Troubleshooting Anyone else's Kindle 2 "ghost," or leave previous page on-screen?

n3wb · 08-03-2009, 06:14 PM

I just recently got my kindle and I've noticed that I can always see - very faintly - the previous page on the screen. After a little googling, I've found that some people call this effect "ghosting." Is this normal for a kindle 2?

poohbear_nc · 08-04-2009, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by n3wb

I just recently got my kindle and I've noticed that I can always see - very faintly - the previous page on the screen. After a little googling, I've found that some people call this effect "ghosting." Is this normal for a kindle 2?

It is a known "feature" of the K2 and the DX - press Alt g to refresh the screen - this will remove the ghosting.

Sonist · 08-05-2009, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

It is a known "feature" of the K2 and the DX - press Alt g to refresh the screen - this will remove the ghosting.

Yep.

You'd think someone at Amazon would notice it too, and have it fixed....

demoric · 08-05-2009, 08:42 PM

Yeah both Kindle 2's that I have show the ghosting issue. It doesn't bother my wife, and since I changed my screen saver image it doesn't bother me. However Alt+G will do a manual screen refresh and take care of it.

Also it's been my experience that after reading a few pages the ghosting on text is no longer apparent (that may be because the eink isn't static as long or it could be that I just get too engrossed in my book to notice anymore).

Tee · 03-04-2010, 03:59 PM

I wish I had read this post 3 mos. ago when I got my Kindle 2. I have complained to customer service at least 3 times about this and each time I was told that I was the only person complaining about this! They have sent me 2 replacements (that I recently found out were refurbished) and each time I had the same problem. So thank you for these posts, unfortunately now I am stuck with a refurbished device when mine would have been only 3 mos old.

rcuadro · 03-04-2010, 07:48 PM

It still pisses me off to tell you the truth. My sony didnt do it and they share the same screen... the freaking SAME screen!

Ajax · 03-04-2010, 09:10 PM

After I updated to the most recent update I noticed that the ghosting was not nearly as bad as previously. Especially when coming back from off of screensaver.

badgoodDeb · 03-05-2010, 06:54 PM

While reading a book, the topmost and bottommost line(s) aren't refreshed, since the book doesn't use those areas. I haven't seen ghosting in any other areas of the screen, but maybe I've been lucky!

HarryT · 03-07-2010, 08:17 AM

All eInk screens exhibit ghosting to a greater or lesser extent; it's a characteristic of the screen.

TallMomof2 · 03-07-2010, 12:06 PM

I have ghosting occasionally but a quick ALT-G fixes it. Since the last two updates I haven't had to manually refresh the screen.

Balerion · 06-27-2010, 12:26 PM

Just thought I would point this out to the subscribers of this thread... I don't intend to be patronising in any way at all... I just think that what I am about to point out is pretty ingenius....

Have you ever wondered why the screen flashes to black when a new page is loaded?

Think of it this way.... A ghost image of the previous page is unavoidable... it's just the way the technology is (given that we have electronic ink that we can view in full sunlight, I think its a good compromise... anyway, back on-track)...

What the Kindle does is this... (when I realised this, it nearly blew my mind at how ingenious it is...)

... the Kindle loads the next page (the one it is changing to) as a negative of itself... in other words... the background of the new page is active ink (black) while the text is inactive ink (nothing)... then it reverses the page so that the text is the active ink.

The reason for this is an absolutely awesome workaround for the ghost problem...

THE GHOST FOR THE PAGE YOU ARE LOOKING AT IS THE BACKGROUND OF THAT CURRENT PAGE !!!

(due to the loading of the negative version of that page beforehand... if the kindle went straight from one page to the next it would obviously be illegible)

Obviously is doesn't work that well with some of the Kindles and I'm guessing that it is something that has happened to your particular Kindle during production because the only time I have ever seen a ghost is on the screensavers images (because it doesn't load a negative version first)... which is why it clicked why the screen flashes to black when changes pages.

I give Amazon a standing ovation for having designed the Kindle in this way (even if by chance it wasn't their own work that designed the epaper and eink display and the ghost workaround)... to this day my Kindle just blows my mind away!

*** I'm in Australia by the way, and I got my Kindle 2i from ebay Xmas 09... Kobo has just hit Borders and Angus&Robertson and our other major book retailer Dymocks has the bebook, while our HiFi and Office suppliers are starting to catch on as well... Officeworks here has 4 ereaders now including a blue-backlight LCD non-eink reader.... the stores are selling out as people catch on!!! GO EREADERS!!! ***

DiapDealer · 06-27-2010, 02:18 PM

I noticed the ghosting when I first got the device. Then I simply forgot about it. I've never experienced the ghosting effect anywhere on the actual "page" of a book. Which is the only place it would annoy me.

nerys · 07-05-2010, 12:33 AM

as far as I know this is perfectly normal my sony DOES in fact also do this. I have the sony PRS 500 (2 of them) and a kindle DX. they both do this. I assume its part and parcel with eink and its NOT distracting at all. Just a curiosity quickly forgotten.

the altg is nice to know about. the longer or DARKER something is the more obvious the effect is.

bwaldron · 07-05-2010, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nerys

as far as I know this is perfectly normal

Not rare (based on reports here), but not normal for the Kindle (I've never seen it on my K2i, and only occasionally on my Kindle Classic). On my Cybook Gen3, there is a user setting for refresh of the e-ink screen, and if set to the faster option, I do consistently see the ghosting as a byproduct (so I don't choose that option!).

nerys · 07-05-2010, 12:32 PM

well most of the time its too light to notice and most of the time people will simply not notice it unless they are looking for it or happen to catch it and it bothers them.

IE the brain does amazing filtering on its own.

