Best ebook reader for comic books. .cbr files

HunsingerUK · 02-27-2009, 06:03 PM

I've been trying to figure out which one to buy for a long time. I've looked at the sony s and have researched the kindle and kindle 2 but until today when I found these forums, I had no idea that it was possible to have .cbr files converted so that I'd be able to read my comic books on an ebook reader.

Therefore I was wondering which one you think is the best, for comic books. I also plan on using my library of pdfs to read(I do understand I'll have to convert these, and thats no problem as I'm a techie)

I am looking at the sony prs-505 and the kindle 2

questions: sony is 8 gray scale levels and k2 16. is this a huge difference?

thanks

Manichean · 02-28-2009, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HunsingerUK

Therefore I was wondering which one you think is the best, for comic books. I also plan on using my library of pdfs to read(I do understand I'll have to convert these, and thats no problem as I'm a techie)

I am looking at the sony prs-505 and the kindle 2

Well, as far as I know, there is no device that natively reads CBR files. But IIRC they're just a bunch of JPEGs crammed into a ZIP container, so you should have little difficulty, as (to my knowledge) every reader should read JPEG.
But considering that you want to use pictures and PDF, I think you would be better off with a screen bigger than 6 inches. Did you consider the iRex Digital Reader?

Quote:

Originally Posted by HunsingerUK

questions: sony is 8 gray scale levels and k2 16. is this a huge difference

That depends on how detailed the comics you want to read are. I totally lack experience, but I think 8 levels should be fine for most comics (I've tested a few pictures on my 4 graylevel Cybook, and, although some detail was missing, it worked great.).

Jaie · 02-28-2009, 11:33 AM

It all seems to hinge on color really. And there's no color readers, but, I've viewed Trigun on a couple of readers, and I dug up these reviews I used when hunting for my just purchased reader, I currently view comics on my UMPC and find that perfecty satisfying.

Here are the links:

http://ebooktest.blogspot.com/2008/1...or-iphone.html

http://www.teleread.org/2006/09/29/m...ader-a-review/

http://www.teleread.org/2008/07/27/t...three-shadows/

http://www.teleread.org/2008/07/15/f...ell-in-august/

(I have to say, if that Fujitsu reader makes an appearance I'd be tempted, love their computers)

I know its not much, but maybe it can help a little. Good luck!

discourse · 02-28-2009, 12:45 PM

I would suggest buying a 8.9" Acer Aspire one or any other cheap 9-10" netbook. Ebook readers are no good for graphic novels/comic books. Even if you uncompressed the .cbr to jpg files you would still battle with the lack of folder support on ereaders.

Jaie · 03-06-2009, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by discourse

I would suggest buying a 8.9" Acer Aspire one or any other cheap 9-10" netbook. Ebook readers are no good for graphic novels/comic books. Even if you uncompressed the .cbr to jpg files you would still battle with the lack of folder support on ereaders.

Hmm. I'm not sure I totally agree. I have a comic book on the Jetbook and its actually very crisp, readable and looks pretty good. Not color of course...

discourse · 03-17-2009, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaie

Hmm. I'm not sure I totally agree. I have a comic book on the Jetbook and its actually very crisp, readable and looks pretty good. Not color of course...

Any image will of course look crisp and you could read some pdf comics without any problem but for people who are used to reading .cbr files, uncompressing them to a folder of jpgs will leave you with headaches on most ebook readers. if you read one book at a time you are ok but due to crappy folder support your jpgs will be scattered if you add more than one folder of images.

Renaldo · 03-17-2009, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by discourse

Any image will of course look crisp and you could read some pdf comics without any problem but for people who are used to reading .cbr files, uncompressing them to a folder of jpgs will leave you with headaches on most ebook readers. if you read one book at a time you are ok but due to crappy folder support your jpgs will be scattered if you add more than one folder of images.

But why would you even do that? There's no need to uncompress the jpg's and load those onto the reader. You can use calibre to convert the .cbr to .lrf and call it good. No need for folders, no need for a netbook.

palex481 · 03-17-2009, 11:16 PM

I got a cool app for iphone called mycomics. Has a virtual bookshelf with all my comics on them. I just dropped my cbz file on the loader and it loaded it right up.

the iPhone is really cool for comics actually because its color and you can zoom in and really see things well. I have several loaded on my iphone.

yw214 · 04-08-2009, 10:22 PM

BeBook (HanLin book) claims that they support zip and rar format, Does this mean we can read comic books in zip and rar format without unzip the images?

JSWolf · 04-08-2009, 11:18 PM

As far as images go, I'd go with Sony. It supports 8 native shades and does very nice dithering to appear to show more shades.

DaleDe · 04-09-2009, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yw214

BeBook (HanLin book) claims that they support zip and rar format, Does this mean we can read comic books in zip and rar format without unzip the images?

Yes you can but they don't currently support bookmarks or keep your place if you exit the application. Reading works fine. I have a request in to Hanlin to support cbr and cbz natively with the above features and a few more.

Dale

Sparhawk2k · 04-09-2009, 09:26 PM

I could be wrong on this but I think the cbz and cbr are LITERALLY just zip and rar files renamed so if something does support zips and rars it should work. And if there are issues I think you can just rename it.

