PenTile Display - First Impressions

[Weaser999]

People fail to realize that 386 ppi on a pentile screen is not the same as 386 ppi on an lcd screen. The pentile to my eyes renders the effective ppi much lower than the stated number...

I couldn't see pixels on my EVO LTE (lcd) with 312 ppi but I can see them clearly on the new Note 3 with 386 ppi... Again, its not bad at all, actually very nice,but there is a slightly grainy look on the Note 3... The first thing I thought when I looked is how the hell can people say they can't see this?

I was wondering about that. With non pentile screens with black text on white backgrounds you see crisp clear edges.. on pentile screens you see more fuzzy edges. I do though still prefer the color pop and vibrancy and deep blacks of sAMOLED screens. video looks so much better.. but text is not as crisp.

 

[titaniumSS]

lol I have perfect vision and I can't see it. Closest I can get to magnifying glasses in my eyes. To each their own though, there is always that placebo effect.

 

[thefireguy286]

First off, everyone should read this if they haven't. Galaxy Note 3 Display Technology Shoot-Out ("the best performing OLED display to date across the board, including picture quality and color accuracy.") They also mention its 26% more power efficient than the N2.

Second, the phone isn't a true PenTile display, it's diamond subpixel layout. While not RGB, it is a big improvement over the screen door Pentile's of old.

I have hated every Pentile display up to the GS4 as I've found them easily noticeable and bad. Having had the GS4 since launch I now only really notice it if you are super slowly dragging around white text on black with your nose practically on the screen. Now I've spent some time with the Note 3 over the last day or so and found it to be largely the same experience, it's not noticeable in short unless you're doing something odd. In fact at a normal distance it's noticeably brighter and seems more color accurate to me sitting next to my GS4. Not worried at all. YMMV.

 

[yellowcanary73]

That was a great article.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[linzgeneral]

First off, everyone should read this if they haven't. Galaxy Note 3 Display Technology Shoot-Out ("the best performing OLED display to date across the board, including picture quality and color accuracy.") They also mention its 26% more power efficient than the N2.

Second, the phone isn't a true PenTile display, it's diamond subpixel layout. While not RGB, it is a big improvement over the screen door Pentile's of old.

I have hated every Pentile display up to the GS4 as I've found them easily noticeable and bad. Having had the GS4 since launch I now only really notice it if you are super slowly dragging around white text on black with your nose practically on the screen. Now I've spent some time with the Note 3 over the last day or so and found it to be largely the same experience, it's not noticeable in short unless you're doing something odd. In fact at a normal distance it's noticeably brighter and seems more color accurate to me sitting next to my GS4. Not worried at all. YMMV.

What that guy said...lol.. Pretty much my experience. I am just tired of others proclaiming it is impossible to see without a magnifying glass because THEY can't see it. Like the GS4, it really isn't that bad - say like the GS3 but IT IS there.

 

[linzgeneral]

lol I have perfect vision and I can't see it. Closest I can get to magnifying glasses in my eyes. To each their own though, there is always that placebo effect.

I can't see pixels on the Note 2 even tough much lower dpi. The text could be sharper but it is not pixelated to me on the Note 2. Matter of fact, I cant see pixels on any lcd screen with at least 250 ppi. Not placebo, just obvious...lol.... Lets face it, pentile is a different technology with a known flaw despite its many merits and benefits.....

 

[MrMLK]

What that guy said...lol.. Pretty much my experience. I am just tired of others proclaiming it is impossible to see without a magnifying glass because THEY can't see it. Like the GS4, it really isn't that bad - say like the GS3 but IT IS there.

That's ok, but you should know that when you say the GN3 (388 ppi) is like the GS3 (306 ppi) it makes it very hard for those of us who can't see it to take you seriously.

 

[Sooks]

This is going to sound crazy, but I am almost completely blind in my left eye since I was about 8 or 9. My right eye has made up for it, so I can tell unless I look out of just my left eye. But, my point is my right eye has gotten so strong that I have been able to see these pixels up to the droid DNA, that was the first phone I could look at and say wow because I couldn't distinguish any pixels! Anyways long story short, played with the GN3 and also can't see any which is pretty damn solid sense I have somewhat of "super vision" in my right eye.

 

[john248]

I must be 1 of the few who really doesn't care. Have I noticed improved displays over the past several years? Yes. Am I going to nit pick over seeing some tiny pixels that's barely noticeable unless you have the phone up your nose? Nope.

 

[Sooks]

I must be 1 of the few who really doesn't care. Have I noticed improved displays over the past several years? Yes. Am I going to nit pick over seeing some tiny pixels that's barely noticeable unless you have the phone up your nose? Nope.

Typically I would agree, however its like seeing a flaw (Even though it isn't one) for the first time.. that fresh first scratch on your phone that once you see, you never un-see and that gets annoying.

