Pentile Screen Opinion/Topic

[rkeller62]

Nothing here in this thread has been insulting; there's no name calling, there's heated debate.

Are we no longer allowed to debate opinions?

If anyone took what I said as insulting, than I apologize. I am simply stating my known facts (to me) vs other peoples opinions.

I have given proof that discoloration occurs when zoomed in on pentile displays. I've given proof that shading irregularities happen, none of which happen on RGB Stripe.

If anyone can give me facts/proof that a Pentile display shows a visually superior picture to an RGB Stripe, I will be a believer.

Until then, I will leave this thread. I again apologize if I caused any angst or insulted anyone.

No worries here. With regards to your facts: neither I, nor anyone else I know of, ever claimed that pentile is superior to RGB stripe. Like any display technology since the invention of the CRT it has advantages and disadvantages. I personally find the advantages (superior outdoor readability and significant battery savings) outweigh the stated disadvantages.

This, of course, is based on what is important to me for a smartphone display.

The pic that you posted is somewhat meaningless to me for a couple of reasons:
1. I don't zoom in on pictures like that on my phone.
2. I have no reference point with which to judge the output of either display.

That being said, I now plan on taking a closer look at picture reproduction on a pentile display as a result of this discussion.

 

[anon(392870)]

Legitimate question on the pics: why is there a white spot on the bottom left corner of the right device and not the same spot on the bottom left corner of the left device?

Also, this should go without saying but simply taking a picture of a picture on a screen does not do any screen justice. It might help you be able to determine subpixel layout when you snap a macro picture but it's simply not a fair way to judge picture quality.

 

[lseddelm]

I looked at the D3 qHD yesterday and at first was dissapointed with the display. I noticed on most of the icons the backgrounds within the icon had like a "chain-linked" fence look to them. When I moved past the icons on the screen and played video and looked at the overall background pictures and webpages. The chain-linked fence appearance wasn't really there and the quality was definitely sufficient IMO for a mobile phone.

I agree that phones should never be used for real photos or photo shopping. It's convenient and wonderful to have a camera on your phone for facebook uploads and capturing moments when you forget a real camera. So in that case the display of the D3 and hopefully the Bionic will be very sufficient.

To my first point is seems the icons were almost designed with the chain-link look to it so not something I would choose for my icon but other than that it would be more than adequate. After all it is only an icon.

 

[p08757]

I looked at the D3 qHD yesterday and at first was dissapointed with the display. I noticed on most of the icons the backgrounds within the icon had like a "chain-linked" fence look to them. When I moved past the icons on the screen and played video and looked at the overall background pictures and webpages. The chain-linked fence appearance wasn't really there and the quality was definitely sufficient IMO for a mobile phone.

I agree that phones should never be used for real photos or photo shopping. It's convenient and wonderful to have a camera on your phone for facebook uploads and capturing moments when you forget a real camera. So in that case the display of the D3 and hopefully the Bionic will be very sufficient.

To my first point is seems the icons were almost designed with the chain-link look to it so not something I would choose for my icon but other than that it would be more than adequate. After all it is only an icon.

I was just going to point this out. When you construct icons it is pixel by pixel. Did anyone consider that we are seeing a much sharper view of the icons with this technology? This may be how they should really look or were designed?

Ive never examined the dx2 or droid3 yet, but I expext it wont bother me that much if I get the Bionic.

 

[redraider133]

So i was in a vzw store today because I was having issues with my tb and I was playing around with a d3 and to be honest I couldnt see what everyone is complaining about with the screen. Maybe it is because the tb doesnt have the best screen either but I couldnt really notice a difference and the d3 screen actually looked really nice. Maybe I just wasnt looking hard enough?

 

[tdizzel]

So i was in a vzw store today because I was having issues with my tb and I was playing around with a d3 and to be honest I couldnt see what everyone is complaining about with the screen. Maybe it is because the tb doesnt have the best screen either but I couldnt really notice a difference and the d3 screen actually looked really nice. Maybe I just wasnt looking hard enough?