08-03-2009, 06:14 PM	#1
n3wb Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 516 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: Kindle 2	Anyone else's Kindle 2 "ghost," or leave previous page on-screen? I just recently got my kindle and I've noticed that I can always see - very faintly - the previous page on the screen. After a little googling, I've found that some people call this effect "ghosting." Is this normal for a kindle 2?

06-27-2010, 12:26 PM	#11
Balerion Connoisseur Posts: 69 Karma: 14 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: K2i K3w	Kindle's answer to the ghost effect Just thought I would point this out to the subscribers of this thread... I don't intend to be patronising in any way at all... I just think that what I am about to point out is pretty ingenius.... Have you ever wondered why the screen flashes to black when a new page is loaded? Think of it this way.... A ghost image of the previous page is unavoidable... it's just the way the technology is (given that we have electronic ink that we can view in full sunlight, I think its a good compromise... anyway, back on-track)... What the Kindle does is this... (when I realised this, it nearly blew my mind at how ingenious it is...) ... the Kindle loads the next page (the one it is changing to) as a negative of itself... in other words... the background of the new page is active ink (black) while the text is inactive ink (nothing)... then it reverses the page so that the text is the active ink. The reason for this is an absolutely awesome workaround for the ghost problem... THE GHOST FOR THE PAGE YOU ARE LOOKING AT IS THE BACKGROUND OF THAT CURRENT PAGE !!! (due to the loading of the negative version of that page beforehand... if the kindle went straight from one page to the next it would obviously be illegible) Obviously is doesn't work that well with some of the Kindles and I'm guessing that it is something that has happened to your particular Kindle during production because the only time I have ever seen a ghost is on the screensavers images (because it doesn't load a negative version first)... which is why it clicked why the screen flashes to black when changes pages. I give Amazon a standing ovation for having designed the Kindle in this way (even if by chance it wasn't their own work that designed the epaper and eink display and the ghost workaround)... to this day my Kindle just blows my mind away! * I'm in Australia by the way, and I got my Kindle 2i from ebay Xmas 09... Kobo has just hit Borders and Angus&Robertson and our other major book retailer Dymocks has the bebook, while our HiFi and Office suppliers are starting to catch on as well... Officeworks here has 4 ereaders now including a blue-backlight LCD non-eink reader.... the stores are selling out as people catch on!!! GO EREADERS!!! *

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08-05-2009, 08:42 PM	#4
demoric Kindle 2 User Posts: 98 Karma: 496 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: S.E. Kansas Device: Kindle 2	Yeah both Kindle 2's that I have show the ghosting issue. It doesn't bother my wife, and since I changed my screen saver image it doesn't bother me. However Alt+G will do a manual screen refresh and take care of it. Also it's been my experience that after reading a few pages the ghosting on text is no longer apparent (that may be because the eink isn't static as long or it could be that I just get too engrossed in my book to notice anymore).

03-04-2010, 03:59 PM	#5
Tee Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: kindle 2	I wish I had read this post 3 mos. ago when I got my Kindle 2. I have complained to customer service at least 3 times about this and each time I was told that I was the only person complaining about this! They have sent me 2 replacements (that I recently found out were refurbished) and each time I had the same problem. So thank you for these posts, unfortunately now I am stuck with a refurbished device when mine would have been only 3 mos old.

03-04-2010, 07:48 PM	#6
rcuadro Wizard Posts: 1,686 Karma: 874275 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Device: Kindle DX	It still pisses me off to tell you the truth. My sony didnt do it and they share the same screen... the freaking SAME screen!

03-04-2010, 09:10 PM	#7
Ajax Addict Posts: 386 Karma: 17083352 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Texas Device: K4 Touch, Kindle Fire, HP Touchpad	After I updated to the most recent update I noticed that the ghosting was not nearly as bad as previously. Especially when coming back from off of screensaver.

03-05-2010, 06:54 PM	#8
badgoodDeb Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,515 Karma: 64095689 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Harrisburg outskirts Device: Palms, K1-4s, iPads, iPhones, KV, KO1	While reading a book, the topmost and bottommost line(s) aren't refreshed, since the book doesn't use those areas. I haven't seen ghosting in any other areas of the screen, but maybe I've been lucky!

03-07-2010, 08:17 AM	#9
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	All eInk screens exhibit ghosting to a greater or lesser extent; it's a characteristic of the screen.

03-07-2010, 12:06 PM	#10
TallMomof2 Kindlephilia Posts: 2,017 Karma: 1139255 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Snowpacolypse 2010 Device: Too many to count	I have ghosting occasionally but a quick ALT-G fixes it. Since the last two updates I haven't had to manually refresh the screen.

06-27-2010, 02:18 PM	#12
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,040 Karma: 199464182 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	I noticed the ghosting when I first got the device. Then I simply forgot about it. I've never experienced the ghosting effect anywhere on the actual "page" of a book. Which is the only place it would annoy me.

07-05-2010, 12:33 AM	#13
nerys Addict Posts: 243 Karma: 48 Join Date: Dec 2006 Device: PRS 500 - REB 1200	as far as I know this is perfectly normal my sony DOES in fact also do this. I have the sony PRS 500 (2 of them) and a kindle DX. they both do this. I assume its part and parcel with eink and its NOT distracting at all. Just a curiosity quickly forgotten. the altg is nice to know about. the longer or DARKER something is the more obvious the effect is.

07-05-2010, 12:32 PM	#15
nerys Addict Posts: 243 Karma: 48 Join Date: Dec 2006 Device: PRS 500 - REB 1200	well most of the time its too light to notice and most of the time people will simply not notice it unless they are looking for it or happen to catch it and it bothers them. IE the brain does amazing filtering on its own.

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