Droid - contrast / color quality compared to Eris (possible to adjust?)

[pushdrops]

Originally Posted by tvandyck7

I really don't see how the Droid's screen could even be considered an issue. Camera... Yes, but the screen itself, I have no complaints whatsoever. Like I said before, it kills the iPod Gen 2 screen and the iPhone screen hands down. I have the same movies on my Droid that are on my brand new 32gig Gen 2 iPod and there's no comparison. They look 10X better on the Droid.

I no longer have an iPhone 3Gs (was provided by work) to compare to but my I picked up an Eris for free for my wife when getting the Droid & after comparing lots of the same JPG's and videos (including HQ YouTube vids) the Eris has much richer colors than the Droid.

The Droid is sharper (text for sure) but the colors are washed out compared (directly - side by side) to the Eris. Now if I wouldn't have viewed the same videos at the same time (testing YouTube via WiFI a couple of days of getting the phones) I wouldn't have prob noticed the diff (because I would hardly ever use the Eris and the Droid does look good - until side by side to the Eris) but once I've noticed the diff , it's pretty apparent.

If you can please view a HQ YouTube video or the BIC Lighter App on a Droid and an Eris - that's the only def comparison I can speak to that I know will show the difference (not sure about the iPhone or apple products, it's been since Oct that I've had the iPhone and I never used it for video viewing).

I even went to the store to view another Droid against my wife's Eris to be sure that my Droid didn't have a "washed out display" (played the same YouTube vid on the store Droid and on the Eris - side by side just as with my Droid).

I'm not bashing the Droid's display, just wish / hope there's a way to adjust the contrast settings to provide much darker blacks (that's where you can really tell , load up the BIC Lighter - notice on the Droid that the background is more of a Dark Gray than a true black, it's supposed to be black (the b/g) , this makes the colors show up much better on the Eris.

I'm stuck with the Droid it seems because while I have time to return the Droid / cancel VZW as a new customer - but because T-Mob doesn't have a Family Plan , I can't see going with them. So even if the N1 has a nice colorful display like the Eris I'm gonna miss out I guess.

I was told that in 1 yr I can upgrade my phone at the discounted price (with a $30 fee) , instead of waiting 2 years (as with my prev provider) , so by next year there should be an improved N1 (I'd rather a phone with the Sense UI anyway as I really like the Eris) - in the mean time I'm looking for someone to find out how to access the Droid's contrast settings (sure if it can be adjusted the darks will be truer, bringing out the colors - ridding the washed out look, I'm guessing it's a setting deal , that the display is capable of truer colors).

A review pointed out the diff in the Eris and Droid's display (color / contrast issue), I can't link it because I'm a new member here (I saw the review after i noticed the difference in my wife's Eris and the Droid). When i have enough posts and can link here I'll provide that link. In the review the guy says the Droid's "initial contrast" settings aren't as good as the Eris - so that makes it seem maybe as if there's a way to tweak the Droid's contrast setting which is why I joined this forum. I just contacted that reviewer to see if he knows of a way to edit the contrast setting on the Droid.

[banden]

Because of this thread and because I hadn't seen a buddy in a while I went to the Verizon store to take a good look at the Eris screen.

I think that you may be right in the sense that the contrast ratio on the Eris is noticably better. But at least on the one I looked at, the colours were not better.

(I do like the haptic feedback a whole lot better on the Eris though)

I compared the screens and they are definately not the same width (in portrait mode.) The droid is about a 1/4 inch wider and 3/4 inch longer. When I went to view a webpage and had it resized to fit the screen.. it was illegible on the Eris. For me that's a deal breaker.. having a larger screen with over 2x the resolution far outweighs the contrast ratio.

Perhaps some models are a bit out of hue... but my phone's colours are great and comparing this phone side by side I have no complaints, especially once I cranked the brightness up.

