Kindle 4 screen is THE SAME as K3.

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by shinew

My understanding for most of people's complained in this thread is that some claim to notice literally "whiter" background on K3 than the K4 under any circumstances(although from my testing of 4x KT, 1x K4 & 2x K3, they're identical), including having done a full refresh, not just the texts rendering or contrast difference. Since the background is the off state for the eInk display, it should have nothing to do with the software settings or temperature when compared side by side.

The perceived brightness of the background is in contrast to the bezel. It would naturally appear whiter next to a graphite bezel on a K3 or DXG. The K4NT and Touch have silver bezels that can appear much lighter depending on viewing angle and lighting conditions caused by higher reflectivity. When holding the new kindles to maximize light on the eInk display, it also makes the silver bezels appear rather bright, which makes to eInk background appear correspondingly dark.

For a fair comparison, you need to cover both bezels with equally dark border material. Your eye adjusts to brightness and contrast variations much like how modern cameras automatically compensate for variations in lighting. With a lighter bezel the newer kindles would appear to have a darker backround both for the human eye AND for a camera, unless the bezels where covered so that they receive equal comparisons. Even when zooming in with a camera, light sensors may adapt to lighting conditions outside the field of view. Your eye behaves the same way due to persistence of vision and changes in pupil diameter.

The only REAL way to compare displays is to measure the reflectivity with a calibrated instrument designed specifically for that purpose. Any other comparison is based mostly on perceptual differences, and from a scientific point of view, is therefore flawed.

But the bottom line is, you need to do whatever makes YOU happy. You cannot let reality interfere with that.

[shinew]

Originally Posted by geekmaster

The only REAL way to compare displays is to measure the reflectivity with a calibrated instrument designed specifically for that purpose. Any other comparison is based mostly on perceptual differences, and from a scientific point of view, is therefore flawed.

which is why i didn't even bother using camera despite I'm more than equipped to do so, and used the eye-one spectrophotometer with spot measurement instead.
but agree, whatever believe that makes the user happy is the one they should stick with.

[Martyd]

So based on all I'ved read in this thread, Amazon didn't see that there may be a perceived difference in the brightness/contrast of the K4, and so they ship replacements with no problem. I think they are more than aware of what's going on and hope that this thread, and their customer support records, will educate them, and perhaps they will come up with a solution. Bezel change, software, or whatever.
Is the eye fooling the brain?

[ThomasC]

I've had my K4nt (actually 3rd one after 2x replacements, not much better btw) for a couple of months now and like Blossom, I'm getting used to the slightly greyer background (compared to my K3 and DXG). I found a number of things have helped to improve it's contrast (to my eyes anyway);

- I used the kindle collections calibre plugin and changed to font to Amasis (thanks Blossom). Gives you something between the too bold sans serif and the too light normal K4 fonts.

- Using a black cover ($10 E-bay one) that covers the edges of the benzel (except the bottom buttons) helps a little bit (like geekmaster said)

- Exercising it before reading (the K4 not me, lol!), like geekmaster said helps quite a bit. I found the best way to do this is to turn on the wifi and browse the local news website works very well. Alternatively, manually refreashing the screen (keyboard+back buttons) about 10-12 times also helps. Plus I use the page refresh = on feature.

Cheers,
Tom

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by Martyd

So based on all I'ved read in this thread, Amazon didn't see that there may be a perceived difference in the brightness/contrast of the K4, and so they ship replacements with no problem. I think they are more than aware of what's going on and hope that this thread, and their customer support records, will educate them, and perhaps they will come up with a solution. Bezel change, software, or whatever.
Is the eye fooling the brain?

The biggest improvement they can make is to go back to the graphite bezel to make the background appear brighter, and to go with bolder (thicker) default fonts, even for the smallest font, to make the text appear darker. This will drastically improve readability and PERCEIVED contrast. Truetype fonts must be rendered on eInk displays using dithered bicolor PRINTER algorithms, not multiple brightness level DISPLAY algorithms. They are using display rendering with antialiasing used for light-emitting displays, which is a huge mistake.

This was pointed out to amazon many times a couple of years ago, but the warnings went unheeded. Marketing triumphs over science once again...

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by geekmaster

The biggest improvement they can make is to go back to the graphite bezel to make the background appear brighter, and to go with bolder (thicker) default fonts, even for the smallest font, to make the text appear darker. This will drastically improve readability and PERCEIVED contrast. Truetype fonts must be rendered on eInk displays using dithered bicolor PRINTER algorithms, not multiple brightness level DISPLAY algorithms. They are using display rendering with antialiasing used for light-emitting displays, which is a huge mistake.

This was pointed out to amazon many times a couple of years ago, but the warnings went unheeded. Marketing triumphs over science once again...

I actually like the K4's bezel to the K3's. It seems higher quality and nicer to hold. I bought a skin for my K4 in pure black and put it on for about a week. It made the K4's background look multicolor part grey, part green and it looked very dirty. The text did pop out a bit more but I couldn't stand the ugly background so I tore it off. $25 for a piece of vinyl That will teach me.

[Katsunami]

Yesterday I received my Kindle Touch. The bezel is not silver as I always thought; it's actually quite dark gray, which I much prefer over silver. I have tested some t things that hold true for almost any observed object in photography, to see hire much the Kindle was affected.

