AT Thursday 14 September 2017 16:00, rickman wrote:

> pozz wrote on 9/14/2017 3:29 AM:
>> I'm using a display board from Adafruit [1]. It was ok, until I knew the
>> device will be used outdoor, under the sun.
>>
>> Of course, the visibility of that display outdoor isn't good at all.
>>
>> Any suggestions how to improve its visibility? Is there a similar display
>> that is good outdoor? Here similar means I should make minor changes (hw
>> and sw) to adapt the current design to the new display.
> 
> I looked into this once and I found two solutions.  One was a few displays
> that are just plain very bright.  You can find them by searching for
> sunlight readable lcd displays.  I don't know how similar they will be to
> your display [1], because you didn't include any info on it.  They tend to
> be industrial grade and a bit pricey depending on your budget.

These sunlight readable displays usually draw a lot of power for the 
backlight and can get quite warm. If used outside under the sun, this will 
pose the risk of overheating. You need the high brightness when the sun is 
shining on the display, so you have heating from the sun and from the 
backlight.
An Alternative are transflective displays. At high ambient brightness the 
use he ambient (sun) light and reflect it inside the display.
Usually they are also a bit pricey because this technology doubles every 
pixel, one for the transmissive part one for the reflective part.

-- 
Reinhardt

pozz wrote on 9/14/2017 3:29 AM:
> I'm using a display board from Adafruit [1]. It was ok, until I knew the
> device will be used outdoor, under the sun.
>
> Of course, the visibility of that display outdoor isn't good at all.
>
> Any suggestions how to improve its visibility? Is there a *similar* display
> that is good outdoor? Here similar means I should make minor changes (hw and
> sw) to adapt the current design to the new display.

I looked into this once and I found two solutions.  One was a few displays 
that are just plain *very* bright.  You can find them by searching for 
sunlight readable lcd displays.  I don't know how similar they will be to 
your display [1], because you didn't include any info on it.  They tend to 
be industrial grade and a bit pricey depending on your budget.

The other solution is e-ink displays which can't be read without light 
because they are passive.  They don't emit light, only reflect it.  They are 
normally sold into markets where they don't update very often because they 
can be very low power when not updating.  They are also sold into markets 
where they update them frequently, because they are *very* clear with high 
contrast.  I don't know if they offer color as yet.  I thought I saw color 
units used in an upscale grocery store.  The thing looked like a poster, but 
it was the cash register display!  I haven't found any color units to buy 
commercially though.  No video, but they can be updated fast enough for 
information displays.  They can even be updated in small rectangles of the 
screen making them faster.

-- 

Rick C

Viewed the eclipse at Wintercrest Farms,
on the centerline of totality since 1998

Il 14/09/2017 09:29, pozz ha scritto:
> I'm using a display board from Adafruit [1]. It was ok, until I knew the 
> device will be used outdoor, under the sun.
> 
> Of course, the visibility of that display outdoor isn't good at all.
> 
> Any suggestions how to improve its visibility? Is there a *similar* 
> display that is good outdoor? Here similar means I should make minor 
> changes (hw and sw) to adapt the current design to the new display.
> 

[1] https://www.adafruit.com/product/2298

I'm using a display board from Adafruit [1]. It was ok, until I knew the 
device will be used outdoor, under the sun.

Of course, the visibility of that display outdoor isn't good at all.

Any suggestions how to improve its visibility? Is there a *similar* 
display that is good outdoor? Here similar means I should make minor 
changes (hw and sw) to adapt the current design to the new display.