huge pdf files on iliad

yolle · 08-22-2008, 03:48 PM

Hi!
I'm new to the e-reader world so I have a few questions. I'm thinking of buying the irex iliad, but of course the price is the problem.
Since the majority of the books I would be reading is in the pdf format, the only real option is the iliad? Or am I wrong?
These pdf books are often very big, more than 100 Mb, even 400 Mb occasionally. Is there any chance that these books would function on the Iliad? They also have a lot of tables, pictures, diagrammes etc.. Is there any known "size" limit to a file that the iliad can still open?
Can you "go to page 124" for example in irex iliad? does it remember where you stopped reading?
As I understand the only difference between the Iliad Book Edition and the the Iliad 2nd Edition is the WiFi connectivity. Are there ANY other differences? IIs WiFi at all useful or just comes in handy from time to time?
Does the Book Edition have longer battery life than the "WiFi" edition?
Does an e-reader with an e-ink display consume battery only when turning a page or even when just displaying a page? Because I read somewhere that there is no energy consumption when the page is displayed so I don't understand why that isn't the case with the iliad ...

Thanks!

zerospinboson · 08-22-2008, 04:59 PM

does it remember where you were: yes
Can you skip pages: yes
atm, the best pdf reader by far is the iLiad, yes. This may or may not change Q4 2008

is file size an issue: not generally.. i can easily read scanned 100mb+ books

Rendering complex pages: this is different from size.
Tables, pictures, diagrammes take more time to render than text, and it is possible that specific pages are too complex for the iLiad to render (it after only has so much CPU/RAM to work with)
differences between BE and normal: no others that i'm aware of.

Wifi: if you've got a router, is indeed useful. if you don't (atm, ad hoc networks are nearly impossible to set up)
that said, it's also handy to have a card reader to fill your CF card up with, as the internal reader/writer is fairly slow.

battery use: the screen does not use additional power after rendering (unless you have the stylus out and near the screen), but the CPU does run at 'idle' (it can't standby) which does use power)

jrial · 08-22-2008, 07:26 PM

It depends on the content of the pdf. I have one that's fairly small but with a complex table on page 2 that keeps the iliad computing for minutes when you try to display that page. unfortunately, I can't share it for demo purposes since it's a "classified" document from work.

daudi · 08-23-2008, 03:36 AM

Sometimes it is possible to improve documents with pages that take a long time to display, for example by using pdftk. I was trying to read this short article (which I think you'll only be able to see if your library has a subscription) but a couple of pages took forever. I used pdftk to burst it into individual pages and then used pdftk again to put it back together. I now have no problem with it on the iliad.

yolle · 08-23-2008, 05:00 AM

so, just putting a file into individual pages and then putting them back together helps?
do you know why this works?

daudi · 08-23-2008, 07:36 AM

yep it works (sometimes, at least once) but I have no idea why. Perhaps something to do with change the resolution of images, but I'm just guessing.

yolle · 08-23-2008, 08:18 AM

I've noticed that sometimes, when scrolling down several pages at once in a complex pdf file, scrolling stops and you can't go on until (for example) a diagramme is completely shown - because this diagramme is showing up in "layers" -first the background is shown then all the small details - it looks as though it is not a "raster" image but a "vector" image - so, i'm thinking if there's a way to transform these vector images into raster ones the loading of the pages would be a lot quicker...
does this make any sense at all?

jrial · 08-23-2008, 11:59 AM

Yes, that makes perfect sense. Every time you display one of those complex diagrams, your computer (or iLiad) needs to do the calculations necessary to transform them into a bitmap, which is what the display can work with. If it's already stored as a bitmap, this step can be avoided. Considering how long even a modern computer needs to perform those calculations (several seconds), just imagine what a necessarily underpowered machine such as an ebook reader goes through every time you wish to display such a diagram. No wonder it takes minutes...

