Put your Sony Reader in High-Contrast Mode (white-on-black)

alex_d · 06-08-2007, 12:38 AM

I bring to you a little program that will put the Reader into white-on-black (inverse color) reading mode. Many people find this mode easier on the eyes and small text appears more legible. This change will affect everything, including books produced by RasterFarian. This change is, of course, reversible.

INSTRUCTIONS:
Extract the contents of the rar file to an SD card. The SD card can have books and music on it, just take care to preserve the file paths.

Pop the card into the Reader and you'll be given a menu. When you're done, you can exit and read your books. To change the mode again, take out the card and reinsert it (this will re-activate the menu).

The engine for running code and drawing menus is based on Igorsk's excellent PRS Flasher (simplified and cleaned up a bit). The program itself accomplishes what it does with a special ioctl call. The ioctl call was discovered while investigating eInk programming for the RasterReader (a viewer application that I'm writing for the Reader).

Source is included.

magogo · 06-08-2007, 07:21 AM

interesting, has anyone already tried it?

_darius · 06-08-2007, 09:53 AM

Yep, I just tried, but in my opinion, the ghosting effect is even worse in this "wob" (white-on-black)- mode...

TadW · 06-08-2007, 09:53 AM

A photo would be interesting

Alexander Turcic · 06-08-2007, 11:13 AM

Congrats alex_t (and Igorsk). It's great to have custom apps for the Reader now!

_darius · 06-08-2007, 12:09 PM

I made two pictures, to show the ghosting effect.

I love to have a customizable reader now!

Thanx to the great guys of this great forum!!

Greetings from Switzerland
_darius

NatCh · 06-08-2007, 12:58 PM

Hmmm. The ghosting does seem to be significantly more noticeable in the inverted mode ....

JSWolf · 06-08-2007, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NatCh

Hmmm. The ghosting does seem to be significantly more noticeable in the inverted mode ....

But it is up to the individual user if it's a bother or not. At least we have more choices now.

NatCh · 06-08-2007, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But it is up to the individual user if it's a bother or not. At least we have more choices now.

Oh I couldn't agree more! You're absolutely dead on.

I only meant that as an observation.

alex_d · 06-09-2007, 02:21 AM

Hmm.. you guys know that variable resistor on the back of the Reader? I've adjusted it a while back to get the blacker black but as a result had to put up with more ghosting (not that i mind). However in white-on-black mode my Reader doesn't ghost. I think it's because the resistor makes the black more "forceful" and decreases white ghosting (while increasing black ghosting).

Anyway, my point is:

I'm thinking that people who are having ghosting problems might not have them if they switch to white-on-black.

Also, people who would really like to use this mode but can't stand the ghosting may adjust their resistor.

dhbailey · 06-10-2007, 06:31 AM

Alex_D -- thank you very much! What a wonderful discovery you have made and an excellent little utility to allow us to take advantage of it!

I just tried it, and outside of the need to remind myself that the battery display is now backward, I think I may be leaving the reader in this mode all the time. I'll know better when I get a chance to read it in bright sunlight.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Even if people don't take advantage of this little utility, the fact that it was able to be programmed and that Alex_D was able to program such an efficient little utility gives me great hope as to what might be possible from future programming efforts!

rmeister0 · 06-11-2007, 12:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alex_d

I'm thinking that people who are having ghosting problems might not have them if they switch to white-on-black.

The unit I currently have ghosts something horrible, much worse than the other unit I've had my hands on. In the white-on-black mode, the ghosting is extremely difficult to see.

alex_d · 06-11-2007, 01:55 AM

Quote:

The unit I currently have ghosts something horrible, much worse than the other unit I've had my hands on. In the white-on-black mode, the ghosting is extremely difficult to see.

You mean the ghosting is now much less noticeable? Cool

Antonio · 06-12-2007, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alex_d

Hmm.. you guys know that variable resistor on the back of the Reader?

umm...no. Variable resistor? On the back?

I don't see anything on the back, aside from the reset button, the cover holder thingy, and a single tiny screw.

NatCh · 06-12-2007, 02:05 PM

It's on the back of the circuit board inside the Reader, Antonio -- you have to open the case to see it.

You can see some pix here.

06-08-2007, 09:53 AM	#3
_darius Enthusiast Posts: 25 Karma: 15 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Switzerland Device: Sony Reader	Works without problems! Yep, I just tried, but in my opinion, the ghosting effect is even worse in this "wob" (white-on-black)- mode...

06-08-2007, 12:09 PM	#6
_darius Enthusiast Posts: 25 Karma: 15 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Switzerland Device: Sony Reader	Some Pics... I made two pictures, to show the ghosting effect. I love to have a customizable reader now! Thanx to the great guys of this great forum!! Greetings from Switzerland _darius Attached Thumbnails

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06-08-2007, 07:21 AM	#2
magogo Member Posts: 17 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Eindhoven, Netherlands	interesting, has anyone already tried it?

06-08-2007, 09:53 AM	#4
TadW Uebermensch Posts: 2,583 Karma: 1094606 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Italy Device: Kindle	A photo would be interesting

06-08-2007, 11:13 AM	#5
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,175 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	Congrats alex_t (and Igorsk). It's great to have custom apps for the Reader now!

06-08-2007, 12:58 PM	#7
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Hmmm. The ghosting does seem to be significantly more noticeable in the inverted mode ....

06-09-2007, 02:21 AM	#10
alex_d Addict Posts: 303 Karma: 187 Join Date: Dec 2006 Device: Sony Reader	Hmm.. you guys know that variable resistor on the back of the Reader? I've adjusted it a while back to get the blacker black but as a result had to put up with more ghosting (not that i mind). However in white-on-black mode my Reader doesn't ghost. I think it's because the resistor makes the black more "forceful" and decreases white ghosting (while increasing black ghosting). Anyway, my point is: I'm thinking that people who are having ghosting problems might not have them if they switch to white-on-black. Also, people who would really like to use this mode but can't stand the ghosting may adjust their resistor.

06-10-2007, 06:31 AM	#11
dhbailey Guru Posts: 604 Karma: 733 Join Date: Mar 2007 Device: HP iPAQ211 / PRS 500, 700 and 505	Alex_D -- thank you very much! What a wonderful discovery you have made and an excellent little utility to allow us to take advantage of it! I just tried it, and outside of the need to remind myself that the battery display is now backward, I think I may be leaving the reader in this mode all the time. I'll know better when I get a chance to read it in bright sunlight. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Even if people don't take advantage of this little utility, the fact that it was able to be programmed and that Alex_D was able to program such an efficient little utility gives me great hope as to what might be possible from future programming efforts!

06-12-2007, 02:05 PM	#15
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	It's on the back of the circuit board inside the Reader, Antonio -- you have to open the case to see it. You can see some pix here.