HDX Kindle Fire HDX - First Impressions - Page 9

Blossom · 10-25-2013, 04:45 AM

Hubby got home and I showed the HDX to him. At first he didn't see it. I was like uh oh maybe I am imagining it. so I restarted the HDX and looked again this time in Night Theme which I could plainly see it flicker then handed it to him.

He watched it about 30 seconds then said "That's not a flicker, It's like someone is playing with the brightness. I think your brightness controller is faulty." Which makes sense the auto brightness on this unit has never work right. I would be in the dark when it would suddenly go bright so I disabled it. I originally though it an app issue but I have 4 sideloaded apps on the HDX: Dropbox, ES File Explorer, GoodReads and Mantano.
Cloud apps: Candy Crush Saga, Netflix and Hulu Plus. That's it.
I removed Screen Dim when I found it was no longer needed. I removed WiFi Bar Switch when I saw it wasn't really needed either.

Why only in Books and no where else I have no clue.

It's getting worse with each restart it seems. So glad I called tonight and not waited.

sirmaru · 10-25-2013, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blossom

Hubby got home and I showed the HDX to him. At first he didn't see it. I was like uh oh maybe I am imagining it. so I restarted the HDX and looked again this time in Night Theme which I could plainly see it flicker then handed it to him.

He watched it about 30 seconds then said "That's not a flicker, It's like someone is playing with the brightness. I think your brightness controller is faulty." Which makes sense the auto brightness on this unit has never work right. I would be in the dark when it would suddenly go bright so I disabled it. I originally though it an app issue but I have 4 sideloaded apps on the HDX: Dropbox, ES File Explorer, GoodReads and Mantano.
Cloud apps: Candy Crush Saga, Netflix and Hulu Plus. That's it.
I removed Screen Dim when I found it was no longer needed. I removed WiFi Bar Switch when I saw it wasn't really needed either.

Why only in Books and no where else I have no clue.

It's getting worse with each restart it seems. So glad I called tonight and not waited.

Tap Help and then click on Mayday. They can see what you are talking about and may be able to adjust it while you watch. If it can't be fixed, they can arrange for an exchange.

There are so many controls in so many places that they will have to consult their database to localize the problem.

jswinden · 10-25-2013, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blossom

Hubby got home and I showed the HDX to him. At first he didn't see it. I was like uh oh maybe I am imagining it. so I restarted the HDX and looked again this time in Night Theme which I could plainly see it flicker then handed it to him.

He watched it about 30 seconds then said "That's not a flicker, It's like someone is playing with the brightness. I think your brightness controller is faulty." Which makes sense the auto brightness on this unit has never work right. I would be in the dark when it would suddenly go bright so I disabled it. I originally though it an app issue but I have 4 sideloaded apps on the HDX: Dropbox, ES File Explorer, GoodReads and Mantano.
Cloud apps: Candy Crush Saga, Netflix and Hulu Plus. That's it.
I removed Screen Dim when I found it was no longer needed. I removed WiFi Bar Switch when I saw it wasn't really needed either.

Why only in Books and no where else I have no clue.

It's getting worse with each restart it seems. So glad I called tonight and not waited.

Interesting! The auto bright feature on my Nexus 7.2 seems possessed as well! It drove me nuts in a brightly lit room. It kept flashing to brighter levels then right back, so I turned auto bright off. No issues at all with it off. So maybe this is an Android issue with auto bright. I use Screen Filter, an app you suggested way back when we had Fire 1st gen units. It behaves well when reading, but that is with the auto bright turned off.

Also one other thing I noticed is that the Kindle for Android app will not allow me to adjust the light level from within the app if auto bright is on. If auto bright is on the app tells you to turn it off to be able to adjust the light level, and it directs you to the setting to turn it off.

sirmaru · 10-25-2013, 11:33 AM

I just turned off Auto Brightness as well on my HD 2012 and HDX 2013. I also notice it was changing light levels if the facing of the screen was changed from any light source.

I'm leaving both at 50% all the time.

Blossom · 10-25-2013, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sirmaru

Tap Help and then click on Mayday. They can see what you are talking about and may be able to adjust it while you watch. If it can't be fixed, they can arrange for an exchange.

There are so many controls in so many places that they will have to consult their database to localize the problem.

You didn't read my above post if you had you'd know I had done that already. May Day was clueless but Kindle Support took care of it and the replacement is already in the air.

The funny thing is it wont flicker while the May Day window was up but as soon as I closed it, it immediately started.

Kindle Support guy thought that was humorous too.

Blossom · 10-25-2013, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jswinden

Interesting! The auto bright feature on my Nexus 7.2 seems possessed as well! It drove me nuts in a brightly lit room. It kept flashing to brighter levels then right back, so I turned auto bright off. No issues at all with it off. So maybe this is an Android issue with auto bright. I use Screen Filter, an app you suggested way back when we had Fire 1st gen units. It behaves well when reading, but that is with the auto bright turned off.

Also one other thing I noticed is that the Kindle for Android app will not allow me to adjust the light level from within the app if auto bright is on. If auto bright is on the app tells you to turn it off to be able to adjust the light level, and it directs you to the setting to turn it off.

Ditch Screen Filter. It's outdated and causes all kinds of problems. You want Screen Dim by Omega Centauri Software. 99 cents but worth it. The developer is a member here. I'd be lost without it on my devices but the HDX doesn't need it because the brightness goes too low without it. I took it off but I have it on everything else. It has presets and you can put those on your home screens. So you turn it on or off at a touch. It's just a really nice app.

Android's auto brightness has a long way to go before it's useful.

