Question about ummmm not sure what to call it

artemisblossom · 06-06-2009, 11:21 PM

Have any of you noticed something like ghosting or Pixel burn in (I don't know what to call it) on the screen? It seems like when I have the device turned off or when I am on say a half page I can see faint lines of text that aren't really there. It looks similar to what happens on a plasma tv if it is left on the same image too long. I have never left the reader on for any length of time or anything and now I am kind of paranoid and am shutting it off if I am going to be gone for even a couple minutes. Is there anything I can do about this or is it a normal part of the reader?

Renaldo · 06-07-2009, 02:12 AM

That's how eink works.

dreams · 06-07-2009, 02:24 AM

I've had my 505 since Christmas and haven't noted this. I use it everyday, inside and outside, turning it on and off at least 20 times or more.

ruth1304 · 06-07-2009, 08:57 AM

I have something similar but very faint (I had to look for it). I think I've seen something else about this on another thread and it seems to be normal!

artemisblossom · 06-07-2009, 11:27 AM

Thanks for the info I guess if this ever became a problem after using it for a year or so someone would have mentioned it by now

grooks · 06-07-2009, 12:17 PM

As Renaldo said, it is very normal. It is not exactly burn in but very similar to ghosting. You can leave the same page on the screen and it will not burn in.

Evin · 06-07-2009, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dreams

I've had my 505 since Christmas and haven't noted this. I use it everyday, inside and outside, turning it on and off at least 20 times or more.

Could someone tell me exactly what is happening when you turn it off? Obviously it isn't COMPLETELY off, and if there is no burn in and no power is used to maintain an image, why bother? to wipe the screen for privacy maybe? If I am putting it away in my bag I flip the switch because then pressure on the buttons won't change the page, but other than that, I don't usually turn it off.

Should I be turning it off all the time?

doreenjoy · 06-07-2009, 08:34 PM

YOu guessed it, turning it off prevents accidental button pushing. I don't think there is any other reason to turn it off, but I'm not an expert. If you use the menu "Shut Down" command, the device will go into a low power usage state; I think that's recommended if you won't be reading for a week or more. I find starting up from Shut Down consumes as much power as leaving it in standby mode.

The ghosting was a bigger problem for me on the 500; I haven't seen it on the 505. If you change the page, it should wipe clear.

jimbob101 · 06-08-2009, 05:01 AM

Sometimes that ghosting happens to me with my 505. the only thing i can think of is that when i press the button to shutdown the e-ink screen doesn't get a complete shutdown signal (if thats even possible) or it just gets interrupted in the middle of the clear signal.

It always clears once i turn it back on and is never there when i do a full power down rather than a stand by.

It doesn;t bother or worry me at all and i wouldn;t let it bother you.

Riocaz · 06-08-2009, 06:06 AM

It's also temperature affected IME. The colder it is the more you will see the ghosting. At the moment (15-20c) I'm seeing very little to no ghosting. Earlier in the year (3-5C) I was seeing lots of ghosting.

ladyjane · 06-08-2009, 07:13 AM

There is a slight ghosting but I think you really have to be looking for a fault..and I never do a complete shut down maybe because there is always just one more paragraph I have to finish. I would only do a complete shutdown if for some odd reason I had to pack it or I was in a coma.

Abecedary · 06-18-2009, 07:57 PM

Sorry to bring this thread back to life, but I've been digging through the archives a little bit (obviously not too far back, though). From what I can tell, the "ghosting" effect seems to be the result of sort of a "low-power" screen redraw. That is, it only seems to appear when bouncing out to the menu screens from a page of text or when bringing up the bookmarks list, etc. Basically, places where you either won't be staying too long or where you won't actually be reading a full page of text. As soon as you go back into the body of the book, you get "full" page refreshes, even on completely empty pages. By doing these "low-power" refreshes on non-book pages, I'd imagine the device conserves a decent amount of power.

doreenjoy · 06-18-2009, 08:10 PM

Interesting. Thanks for adding that information.

HarryT · 06-19-2009, 02:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doreenjoy

YOu guessed it, turning it off prevents accidental button pushing. I don't think there is any other reason to turn it off, but I'm not an expert.

The so-called "power button" does nothing except blank the screen and lock most of the buttons. The device continues to run.

Quote:

If you use the menu "Shut Down" command, the device will go into a low power usage state

Not exactly - the "Shut down" command switches it physically off, like turning off your PC. The next time you start it, it will reboot, which takes a minute or two.

moonlit · 06-25-2009, 07:06 AM

My thoughts on the "burn-in" effect is that it's just the way eInk works when the device only refreshes a part of the screen instead of doing a full screen rewrite, and this is also the reason why the screen flickers a few times when you flip to the next page.

The "flickering", I think, is something it does to remove the burn-in effect that you can see when the screen only refreshes a small part, since there is no burn-in effect when you read a normal book page.

I guess Sony decided that a little bit of ghosting is preferable to waiting an extra second for the screen to update when you are browsing through menus, but when you are actually reading a book page you want it to look perfect, this they spend extra time wiping the whole screen and rewriting it when you turn the page.

So I'd say it's perfectly normal and nothing to worry about.