When the pentile discussion first started, most people were just bashing away at it. there were a few saying, go check it out yourself, but most were just bashing it. Now it seems like there are more people saying to go look at it yourself, and that is resulting in more posts like this one. The screen will never be for everyone, but its good to see people taking the time to look at it and decide for themselves rather than just go by what others are saying.

 

[redraider133]

When the pentile discussion first started, most people were just bashing away at it. there were a few saying, go check it out yourself, but most were just bashing it. Now it seems like there are more people saying to go look at it yourself, and that is resulting in more posts like this one. The screen will never be for everyone, but its good to see people taking the time to look at it and decide for themselves rather than just go by what others are saying.

I agree it all started with kellex at droid-life stating how awful it was so I wanted to go check it out for myself(didn't plan on getting the droid 3) but just wanted to get an idea for if i decide to go the route of the bionic and I mean I guess if you are really anal about it then you would see it but when I was playing with it in the short amount of time it wasn't noticeable. You are right people need to go in and check it out and determine if it works for them. Just bashing it because someone else says so is like the blur sucks because its blur lol.

 

[anon(49997)]

I just wish some tech head would come up with the power savings or consumption numbers of all the display types.

 

[johncihak]

The screen looks fine at first. Its not until you compare it to a non-pentile phone or use it for a period of time that you start to notice how bad it is. I've had the DX2 for 2 weeks of heavy use, and its the worst screen sinve my BB Curve. If you want proof, try looking at solid green or red small font words. They are often illegible (depending on background).

Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk

 

[BlueBiker]

The screen looks fine at first. Its not until you compare it to a non-pentile phone or use it for a period of time that you start to notice how bad it is. I've had the DX2 for 2 weeks of heavy use, and its the worst screen sinve my BB Curve. If you want proof, try looking at solid green or red small font words. They are often illegible (depending on background).

This argument amounts to:

1. You'll hate the display
2. If you don't hate it right away, you will later on

which I don't agree with. Pentile isn't for me, but I'm sure there will be millions of users who are perfectly happy with their Pentile displays for the life of their phones.

 

[mapexonly]

I have an og Droid the screen is amazing for me because its a screen that looks decent if not almost as good as the Samsung stuff. I've used a galaxy s phone and wasn't impressed. Its a screen ok colors are a bit better but for all of the stuff I use my phone for which is everything (my phone now takes the place of my computer and more) you can't beat Motorola. The galaxy phone was unbelievably slow by 2 weeks so I didn't like it my Droid is just now getting that slow my buddy went motor after his captivate or whatever it was the lack of flash on the camera its horrible GPS and more makes me never want a Samsung phone ever much less back in the day pre smartphone all Samsung phones were garbage but so was moto it all comes down to what you use it for and what you like me personally after I purchased my og Droid and got eclair it was over I had the phone I needed but like a Guy I played the field still seeing whatelse was out there I got the galaxy s and didn't enjoy it played with my buddy's on att didn't enjoy that played with some sprint phones kinda liked the evolution just for camera effects and 4g NOW I can get a moto with 4g and get a sweet camera app and its a win all around for me just maybe not for the graphics Guy or movie watching Guy but whatever its ok guys like what you want pentil samold whatever let people be lol cheezit guys

The screen looks fine at first. Its not until you compare it to a non-pentile phone or use it for a period of time that you start to notice how bad it is. I've had the DX2 for 2 weeks of heavy use, and its the worst screen sinve my BB Curve. If you want proof, try looking at solid green or red small font words. They are often illegible (depending on background).

Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk

 

[whiteshadow001]

I've seen pixelation on an iPhone... it happens people. Technology isnt perfect.

 

[DolfanCole]

I've seen pixelation on an iPhone... it happens people. Technology isnt perfect.

Pixelation is a different issue. It's more of the "dithering" effect that is created with pentile that's the issue IMO. And the technology used makes it extremely hard to replicate color depth, particularly where there are green colors involved. While technology isn't perfect, there are those that are more perfect than others.