Blossom · 10-25-2013, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sirmaru

I just turned off Auto Brightness as well on my HD 2012 and HDX 2013. I also notice it was changing light levels if the facing of the screen was changed from any light source.

I'm leaving both at 50% all the time.

That's just way too bright for me. 4% is my prefer brightness with light and 2% in the dark.

sirmaru · 10-25-2013, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blossom

That's just way too bright for me. 4% is my prefer brightness with light and 2% in the dark.

I use white text on a black background for both my HD 2012 and HD 2013. Then the overall light is reduced by 90%.

I find the brightness of 50% under those conditions is perfect for low ambient light.

Blossom · 10-25-2013, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sirmaru

I use white text on a black background for both my HD 2012 and HD 2013. Then the overall light is reduced by 90%.

I find the brightness of 50% under those conditions is perfect for low ambient light.

I can't use the night theme. It makes everything dance then I see blinds in my vision. Sepia is the only theme I can use.

sirmaru · 10-25-2013, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blossom

I can't use the night theme. It makes everything dance then I see blinds in my vision. Sepia is the only theme I can use.

You were seeing glare reflections due to your defective unit.

When you get your new HDX unit, turn off Auto Brightness, set Brightness to 50% and use white on black under the font selection window.

Then go into a dark room and see how it looks. Its the only way I use that HDX 2013 for reading eBooks in dim light now. It beats the PW 2013 as well in dim light but NOT in bright light.

Blossom · 10-25-2013, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sirmaru

You were seeing glare reflections due to your defective unit.

When you get your new HDX unit, turn off Auto Brightness, set Brightness to 50% and use white on black under the font selection window.

Then go into a dark room and see how it looks. Its the only way I use that HDX 2013 for reading eBooks in dim light now. It beats the PW 2013 as well in dim light but NOT in bright light.

No I can't look at black backgrounds at all on a PC, on phone you name it. I see blinds in my vision. It's always been this way for years and with my Dyslexia white text is not a good idea. Sepia is the only theme I can read on with the Kindle app I can't use a White background either.

On Mantano I can use a grey or blue background that works okay with light. I prefer a nice cream color background that is close to paperback paper though. It works best for me. Sepia is my next choice.

Japes · 10-25-2013, 08:22 PM

So does anyone know then if there is a file size limit like there is on earlier generations? I hav alot of movie files greater than 4gb.

Blossom · 10-26-2013, 12:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Japes

So does anyone know then if there is a file size limit like there is on earlier generations? I hav alot of movie files greater than 4gb.

I believe 4GB is a limitation that can't be by passed. You would need to use a video splitter for your movies. I believe all Android has that limitation.

Japes · 10-26-2013, 07:25 AM

Nope not all Android does. That isn't an operating system limitation. It's a file system one. Neither my Samsunggalaxy note 2 nor any sSamsung tablets have that limitation.

Blossom · 10-27-2013, 06:15 AM

So I decided to do a factory reset on the HDX and get this....the UI is now grey!

not dark grey but grey like the UI shelves on the KFv1! OMG. I've tried restarting no change. Flicker still happens in books.

This unit is defective all right. It suppose to have a black not grey UI.

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10-25-2013, 04:45 AM	#121
Blossom Treasure Seeker Posts: 18,708 Karma: 26026435 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: Kobo HD Glo, Kindles, Kindle Fires, Andriod Devices	Hubby got home and I showed the HDX to him. At first he didn't see it. I was like uh oh maybe I am imagining it. so I restarted the HDX and looked again this time in Night Theme which I could plainly see it flicker then handed it to him. He watched it about 30 seconds then said "That's not a flicker, It's like someone is playing with the brightness. I think your brightness controller is faulty." Which makes sense the auto brightness on this unit has never work right. I would be in the dark when it would suddenly go bright so I disabled it. I originally though it an app issue but I have 4 sideloaded apps on the HDX: Dropbox, ES File Explorer, GoodReads and Mantano. Cloud apps: Candy Crush Saga, Netflix and Hulu Plus. That's it. I removed Screen Dim when I found it was no longer needed. I removed WiFi Bar Switch when I saw it wasn't really needed either. Why only in Books and no where else I have no clue. It's getting worse with each restart it seems. So glad I called tonight and not waited.

10-25-2013, 11:33 AM	#124
sirmaru Wizard Posts: 2,426 Karma: 6561538 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: Kindle PW 2013, HDX 2013, Galaxy S5 2014	I just turned off Auto Brightness as well on my HD 2012 and HDX 2013. I also notice it was changing light levels if the facing of the screen was changed from any light source. I'm leaving both at 50% all the time.

10-25-2013, 08:22 PM	#132
Japes Addict Posts: 303 Karma: 1033852 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: Sony PRS-350,Sony PRS-950,Pocketbook 360+,B&N Nook Simple Touch Reader	So does anyone know then if there is a file size limit like there is on earlier generations? I hav alot of movie files greater than 4gb.

10-26-2013, 07:25 AM	#134
Japes Addict Posts: 303 Karma: 1033852 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: Sony PRS-350,Sony PRS-950,Pocketbook 360+,B&N Nook Simple Touch Reader	Nope not all Android does. That isn't an operating system limitation. It's a file system one. Neither my Samsunggalaxy note 2 nor any sSamsung tablets have that limitation.

10-27-2013, 06:15 AM	#135
Blossom Treasure Seeker Posts: 18,708 Karma: 26026435 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: Kobo HD Glo, Kindles, Kindle Fires, Andriod Devices	So I decided to do a factory reset on the HDX and get this....the UI is now grey! not dark grey but grey like the UI shelves on the KFv1! OMG. I've tried restarting no change. Flicker still happens in books. This unit is defective all right. It suppose to have a black not grey UI.