I love everything about the Epic except the screen

[dr g]

The dirty secret is that reading text on the screen is one of the most common uses of any smartphone.

 

[jim2point0]

The dirty secret is that reading text on the screen is one of the most common uses of any smartphone.

Reading text is fine. I have no problems with the kindle app.

Reading ridiculously small text can be an issue... so you zoom in a little. It's a compromise. If you want a washed out screen that can display text just fine, go with another phone. *shrug*

Some incorrect info

You seem to be very confused about what 720p actually refers to. The "720" bit comes from the vertical resolution of 720 pixels, or 1280x720. Just like 1080p refers to 1920x1080. Most android phones like the Epic have a resolution of 800x480.

FACT: a 720p movie gets DOWNSCALED when viewed on an Epic. HOWEVER....

Yes, of COURSE, 720P material seems sharper on a 4" display vs. a 55" ... that does NOT mean that your 4" display is doing you any more good at 720P than it is as 480P ... and 480P is ALL the Epic screen is good for.

ANYTHING more is wasted storage space.

This guy is not INCORRECT... so to speak. I disagree that 720p looks sharper on my Epic than on my 720p 32" TV. Looks just as good on both. But what you fail to realize is that 720p\1080p is the source material many people already have for their movies. Sure, it's a waste to view a 720p movie on a screen with a vertical resolution of 480 like the Epic's, but it would be MORE inconvenient to down-convert a movie when the Epic can already display these movies. I'd rather have a single 720p ripped copy of a movie that I can view on my computer, TV, and phone, rather than separate copies that suits each screen individually.

 

[jim2point0]

oops... double post. wish i could delete.

 

[Adrift]

Yes, of COURSE, 720P material seems sharper on a 4" display vs. a 55" ... that does NOT mean that your 4" display is doing you any more good at 720P than it is as 480P ... and 480P is ALL the Epic screen is good for.

Just to point out, and they may well be wrong, Wikipedia and Hometheatre.about.com (and every other site I look at) both state 720P as being 720 lines of Horizontal. Lines, not pixels.

Even so, math doesn't equate into the human brain as something being better. If a person likes seeing something more on a certain screen they just do. Which is what this all boils down to. The folks saying it is better on their 4" screen aren't lying about it, to them it is better. Sure the numbers might say otherwise, but if you can convince your brain that what it is seeing is not what it is seeing, well you stand to make alot of money. So in the end, even if it is only "480p" what I was saying about stretching over a larger area still stands. "480p" would still be sharper i.e. better, than 720p on a 55". Of course this is all relative.

-Adrift

 

[Adrift]

You seem to be very confused about what 720p actually refers to. The "720" bit comes from the vertical resolution of 720 pixels, or 1280x720. Just like 1080p refers to 1920x1080. Most android phones like the Epic have a resolution of 800x480.

No, not confused at all. Please reread that I said lines, not pixels.

-Adrift

Just to note, I was wrong about the resolution of viewing on the Epic, I acknowledge that. I forgot that you would need to account for viewing in landscape. 480x800 becomes 800x480 as Torq pointed out.

 

[jim2point0]

Just to point out, and they may well be wrong, Wikipedia and Hometheatre.about.com (and every other site I look at) both state 720P as being 720 lines of Horizontal. Lines, not pixels.
-Adrift

Right. You are confused about what this means. I'll quote the wiki page:

"The number 720 stands for the 720 horizontal scan lines"

It's hard to illustrate this with words. How would you measure 720 pixels DOWN? Well, 1 way is to imagine 720 1 pixel HORIZONTAL LINES on top of each other. That is what 720 horizontal scan lines means. Starting from the top, you can make 720 1 pixel lines across the screen until you reach the bottom. Just like you can make 1920 VERTICAL lines across on a screen with a horizontal resolution of 1920.

Now, HDTVs all have a resolution as well. Have you ever seen a 1080p movie on a 70" 1080p screen? It's ****ing gorgeous. You can't tell that you're looking at a 70" TV other than the fact that its mother effing huge. What YOU are thinking of is a 55" analog TV... or something really, really old. You're probably picturing watching a youtube video with the default resolution of 360p on a massive screen. Yeah, that would look bad. But a 1080p video will look just as sharp on a 32" 1080p TV as it does on a 70" 1080p TV... assuming they are both of decent quality.

