Silver Clip display not as bright as Black Clip?

SanDisk MP3 players Sansa® Clip | Sansa® Clip+
1

My Silver 4GB Clip arrived today – I flashed it to the latest (.30) firmware, and noticed that the display is not *nearly* as bright as the display on my 2GB Black model (same firmware).

Both Clips are V1 type.

The display on the Silver model seems to be no brighter than the display on my Expresses (nowhere near as bright as the Black model Clip).

Is this this normal? (Is there some kind of filter over the display on the Silver model Clip and the Expresses?  I *think* I remember reading somewhere that there were some Sansa players with an anti-reflective (or reflective?) filter/coating over the display, but don’t recall the specifics.)

2

You are correct,  the silver clip has a coating and it reduces the light output.

3

Dang!

WHY???

What were they thinking?

Good grief.

Argh!

4

Its due to the mirror finish. 

5

@sansafix wrote:
Its due to the mirror finish. 

Yeah, but WHY did they do that?  It’s nuts!  The front plate looks the SAME as the front plate on my *Black* Clip – the only difference is that the *Display* on my Black model is USABLE.

Talk about knocking the wind out of my sails…

6

Take it back and get another black one.

7

I guess a year from now when the warranty expires I can swap front plates with one of my ten dollar 1/GB refurbs that I bought for parts.  Heck of a PITA having to squint at this pimped-out dim-screen for a year, though.

8

@sansafix wrote:
Take it back and get another black one.

It was a mail-order clearance sale from Best Buy.  I don’t think they’re gonna go for that – especially since I had to cut open the bubble-pak just to get at the thing.  Nor do I want to pay double freight and a restocking fee.

 Lesson’s learned…

9

@pickmorel wrote:

My Silver 4GB Clip arrived today – I flashed it to the latest (.30) firmware, and noticed that the display is not *nearly* as bright as the display on my 2GB Black model (same firmware).

 

Both Clips are V1 type.

 

The display on the Silver model seems to be no brighter than the display on my Expresses (nowhere near as bright as the Black model Clip).

 

Is this this normal? (Is there some kind of filter over the display on the Silver model Clip and the Expresses?  I *think* I remember reading somewhere that there were some Sansa players with an anti-reflective (or reflective?) filter/coating over the display, but don’t recall the specifics.)

Hmmm…I have to say I’m pretty puzzled by this.  You’re the second person in days to complain about the display brightness.

I own a 4GB silver Clip, and have no other Clips to compare it to (actually that’s not true…I have a BF black Clip coming any day now).  But in the meantime, I haven’t noticed any problems at all with the silver unit.  Admittedly, it’s very hard to see outside, but fortunately I’m an indoor runner.  Once I’m inside, the display is crystal clear…

Maybe these are bad units…?  I’ll check back in after I’ve used the black Clip.

-Matt

10

I saw the other poster’s thread – I only started this thread after reading that one and concluding that hers really was defective, rather that the most likely “design-defect” issue this one has.

It’s not nearly as dim as hers – but, it *is* really, really DIM, compared to a “plain” Clip.

It’s very easy to quantify so that you will *know* exactly HOW dim it is (without making the mistake of *buying* one, like I did) – take your "normal’ Clip, go into Settings, then Display, and then execute the “Brightness” entry.

Now, slide the Brightness level ALL the way down – as far to the left as it will possibly go – “zero bar” displaying.

Now, click the right-arrow button EXACTLY *twice*.

OK, that’s it.  Work with your Clip for a while and see how you’d enjoy NOT being able to have it *any* brighter.

Then, reflect (pun intended) on one even sadder fact – the black Clip, at “level 2” brightness, is BRIGHTER than the pimp’d out Silver Clip!

The Silver model’s BRIGHTEST level would be in between one and two clicks from the *bottom* on the black Clip.  (At one click, the black Clip is just a tad dimmer than the Silver Clip at its highest setting; at two clicks, it’s just a tad brighter; the Silver Clip is at level “1.5” on the Black Clip.)

Pretty pathetic, ain’t it.  But wait, there’s more!  If you *do* have both models, hold them side-by-side as you perform these tests, and you’ll notice that the Silver model’s “pimp-screen” not only DIMS the display – it also *blurs* it!  The “plain” display on the black model is DISTINCTLY *more* distinct!