I actually went and checked out the DX2 and D3 and the pentile dithering was immediately apparent to me. I found it quite annoying and very distracting from an otherwise nice device, but I don't know if it's something that I could get used to over time or not.

 

[rkeller62]

Pixelation is a different issue. It's more of the "dithering" effect that is created with pentile that's the issue IMO. And the technology used makes it extremely hard to replicate color depth, particularly where there are green colors involved. While technology isn't perfect, there are those that are more perfect than others.

I actually went and checked out the DX2 and D3 and the pentile dithering was immediately apparent to me. I found it quite annoying and very distracting from an otherwise nice device, but I don't know if it's something that I could get used to over time or not.

Not everyone's eyes are created equal, however. What is immediately apparent to you may be barely noticeable to someone else.

As for the color depth argument, I have found no actual evidence that the Pentile screens are any less capable at displaying a high color depth than any other technology. They are, as are all of these screens, capable of 24bit color. Displaying a gradient sweep is a different story though and, with certain colors, the Pentile technology can cause a banding effect across the sweep.

 

[DolfanCole]

Not everyone's eyes are created equal, however. What is immediately apparent to you may be barely noticeable to someone else.

Absolutely, and even if they do see it, it may not bother them. That's why I'm on board with the "try it yourself" crowd -- everyone should check it out for themselves and make a decision.

As for the color depth argument, I have found no actual evidence that the Pentile screens are any less capable at displaying a high color depth than any other technology. They are, as are all of these screens, capable of 24bit color. Displaying a gradient sweep is a different story though and, with certain colors, the Pentile technology can cause a banding effect across the sweep.

It's not necessarily the capability to show the depth, it's how it shows the depth, which is what you point out in the banding. There are images, color combinations, etc., that it would be hard to tell any difference, but there are also those that make it look really bad.

Also, as far as the dithering and the use of the green pixels in the pentile display, you'd think that Motorola would shy away from using green in the interface. It's really the icons, menu items, etc., that have green or are predominantly green (battery icon, dialer icon, etc.) that are the biggest offenders. So why not change the colors for those items to be more appealing?

 

[rkeller62]

Also, as far as the dithering and the use of the green pixels in the pentile display, you'd think that Motorola would shy away from using green in the interface. It's really the icons, menu items, etc., that have green or are predominantly green (battery icon, dialer icon, etc.) that are the biggest offenders. So why not change the colors for those items to be more appealing?

Absolutely.. I can't fathom why, with the blue theme that they have baked up for their new Blur, they didn't just make the battery and other icons blue. It would fit with their new color scheme and blue is the hardest color to see the pattern on that you are referring to.

 

[bulvine420]

The Droid X2 has the worst pentile screen as long as the bionic looks better than x2 im good

 

[Castor Troy]

I actually went and checked out the DX2 and D3 and the pentile dithering was immediately apparent to me. I found it quite annoying and very distracting from an otherwise nice device, but I don't know if it's something that I could get used to over time or not.

if you are not happy with it now becareful about purchasing it. If you are anything like me it will make you more crazy the longer you use it. I could only handle it for 20-30 minutes and to the point it was a dealbreaker. Personally I could never handle looking at that screen day in and day out.

Not everything is negative about it though. I do like how bright it is. It does have that going for it.



Sent from my Droid

 

[hvalergir]

Just got back from a verizon store, and may as well add my two cents:

Samsung Charge: The display model had TERRIBLE burn in, i could barely read websites the screen was so ruined. However, your device is not likely to see a fraction of the display-on time that the display device sees, but it is still something to consider. Also, likely due to the burn in, the colors looked terrible and rusty, on top of being over-saturated.

