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The Modos Paper Monitor

modos.tech

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Re: The Modos Paper Monitor

#3
I know a lot a people seem to prefer e-paper to LCDs. However, I have not yet found papers that could show a significant benefit with regards to eye strain of e-paper over other types of displays. If you are outside and have reflections, shure - but inside?

Re: The Modos Paper Monitor

#5
post #3

I know a lot a people seem to prefer e-paper to LCDs. However, I have not yet found papers that could show a significant benefit with regards to eye strain of e-paper over other types of displays. If you are outside and have reflections, shure - but inside?

I also didn't find any papers regarding to differences, but I have my eyes and experience.

I feel uncomfortable reading from a high quality OLED (iPhone X) or IPS panel (Apple MacBook Pro displays and an HP EliteDisplay) after reading for an hour or so, but when I open my Kobo Glo HD, I can read for hours without eye strain or feeling uncomfortable, even with front light. It just feels natural and doesn't make my eyes dry, forehead stiff or feeling exhausted. This is a study I'm conducting myself for 5+ years. So, it's enough of a data for me.

Re: The Modos Paper Monitor

#6
post #3

I know a lot a people seem to prefer e-paper to LCDs. However, I have not yet found papers that could show a significant benefit with regards to eye strain of e-paper over other types of displays. If you are outside and have reflections, shure - but inside?

I also didn't find any papers regarding to differences, but I have my eyes and experience. I feel uncomfortable reading from a high quality OLED (iPhone X) or IPS panel (Apple MacBook Pro displays and an HP EliteDisplay) after reading for an hour or so, but when I open my Kobo Glo HD, I can read for hours without eye strain or feeling uncomfortable, even with front light. It just feels natural and doesn't make my eye…

That's interesting I switched from a kindle to an iPad mini a few years ago and except for reading outside in the sun, I didn't notice any downsides concerning the display.

Re: The Modos Paper Monitor

#7
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also didn't find any papers regarding to differences, but I have my eyes and experience. I feel uncomfortable reading from a high quality OLED (iPhone X) or IPS panel (Apple MacBook Pro displays and an HP EliteDisplay) after reading for an hour or so, but when I open my Kobo Glo HD, I can read for hours without eye strain or feeling uncomfortable, even with front light. It just feels natural and doesn't make my eye…

That's interesting I switched from a kindle to an iPad mini a few years ago and except for reading outside in the sun, I didn't notice any downsides concerning the display.

I started with a 212 DPI display (PocketBook 626), then moved to Kobo, which is 300 DPI, and the effect was much more dramatic.

If you're not using displays all day long, you might not be straining your eyes much, and may not be feeling it, too. Try using some artificial teardrops (without any additives, preservatives or active ingredients). If you feel relieved after using them, you're simply unaware of being uncomfortable, then.

Re: The Modos Paper Monitor

#8
They mention the issue of dithering changing "everywhere" when e.g. a mouse cursor is moving, which is obviously distracting. I wonder if you couldn't make an error diffusion dithering technique where the amount of error to diffuse is mollified by the signed distance from the moving pixels?

   * Seed signed distance function with -1 in all pixels that changed, +1 in static pixels   
   * Use a fast marching method to re-initialize a narrow-band signed distance function   
   * Compute gradient of signed distance to get a vector field    
   * Multiply error to be diffused by a sigmoid function of signed distance   
   * Diffuse error in the direction of the vector field
Also, I've found in my own toying around that introducing a bit of randomness in the error diffusion matrix of traditional dithering methods gives much more pleasing results.

Re: The Modos Paper Monitor

#9
> “This is possible and used on eReaders, so texts, images, and UI elements could use different update modes, but not with the current available Eink monitor + software stack. Our controller supports per-pixel update mode settings, but this would need support from the software side.

That “per-pixel update mode settings” sounds very useful for things like interactive books, where the static text could be anti-aliased with grayscale, and moving pictures (physics animation, mathematical graphs, etc.) would be 1-bit monochrome and react smoothly to adjustments.

They show something in this direction in their second video, embedded further down in the linked page, where letters being typed are first rendered immediately in 1-bit mode, then after a delay smoothed out.

Re: The Modos Paper Monitor

#10

They mention the issue of dithering changing "everywhere" when e.g. a mouse cursor is moving, which is obviously distracting. I wonder if you couldn't make an error diffusion dithering technique where the amount of error to diffuse is mollified by the signed distance from the moving pixels? * Seed signed distance function with -1 in all pixels that changed, +1 in static pixels * Use a fast marching method to re-initi…

This might interest you: https://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=40832.msg136374...

It's about how to perform realtime dithering of a 3D scene such that the amount of annoyance you describe is minimized

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