This is just plain sad.  Whoever was resposible for imposing this nonsense on this *incredible* little player ought to be made to work late *every* night, replacing the plastic screens of EVERY one of these that was sold – and, he should pay the call-tag and return freight costs out-of-pocket.

It ultimate irony is that when you place both units side by side the “reflective” plastic filter is nearly indistinguishable from the “plain” sheet on the *normal* model!  It’s only if you hold it at a certain angle that you can see *slightly* brighter reflection of the room lights  – something that monitor designers *usually* work overtime to AVOID, and MINIMIZE!

Wow.

11

Given your description I’m all but certain you’re looking at a defective unit.  Here are a couple quick shots of my 4GB silver unit…brightness is turned all the way down:

Tried to use “normal” room lighting, flash off, camera in macro mode for the close-up.  Obviously the camera adjusted the aperture to optimize the picture, but I think the display is comparable to how it looks in realtime.

-Matt

12

@pickmorel wrote:

I saw the other poster’s thread – I only started this thread after reading that one and concluding that hers really was defective, rather that the most likely “design-defect” issue this one has.

 

It’s not nearly as dim as hers – but, it *is* really, really DIM, compared to a “plain” Clip.

 

It’s very easy to quantify so that you will *know* exactly HOW dim it is (without making the mistake of *buying* one, like I did) – take your "normal’ Clip, go into Settings, then Display, and then execute the “Brightness” entry.

 

Now, slide the Brightness level ALL the way down – as far to the left as it will possibly go – “zero bar” displaying.

 

Now, click the right-arrow button EXACTLY *twice*.

 

OK, that’s it.  Work with your Clip for a while and see how you’d enjoy NOT being able to have it *any* brighter.

 

Then, reflect (pun intended) on one even sadder fact – the black Clip, at “level 2” brightness, is BRIGHTER than the pimp’d out Silver Clip!

 

The Silver model’s BRIGHTEST level would be in between one and two clicks from the *bottom* on the black Clip.  (At one click, the black Clip is just a tad dimmer than the Silver Clip at its highest setting; at two clicks, it’s just a tad brighter; the Silver Clip is at level “1.5” on the Black Clip.)

 

Pretty pathetic, ain’t it.  But wait, there’s more!  If you *do* have both models, hold them side-by-side as you perform these tests, and you’ll notice that the Silver model’s “pimp-screen” not only DIMS the display – it also *blurs* it!  The “plain” display on the black model is DISTINCTLY *more* distinct!

 

This is just plain sad.  Whoever was resposible for imposing this nonsense on this *incredible* little player ought to be made to work late *every* night, replacing the plastic screens of EVERY one of these that was sold – and, he should pay the call-tag and return freight costs out-of-pocket.

 

It ultimate irony is that when you place both units side by side the “reflective” plastic filter is nearly indistinguishable from the “plain” sheet on the *normal* model!  It’s only if you hold it at a certain angle that you can see *slightly* brighter reflection of the room lights  – something that monitor designers *usually* work overtime to AVOID, and MINIMIZE!

 

Wow.

I have my brightness down all the way on my red Clip :stuck_out_tongue:

13

@sansamatt wrote:

Given your description I’m all but certain you’re looking at a defective unit.  Here are a couple quick shots of my 4GB silver unit…brightness is turned all the way down:

 

 

 

Tried to use “normal” room lighting, flash off, camera in macro mode for the close-up.  Obviously the camera adjusted the aperture to optimize the picture, but I think the display is comparable to how it looks in realtime.

 

-Matt

I don’t think yours looks too different from mine (based on relative brightness of “the ring” compared to the display).  Unless you compare it side-by-side to a black – or other color (I have since examined the red, blue, and pink 2GB Clips we have on hand, which will be used as gifts) – you cannot perform an objective test.

Trust me, it’s no dimmer than the Expresses – and, just for giggles, I popped open an Express, so that I could view its display WITHOUT “the filter” – and lo and behold, it was as bright as it ought to be.  (The Express seems to have the same “pimp-screen” that has cursed the Silver Clip.)

I guess I could dig out my Beseler printing densitometer and come up with some “real” output data, but it’d be pointless, it would accomplish nothing.  I’m just going to have to live with this thing for another eleven months and twenty five days.