 

[john248]

Typically I would agree, however its like seeing a flaw (Even though it isn't one) for the first time.. that fresh first scratch on your phone that once you see, you never un-see and that gets annoying.

I understand where you're coming from, but I'd rather my life not be ruled by some type of OCD. The counter point I can make is that someone can get another device with a gorgeous screen but without 5.7" display and without the S-pen. That would be annoying.

 

[Sooks]

I understand where you're coming from, but I'd rather my life not be ruled by some type of OCD. The counter point I can make is that someone can get another device with a gorgeous screen but without 5.7" display and without the S-pen. That would be annoying.

I see your point, for me it is pure OCD lol

 

[Haalcyon]

Typically I would agree, however its like seeing a flaw (Even though it isn't one) for the first time.. that fresh first scratch on your phone that once you see, you never un-see and that gets annoying.

So, being able to discern pixels (albeit with effort) is equivalent to seeing a blemish on your phone? That means there's a lot of flawed devices out there. Should make choosing devices even easier.

fromy my Sony XTZ via Tapatalk IV

 

[linzgeneral]

That's ok, but you should know that when you say the GN3 (388 ppi) is like the GS3 (306 ppi) it makes it very hard for those of us who can't see it to take you seriously.

You need to reread what I wrote. I was essentially saying (I thought clearly enough) that although I can see the pixels on the NOTE 3, they aren't nearly as bad/obvious as something like the GS3 that is really obvious... I compared the NOTE 3 screen to the GS4 screen. The pixels are there but very subtle. Heck I saw someone on XDA with close-up HD pics of their NOTE 3 to show off the case and I could clearly see the pixelation on the screen - pic was very life-like actually. The size of the pic was comparable to the actual size of the NOTE 3.

Hey trust me, I am just stating facts as I understand that some of us have better eyesight than others and different priorities as they relate to what features are most prominent on a phone. I was always a sucker for the sharpest screen - a resolution king if you will so that's the first thing I look at. I immediately noticed the horror of pentile on the original Galaxys before I even knew what pentile was- technical explanation.

I will be the first in line to get my NOTE 3 but if I was told that I could have a model with an LCD screen if I waited an extra month, I would...despite being obsessed with this phone for the last 6 months. I currently use the Note 2- day one purchase and ordered the international original Note 1 as soon as it was available in Europe months before it got to ATT. Heck go to the ATT store and hold up a LG Optimus Pro and compare to the NOTE 3 screen or even GS4 and tell me you don't see a difference besides the color saturation...

 

[Sooks]

So, being able to discern pixels (albeit with effort) is equivalent to seeing a blemish on your phone? That means there's a lot of flawed devices out there. Should make choosing devices even easier.

fromy my Sony XTZ via Tapatalk IV

Nope, never said it was a flaw

 

[linzgeneral]

I totally agree. Without the S-pen, everything else is simply a large phone as opposed the useful "device' that is the Note..

 

[Haalcyon]

I totally agree. Without the S-pen, everything else is simply a large phone as opposed the useful "device' that is the Note..

A large fast phone with a great display and 3GB of RAM. It would still be the winner, to me, even w/out the S-Pen.

 

[linzgeneral]

From a review....


The negatives of Pentile still remain. There are still 33 percent fewer subpixels when compared to a full-matrix display. The Note 3 display is definitely not as nice as something like the HTC One, which has a better subpixel layout and a higher pixel density (468 PPI for the One verses 386 PPI for the Note 3), but it's not completely outclassed either. There is still some checkerboarding on sharp edges from the missing subpixels. In the right image you can see how the checkerboard pattern shows up in the search app. The pixels are so small now, though, that this is very hard to notice.

 

[john248]

From a review....


The negatives of Pentile still remain. There are still 33 percent fewer subpixels when compared to a full-matrix display. The Note 3 display is definitely not as nice as something like the HTC One, which has a better subpixel layout and a higher pixel density (468 PPI for the One verses 386 PPI for the Note 3), but it's not completely outclassed either. There is still some checkerboarding on sharp edges from the missing subpixels. In the right image you can see how the checkerboard pattern shows up in the search app. The pixels are so small now, though, that this is very hard to notice.

tl;dr version: at this point, who cares. no point in harping about it.

 

[zach_alt]

From a review....


The negatives of Pentile still remain. There are still 33 percent fewer subpixels when compared to a full-matrix display. The Note 3 display is definitely not as nice as something like the HTC One, which has a better subpixel layout and a higher pixel density (468 PPI for the One verses 386 PPI for the Note 3), but it's not completely outclassed either. There is still some checkerboarding on sharp edges from the missing subpixels. In the right image you can see how the checkerboard pattern shows up in the search app. The pixels are so small now, though, that this is very hard to notice.

When bringing up the PPI you have to account for the difference in screen sizes as well.