1. Reading from it with a light or window behind you, directly illuminating the device, makes the contrast flat and creates glare. However, illuminating the device directly is what most people do.
2. Reading from it with a light or window opposite to you creates a backlight situation, making the device look dark.
3. Lighting the device sideways (I don't know the English word; in Dutch it is called "strijklicht", to make the light graze an object from the side) brings out more contrast and provide more saturation. It can create shadows, depending on your surroundings.
4. Sideways bounce lighting. Now you light the device from the side, but make sure the light hits a wall, board or any light colored flat surface opposite to itself. This type of lighting providers the contrast and saturation advantage from the previous method, but it prohibits most shadows.

I light my books using method 4 whenever I can, or if I can't, I at least try to use method 3. They work beautifully for the Kindle too (as expected), and the screen looks great here, at least as good as my best pockets. With my bad eyesight, I particularly like the fatter "sans serif" font.

By the way.... Having ears like a dog's, I can tell you that the Kindle is not silent. When refreshing a page, particularly when using the webbrowser, it makes a slight buzzing sound. You may actually be unable to hear it. Try listening for it while reading at 3am :-P

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Yesterday I received my Kindle Touch. The bezel is not silver as I always thought; it's actually quite dark gray, which I much prefer over silver.

The reflectivity of the bezel changes the apparent color from very dark grey to very light gray, depending on viewing angle relative to neaby light sources.

If you minize light reflected from the bezel, it is almost a graphite color like the K3. But that angle also reduces light hitting the display.

Maximizing light on the display makes the bezel appear very light gray (silver).

Originally Posted by Katsunami

By the way.... Having ears like a dog's, I can tell you that the Kindle is not silent. When refreshing a page, particularly when using the webbrowser, it makes a slight buzzing sound. You may actually be unable to hear it. Try listening for it while reading at 3am :-P

The electrophoretic eInk displays require high operating voltages, which are generated with an internal switching power supply. The buzz you hear is caused by the ultrasonic operating frequency of that power supply coming from some vibrating power supply component in your kindle.

That sound will annoy you less in the future if you listen to rock music at very high volume levels for long periods of time.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by geekmaster

The reflectivity of the bezel changes the apparent color from very dark grey to very light gray, depending on viewing angle relative to neaby light sources.

If you minize light reflected from the bezel, it is almost a graphite color like the K3. But that angle also reduces light hitting the display.

Maxizing light on the display makes the bezel appear very light gray (silver).

This is true with the K4 as well.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by geekmaster

The electrophoretic eInk displays require high operating voltages, which are generated with an internal switching power supply. The buzz you hear is caused by the ultrasonic operating frequency of that power supply coming from some vibrating power supply component in your kindle.

That sound will annoy you less in the future if you listen to rock music at very high volume levels for long periods of time.

Nice to know that the sound is normal. And no; while I listen to a lot of music, it mostly is classical, new age, jazz, blues, soul, and the likes. The only loud music I listen to invariably has a Hammond organ screaming in the lead, though

Having very sensitive ears is not always funny. I hear EVERYTHING: buzzing lamps, tv's, monitors, creaking chairs (and beds....) in the neighbors' house.... And even some dog whistles, which most people don't even believe until I prove it.

On the other hand, I'm 67% blind, so I like the Kindle's fat sans serif font, and larger font selection. Together with the convenience of a touch screen, much increased book selection since 2007 and the mass market paperbacks that are getting printed and bound worse and worse each year, I was convinced that I should re-try the reader thing again.

I love it; I finally read "A Christmas Carol" yesterday, after seeing Patrick Steward's movie adaptation 20 times or so

[blue_skies]

I bought this Tuff Luv Multi-View case for my Kindle 3 in pink because it was the cheapest color when I ordered it. http://www.amazon.com/Tuff-Luv-Multi...6933617&sr=1-5
I was shocked by how blueish-green the screen looked after I put my Kindle in it. I've pretty much gotten used to it now, but it makes a huge difference in my perception of the screen background color.

[kuklachica]

Received a replacement Kindle Touch due to ghosting on the original. The replacement's screen is much sharper than the original (even my husband said something and he doesn't notice these types of things). New one is also more blue-ish while old one is more yellowy-grey. Why would the screens be so different in two of the same model, within a couple of months? (BTW, ghosting is worse on the replacement!).

Old on the left, new on the right.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by blue_skies

I bought this Tuff Luv Multi-View case for my Kindle 3 in pink because it was the cheapest color when I ordered it. http://www.amazon.com/Tuff-Luv-Multi...6933617&sr=1-5
I was shocked by how blueish-green the screen looked after I put my Kindle in it. I've pretty much gotten used to it now, but it makes a huge difference in my perception of the screen background color.

That would be expected The blue-green you are seeing is the exact opposite of the type of pink of your case. Try a bright green case, and your screen will look pink

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by kuklachica

Received a replacement Kindle Touch due to ghosting on the original. The replacement's screen is much sharper than the original (even my husband said something and he doesn't notice these types of things). New one is also more blue-ish while old one is more yellowy-grey. Why would the screens be so different in two of the same model, within a couple of months? (BTW, ghosting is worse on the replacement!).

In the photo they do look different. Part of that could be color perception rather than actual color variation.

For a fair comparison, they need the bezels covered with identical non-reflective material. The bezels are not the same. Different viewing angles also affect what you see.

[Blossom]

kuklachica, what is on the first kindle's bezel? A sticker skin? The Bezel looks really odd if not.