06-06-2009, 11:21 PM	#1
artemisblossom Groupie Posts: 161 Karma: 482 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Ontario Canada Device: Sony prs505	Question about ummmm not sure what to call it Have any of you noticed something like ghosting or Pixel burn in (I don't know what to call it) on the screen? It seems like when I have the device turned off or when I am on say a half page I can see faint lines of text that aren't really there. It looks similar to what happens on a plasma tv if it is left on the same image too long. I have never left the reader on for any length of time or anything and now I am kind of paranoid and am shutting it off if I am going to be gone for even a couple minutes. Is there anything I can do about this or is it a normal part of the reader?

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06-07-2009, 02:12 AM	#2
Renaldo Addict Posts: 294 Karma: 250590 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: The Great Pacific Northwest Device: Kindle 3G + WiFi	That's how eink works.

06-07-2009, 02:24 AM	#3
dreams It's about the umbrella Posts: 25,112 Karma: 56250158 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Sony 505\| K Fire \| KK 3G+Wi-Fi \| iPhone 3Gs \|Vista 32-bit Hm Prem w/FF	I've had my 505 since Christmas and haven't noted this. I use it everyday, inside and outside, turning it on and off at least 20 times or more.

06-07-2009, 08:57 AM	#4
ruth1304 Addict Posts: 394 Karma: 1546 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Bristol, UK Device: Waiting for a kindle!	I have something similar but very faint (I had to look for it). I think I've seen something else about this on another thread and it seems to be normal!

06-07-2009, 11:27 AM	#5
artemisblossom Groupie Posts: 161 Karma: 482 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Ontario Canada Device: Sony prs505	Thanks for the info I guess if this ever became a problem after using it for a year or so someone would have mentioned it by now

06-07-2009, 12:17 PM	#6
grooks Wizard Posts: 1,326 Karma: 30250 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Fort Myers, FL Device: Pocketbook Era, Kobo Forma	As Renaldo said, it is very normal. It is not exactly burn in but very similar to ghosting. You can leave the same page on the screen and it will not burn in.

06-07-2009, 08:34 PM	#8
doreenjoy 01000100 01001010 Posts: 1,889 Karma: 2400000 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Polyamorous	YOu guessed it, turning it off prevents accidental button pushing. I don't think there is any other reason to turn it off, but I'm not an expert. If you use the menu "Shut Down" command, the device will go into a low power usage state; I think that's recommended if you won't be reading for a week or more. I find starting up from Shut Down consumes as much power as leaving it in standby mode. The ghosting was a bigger problem for me on the 500; I haven't seen it on the 505. If you change the page, it should wipe clear.

06-08-2009, 05:01 AM	#9
jimbob101 Connoisseur Posts: 60 Karma: 499999 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Laois, Ireland Device: Kindle App Android, Kindle PW2, Calibre	Sometimes that ghosting happens to me with my 505. the only thing i can think of is that when i press the button to shutdown the e-ink screen doesn't get a complete shutdown signal (if thats even possible) or it just gets interrupted in the middle of the clear signal. It always clears once i turn it back on and is never there when i do a full power down rather than a stand by. It doesn;t bother or worry me at all and i wouldn;t let it bother you.

06-08-2009, 06:06 AM	#10
Riocaz Fulfilled but not by iRex Posts: 932 Karma: 286846 Join Date: May 2006 Location: London Device: Far too many	It's also temperature affected IME. The colder it is the more you will see the ghosting. At the moment (15-20c) I'm seeing very little to no ghosting. Earlier in the year (3-5C) I was seeing lots of ghosting.

06-08-2009, 07:13 AM	#11
ladyjane I hate to clean Posts: 125 Karma: 1155 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Burlington, ontario Device: Sony PRS-505, Acer NetBook	There is a slight ghosting but I think you really have to be looking for a fault..and I never do a complete shut down maybe because there is always just one more paragraph I have to finish. I would only do a complete shutdown if for some odd reason I had to pack it or I was in a coma.

06-18-2009, 07:57 PM	#12
Abecedary Exwyzeeologist Posts: 535 Karma: 3261 Join Date: Jun 2009 Device: :PRS-505::iPod touch:	Sorry to bring this thread back to life, but I've been digging through the archives a little bit (obviously not too far back, though). From what I can tell, the "ghosting" effect seems to be the result of sort of a "low-power" screen redraw. That is, it only seems to appear when bouncing out to the menu screens from a page of text or when bringing up the bookmarks list, etc. Basically, places where you either won't be staying too long or where you won't actually be reading a full page of text. As soon as you go back into the body of the book, you get "full" page refreshes, even on completely empty pages. By doing these "low-power" refreshes on non-book pages, I'd imagine the device conserves a decent amount of power.

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06-18-2009, 08:10 PM	#13
doreenjoy 01000100 01001010 Posts: 1,889 Karma: 2400000 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Polyamorous	Interesting. Thanks for adding that information.

06-25-2009, 07:06 AM	#15
moonlit Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Oslo, Norway Device: Sony PRS-505	My thoughts on the "burn-in" effect is that it's just the way eInk works when the device only refreshes a part of the screen instead of doing a full screen rewrite, and this is also the reason why the screen flickers a few times when you flip to the next page. The "flickering", I think, is something it does to remove the burn-in effect that you can see when the screen only refreshes a small part, since there is no burn-in effect when you read a normal book page. I guess Sony decided that a little bit of ghosting is preferable to waiting an extra second for the screen to update when you are browsing through menus, but when you are actually reading a book page you want it to look perfect, this they spend extra time wiping the whole screen and rewriting it when you turn the page. So I'd say it's perfectly normal and nothing to worry about.