 

[Adrift]

snip

Again, I said lines, not pixels. While they are intimately intertwined I never made mention of pixels. You want to assume I am wrong, fine that's cool.

I already admitted that I was wrong about the Epic's resolution, so this is going way off topic.

-Adrift

 

[Thefoodman52]

Dude! SERIOUSLY?! The Epic screen beats the living daylight out of the half baked TFT screen on the Evo! I can definitely say your nuts if you think otherwise about that sexy super AMOLED screen.

 

[Othan1]

Dude! SERIOUSLY?! The Epic screen beats the living daylight out of the half baked TFT screen on the Evo! I can definitely say your nuts if you think otherwise about that sexy super AMOLED screen.

He already admitted to it being a trolling post. See his response above. I think we're on to fighting about HD vs nonHD now.

 

[zion168]

Dude! SERIOUSLY?! The Epic screen beats the living daylight out of the half baked TFT screen on the Evo! I can definitely say your nuts if you think otherwise about that sexy super AMOLED screen.

Yes srsly. I already said it beats the evo screen on color, and I'll add video since so many of you insist, but not on text clarity. I like my text to be readable at the size it should be readable at. Zoom is a compromise, not a solution, not to mention the reduction of viewable content area by zooming.

Go ahead and call me a troll if you can't win this argument.

 

[Bomix]

I love everything on the EVO except the CAMERA! It's tough to have both.. I'm not to picky about screen but if it's a deal breaker just get/or keep an EVO.

 

[rmingee]

Yes srsly. I already said it beats the evo screen on color, and I'll add video since so many of you insist, but not on text clarity. I like my text to be readable at the size it should be readable at. Zoom is a compromise, not a solution, not to mention the reduction of viewable content area by zooming.

Go ahead and call me a troll if you can't win this argument.

I'm really hesitant to jump into this, because I believe everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I respect yours. There is no "winning" or "losing" here, you have your opinion and I have mine.

But I just have to ask - do you really believe text is unreadable on the Epic "at the size it should be readable at"? After reading this thread I opened up a text email and shrunk it as small as I could, and while the text wasn't totally crisp, it was still readable, but uncomfortably small for me. I sit at a computer all day, and EVERYONE at my office teases me about the small fonts I use, because I like to have a lot on the screen. So believe me, I get your concern in principle.

But I just can't fathom using fonts small enough that they are no longer legible on this phone. Just out of curiosity, I went into the handcent options and tried different text sizes. By the time I got down to a 6-point font, while I could still read it, I had to admit that it was no longer crisp. That was incredibly tiny text that I can't imagine anyone using all the time on their phone, because the eye strain would be incredible after a very short time. I couldn't even make the email app get that small.

If that's what you like, I guess the Epic really is not for you. To me the contrast and brightness are more than worth it. But that's why they make so many phones - everyone can choose what's right for them

-- robert

 

[badankles]

Double tap = perfection

 

[Muckrak3r]

How do you get copies of blu-rays on to the Epic? I have several blu-rays in my library and they claim to have a digital copy. How do I get that copy onto my phone? I would love to fill up the 16gb card so I have an excuse to buy a 32gb card!

 

[flonkas]

That's like saying you bought a Lamborghini and are disappointed with the V12 engine. Either this is a trolling thread, or you are a moron.

EDIT: If you like reading tiny text... go back to a piece of crap phone and leave the super phones for the big boys to play with.

I second this.

 

[njbianco]

Anyone experiencing whites that look blue...or rather the "blue tint problem?"

No not at all on my epic i did play with the captivate and noticed a noticeable blue tint

 

[Othan1]

Go ahead and call me a troll if you can't win this argument.

You called yourself one but that's beside the fact now. Won't mention it again.

And win? I didn't realize this was a contest in which prizes were given for the winning opinion. What do we get if we win? What do we lose if we don't?

Can you explain the rules to me so I play correctly? I like prizes.

I love this screen. You don't. I'm cool with that.

 

[dbpaddler]

Jim has it right. These screens are 480p screens, meaning dvd quality. The fact you have such greatv black levels on top of a small screen with relatively small pictures equates to the great picture quality for movies, games. Photos and such. Anything ripped higher than a 480p resolution is downcoverted to fit to the screens native res plain and simple.

