PRs-300 Background Question

Cactusgod · 01-02-2010, 08:38 PM

So, being the picky person that I am, I have a rather intriguing question for those of you who own a PRS-300.

Warning: Those of you who are the type of person that doesn't notice a problem until it's pointed out, I recommend you stop reading here! haha.

This isn't necessarily a problem though. My eyes are kind of dumb, and today I seemed to notice that my background didn't seem was white as it did yesterday, using the same book. So, what I did was, I started to angle the PRS-300 in different ways, and I noticed that if you hold the book completely flat right in front of your eyes, so that you're actually looking into the USB port, (so the reader is facing up, not forward) and then you tilt the book slightly so that you can see it, the background of the reader is this pristine white upon which the black words look absolutely BEAUTIFUL.

If you look at the reader directly, like a book, you'll notice that the background kinda fades to a tanner looking background and the words are a tad bit less clear because they kinda mold in with the background. If I've lost you so far, thats ok, because like I said...I'm a freak.

I also noticed that the screen looks much better, as far as the background goes, when it's turned off, if that helps anyone compare. I was wondering if there was anyway to lighten the background of the reader while its displaying characters. Changing my font might help as well, but I figured there was no harm in asking. Right now I'm using Fontin, but just yesterday I thought it looked fantastic.

Has anyone else noticed/experienced any of this? Haha

Much appreciated.

robkat · 01-03-2010, 05:25 AM

The background on my PRS-300 is grey not white. It has been since I bought it just over a week ago. Not sure if you can make any changes to the device except to fonts and formats?

HarryT · 01-03-2010, 05:33 AM

The apparent "colour" of the background of an eInk display varies dramatically with the lighting conditions. Basically, the better the light, the "whiter" it will appear.

xtine · 01-03-2010, 06:37 AM

I've actually noticed this myself with my 300. By tilting it at a certain (but practically unreadable) angle, the background becomes a lot whiter and the text noticeably sharper. Taking HarryT's explanation into consideration though, it probably is because by tilting the Reader away, it becomes more exposed to light.

kennyc · 01-03-2010, 08:03 AM

Yes this is a "feature" of eInk display's.

Bremen Cole · 01-03-2010, 08:19 AM

With my limited experience with ereaders, I would say the 300 background is better than most. Like Kennyc said, everything you describe is just a "feature" of eInk display's.....the more light, the whiter it looks.... but really light effects the perception of color of just about everything.

spideog · 01-03-2010, 08:22 AM

The display looks much better for me under the LED light in the Sony cover. However much other lights are on in the room though it looks noticeably greyer.

The room lights are yellow'ish though, and the Sony LED light is white.

Cactusgod · 01-03-2010, 09:01 AM

Ok, this is great news to me. As long as I'm not the only one who is experiencing something like this, and there seems to be a completely valid explanation, I'm a happy man. What most likely happened was that two days ago, when I was using it, the lighting in my room was different than the day before, thus I'm experiencing something different at different times. As long as this is not a problem with the reader, I'm happy. Thanks guys ;p

kennyc · 01-03-2010, 09:07 AM

Not to alarm you, but in the interest of full disclosure.

It is my understanding that there is an individual bias adjustment on every eInk screen that is adjusted and set as part of manufacturing that more or less determines the "white level." Due to this the greyness of the background can vary from screen to screen and I would think it could even change if the value of the component(s) which determine it change with time.

There is also the infamous "fading in sunlight" issue which I've personally never seen.

01-02-2010, 08:38 PM	#1
Cactusgod Enthusiast Posts: 40 Karma: 252 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: none	PRs-300 Background Question So, being the picky person that I am, I have a rather intriguing question for those of you who own a PRS-300. Warning: Those of you who are the type of person that doesn't notice a problem until it's pointed out, I recommend you stop reading here! haha. This isn't necessarily a problem though. My eyes are kind of dumb, and today I seemed to notice that my background didn't seem was white as it did yesterday, using the same book. So, what I did was, I started to angle the PRS-300 in different ways, and I noticed that if you hold the book completely flat right in front of your eyes, so that you're actually looking into the USB port, (so the reader is facing up, not forward) and then you tilt the book slightly so that you can see it, the background of the reader is this pristine white upon which the black words look absolutely BEAUTIFUL. If you look at the reader directly, like a book, you'll notice that the background kinda fades to a tanner looking background and the words are a tad bit less clear because they kinda mold in with the background. If I've lost you so far, thats ok, because like I said...I'm a freak. I also noticed that the screen looks much better, as far as the background goes, when it's turned off, if that helps anyone compare. I was wondering if there was anyway to lighten the background of the reader while its displaying characters. Changing my font might help as well, but I figured there was no harm in asking. Right now I'm using Fontin, but just yesterday I thought it looked fantastic. Has anyone else noticed/experienced any of this? Haha Much appreciated.

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01-03-2010, 05:25 AM	#2
robkat Connoisseur Posts: 63 Karma: 38 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Scotland Device: Sony PRS 300	The background on my PRS-300 is grey not white. It has been since I bought it just over a week ago. Not sure if you can make any changes to the device except to fonts and formats?

01-03-2010, 05:33 AM	#3
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	The apparent "colour" of the background of an eInk display varies dramatically with the lighting conditions. Basically, the better the light, the "whiter" it will appear.

01-03-2010, 06:37 AM	#4
xtine Addict Posts: 355 Karma: 1432252 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kobo Forma	I've actually noticed this myself with my 300. By tilting it at a certain (but practically unreadable) angle, the background becomes a lot whiter and the text noticeably sharper. Taking HarryT's explanation into consideration though, it probably is because by tilting the Reader away, it becomes more exposed to light.

01-03-2010, 08:03 AM	#5
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,872 Karma: 118716293 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	Yes this is a "feature" of eInk display's.

01-03-2010, 08:19 AM	#6
Bremen Cole Wizard Posts: 1,115 Karma: 2718 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Texas Device: iPad	With my limited experience with ereaders, I would say the 300 background is better than most. Like Kennyc said, everything you describe is just a "feature" of eInk display's.....the more light, the whiter it looks.... but really light effects the perception of color of just about everything.

01-03-2010, 08:22 AM	#7
spideog Connoisseur Posts: 68 Karma: 648 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: PRS-300	The display looks much better for me under the LED light in the Sony cover. However much other lights are on in the room though it looks noticeably greyer. The room lights are yellow'ish though, and the Sony LED light is white.

01-03-2010, 09:01 AM	#8
Cactusgod Enthusiast Posts: 40 Karma: 252 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: none	Ok, this is great news to me. As long as I'm not the only one who is experiencing something like this, and there seems to be a completely valid explanation, I'm a happy man. What most likely happened was that two days ago, when I was using it, the lighting in my room was different than the day before, thus I'm experiencing something different at different times. As long as this is not a problem with the reader, I'm happy. Thanks guys ;p

01-03-2010, 09:07 AM	#9
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,872 Karma: 118716293 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	Not to alarm you, but in the interest of full disclosure. It is my understanding that there is an individual bias adjustment on every eInk screen that is adjusted and set as part of manufacturing that more or less determines the "white level." Due to this the greyness of the background can vary from screen to screen and I would think it could even change if the value of the component(s) which determine it change with time. There is also the infamous "fading in sunlight" issue which I've personally never seen.

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