

Hypothetically, it is possible to have considerably nicer formatting and display in ePub than Mobi (see the screenshots in the thread for this illustrated version of Three Men in a Boat in our Patricia Clark Memorial Library if curious).

On a practical level, pretty much no one really bothers with taking advantage of ePub's display capabilities and most readily-available popular fiction books will look almost the same in either format. (Sometimes there will be conversion oddities to Mobi, though, such as intended drop caps making the first line of a paragraph display with a break below the much larger first letter, which tends to show up in some HarperCollins titles, along with tiny squinty font).

The new KF8 format for newer Kindle models is supposed to bridge the display gap, however, comparatively few books are available in it and it seems unlikely that publishers will update their old files with a better version to take advantage of the features.

The ebook pricing differential is generally not for quality/feature advantage, but because sometimes the stores can set their own discount pricing, so you usually have to shop around regardless.

In terms of future-proofing, Amazon does occasionally change the DRM scheme for their e-books and break the tools that people use for removing it so they can perform backups of their paid purchases, on an average of about twice a year or so, so I'd personally consider that to be something to keep in mind, though YMMV.

Hope this helps, and welcome to MobileRead!

Hamlet53 · 05-03-2012, 03:05 PM

I prefer epub as a format. Not just because the devices I now own support that, but also because it as a format I understand the inner workings of; xml files compressed into a zip file. I do at present purchase ebooks from Amazon if the price is lower there, or when occasionally it is the only source of the ebook. That would end if it became impossible to remove DRM and convert to epub using Calibre. As long as Amazon continues to attempt to tie the ebooks they offer to Amazon reading devices I hope that they remain only one of multiple sources.

tonyaldr · 05-03-2012, 06:44 PM

Appreciate the responses! Thanx!

BookCat · 05-06-2012, 03:41 AM

I don't like epub because I prefer the text to be fully justified and hate the ragged ends that epub has on the right. Also, many epubs form a narrow column down the centre when in large font on my 505. For this reason I prefer lrf or my personal rtf template which is set up for the reader screen. The drawback of rtf is with illustrations and chapter links.

JSWolf · 05-06-2012, 03:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BookCat

I don't like epub because I prefer the text to be fully justified and hate the ragged ends that epub has on the right. Also, many epubs form a narrow column down the centre when in large font on my 505. For this reason I prefer lrf or my personal rtf template which is set up for the reader screen. The drawback of rtf is with illustrations and chapter links.

It's time for you to upgrade from your old 505.

BookCat · 05-06-2012, 05:03 AM

I love my 505 and it still works. I'll upgrade when/if it breaks, till then I'll use Calibre to convert the epubs to lrf. I have six cats who cost me a fortune in food and vets fees, and who take priority over new ereaders, so I'm not the kind of person who can afford to buy the latest ereader.

I agree with you in theory, JS, but can't afford to put it into practise.

JSWolf · 05-06-2012, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BookCat

I love my 505 and it still works. I'll upgrade when/if it breaks, till then I'll use Calibre to convert the epubs to lrf. I have six cats who cost me a fortune in food and vets fees, and who take priority over new ereaders, so I'm not the kind of person who can afford to buy the latest ereader.

I agree with you in theory, JS, but can't afford to put it into practise.

I fully understand the lack of funds for a new reader.

The problem may come down the line when you someday replace your 505 and you have all these LRF and if you want to read/read any of them, you have to convert them instead of them already being done. LRF is dead. Sony has stopped supporting it. The T1 has no LRF support.

HarryT · 05-06-2012, 12:36 PM

LRF generally converts to ePub pretty well, though; I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

AndrewH · 05-06-2012, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BookCat

I don't like epub because I prefer the text to be fully justified and hate the ragged ends that epub has on the right..

That's a CSS issue, not an EPUB issue; plenty of EPUBs have justified text.

JxK · 05-06-2012, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BookCat

I love my 505 and it still works. I'll upgrade when/if it breaks, till then I'll use Calibre to convert the epubs to lrf. I have six cats who cost me a fortune in food and vets fees, and who take priority over new ereaders, so I'm not the kind of person who can afford to buy the latest ereader.

I agree with you in theory, JS, but can't afford to put it into practise.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I fully understand the lack of funds for a new reader.

The problem may come down the line when you someday replace your 505 and you have all these LRF and if you want to read/read any of them, you have to convert them instead of them already being done. LRF is dead. Sony has stopped supporting it. The T1 has no LRF support.