[m95c]

Originally Posted by pushdrops

I'm ok with scrolling - actually perf overall is just fine with the Droid - but what really bothers me (related to this post is the #1 issue) :

1) colors are washed out (compared to my wife's Eris, we bought both phones less than 30 days ago , hence I'm ready to maybe switch over to the Nexus One , Verizon is very expensive & I really like the Eris <if only it had a larger screen , was a bit faster , took better video - hey - that's the Nexus One! )

2) no music controls w/o unlocking (my wife's Eris has this) - I'm sure there's an mp3 player application out there or will be one that will have this feature

3) the display isn't much wider at all over the 3.2" diag Eris (other words the aspect ratio of the Droid is a bit too tall and skinny for me)

4) I rarely use the h/w key and when I do use it - without the same spelling - predicted word deal as the virtual keyboard, the h/w keyboard is really that much worse for me (maybe if I could type lengthy words that pop up with the predictive deal, i'd actually use the h/w more but i can get way more done quicker with the virt keyboard even in portrait mode thanks to the awesome <better than the Eris> spelling - prediction capabilities of the Droid's virt keyboard

The Droid's display is very nice , in fact if my wife didn't have an Eris & I didn't put them side by side , I prob wouldn't have noticed how washed out the Droid's display is (it's sharper than the Eris but images <photo's , video's> look so much better on the Eris).

The Droid's colors are washed out no matter what the brightness setting (I tried everything - auto disabled , from 0 - 100 and all in between to make it compare to the Eris, no go - washed out no matter what - looking at the same JPG and / or video)...

Here's the only other person (until this thread) that I have noticed to say the same (everyone is so caught up in the sharp <hi-rez> display perhaps they aren't concentrating on the color quality , plus like i said earlier if you don't' have something better to compare to it looks ok: (can't post links due to new acct, sorry ).

In the above linked review the author states that the Eris has better "stock" contrast than the Droid - so I wonder if there's a way to adjust the Droid's contrast ? (this is what lead me to create this thread after not finding anything through searching around for access to the Droid's contrast setting).

Here's a decent looking video (in HQ mode) that I've used to compare the color quality on the Eris to the Droid (if you have access to the Droid plus another smart phone, try to watch this on each one: sorry can't post link - search YouTube for "fender stratocaster custom shop" & the 1st video is of a 2008 model, watch that in HQ mode , if you have an Eris you should see the clear diff in image quality on the Eris over the Droid ).

The BIC lighter app shows a HUGE diff - the metal part of the lighter on the Eris looks like "real metal" , where on the Droid , it just looks like shades of gray . Some of that may be due to the fact that the BIC app is stretched to meet the Droid's funky aspect ratio (anyone else notice that the Droid compared to the Eris and the Nexus One <plus apple phones"> has a really "wide screen" - severely wide aspect ratio?) , so the BIC app is stretched on the Droid - which makes the image stretch , making the color banding not as smooth - it's in the expected mode with the Eris, therefore the colors are more bunched up and not spread out . But that's not the only reason that the lighters look much better on the Eris , you can see that the black background on the Droid is a dark gray versus a truer black on the Eris.

I like the Droid , but because I don't use the h/w keyboard - I find myself liking the Eris (using my wife's at home) over the Droid in most ways (except that it's slower , the smaller overall screen) ... , I just wish that Verizon had the Nexus at the moment, no question I'd go with it (the screen is wider than the Droid's even though they are both 3.7" diag, at least in videos it seems wider when they are next to each other - no review ever states the exact actual screen size of the Droid (or any phone for that matter) - they just state the diag size and resolution - but that doesn't tell all -:

For instance , the Eris has a 3.2" diag screen BUT its screen is ALMOST as wide as the Droid's even though the Droid is much taller than the Eris, in other words, if the Droid had the SAME aspect ratio as the Eris, then the Droid would have a much larger screen that it has - because at 3.7" with the same aspect ratio as the Eris , that means the Droid's screen would be much wider .

Hopefully we can get access to contrast settings on the Droid soon so I can get it looking like my wife's Eris (seeing videos look so much better on the Eris is really getting to me - enough to where I may send back the two phones to Verizon , we have one week left , and move to the Nexus One , why couldn't I have known the Nexus One was coming to Verizon BEFORE we bought our phones 3 weeks ago , if I keep the Droid, it will drive me crazy to know for the same price <likely> I could have the Nexus with a wider display, prob better display if it's like the Eris , lighter <i never use the Droid's h/w keyboard> ...

uuuuhg! if we return to Verizon now we won't be able to get the Nexus at a "new customer" price I bet when it comes out in April , if we keep the two phones of course we can't get a Nexus One in April at a discount, if we go back to our carrier b4 Verizon we'll just be in a bigger mess and still not able to come back to Verizon as a new customer..... , the Droid is great for some folks but i think i'd be better suited with the Nexus, especially at the SAME price...

