E-ink monitor?
February 10, 2022 9:43 AM
I have this fantasy of hooking up an e-ink monitor to my MacBook Pro, so that I can work outside without eyestrain. Is this just a fantasy?
I know about the Dasung paperlike monitor. It seems from googling around that maybe it doesn't cooperate well with Macs. My fantasy is so strong, I'd be willing to buy a whole new laptop to be compatible with it. Does anyone own this, and would you recommend it?
There's also this Lenovo ThinkBook with an e-ink lid, but doesn't seem like it would function as a primary screen for the laptop.
FWIW, I would be doing web searches and typing/editing documents, nothing more.
Does anyone have any experience or advice on e-ink monitors? Thanks!
I know about the Dasung paperlike monitor. It seems from googling around that maybe it doesn't cooperate well with Macs. My fantasy is so strong, I'd be willing to buy a whole new laptop to be compatible with it. Does anyone own this, and would you recommend it?
There's also this Lenovo ThinkBook with an e-ink lid, but doesn't seem like it would function as a primary screen for the laptop.
FWIW, I would be doing web searches and typing/editing documents, nothing more.
Does anyone have any experience or advice on e-ink monitors? Thanks!
Ugh, apologies for answering a question you didn’t ask!!
posted by hollyholly at 10:03 AM on February 10, 2022
posted by hollyholly at 10:03 AM on February 10, 2022
I also have this fantasy. Boox makes their own monitor, and their more expensive tablets (Android) have HDMI ports. I haven’t taken the plunge yet.
Apparently the Russian Boox tablet models are of inferior quality. Do some googling to determine which ones they are.
posted by Comet Bug at 10:06 AM on February 10, 2022
Apparently the Russian Boox tablet models are of inferior quality. Do some googling to determine which ones they are.
posted by Comet Bug at 10:06 AM on February 10, 2022
Oooh, no--this is exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for! I'm willing to start from scratch in order to have the e-ink experience. So I will check this out--thanks!
posted by whistle pig at 10:07 AM on February 10, 2022
posted by whistle pig at 10:07 AM on February 10, 2022
Seach for "e-ink music stand" and go from there. There are some huge e-ink screens running Android, some even with two full page displays. Stylus sensitive and you can access the Play store to install your own apps. I have a professional musician friend who loves hers to pieces.
posted by seanmpuckett at 10:54 AM on February 10, 2022
posted by seanmpuckett at 10:54 AM on February 10, 2022
E-ink refresh time and ability to refresh locally without leaving "ghost text" have gotten better but are still often a long way from the kind of thing which would satisfactorily render a modern GUI. Imagine dragging a window (requiring refreshes at both edges of the window) when it only fully redraws every half-second or so (and a lot of e-ink displays have framerates of 2Hz or lower). So among all your other criteria, you'd certainly need to get something with a decent framerate (which does exist; the Waveshare 9.7 inch has a fairly extraordinary 15Hz refresh, suitable for only slightly jerky video).
Oddly, it seems on some research that figuring out the actual maximum display refresh rate of an e-Ink display is hard to do; the Dasung you mention takes 60Hz input but it's not entirely clear that its actual display refresh rate is that high.
posted by jackbishop at 11:29 AM on February 10, 2022
Oddly, it seems on some research that figuring out the actual maximum display refresh rate of an e-Ink display is hard to do; the Dasung you mention takes 60Hz input but it's not entirely clear that its actual display refresh rate is that high.
posted by jackbishop at 11:29 AM on February 10, 2022
It looks like there are also some Boox e-ink monitors -- here's one thread about the experience using Macs.
Here's the mobileread wiki with a bit of info on eink displays (including the possibility of using kindles as displays, which has some obvious drawbacks like size, but might be interesting to try out)
posted by trig at 11:53 AM on February 10, 2022
Here's the mobileread wiki with a bit of info on eink displays (including the possibility of using kindles as displays, which has some obvious drawbacks like size, but might be interesting to try out)
posted by trig at 11:53 AM on February 10, 2022
If you're interested in a Dasung I'd go ask this question in the subreddit r/eink, where I think you'll find some Dasung users.
If you'd be interested in a Boox tablet plus Bluetooth keyboard solution, I've done that and it's considerably cheaper and more portable than getting a PC and a second screen. You could even get the smaller Boox (Nova) and save money that way.
Typing on e-ink is not like typing on LCD or paper, though. The Boox has different "modes," ranging from "looks great and clean and contrasty but has terrible lag when something is in motion, like typing," to "keeps up great with your typing/video watching, but is grayer and has ghosting," but there's no "looks great AND has no lag" mode because that's just not how e-ink works.
I still do it, because I find that e-ink helps keep me focused in a way I never am on an LCD screen, but ymmv?
If you want me to try and make a video, or if you have some questions, feel free to PM.
posted by hungrytiger at 12:15 PM on February 10, 2022
If you'd be interested in a Boox tablet plus Bluetooth keyboard solution, I've done that and it's considerably cheaper and more portable than getting a PC and a second screen. You could even get the smaller Boox (Nova) and save money that way.
Typing on e-ink is not like typing on LCD or paper, though. The Boox has different "modes," ranging from "looks great and clean and contrasty but has terrible lag when something is in motion, like typing," to "keeps up great with your typing/video watching, but is grayer and has ghosting," but there's no "looks great AND has no lag" mode because that's just not how e-ink works.
I still do it, because I find that e-ink helps keep me focused in a way I never am on an LCD screen, but ymmv?
If you want me to try and make a video, or if you have some questions, feel free to PM.
posted by hungrytiger at 12:15 PM on February 10, 2022
Also, with respect to the "Russian Boox" thing, the Chinese Boox site is boox.com, but you can also buy a lot of their stuff through Amazon (with return possibilities) if you're in the US.
posted by hungrytiger at 12:17 PM on February 10, 2022
posted by hungrytiger at 12:17 PM on February 10, 2022
Here is a twitter thread where Andy Matuschak writes about his experience of using the Dasung with his Mac in a sunny outdoor environment. He references the thread here to suggest that there might be some upcoming alternatives to the Dasung.
posted by ajr at 2:09 PM on February 10, 2022
posted by ajr at 2:09 PM on February 10, 2022
Reading through the thread, he also noted the following, which might explain the internet comments indicating that it the Paperlike does not cooperate well with Macs:
Oh, but (noting in case others encounter this) for whatever reason, the built-in HDMI port doesn't work with the Paperlike, produces weird noisy artifacts. But with my HDMI->USB-C adapter it's fine.
posted by ajr at 2:15 PM on February 10, 2022
Oh, but (noting in case others encounter this) for whatever reason, the built-in HDMI port doesn't work with the Paperlike, produces weird noisy artifacts. But with my HDMI->USB-C adapter it's fine.
posted by ajr at 2:15 PM on February 10, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by hollyholly at 9:54 AM on February 10, 2022