Aura ONE Why Kobo does not give the possibility to enable a white text on black background?

[Biloute75]

Hi,

My question is simple: it is Why and not How. I know there is some possibilities to have white text on black background.

What I want is an official option, I mean a solution where you don't have to modify the code of the software...I am not a geek and I don't want to take any risk with my beloved e-book!

I don't think it is a technical issue or a copywriter problem.

[latepaul]

If you want to know Why and not How you need to ask Kobo.

[pickyaxe]

Originally Posted by Biloute75

Hi,

My question is simple: it is Why and not How. I know there is some possibilities to have white text on black background.

What I want is an official option, I mean a solution where you don't have to modify the code of the software...I am not a geek and I don't want to take any risk with my beloved e-book!

I don't think it is a technical issue or a copywriter problem.

There is no "risk". With all due respect, it is easier to do it than opening a thread to complain about the issue.

[HarryT]

Perhaps worth noting that on Kindles, "reverse video" appears to require hardware support, in that it's only the latest models - the Oasis 2 and Paperwhite 4 - that support it. Perhaps Kobo aren't currently using a display controller that supports it?

I'd second the advice to ask Kobo. The more people who request it, the more likely they are to take notice.

[ReaLx3m]

Originally Posted by Biloute75

Hi,

My question is simple: it is Why and not How. I know there is some possibilities to have white text on black background.

What I want is an official option, I mean a solution where you don't have to modify the code of the software...I am not a geek and I don't want to take any risk with my beloved e-book!

I don't think it is a technical issue or a copywriter problem.

You can type "devmodeon" without the quotes in search, and then go to settings>device information>developer options . There you should have the Invert screen option, at least on my H20 it can be done this way, i suppose it should be same on the aura one.
To disable devmode, just write "devmodeoff" in search.

[Biloute75]

Originally Posted by ReaLx3m

You can type "devmodeon" without the quotes in search, and then go to settings>device information>developer options . There you should have the Invert screen option, at least on my H20 it can be done this way, i suppose it should be same on the aura one.
To disable devmode, just write "devmodeoff" in search.

Super Real it works fine!

[NiLuJe]

@HarryT: Basic hardware inversion has been supported (... without actually crashing in some obscure corner-cases ) for quite a while (the latest NightMode hack versions actually rely on it, and I'd imagine Nickel does, too, as the switch in the hack was implemented by a Nickel dev).

What Amazon did is tailor a dedicated waveform update mode to that, as well as add some bit of frontlight trickery to make it easier on the eyes.

If you've ever used nightmode, you'll have noticed that ghosting is much, much, much worse, which is what they tried to combat (the waveform helps with ghosting, while the FL tricks help with black flashes, since they now become retina-searing white flashes).

I don't have the aforementioned devices to check, but I'd imagine they also made the full software stack aware of the current status in order to handle images properly, and not inverted .

TL;DR: They went the extra mile to make it an actual working, useful, usable, user-friendly feature, and not a "hack" .

[HarryT]

Interesting - thanks!

I briefly tried it when I got my Oasis 2 and decided it wasn’t for me. I prefer normal black-on-white with a low light level for nighttime reading.

[NiLuJe]

@HarryT: Oh, I definitely agree on that one . I hate nightmode on eInk with a fiery passion, I think it only really makes sense on OLED screens.

But I have to hand it to them: at least they did it the "right" way, to make it look as good as it can on eInk tech, and that's something that at least a good amount of people were eagerly waiting for, apparently .

[RobertJSawyer]

Well, I love nightmode on E Ink devices; it works very well on my Kobo Clara HD and Kobo Aura. And, "since they now become retina-searing white flashes" would only be true if one had brightness set to a high level while using night mode ... but of course most people don't do that. I don't even notice the screen refresh much on my Kobo Aura, and even less on my Clara HD (with the comfort light set all the way to the orange side), and on both units I have night-mode screen refresh set to every page.

[NiLuJe]

Even on low brightness, I find a white-on-black flash highly disturbing . (While 8 years of training have made me barely even notice the "normal" black-on-white flash version: go figure ).

But, to each his own.

It's not *my* thing, but I can see that some people like it: good for 'em . I'm happy to see Amazon went the extra mile with it.

[ploum]

I use nightmode always, all the time. I find it a lot easier to the eye. The "flash" is not disturbing but the ghosting is quite a problem which is, IMHO, why Kobo doesn't officially support this feature.

Also note that every picture, cover and interface element is reversed. Which makes it a gross hack and not a consumer friendly feature.

But I*could not leave without it anymore.

[Biloute75]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Interesting - thanks!

I briefly tried it when I got my Oasis 2 and decided it wasn’t for me. I prefer normal black-on-white with a low light level for nighttime reading.

I prefer also normal black-on-white with a low light level for night-time reading.

The problem comes from my wife who complains that the Kobo illuminats all the room while she wants to sleep...change wife is more difficult and more expensive than change reading mode.