電子書和電子閲讀器的相關文章

Can the e-ink screen of an e-book reader turn pages faster than her face or say temper?


“Oh, it’s annoying!”

She had been using the e-reader he gave her to read Kung Fu comics. She was quiet for a while, then she began to shout impatiently.
He raised his head and asked: “what's the matter? You just gave me a break. I'm busy with my work!”

Regardless of his complaint, she rushed over with the e-reader, pointed to the picture and said:
“It's so flashy when it turns the page. Struggling between black and white like a ghost face.”

He was also impatient and said: “I had told you, it will be slow when turning the page. This is the way an e-ink screen turns the page.”

She yelled: “And you said that it is steady!”

He looked at her with disdain: “Yes, it is! it doesn't flash when it doesn't turn the page! It's stable like a piece of paper and good for your eyes. But I don't think you're used to this. You'd better use your own tablet!”

Then he tried to reach for his reader.

But she immediately changed her expression into smiley and said:
“This does not hurt the eyes! I'll keep using it. But Can't you turn the page faster?”

He glared at her and said:
“No matter how fast you turn the page, you turn your face faster. I mean your temper. Give it to me, and I'll change some settings for you. Page turning will be faster, but maybe the content will be lighter and the contrast will be reduced.

He set it up and handed it back to her.

She quickly had a try and turned the pages a few times, and she did feel much smoother than before. She looked at it carefully again: “But the picture is really much lighter!”

He has been buried in the work, and did not raise his head, said: “That is it! And if you change your face so fast all day, our love will also fade a lot.”

She made a face at him.

Why do e-ink screens turn pages slowly?

As we all know, the e-ink screen as the main component of e-reader, its display principle is about the use of tiny spheres smaller than the diameter of hair. These spheres bubble in the liquid and move back and forth following the change of the electric field, thus showing different colors.

Although these display balls are very small, they still need energy to move, and the time delay is obvious. In fact, the driving voltage of e-ink screens need 15V or even higher, which is a relatively high voltage in electronic products. That indicates that its driving needs strong energy.

This kind of particle sphere, which needs strong driving, moves in a macro motion way, and the inertia effect is obvious. Coupled with the resistance of moving in the liquid, the time delay is difficult to avoid.

In addition, the driving circuit of the screen does not operate all the points on the screen at the same time, but scans them in behavioral units. This kind of serial operation also leads to the delay of the update of the screen.

Partial refresh is a good way to improve the page turning speed of e-ink screen

The slow refresh speed of e-ink screens is determined by its structure. Unless its basic implementation technology has a qualitative leap, we can only use ingenious methods to partially improve the refresh speed. It's easy to figure out that partial refresh is a good way, that is, when the picture changes, only the area that needs to be changed is updated, while other places that do not need to be changed do not need any operation.

This not only improves the efficiency and experience when turning pages, but also saves electricity power. For example, in the general reading scene, the margins and line spacing obviously do not change much, so the update operation of these parts can be avoided.

To achieve this effect of partial update, we need to calculate the difference between the two pictures. At present, regal and A2 are the most popular technologies on e-ink screens serving this. The details of these technologies are rarely disclosed. There are two ways to implement them: hardware and software ways.

What negative effects does partial refresh bring to the e-ink screen experience

Partial refresh really improves the page turning experience of e-ink screens. But this is a compromise method after all, and it will inevitably bring additional costs and some disadvantages. Fortunately, these negative effects are not very strong and acceptable.

For example, in A2 mode, the feeling of swiping the screen is very smooth, but the screen usually shows lighter than when this mode is turned off. After turning over a certain number of pages, some shadows of the previous screen may remain on the screen. At this time, a full refresh is needed to clear all the shadows.

Calm nature is not dry, fast or slow is actually subjective cognition

The slow refreshing characteristic of e-ink screens is very difficult to accept for non target users. But it is this slow refresh feature that limits the use of this screen to the field of reading, and makes it highly respected in the specific market audience. It is seen as a way to resist human beings being kidnapped by mobile phones in the video era, and the Space Fortress for people who are willing to stay in the traditional reading space.

In fact, if the mind is quiet and peaceful enough, the speed of turning the page is not so important.

Related topic:
Why do you need an ereader?
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