08-22-2008, 03:48 PM	#1
yolle Member Posts: 21 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Slovenia Device: Irex DR 1000	huge pdf files on iliad Hi! I'm new to the e-reader world so I have a few questions. I'm thinking of buying the irex iliad, but of course the price is the problem. Since the majority of the books I would be reading is in the pdf format, the only real option is the iliad? Or am I wrong? These pdf books are often very big, more than 100 Mb, even 400 Mb occasionally. Is there any chance that these books would function on the Iliad? They also have a lot of tables, pictures, diagrammes etc.. Is there any known "size" limit to a file that the iliad can still open? Can you "go to page 124" for example in irex iliad? does it remember where you stopped reading? As I understand the only difference between the Iliad Book Edition and the the Iliad 2nd Edition is the WiFi connectivity. Are there ANY other differences? IIs WiFi at all useful or just comes in handy from time to time? Does the Book Edition have longer battery life than the "WiFi" edition? Does an e-reader with an e-ink display consume battery only when turning a page or even when just displaying a page? Because I read somewhere that there is no energy consumption when the page is displayed so I don't understand why that isn't the case with the iliad ... Thanks!

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08-22-2008, 04:59 PM	#2
zerospinboson "Assume a can opener..." Posts: 755 Karma: 1942109 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Local Cluster Device: iLiad v2, DR1000	does it remember where you were: yes Can you skip pages: yes atm, the best pdf reader by far is the iLiad, yes. This may or may not change Q4 2008 is file size an issue: not generally.. i can easily read scanned 100mb+ books Rendering complex pages: this is different from size. Tables, pictures, diagrammes take more time to render than text, and it is possible that specific pages are too complex for the iLiad to render (it after only has so much CPU/RAM to work with) differences between BE and normal: no others that i'm aware of. Wifi: if you've got a router, is indeed useful. if you don't (atm, ad hoc networks are nearly impossible to set up) that said, it's also handy to have a card reader to fill your CF card up with, as the internal reader/writer is fairly slow. battery use: the screen does not use additional power after rendering (unless you have the stylus out and near the screen), but the CPU does run at 'idle' (it can't standby) which does use power)

08-22-2008, 07:26 PM	#3
jrial Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Diepenbeek, Belgium Device: Sony PRS-505, iRex Iliad, nokia 770, gp2x, palm zire 71	It depends on the content of the pdf. I have one that's fairly small but with a complex table on page 2 that keeps the iliad computing for minutes when you try to display that page. unfortunately, I can't share it for demo purposes since it's a "classified" document from work.

08-23-2008, 03:36 AM	#4
daudi Addict Posts: 281 Karma: 904 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Kent, UK Device: iRex iLiad, Psion 5MX, nokia n800	Sometimes it is possible to improve documents with pages that take a long time to display, for example by using pdftk. I was trying to read this short article (which I think you'll only be able to see if your library has a subscription) but a couple of pages took forever. I used pdftk to burst it into individual pages and then used pdftk again to put it back together. I now have no problem with it on the iliad.

08-23-2008, 05:00 AM	#5
yolle Member Posts: 21 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Slovenia Device: Irex DR 1000	so, just putting a file into individual pages and then putting them back together helps? do you know why this works?

08-23-2008, 07:36 AM	#6
daudi Addict Posts: 281 Karma: 904 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Kent, UK Device: iRex iLiad, Psion 5MX, nokia n800	yep it works (sometimes, at least once) but I have no idea why. Perhaps something to do with change the resolution of images, but I'm just guessing.

08-23-2008, 08:18 AM	#7
yolle Member Posts: 21 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Slovenia Device: Irex DR 1000	I've noticed that sometimes, when scrolling down several pages at once in a complex pdf file, scrolling stops and you can't go on until (for example) a diagramme is completely shown - because this diagramme is showing up in "layers" -first the background is shown then all the small details - it looks as though it is not a "raster" image but a "vector" image - so, i'm thinking if there's a way to transform these vector images into raster ones the loading of the pages would be a lot quicker... does this make any sense at all?

08-23-2008, 11:59 AM	#8
jrial Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Diepenbeek, Belgium Device: Sony PRS-505, iRex Iliad, nokia 770, gp2x, palm zire 71	Yes, that makes perfect sense. Every time you display one of those complex diagrams, your computer (or iLiad) needs to do the calculations necessary to transform them into a bitmap, which is what the display can work with. If it's already stored as a bitmap, this step can be avoided. Considering how long even a modern computer needs to perform those calculations (several seconds), just imagine what a necessarily underpowered machine such as an ebook reader goes through every time you wish to display such a diagram. No wonder it takes minutes...

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