DJVU support -- all I want from Kindle.

[whitearrow]

It isn't like we didn't know what we were getting when we bought a Kindle.

I wouldn't be surprised to see non-DRM ePub added at some point, but I don't think it adds much to what the Kindle has to offer.

What is out there available in DRM'd ePub that is not available for Kindle anyway?

[JeremyR]

Originally Posted by whitearrow

It isn't like we didn't know what we were getting when we bought a Kindle.

I wouldn't be surprised to see non-DRM ePub added at some point, but I don't think it adds much to what the Kindle has to offer.

What is out there available in DRM'd ePub that is not available for Kindle anyway?

Libraries is the big issue for a lot of people, I think, regarding DRM ePub.

Though for me, I would be happy with non-DRM epub support, it's a matter of formatting. In my experiences with buying from Baen and Fictionwise, the Mobi/PRC files were utter junk.

So I had to get the epub and convert.

Same with the free classics on Amazon. The ones I got were formatted so poorly (no TOC, no chapters) they are a hassle to read. Even here, some of the older files in the mobi/prc section aren't formatted very well.

Sure, I can convert. But having actual epub support would remove a layer (and a fair amount of time) from the process.

And epubs also seem to be about 60% the size of Mobi files. That's another thing

[OakIris]

Originally Posted by JeremyR

Libraries is the big issue for a lot of people, I think, regarding DRM ePub.

Though for me, I would be happy with non-DRM epub support, it's a matter of formatting. In my experiences with buying from Baen and Fictionwise, the Mobi/PRC files were utter junk.

So I had to get the epub and convert.

Same with the free classics on Amazon. The ones I got were formatted so poorly (no TOC, no chapters) they are a hassle to read. Even here, some of the older files in the mobi/prc section aren't formatted very well.

Sure, I can convert. But having actual epub support would remove a layer (and a fair amount of time) from the process.

And epubs also seem to be about 60% the size of Mobi files. That's another thing

I wonder why the mobi/prc files are so poorly formatted, but the same book in ePub is fine. They use the same source, don't they? (Sorry, I know little about the production of the different file types - just know what formats can be used on the Kindle without conversion. ) Never having downloaded the ePub and mobi versions of the same eBook, I didn't realize that ePub files were smaller, either.

@ alexibm - as the OP of this thread, it would sure be nice to get some feedback from you, but you have said nothing here since starting the thread! For instance, why is DjVU the format of your choice? What makes it better, in your opinion and experience, than any other eBook format? As stated before, until you started this thread, I had never heard of the format. No sarcasm meant - please educate me and any others here who also have no experience with this format.

Holly

[osnova]

I also would like the DjVu support. DjVu is *the* format of choice in certain circles (academic, see http://www.ulib.org/ or in Russia, etc.). It is possible to make a scan DjVu that will be ten times smaller of an equivalent quality scan PDF. The problem is that the format is not promoted and lacks interest from the developer (i.e. no muscle to back it up) and some tools are costly (although there are open source alternatives).

By the way, the best DjVu viewer is http://windjview.sourceforge.net/

See a comparison of djvu and pdf here:

http://c-sharp-snippets.blogspot.com...00-in-pdf.html

[OakIris]

@osnova - so it loads faster, seems to take fewer resources, less input from the user, but does it look better? It would be nice to see a comparison of the text in PDF vs DjVU, but probably you would need to download the DjVU reader for that. Since I have a Kindle 3, it's pretty much a moot point for me, but those with DXs might be very interested.

Holly

[jissa]

@OakIris - I don't have a Kindle (I use the PRS-900) and I'm not the original poster, but what I can say is that in my experience, djvu's are used primarily in the world of math articles/books (and science, I believe. I don't actually read these, but I've been told they commonly use the djvu format). A main reason for this is that there is currently no way to reliably simply making mathematical expressions in any of the normal ebook or document formats--ie epub, rtf, etc--so one is left with exporting to some sort of portable document format--such as djvu, ps, or pdf.

Of those formats djvu tends to use less resources (as is mentioned above) and generally look smoother (it doesn't have any loading time in panning or zooming, it doesn't need to re-render things, etc.). I myself tend to prefer pdfs because there are many more viewing options for them, but unfortunately I am unable to force all the other mathematicians of the world to convert to my point of view. This means that I regularly view djvu documents, both on my computer (when it's a short article or I'm just looking up a particular fact) and on my prs-900.

@alexibm I don't if this is good enough for your purposes or not, but one option is always opening your djvu in DJView and then just telling DJView to "export as" pdf. The downside of this is that you basically end up with a pdf of the pages as images, so your text will become unsearchable and your file size will become much bigger. Since most of the older articles I find are really just scans (You mean journals don't keep digital files of all their articles for the next 40 years?!), the first issue not always a big problem but the later is certainly annoying.

Another option that I've used for viewing djvu on my reader is pdflrf. I know that the Kindle does not read lrf files, but Calibre can easily convert lrf's to viewable files on the Kindle. The reason why I'm suggesting this tool is that it is particularly nice for optimizing djvu files for reading landscape on smaller screens (you can set the particular width and height of the Kindle), and in streamlining the file for the ereader. It tends to result in slightly smaller file sizes than just converting directly to pdf via djview, and in darker text which can be nice if you have a file with lots of automata diagrams, etc.--the downside is that the very optimization for landscape viewing breaks up any given page into about three pages on the ereader which no longer allows you to quickly page to a particular page that might referenced in an index.

Hope that helps!

[OakIris]

^^^Thank you for that information, jissa.

I don't read math articles - I'm afraid math has never been my forté (O.K., I'm lousy at it. ) - so that may be another reason I know nothing about the format. As for science, I do read some science, but in the realm of natural sciences. Oh, and science fiction, of course....

For those that need the capabilities of DjVU, I hope more eReaders will support the format, but I suspect most manufacturers/producers are, naturally, more interested in the money-making aspects of their products than trying to satisfy the needs of relatively few (??) readers.

Holly

[valex]

I have just found this brand new djvu to pdf converter:

http://pd4ml.com/djvu.htm

"The freeware tool is intended to convert DjVu documents to "ebook-reader-friendly" PDF format. It addresses the major restrictions of popular electronic ink displays: relatively small dimensions and limited levels of gray scale."

[osnova]

Thanks, valex. A good find.

[jissa]

Thanks valex! That looks quite nice. I'll try to use it vs pdflrf next time I need to make a djvu more readable than the default "export as pdf" leaves it and let everyone know how it goes. Maybe the files will be less disgustingly huge!