Again, as Jim pointed out, it is not a waste to have true HD quality movies on the phone since it has the ability to output HD via HDMI and DLNA. So as some have stated it's a waste of space, it's only true if you don't want to output HD material to other displays.

And the rules of picture quality don't change. Black levels are still king. Resolution isn't even second, color accuracy is. So if you like the contrast, color and outdoor readability, you have to accept the tradeoff that small text isn't going to be as sharp as it is on a traditional LCD. I'm 20/26 and have no issues with small type. It comes down to preference, and you have to decide what is better for you. Doesn't make one crap and the other great. Just do your homework first about the limitations and strengths of each. I prefer not to look at my screen like I have whitewashed contact lenses on.

Also, another reference from the AV world, it is possible for 480p material to look better on a 480p screen than on a 720 or 1080 panel. Upconverting and downconvertering adds or removes information and detracts from the overall image. Of course some scalers do it better than others. The best image quality will occur when the res of the material matches the native res of the screen. On a screen this small it doesn't really matter. So I'll keep all my video material at 720 or 1080. Well except for the porn. HD is not always its friend ;-)

 

[zion168]

He already admitted to it being a trolling post.

You called yourself one

Quote it.

And win? I didn't realize this was a contest in which prizes were given for the winning opinion. What do we get if we win? What do we lose if we don't?

Can you explain the rules to me so I play correctly? I like prizes.

 

[zion168]

I'm really hesitant to jump into this, because I believe everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I respect yours. There is no "winning" or "losing" here, you have your opinion and I have mine.

But I just have to ask - do you really believe text is unreadable on the Epic "at the size it should be readable at"? After reading this thread I opened up a text email and shrunk it as small as I could, and while the text wasn't totally crisp, it was still readable, but uncomfortably small for me. I sit at a computer all day, and EVERYONE at my office teases me about the small fonts I use, because I like to have a lot on the screen. So believe me, I get your concern in principle.

But I just can't fathom using fonts small enough that they are no longer legible on this phone. Just out of curiosity, I went into the handcent options and tried different text sizes. By the time I got down to a 6-point font, while I could still read it, I had to admit that it was no longer crisp. That was incredibly tiny text that I can't imagine anyone using all the time on their phone, because the eye strain would be incredible after a very short time. I couldn't even make the email app get that small.

If that's what you like, I guess the Epic really is not for you. To me the contrast and brightness are more than worth it. But that's why they make so many phones - everyone can choose what's right for them

-- robert

Point taken. While I don't plan on reading a book in 6-pt font, I often have to glance over small text because that's just part of the nature of mobile internet. A sharper screen is immensely important to me. For example, I can see that whether I'm logged in or out of a forum on the EVO, but have to zoom on the Epic. Either that or I have to increase the default text size and scroll the screen.

 

[Bomix]

Point taken. While I don't plan on reading a book in 6-pt font, I often have to glance over small text because that's just part of the nature of mobile internet. A sharper screen is immensely important to me. For example, I can see that whether I'm logged in or out of a forum on the EVO, but have to zoom on the Epic. Either that or I have to increase the default text size and scroll the screen.

Just get an Iphone 4 you should be able to read full screen with it's display/resolution. no body would hate you. Long as your happy. We're all here to help.

 

[kristv]

When I researched HD TV's for our house, folks basically said that 720p is fine for TV's up to about 40". As they get larger, they really start to need the 1080i/p quality. It makes sense of course. Standard DVD's look far better on my 37" TV than they do on my 52" TV.

 

[dr g]

Reading text is fine. I have no problems with the kindle app.

Reading ridiculously small text can be an issue... so you zoom in a little. It's a compromise.

Took the time to compare side by side, as I read web text at the lowest browser zoom level on the Evo. The pixelation mentioned in the OP is readily apparent at this zoom level, and the Evo's larger screen does provide a significant advantage when reading small text like this. Like you said, it's a compromise; fine detail, particularly text, is not a strength of the 4" SAMOLED screen.

 

[dbpaddler]

Correct. Black levels, color accuracy and daylight viewing are its strengths. Choose accordingly.