Or BookCat can simply keep a copy of the original epub when converting. Calibre does this automatically anyway, if memory serves. BookCat can check his calibre folder just in case, but I'm confident everything should check out.

JSWolf · 05-06-2012, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

LRF generally converts to ePub pretty well, though; I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

Actually, it doesn't. You end up with code that needs fixing.

HarryT · 05-06-2012, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndrewH

That's a CSS issue, not an EPUB issue; plenty of EPUBs have justified text.

Not on the PRS-505 they don't - it displays all ePubs left justified.

toddos · 05-06-2012, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Not on the PRS-505 they don't - it displays all ePubs left justified.

To be 100% correct, it's an Adobe Digital Editions rendering engine issue with the versions that Sony used for its older (pre-350/650/950) readers. Sony could upgrade the older models but they'd rather you upgrade to a newer model. Alternatively you could install alternate software but that may bring other issues like needing to liberate DRMed books that otherwise would've worked on the stock firmware.

BookCat · 05-06-2012, 06:37 PM

Most of the books I have are PD or otherwise from free sources. The PD ones could easily be replaced, the others, it depends on the source. Some of the SmashWords freebies are now priced, the others, well I suppose they could always be replaced, but usually need converting from txt, so I convert them to an rtf format via word as they normally don't have illustrations.

JxK thanks for the help, but I'm female:

Quote:

BookCat can check his calibre folder just in case

P.S. Why are other peep's quotes italic? Am I doing it wrong?

05-03-2012, 02:08 PM	#1
tonyaldr Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2012 Device: Nook Color	Format comparison I have both a Nook Color and an iPad which allows me to read both Nook and Kindle editions. If one finds a book in both formats, is there an advantage to buying one over the other? I almost exclusively use my iPad which has both apps installed. Just wondering if one format gives a little extra over the other. I notice that this particular ebook is twice the price in the Nook format. Is that due to that format having some quality or feature advantages? Thanx!

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05-03-2012, 02:26 PM	#2
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	Hypothetically, it is possible to have considerably nicer formatting and display in ePub than Mobi (see the screenshots in the thread for this illustrated version of Three Men in a Boat in our Patricia Clark Memorial Library if curious). On a practical level, pretty much no one really bothers with taking advantage of ePub's display capabilities and most readily-available popular fiction books will look almost the same in either format. (Sometimes there will be conversion oddities to Mobi, though, such as intended drop caps making the first line of a paragraph display with a break below the much larger first letter, which tends to show up in some HarperCollins titles, along with tiny squinty font). The new KF8 format for newer Kindle models is supposed to bridge the display gap, however, comparatively few books are available in it and it seems unlikely that publishers will update their old files with a better version to take advantage of the features. The ebook pricing differential is generally not for quality/feature advantage, but because sometimes the stores can set their own discount pricing, so you usually have to shop around regardless. In terms of future-proofing, Amazon does occasionally change the DRM scheme for their e-books and break the tools that people use for removing it so they can perform backups of their paid purchases, on an average of about twice a year or so, so I'd personally consider that to be something to keep in mind, though YMMV. Hope this helps, and welcome to MobileRead!

05-03-2012, 03:05 PM	#3
Hamlet53 Nameless Being	I prefer epub as a format. Not just because the devices I now own support that, but also because it as a format I understand the inner workings of; xml files compressed into a zip file. I do at present purchase ebooks from Amazon if the price is lower there, or when occasionally it is the only source of the ebook. That would end if it became impossible to remove DRM and convert to epub using Calibre. As long as Amazon continues to attempt to tie the ebooks they offer to Amazon reading devices I hope that they remain only one of multiple sources.

05-03-2012, 06:44 PM	#4
tonyaldr Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2012 Device: Nook Color	Appreciate the responses! Thanx!

05-06-2012, 03:41 AM	#5
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	I don't like epub because I prefer the text to be fully justified and hate the ragged ends that epub has on the right. Also, many epubs form a narrow column down the centre when in large font on my 505. For this reason I prefer lrf or my personal rtf template which is set up for the reader screen. The drawback of rtf is with illustrations and chapter links.

05-06-2012, 05:03 AM	#7
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	I love my 505 and it still works. I'll upgrade when/if it breaks, till then I'll use Calibre to convert the epubs to lrf. I have six cats who cost me a fortune in food and vets fees, and who take priority over new ereaders, so I'm not the kind of person who can afford to buy the latest ereader. I agree with you in theory, JS, but can't afford to put it into practise.

05-06-2012, 12:36 PM	#9
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	LRF generally converts to ePub pretty well, though; I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.