What does reflective LCD (RLCD) feel like compared to e-ink?

[JawadLeLogeur]

I'm wondering what those of you who have seen or used RLCD first hand thought of it compared to the subjective feeling you get with e-ink.

I am particularly interested in the TCL Nxtpaper devices.

When I use e-ink, I get the same feeling as I do when I read a book. In comparison, using an LCD tablet seems to create the same sort of mental strain that comes with using an IPS monitor.

Does RLCD feel closer to regular LCD or to e-ink? Is it apples to oranges?

Thanks

[Quoth]

Reflective LCD is really old. Maybe 20 years. It's an advantage in direct sunlight. In ordinary light it's poorer than OLED or regular LCD.

The only advantage over eInk is colour, but some forms of it are monochrome in direct sunlight.

It's inferior to eink for monochrome and takes much more power even if image is static. The eInk panel takes no power when static.

RLCD's only advantage is over LCD or OLED is in direct sunlight. Totally inferior to eInk for reading monochrome.

[JawadLeLogeur]

My bad I completely forgot to mention it, but yes I was thinking of color. I definitely agree that there is no reason to get RLCD for monochrome over e-ink, unless maybe for niche uses. Some redditor mentioned they used the Q5 as a monitor for instance.

I guess to be more precise, my question would be if the unpleasantness mixed with bluelight you get when reading color documents on LCD is also there with RLCD, or if reading color documents on RLCD is close enough to book-like or at least not jarring.

The My Deep Guide guy did mention that the SVD 32" monitor was relaxing like a moving painting. Looks like the tech has gotten a long way from the ill-devised Pixel Qi.

Based on that information, RLCD sounds like a way better option than the current e-ink technology, when it comes to color comics/documents and also allows for regular tablet functionalities like video. But if the RLCD is in fact jarring, then it becomes useless compared to color e-ink.

[Quoth]

RLCD is for phones and tablets in bright sunshine. Probably a good idea on a micro 4/3rds camera screen. Regular LCD or OLED is better otherwise. It's extremely power hungry compared to eink.

It's a terrible idea for laptops, monitors or TV screens indoors.

[Marinolino]

Cholesteric liquid crystal reflective display

c/p

" AUO introduced a new color e-paper display at the Touch Taiwan 2022 event. The 7.9-inch reflective display, according to TechNews uses cholesteric liquid crystal technology which the company said is best suited for use in the education segment or as outdoor public displays and other similar applications.

As AUO described in their PR release and mentioned in a Reddit post, the 7.9-inch reflective display based on ChLC technology ‘can interrupt the driving voltage after finishing static display and uses ambient light to display the screen without any backlight.’ This leads to vastly reduced power consumption while the company is claiming the reflectivity and color saturation are also better given that there are no color filters and polarizers used ... "

https://goodereader.com/blog/e-paper...wan-2022-event

- - - - -

Sun Vision Display (SVD) 32" RLCD Indoor Computer Monitor: Unboxing And First impressions (My Deep Guide)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ehqj0W3koP0&t=8s

[eReader fan]

I have a severe hypersensitivity to screens and some led ligths. Not even all eReader are suitable for me. I spent the last 13 years being half dizzy because the impossibility to live without screens.

The colour eInk improved a little my life, but this can really change my life

[apastuszak]

I've recently been looking at RLCD and I'm curious about something.

RLCD still seems to be backlit. It just has a reflective panel behind it instead of a light panel. So, it's just backlit with an ambient light source. Wouldn't that cause the same type of eye strain and regular LCD would?

My understanding is that eInk is front lit. So, the light is illuminating the surface of the display, like a lamp does on a piece of paper. And that's why eInk causes less eye strain.

Am I correct here? Please correct me, if I am mistaken.

[Quoth]

RLCD has been around for ages. It's only useable in reflective mode in very bright light, such as direct sunlight, otherwise it needs the backlight.

The eink is front lit, but uses LEDs if the ambient light isn't enough. Colour eink needs the LEDs.

There are LED & OLED as good or better than eink in situations where the eink needs the front light (almost always for colour models).

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Quoth

The eink is front lit, but uses LEDs if the ambient light isn't enough. Colour eink needs the LEDs.

There are LED & OLED as good or better than eink in situations where the eink needs the front light (almost always for colour models).

But sadly, those LED and OLED screens suck power with enthusiasm compared to an eInk screen.

You may also want to read E Ink faces growing competition in the “paper-like” display space for information on other e-paper display technologies.

[apastuszak]

I understand that. My question is, is RLCD as easy on the eyes as eInk is?

Is RLCD still back-lit, and is eInk not backlit but front-lit?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by apastuszak

I understand that. My question is, is RLCD as easy on the eyes as eInk is?

Is RLCD still back-lit, and is eInk not backlit but front-lit?

Reflective LCD would need a front light. The reflective layer behind the display is opaque (much like eInk) so a backlight is not an option.

[apastuszak]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Reflective LCD would need a front light. The reflective layer behind the display is opaque (much like eInk) so a backlight is not an option.

So, does eInk also have a reflective layer on the back that reflects light back, or are you simply illuminating the surface only, like you would a piece of paper and an overhead lamp.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by apastuszak

So, does eInk also have a reflective layer on the back that reflects light back, or are you simply illuminating the surface only, like you would a piece of paper and an overhead lamp.

The B&W capsules themselves are opaque since both pigmented particles are in the same capsule and the bottom electrode is also opaque. The Gallery colour cups add cyan, magenta, yellow particles and lose the black particles but are equally opaque. Oddly, you can get a eInk film for tinting windows where there are only black particles which move to the side to allow light through.

So you are seeing light reflecting off the particles pretty much like light reflecting off paper.

[apastuszak]

I think i am not making myself clear, and I think perhaps the terminology maybe what's confusing. What makes and LCD panel harsher on the eyes is the backlighting, meaning the light comes from behind the panel back into your eyes.

With an RLCD panel, yes, you are using front lighting, but I believe that lighting still shines through the panel, hits the reflective layer on the back of the panel and reflects into your eyes.

So, I feel like using an RLCD will not eliminate the harshness of using an LCD panel.

Does that make sense?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by apastuszak

I think i am not making myself clear, and I think perhaps the terminology maybe what's confusing. What makes and LCD panel harsher on the eyes is the backlighting, meaning the light comes from behind the panel back into your eyes.

With an RLCD panel, yes, you are using front lighting, but I believe that lighting still shines through the panel, hits the reflective layer on the back of the panel and reflects into your eyes.

So, I feel like using an RLCD will not eliminate the harshness of using an LCD panel.

Does that make sense?

To me that does not really make sense. In the case of both the eInk and RLCD panels, the light comes from the front and reflects off the display to your eye. The reflective layer simply increases the amount of usable light much like the tapetum lucidum layer in a cat's eye.