Glo Blue light/Comfort light/eyestrain, etc.

oj829 · 08-29-2016, 11:18 AM

Just read some PR-speak on the new Aura One, and I have a question:

I'm assuming that the light coming off the Glo HD includes a fair chunk of blue spectrum, and the best thing you can do is read without it, in the daytime, with the lighting off. Duh. But the PR speak from Kobo points out that both the Aura One and the GloHD have "ComfortLight", but only the Aura One is "front lit", which is not claimed of the Glo HD. I always assumed that the Glo HD was "front lit": that the light was actually directed at the surface of the tablet and not coming from behind it, aimed at one's face. Am I wrong about that?

Also newly available on the Aura One (but not the Glo HD): bluelight level adjustment. And... bluelight is increasingly a problem for me. (Are my assumptions about the bluelight "hazard" off the Glo HD just in my mind?)

FWIW, I just ordered an Asus ZenPad 8s to supersede my Kobo Arc HD7 for reading magazines from Zinio. Like the Kobo Arc HD7, the Asus screen resolution hits 320 ppi, and Arc HD7 is a dream for reading. But the Asus has a physically bigger screen, and while I still love my Arc HD7, reading Zinip magazines on the Arc HD7s 7-inch form factor usually leave something to be desired. The resolution on the Kobo is great - usually the problem is that the magazines don't have sufficient resolution - but I'm hoping that the 8" format of the Asus results in less dragging, expanding, and going back and forth between columns.

I already know about the ZenPad 8s's many problems - anemic battery life, no real audio to brag about - but these are problems I'm well used to with the Kobo ArcHD7. Moving to the Asus ZP is going to give me less weight, and feature built-in bluelight filtering (I know, I know, a million Android apps do it, too, but whatever.)

I have no plans to live without my Glo or GloHD, but I am still curious about where the light is "aimed" on those things.

robko · 08-29-2016, 12:37 PM

ALL e-ink screens with lighting are FRONT lit since part of the e-ink screen is opaque and light would not shine through very well.

GeoffR · 08-29-2016, 09:38 PM

For sleeping the best light is no light at all. But for reading I find a cool (blue) light more comfortable than a warm (yellow) tone. Natural sunlight is quite blue and is great for reading.

Quote:

Originally Posted by oj829

I'm assuming that the light coming off the Glo HD includes a fair chunk of blue spectrum, and the best thing you can do is read without it, in the daytime, with the lighting off.

Actually I think you'll find that the frontlight in all e-ink readers has less blue than natural sunlight. I have an early model Glo which I gather has a bluer light than the current models, yet with the frontlight on (bright enough to see) in daylight it looks slightly yellower than it does with the frontlight off, which indicates that sunlight is bluer than the frontlight LEDs. (Indoor lighting at night it is the opposite, the Glo looks a little bluer with the frontlight on than with it off.)

oj829 · 09-01-2016, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffR

For sleeping the best light is no light at all. But for reading I find a cool (blue) light more comfortable than a warm (yellow) tone. Natural sunlight is quite blue and is great for reading.

My Glo and Glo HD are my all-around feel-easiest-on-the-eyes-and-wrists bedtime book solutions. I wasn't even toying with shelling out for a KA1 (size and weight!), so I may just finally clip those $10 blue-light-blockers from Amazon to my bedside reading glasses to see what happens on a Glo.

Quote:

Actually I think you'll find that the frontlight in all e-ink readers has less blue than natural sunlight. I have an early model Glo which I gather has a bluer light than the current models, yet with the frontlight on (bright enough to see) in daylight it looks slightly yellower than it does with the frontlight off, which indicates that sunlight is bluer than the frontlight LEDs. (Indoor lighting at night it is the opposite, the Glo looks a little bluer with the frontlight on than with it off.)

Thanks for the insight. I've held onto my Glo. I actually prefer it under room-light conditions versus the Glo HD. I've toyed with fonts and sharpening and whatnot, but with the frontlight off, it's just an easier read (to me).

Thank you both. I really should have grabbed a clue on my own that e-ink screens were opaque.

cerem0ny · 09-01-2016, 09:04 PM

I use a blue light filter wherever its available. Ive been sitting in front of screens all my life and the blue light filters were a game changer. Although I never really noticed any eye strain when reading on my ereaders the addition to the One is a nice touch and one of the main reasons why im so excited to receive mine!!

08-29-2016, 11:18 AM	#1
oj829 Groupie Posts: 191 Karma: 574940 Join Date: Jul 2012 Device: Kobo Touch, Kobo Glo, Kobo Arc(32GB), Kobo Arc 7HD, Kobo Glo HD,NookHD	Blue light/Comfort light/eyestrain, etc. Just read some PR-speak on the new Aura One, and I have a question: I'm assuming that the light coming off the Glo HD includes a fair chunk of blue spectrum, and the best thing you can do is read without it, in the daytime, with the lighting off. Duh. But the PR speak from Kobo points out that both the Aura One and the GloHD have "ComfortLight", but only the Aura One is "front lit", which is not claimed of the Glo HD. I always assumed that the Glo HD was "front lit": that the light was actually directed at the surface of the tablet and not coming from behind it, aimed at one's face. Am I wrong about that? Also newly available on the Aura One (but not the Glo HD): bluelight level adjustment. And... bluelight is increasingly a problem for me. (Are my assumptions about the bluelight "hazard" off the Glo HD just in my mind?) FWIW, I just ordered an Asus ZenPad 8s to supersede my Kobo Arc HD7 for reading magazines from Zinio. Like the Kobo Arc HD7, the Asus screen resolution hits 320 ppi, and Arc HD7 is a dream for reading. But the Asus has a physically bigger screen, and while I still love my Arc HD7, reading Zinip magazines on the Arc HD7s 7-inch form factor usually leave something to be desired. The resolution on the Kobo is great - usually the problem is that the magazines don't have sufficient resolution - but I'm hoping that the 8" format of the Asus results in less dragging, expanding, and going back and forth between columns. I already know about the ZenPad 8s's many problems - anemic battery life, no real audio to brag about - but these are problems I'm well used to with the Kobo ArcHD7. Moving to the Asus ZP is going to give me less weight, and feature built-in bluelight filtering (I know, I know, a million Android apps do it, too, but whatever.) I have no plans to live without my Glo or GloHD, but I am still curious about where the light is "aimed" on those things.

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08-29-2016, 12:37 PM	#2
robko Wizard Posts: 2,454 Karma: 5469320 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kobo	ALL e-ink screens with lighting are FRONT lit since part of the e-ink screen is opaque and light would not shine through very well.

09-01-2016, 09:04 PM	#5
cerem0ny Evangelist Posts: 449 Karma: 3059202 Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra Colour, Kindle Scribe 2024	I use a blue light filter wherever its available. Ive been sitting in front of screens all my life and the blue light filters were a game changer. Although I never really noticed any eye strain when reading on my ereaders the addition to the One is a nice touch and one of the main reasons why im so excited to receive mine!!

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