HTC Incredible 2: beautiful screen. Not sure why manufacturers are leaning away from sLCDs, probably too power hungry. Not too different than my Droid1

Droid3/X2: i could see the pentile from ~2-3 feet away. Black text on white background, however, displayed more clear and readable then even the Inc2's screen, just perfect. Blue text on white background looked like crap (google/hyperlinks) The D3 was better than the X2, noticeably. The color on the D3/X2 was really good, however. Much better than the charge. Viewing pictures was a little off, especially pictures of people with exposed skin, but i did not get a chance to view video to determine if a moving image reduced the observable effect of this.

Droid Bionic: Having seen the D3 and X2, I am honestly weary of the Bionic. I do think, however that I could get used to the pentile, and even appreciate its advantages (battery, color, Brightness). That having been said:

http://www.droid-life.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/droid-bionic-in-hand-dl1.jpg

Looking at this image, i'm not so sure that the DB suffers as badly. I realize this is a blurry-cam shot and that the blurry-ness will heavily reduce the pixelation, but look to the bottom-left hand icon, the green call icon. Having seen the X2/D3, if the bionic was a s bad as those, you would be able to tell by looking at that icon. That particular part of the image is less blurry, and the green pixelation on the D3/X2 so bad that it would still be able to be seen even in an image this blurry. The same goes for the blue background in general. I will not discount the fact that this image may be blurry enough, coupled with viewing it on a RGB stripe screen, that the pentile pixelation could be sufficiently reduced to not be able to see it. But on many other pictures of the X2, even blurry ones, the grid cross-hatching is still quite visible, or at least visible enough to get the impression of it. Not so with this pic.

It gives me hope. While i'm sure the bionic will have pentile, perhaps it is an improved version.

 

[DolfanCole]

Just got back from a verizon store, and may as well add my two cents:

Samsung Charge: The display model had TERRIBLE burn in, i could barely read websites the screen was so ruined. However, your device is not likely to see a fraction of the display-on time that the display device sees, but it is still something to consider. Also, likely due to the burn in, the colors looked terrible and rusty, on top of being over-saturated.

HTC Incredible 2: beautiful screen. Not sure why manufacturers are leaning away from sLCDs, probably too power hungry. Not too different than my Droid1

Droid3/X2: i could see the pentile from ~2-3 feet away. Black text on white background, however, displayed more clear and readable then even the Inc2's screen, just perfect. Blue text on white background looked like crap (google/hyperlinks) The D3 was better than the X2, noticeably. The color on the D3/X2 was really good, however. Much better than the charge. Viewing pictures was a little off, especially pictures of people with exposed skin, but i did not get a chance to view video to determine if a moving image reduced the observable effect of this.

Droid Bionic: Having seen the D3 and X2, I am honestly weary of the Bionic. I do think, however that I could get used to the pentile, and even appreciate its advantages (battery, color, Brightness). That having been said:

http://www.droid-life.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/droid-bionic-in-hand-dl1.jpg

Looking at this image, i'm not so sure that the DB suffers as badly. I realize this is a blurry-cam shot and that the blurry-ness will heavily reduce the pixelation, but look to the bottom-left hand icon, the green call icon. Having seen the X2/D3, if the bionic was a s bad as those, you would be able to tell by looking at that icon. That particular part of the image is less blurry, and the green pixelation on the D3/X2 so bad that it would still be able to be seen even in an image this blurry. The same goes for the blue background in general. I will not discount the fact that this image may be blurry enough, coupled with viewing it on a RGB stripe screen, that the pentile pixelation could be sufficiently reduced to not be able to see it. But on many other pictures of the X2, even blurry ones, the grid cross-hatching is still quite visible, or at least visible enough to get the impression of it. Not so with this pic.

It gives me hope. While i'm sure the bionic will have pentile, perhaps it is an improved version.

My assumption on why the D3 seems better than the X2 is the smaller display. They have the same resolution, but the smaller display forces the pixels to be smaller, and thus finer. I can only assume that the Bionic will be the same as the X2 due to the same specs, and the added time necessary to make a different type of display. Although I'm hopeful that it'll be better.