Kindle 2 screen burn in??

[OakIris]

From what I have read here, and after a (not-so-thorough) google search, it seems the consensus is that e-Ink screens don't have a burn in problem.

But....Yesterday I was putting a skin on my partner's Kindle 2. The unit was turned off, and at the top of the unit I could definitely see the title of a book, the bar graph for the 3G signal strength and the little battery icon, and at the bottom I could see the Locations bar, etc.

Just to be clear, this is not ghosting, but actual burn in - the Kindle was off. The same thing is still there today with the unit having been off all night - so I wasn't hallucinating.

Has anyone else experienced this "impossible" thing with their e-Ink screen reader?

Holly

[curstpriest]

normal for e-ink//ghosting, when the unit is powered down you will see what was there before it was powered down (it just flashes to white without clearing everything completely)

you can even remove the screen from the battery/unit completely and see what was on the screen forever.

[OakIris]

Originally Posted by curstpriest

normal for e-ink//ghosting, when the unit is powered down you will see what was there before it was powered down (it just flashes to white without clearing everything completely)

you can even remove the screen from the battery/unit completely and see what was on the screen forever.

Really! I am very new to the world of eReaders, but this is the first I have heard of this; could you provide a link to where you have read this? Everything else I have read indicates that there is no such thing as burn in with an e-Ink screen. I am certainly far from an e-Ink screen expert, but I thought "ghosting" is what occurs when the page is turned and some artifacts remain before a screen refresh. How can ghosting occur when the unit is totally off?

Also, even though a different book was read yesterday, and then the unit was turned off, what was on there several books ago still shows when the unit is off???? I didn't include this info, but what I saw on the screen this morning is the same thing (same book title) as that which was showing yesterday when I noticed the problem. It is not showing "what was there before it was powered down," it is showing a book that was read a long time ago!

It sounds like classic CRT screen burn in to me, so now I'm totally confused! (O.K., it doesn't take much to confuse me, but still.... )

Holly

[daffy4u]

As stated before it's ghosting not burn in. Alt+G will refresh the screen and remove any ghosting.

As an aside, I find it interesting that a lot of new K3 owners are asking about screen burn in. I don't recall see these kinds of posts with K1 or K2 (if there were any, there weren't as many).

[NiLuJe]

Probably because, AFAICT, the new Pearl screen is slightly more affected by ghosting than the previous Vizplex one.

[kevinp]

It's not ghosting. These screens just don't work the same as LCDs. Here's a link to Eink's web site explaining how it works:

http://www.eink.com/technology/howitworks.html

[NiLuJe]

It may not be 'ghosting' as we usually think of it for LCD screens, but the word nicely describes the effect, IMHO .

[OakIris]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

As stated before it's ghosting not burn in. Alt+G will refresh the screen and remove any ghosting.

As an aside, I find it interesting that a lot of new K3 owners are asking about screen burn in. I don't recall see these kinds of posts with K1 or K2 (if there were any, there weren't as many).

Ummm. My post is about the Kindle 2, not the Kindle 3. So, when the unit is totally off you can hit Alt-G and the "burn in" will disappear?

Holly

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by OakIris

Ummm. My post is about the Kindle 2, not the Kindle 3. So, when the unit is totally off you can hit Alt-G and the "burn in" will disappear?

Holly

No, of course not. The keyboard is inactive when the device is switched off.

As stated earlier, this is not "burn in", but "ghosting" - it's a completely different effect. Burn-in, on a cathode ray tube, is a consequence of displaying the same image for a long period of time. Ghosting on an eInk screen is simply a residual of the most recently-displayed page, and is inherent (to a greater or lesser degree) in all eInk screens.

[curstpriest]

Strange that you would get a ghost of an image different than that of which you turned it off with. If you are reading a page, is there any ghosting present? If you hit Alt + G does the ghosting go away?

You should not see any ghosting/ "burn in" under normal operating when reading, that is why the screen flashes black when refreshing. If this does not happen to you, or you are always seeing ghosting, it is possible that your unit is defective in some way.

But it is normal to see ghosted images when the display is off. You should not see ghosting however under normal reading, or when the screensaver is active =X

[OakIris]

O.K.,I give up! What I saw was when the unit was turned off, not while it was being used. I had no idea that the e-Ink screen could retain an image even when there was no power to it.

I understand now - even though it looks exactly the same, the problem is ghosting, not burn in, and is common/unavoidable when the eReader is off. The non-problem (non-problem since it is apparently endemic to the technology) I was talking about is not with my Kindle, a Kindle 3, but with a Kindle 2. The owner of the Kindle 2 never spoke to me about it, I just noticed it when I was putting the skin on it.

As I had never read anything about the fact that it apparently always happens when the Kindle/e-Ink screen reader is off, I was a bit startled when I saw it. I won't worry about it, then, nor should I worry or wonder or care about it when it happens to my Kindle 3 because everyone with an e-Ink screen eReader has experienced it and expects it to happen.

I guess I thought I would have read this somewhere in a FAQ about the Kindle. Sorry to bring up a well known phenomenon about e-Ink screens that I should already have known about. I apologize for a wasted thread.

Holly

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by OakIris

Ummm. My post is about the Kindle 2, not the Kindle 3. So, when the unit is totally off you can hit Alt-G and the "burn in" will disappear?

Holly

My mistake. I saw Kindle 3 as your device and totally glossed over the Kindle 2 reference in your post.

[OakIris]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

My mistake. I saw Kindle 3 as your device and totally glossed over the Kindle 2 reference in your post.

Understandable!

Anyway, whether it is called "burn in" or "ghosting," (you know, "A rose by any other name...") apparently the phenomenon happens with any e-Ink screen so it's not a defect but a characteristic, and nothing to be concerned about. Probably CRT manufactures claimed the same thing! "p

Holly

[curstpriest]

Only plasma and CRT displays can get burn-in effects =X

[OakIris]

Originally Posted by HarryT

No, of course not. The keyboard is inactive when the device is switched off.
As stated earlier, this is not "burn in", but "ghosting" - it's a completely different effect. Burn-in, on a cathode ray tube, is a consequence of displaying the same image for a long period of time. Ghosting on an eInk screen is simply a residual of the most recently-displayed page, and is inherent (to a greater or lesser degree) in all eInk screens.

Originally Posted by curstpriest

Only plasma and CRT displays can get burn-in effects =X

I really don't understand. What difference does it make no matter what you call it if the result is just the same?? Perhaps it is an argument about semantics?? The fact is that what was showing 2 months ago (just guessing) on the screen is still what is showing now, so it is exactly the same as burn in whether or not you want to call it "ghosting" instead.

I have somehow missed reading about this apparently well known aspect of e-Ink screens so I am just a little bit disappointed. I'll get over it though - thus far I really like my Kindle 3. Still, I have no such "ghosting" or "burn in" on my LCD computer screens even after using them for several years, so I do feel it is a downside to the e-Ink screen that such a thing occurs after a year or less of use

I really would prefer not to have this permanent "ghosting" on my Kindle 3 screen - unfortunately, from what the responders in this thread have to say, the permanent ghosting/burn in is inevitable and must be endured.

Holly