More recent status of Oasis screen lighting issues?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I've not read of color patches with Readers that us IR touch. It's only capacitive touch where you get the color patches. I don't think it's the LEDs. I think it's the capacitive layer causing it.

Josie, as I recall, returned a Kobo H2O (which has IR touch) due to blotchy lighting. I'm sure she can confirm?

I think the simple truth is that some people have unrealistic expectation of how a light diffuser is going to perform. It can never produce as even a light as direct back-lighting, and the larger the screen, the more difficult it is to get good front-lighting.

[webjunk]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I do have a light question. Why is it that eInk Readers with a light and capacitive touch can sometimes show color blotches? This has happened with both Kobo and Kindle.

A plausible, and possibly true, explanation I read about was the glue used to glue the layers together is not fully cured and causes the colour blotches. These slowly disappear as the glue cures.

Personal experience was simply cleaning the screen.

If I see things on a screen I always take a photo of it and look at the image to check it is not an optical illusion.

[kaibob]

Originally Posted by webjunk

A plausible, and possibly true, explanation I read about was the glue used to glue the layers together is not fully cured and causes the colour blotches. These slowly disappear as the glue cures.

Personal experience was simply cleaning the screen.

If I see things on a screen I always take a photo of it and look at the image to check it is not an optical illusion.

When my PW3 arrived, I was more than a little surprised at to how bad the screen was with dark splotchy areas. In just a few days, these dark areas started to fade and today the screen is about as perfect as it can be.

I don't know if the screens of the PW3 use glue, but, if so, that might be an explanation. When my Oasis arrives next week, I'm going to keep this in mind and be a bit patient if the screen is uneven at first.

[oldhaggis]

Originally Posted by karljs

Please keep this thread non-inflammatory. I don't want to dredge up fights about the inner workings of digital cameras, etc.

I preordered the original Oasis and ended up exchanging and then finally returning it despite liking the form factor because, with my eyes and in my reading environments, both had visible and distracting light cones. I use my Voyage happily and while the screen is not perfect, there are no visible shadows on it.

Does anyone know whether this is an ongoing issue with the design of the Oasis, or whether this was just a problem with the early production run? It seems to have ceased to be a discussion topic after the first few months, which makes me think maybe Amazon QC got it under control. On the other hand, maybe everyone for whom it was a problem just gave up on the model.

I tentatively have a pre-order in for the new Oasis but I'd really like to know how much of a risk I'm taking. I don't want to get into a situation where Amazon closes my account because of too many returns.

Just received the new Oasis today wi-fi/3g , I can be a bit OCD about uneven lighting and having examined every centimeter can confirm this new 7 inch screen on mine at least is perfect, no cones,blotches,shading. in fact you can't even tell that the cones are on the side.

[Kolenka]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I've not read of color patches with Readers that us IR touch. It's only capacitive touch where you get the color patches. I don't think it's the LEDs. I think it's the capacitive layer causing it.

It is either the light guide, or the bonding between layers. Refraction is a fun thing. The light guide is intentionally causing refraction to guide the light, and issues with that can certainly create things like shimmer. But you also get refraction at any point where two materials meet. Water and air, two different plastic layers, glass and whatever, etc. Things like adhesives when applied properly can alter this refraction, but if not applied correctly, or not fully cured will mean that the refraction effects from the adhesive aren’t even across the screen. That’s likely where the splotchy coloring comes from. In some cases it will get better as it cures, in others it won’t because it is because the layers weren’t evenly squashed together during manufacturing.

If Amazon could mount the capacitive layer behind the eInk display, that would help. But more because it would mean only one layer of adhesive between the light guide and the eInk screen, instead of the two they have on the Paperwhite.

As for the LED count, there’s two issues at play:
1) Underdriving the LEDs will get you more Lumens per watt. It is weird, but it works, to a point. More LEDs allows you to be more power efficient for the same amount of light. In exchange for a higher BOM.
2) LEDs are pretty directional. 120 degrees for bare LEDs. You need optics to reach 180 degrees, and those optics would have to be built into the light guide. But using more LEDs means you don’t have to work quite as hard to avoid cones, since you don’t need to push it to 180 degrees which is not easy to do with a light guide (probably not as relevant here, because long vs short edge makes it different too).

But there are other ways to address #2, such as moving the lights further from the exposed part of the screen, and unfortunately, I haven’t really looked at the tear downs of the Kobo and Amazon lighting to see why one works better than the other.

[WilliamG]

Originally Posted by oldhaggis

Just received the new Oasis today wi-fi/3g , I can be a bit OCD about uneven lighting and having examined every centimeter can confirm this new 7 inch screen on mine at least is perfect, no cones,blotches,shading. in fact you can't even tell that the cones are on the side.

Can you post a picture of the screen with the backlighting on? All the pictures from the Oasis impressions thread show pink/green tinges to the screen, just like every Kindle post Kindle Touch.

[oldhaggis]

Originally Posted by WilliamG

Can you post a picture of the screen with the backlighting on? All the pictures from the Oasis impressions thread show pink/green tinges to the screen, just like every Kindle post Kindle Touch.

Sorry for the delay,one is auto on dark(ish) room other is full brightness ,I cannot see any pink or green!

[soondai]

kinda goofy question: how does the reader feel held in landscape mode?

I always use landscape to fit as many words per line as possible (just don't care for reading magazine/newspaper column style). So in effect my PW1 has a wider screen than an Oasis (held normally). But an Oasis in landscape would obviously be better still

edit:
looks to me like anyone who has trouble with the color of the oasis screen probably just shouldn't go with a frontlit eink screen. but I'm not picky. my PW1 is definitely blotchy. just never really cared

[karljs]

After some positive reviews I ultimately decided to roll the dice and got the Oasis 2 yesterday. The screen is great. I wouldn't go so far as to call it perfect, but there are definitely no visible shadow cones this time around and I plan to make it my primary reader.

[Deskisamess]

edit:
looks to me like anyone who has trouble with the color of the oasis screen probably just shouldn't go with a frontlit eink screen. but I'm not picky. my PW1 is definitely blotchy. just never really cared

The difference between the 1st gen Paperwhite (I had one) and the current Oasis is enormous. Even the 2nd gen Paperwhite my husband has is a vast improvement over the first gen.

[JoeC]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So why is it that with more LEDs the original Oasis has light cones in some cases?

For what it's worth, my original Oasis screen was the same as the new Oasis screen - no light cones. I stared intently at two new Oasis units yesterday and they are both cone free to my eyes. In previous Kindles I had the light cone issue and had to return a few.

[WilliamG]

Originally Posted by oldhaggis

Sorry for the delay,one is auto on dark(ish) room other is full brightness ,I cannot see any pink or green!

Thank you for those images. That does indeed look great. Mine is out for delivery so will keep fingers crossed!

[oldhaggis]

Originally Posted by WilliamG

Thank you for those images. That does indeed look great. Mine is out for delivery so will keep fingers crossed!

Your welcome,good luck!