I totally agree with you on the washed out colors on the Droid. When compared to the AMOLED on the Omnia II, the Omnia blows it away in terms of contrast and brightness, and they both have 3.7" displays. The colors are richer in the Samsung, and boy, the blacks are really black!! Beautiful when you have a solid black background with some colorful wallpaper.Even though the resolution on the Omnia II is a little smaller, its only noticeable when you look at the specs on paper. AMOLED is the way to go with new phones!
Cant wait to see what the display on the Nexus will look like with AMOLED.

[pushdrops]

Originally Posted by banden

I compared the screens and they are definately not the same width (in portrait mode.) The droid is about a 1/4 inch wider and 3/4 inch longer. When I went to view a webpage and had it resized to fit the screen.. it was illegible on the Eris. For me that's a deal breaker.. having a larger screen with over 2x the resolution far outweighs the contrast ratio.

Def right I'd rather my Droid over my wife's Eris , but the reason I wanted to possbily return the Droid (we are new VZW customers , 3 weeks) was to move to the Nexux One - for a phone with the speed of the Droid , larger screen (higher resolution) etc. - so sort of like the Eris by HTC which has some things I really like with the power / speed / display size of the Droid.

The Droid's screen def is wider than the Eris , but what I was getting at is that it isn't that much wider as it is taller (the Droid's aspect ratio makes the screen more of a "wide screen" display - like the Eris is more like a std 4:3 monitor , the Droid 16:9).

Think I'm stuck with the Droid which isn't a bad thing (no family plan for 2 phones for N1) , next year there should be a better HTC phone than the Nexus One anyway - especially if it has their Sense UI which makes the Eris pretty cool (better contacts , faves , music player controls etc.) .

If Motorola releases a contrast fix & text suggestions for the h/w keyboard I'll be much more saitisfied with the Droid over the next year.

[pushdrops]

Originally Posted by m95c

I totally agree with you on the washed out colors on the Droid. When compared to the AMOLED on the Omnia II, the Omnia blows it away in terms of contrast and brightness, and they both have 3.7" displays. Cant wait to see what the display on the Nexus will look like with AMOLED.

I wonder if we could access contrast settings on the Droid , if a better picture (not so washed out) could be had?

[JDown24]

Ok, so i was reading through this thread the other day and decided to take my Droid into verizon to see this side by side comparison. I don't know if its just me but i do not see the difference that everybody is talking about. The colors on my droid are just as bright and vibrant, if not more, as the eris. and my screen is only set at about half brightness. I do agree that maybe there was a bad batch of droids that may have gone out. It wouldn't be the first time something like that has happened. Also i do make my own wallpapers and tweak the colors, mainly due to image resizing. Maybe that has something to do with it.

The camera on the droid is not the best i have seen. If your using pics taken from that and using them as wallpapers, well maybe thats your issue.

Personally i see no problems, and the pros of the droid far out weigh any cons that it may have. Its still a new phone and programing can probably fix 99% of any issues you encounter. Give it time

And just remember, i dont think most people are walking around with a Droid and an Eris, unless you want to "talk on the phone and use the internet at the same time!" lol, and as far as the color, there will probably be "an app for that". This marketing feud cracks me up! Oh yeah, the beauty if it is that you dont have to look at 2 screens and compare them everyday. You just have to look at the one in front of you.

[breakmyfootoff]

Originally Posted by JDown24

And just remember, i dont think most people are walking around with a Droid and an Eris, unless you want to "talk on the phone and use the internet at the same time!"

I love it when an iPhone user brings up the Talk and browse at the same time argument because 1: It only works with a 3g signal, 2: Actually requires you to be able to make a call without dropping it. To get both of those to happen at the same time on ATT is like winning the lottery .

As far as the screen comparisons go, I have played with an Eris, but I havent used them side by side and really scrutinized any difference between the screens. Regardless, it's not something I'm even going to bother myself with. The Droid screen looks amazing and I have no complaints.