Personally, I've been using my OLPC XO-1 for comics. I like having a color screen for the art. I'm sure it would be readable otherwise but I feel like I'd be missing a portion of the experience.

herbalist · 04-11-2009, 06:43 PM

IMHO, the iliad does the job perfectly. You just need to convert your files using JE-Comics Converter and voila! It is almost as good as a tankubon.

Long Con · 12-15-2009, 11:01 PM

Hi, I just found this thread while searching for info on comic books, .cbr files, and e-readers...

Is there any update on this topic since April?

Can any e-readers read .cbr files? Are there e-readers in colour now?

Which e-reader should I get for Christmas in order to mainly read comic books?

DaleDe · 12-15-2009, 11:29 PM

No dedicated eReaders are in color yet however some are now 8 or 16 levels of gray so they can render fairly well. No dedicated readers advertize CBR or CBZ support although since these are really just RAR or zip archives some can read them if the extension is renamed although they will treat them as a collection of images, not a book. CBZ can be converted to eBook formats with a program called Calibre (see the section of this forum). I would expect that cbr and cbz are on the horizon for the near future. Ask again this time next year

Dale

02-27-2009, 06:03 PM	#1
HunsingerUK Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: none	Best ebook reader for comic books. .cbr files I've been trying to figure out which one to buy for a long time. I've looked at the sony s and have researched the kindle and kindle 2 but until today when I found these forums, I had no idea that it was possible to have .cbr files converted so that I'd be able to read my comic books on an ebook reader. Therefore I was wondering which one you think is the best, for comic books. I also plan on using my library of pdfs to read(I do understand I'll have to convert these, and thats no problem as I'm a techie) I am looking at the sony prs-505 and the kindle 2 questions: sony is 8 gray scale levels and k2 16. is this a huge difference? thanks

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02-28-2009, 11:33 AM	#3
Jaie Connoisseur Posts: 78 Karma: 24 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Oswego New York Device: JetBook, Aspire One Netbook (UMPC)	It all seems to hinge on color really. And there's no color readers, but, I've viewed Trigun on a couple of readers, and I dug up these reviews I used when hunting for my just purchased reader, I currently view comics on my UMPC and find that perfecty satisfying. Here are the links: http://ebooktest.blogspot.com/2008/1...or-iphone.html http://www.teleread.org/2006/09/29/m...ader-a-review/ http://www.teleread.org/2008/07/27/t...three-shadows/ http://www.teleread.org/2008/07/15/f...ell-in-august/ (I have to say, if that Fujitsu reader makes an appearance I'd be tempted, love their computers) I know its not much, but maybe it can help a little. Good luck!

02-28-2009, 12:45 PM	#4
discourse Connoisseur Posts: 69 Karma: 96 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Finland Device: NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight, iPad 1	I would suggest buying a 8.9" Acer Aspire one or any other cheap 9-10" netbook. Ebook readers are no good for graphic novels/comic books. Even if you uncompressed the .cbr to jpg files you would still battle with the lack of folder support on ereaders.

03-17-2009, 11:16 PM	#8
palex481 Connoisseur Posts: 93 Karma: 53 Join Date: May 2008 Device: Sony PRS-505	I got a cool app for iphone called mycomics. Has a virtual bookshelf with all my comics on them. I just dropped my cbz file on the loader and it loaded it right up. the iPhone is really cool for comics actually because its color and you can zoom in and really see things well. I have several loaded on my iphone.

04-08-2009, 10:22 PM	#9
yw214 Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2009 Device: none	BeBook (HanLin book) claims that they support zip and rar format, Does this mean we can read comic books in zip and rar format without unzip the images?

04-08-2009, 11:18 PM	#10
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 76,817 Karma: 138235604 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	As far as images go, I'd go with Sony. It supports 8 native shades and does very nice dithering to appear to show more shades.

04-09-2009, 09:26 PM	#12
Sparhawk2k Member Posts: 13 Karma: 64 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Seattle, WA Device: none	I could be wrong on this but I think the cbz and cbr are LITERALLY just zip and rar files renamed so if something does support zips and rars it should work. And if there are issues I think you can just rename it. Personally, I've been using my OLPC XO-1 for comics. I like having a color screen for the art. I'm sure it would be readable otherwise but I feel like I'd be missing a portion of the experience.

04-11-2009, 06:43 PM	#13
herbalist Enthusiast Posts: 39 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2008 Device: nokia 770, Irex Iliad	IMHO, the iliad does the job perfectly. You just need to convert your files using JE-Comics Converter and voila! It is almost as good as a tankubon.

12-15-2009, 11:01 PM	#14
Long Con Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: none	Hi, I just found this thread while searching for info on comic books, .cbr files, and e-readers... Is there any update on this topic since April? Can any e-readers read .cbr files? Are there e-readers in colour now? Which e-reader should I get for Christmas in order to mainly read comic books?

12-15-2009, 11:29 PM	#15
DaleDe Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,470 Karma: 13095790 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Grass Valley, CA Device: EB 1150, EZ Reader, Literati, iPad 2 & Air 2, iPhone 7	No dedicated eReaders are in color yet however some are now 8 or 16 levels of gray so they can render fairly well. No dedicated readers advertize CBR or CBZ support although since these are really just RAR or zip archives some can read them if the extension is renamed although they will treat them as a collection of images, not a book. CBZ can be converted to eBook formats with a program called Calibre (see the section of this forum). I would expect that cbr and cbz are on the horizon for the near future. Ask again this time next year Dale

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