[JDown24]

Originally Posted by breakmyfootoff

The Droid screen looks amazing and I have no complaints.

I agree 100%

[Adrynalyne]

Originally Posted by m95c

I totally agree with you on the washed out colors on the Droid. When compared to the AMOLED on the Omnia II, the Omnia blows it away in terms of contrast and brightness, and they both have 3.7" displays. The colors are richer in the Samsung, and boy, the blacks are really black!! Beautiful when you have a solid black background with some colorful wallpaper.Even though the resolution on the Omnia II is a little smaller, its only noticeable when you look at the specs on paper. AMOLED is the way to go with new phones!
Cant wait to see what the display on the Nexus will look like with AMOLED.

Thats a silly comparison. Of course AMOLED is going to look better. We knew that before you even checked vs the Omnia II

Pity that the screen is wasted on only 65k colors

On the flip side, take it outside in direct sunlight. Prepare for the gnashing of teeth, and tears begin to flow as you cannot see the screen to dial out

[tvandyck7]

Originally Posted by pushdrops

I no longer have an iPhone 3Gs (was provided by work) to compare to but my I picked up an Eris for free for my wife when getting the Droid & after comparing lots of the same JPG's and videos (including HQ YouTube vids) the Eris has much richer colors than the Droid.

The Droid is sharper (text for sure) but the colors are washed out compared (directly - side by side) to the Eris. Now if I wouldn't have viewed the same videos at the same time (testing YouTube via WiFI a couple of days of getting the phones) I wouldn't have prob noticed the diff (because I would hardly ever use the Eris and the Droid does look good - until side by side to the Eris) but once I've noticed the diff , it's pretty apparent.

If you can please view a HQ YouTube video or the BIC Lighter App on a Droid and an Eris - that's the only def comparison I can speak to that I know will show the difference (not sure about the iPhone or apple products, it's been since Oct that I've had the iPhone and I never used it for video viewing).

I even went to the store to view another Droid against my wife's Eris to be sure that my Droid didn't have a "washed out display" (played the same YouTube vid on the store Droid and on the Eris - side by side just as with my Droid).

I'm not bashing the Droid's display, just wish / hope there's a way to adjust the contrast settings to provide much darker blacks (that's where you can really tell , load up the BIC Lighter - notice on the Droid that the background is more of a Dark Gray than a true black, it's supposed to be black (the b/g) , this makes the colors show up much better on the Eris.

I'm stuck with the Droid it seems because while I have time to return the Droid / cancel VZW as a new customer - but because T-Mob doesn't have a Family Plan , I can't see going with them. So even if the N1 has a nice colorful display like the Eris I'm gonna miss out I guess.

I was told that in 1 yr I can upgrade my phone at the discounted price (with a $30 fee) , instead of waiting 2 years (as with my prev provider) , so by next year there should be an improved N1 (I'd rather a phone with the Sense UI anyway as I really like the Eris) - in the mean time I'm looking for someone to find out how to access the Droid's contrast settings (sure if it can be adjusted the darks will be truer, bringing out the colors - ridding the washed out look, I'm guessing it's a setting deal , that the display is capable of truer colors).

A review pointed out the diff in the Eris and Droid's display (color / contrast issue), I can't link it because I'm a new member here (I saw the review after i noticed the difference in my wife's Eris and the Droid). When i have enough posts and can link here I'll provide that link. In the review the guy says the Droid's "initial contrast" settings aren't as good as the Eris - so that makes it seem maybe as if there's a way to tweak the Droid's contrast setting which is why I joined this forum. I just contacted that reviewer to see if he knows of a way to edit the contrast setting on the Droid.

So why don't you just trade it for an Eris under the 30 day policy? I know you said that you'd rather have the Droid except for the screen and you really want the Nexus 1 but T-Mo won't work for you. Just get the Eris and wait for the updates to come out (or roms to be made).
Really, if you think about it, if you were to return your devices and terminate with Verizon, 2 separate T-MO plans with Nexus 1's probably wouln't cost much more than a Verizon family plane with 2 smart phones at $160-70/mo. Maybe even less.