14

OK, now I’m really puzzled.  I was hoping that the photos would leave you thinking “well, that looks reasonably bright”…but you’re calling it dim???  If yours looks similar than what needs to be fixed are my expectations.  I can’t wait to get my new black 4GB and compare, but for the moment I have to say that I thought my silver unit was reasonably bright (you should see it on 50% brightness!!).  :smiley:

To each their own, I guess…

-Matt

15

That’s right, I *am* calling it dim!

In fairness, had I *not* seem the OTHER models – the ones with the CLEAR cover – I’d have been satisfied; after all, it *is* visible, and usable (except, I suspect, in bright sunlight, at which time I will probably be shading it with my hand, taking off my self-darkening eyeglasses, and squinting every time I need to see it).

 It really is a relative thing – you can’t weigh in definitively UNTIL you’ve actually eyeballed a Clip that does NOT have that “Pimp My Playah!” screen over the display.

Then, you too will be gritting your teeth, cranking the display all the way to the top – while your OTHER Clip(s) remain at partial brightness – unable to stop thinking about the reduced battery life per-charge (due to having to drive the OLED at full-house output), and, the reduced *life* of the display (due to the same factor).

Suggestion: Keep your eyes out for one of those ten-dollar 1GB Clips that show up every so often (I bought the most that Woot would sell me when they listed them).  This will give you a treasure trove of spare parts (displays, batteries, switches, etc.) and, a CLEAR front cover that you can move over to the Silver unit once the warranty is up.

I *do* suggest waiting until the warranty is up – the only site I’ve seen that shows how to open a Clip makes it pretty clear (NO pun intended) that it’s really difficult to lift the hood on one of these things WITHOUT doing “cosmetic damage” to the case (I presume they use a jig at the factory to snap it open).  When I opened the Express, I was pretty careful, yet I was unable to prevent tiny chips of plastic to go flying (nothing major – just enough to void the warranty, which was already expired for the Expresses).

I wasn’t being a brute about it either – I had the famous “black sticks” on hand (having already replaced the LCD and battery in my wife’s ipod), and, I spent a long chunk of my life doing wholesale camera repair (the kind of work that makes watch repair seem simple – literally; Nikon tried hiring watch repairmen some time back, but it didn’t work out – the work was several orders of magnitude too stressful for them).The point is, I was as careful as I could be, yet there was still some visible damage to the “latch” areas of the case.  Makes me wonder if the problem was engineered-in to provide telltale evidence of tampering.

So, I’ll wait out the year,  and then replace the “pimp-o-matic” filter.

BTW, let’s not forget that it *also* cuts down on the resolution of the display.  Yes, yes, I know… “my Silver Clip’s display looks really crisp and sharp.”  Hold that thought – until you have a BLACK Clip to compare. :slight_smile:

16

Postscript to my previous post:

It’s sort of like photography – you can look at a “really good” print – say, 16x20 or larger – made with a 35mm camera – and think, “Wow! That’s incredible quality! NOTHING could be better than *that*!” – until you see a print shot with a large format camera, at which point your eyes bug out at the resolution and “smoothness” MANY times greater than the image made with the smaller camera (and I’m not even going *near* the “analog/digital debate” – most of the proponents of which have never *seen* a *truly* good “silver” print to use as a benchmark).

17

FWIW, I actually bought–not one–but TWO 4GB Clips last week!  The first was silver, and then I noticed there were black units at the same price.  I was planning on taking back the silver 4GB, or giving it as a gift, and keeping the black.  Now I worry that if I open the box with the black unit…and turn it on…it’ll be like opening Pandora’s box!  :cry:

Either way, thanks for filling in some of the blanks.  The suggestion to buy cheap 1GB units is a very good one.  I’d assumed mine was going straight in the trash in 2 years, but maybe there’s another strategy!

-Matt

18

@sansamatt wrote:

FWIW, I actually bought–not one–but TWO 4GB Clips last week!  The first was silver, and then I noticed there were black units at the same price.  I was planning on taking back the silver 4GB, or giving it as a gift, and keeping the black.  Now I worry that if I open the box with the black unit…and turn it on…it’ll be like opening Pandora’s box!  :cry:

 

Either way, thanks for filling in some of the blanks.  The suggestion to buy cheap 1GB units is a very good one.  I’d assumed mine was going straight in the trash in 2 years, but maybe there’s another strategy!

 

-Matt

I wouldn’t assume anything until you see them side-by-side. My brightness on my red one is all the way down, and backlight at 15 seconds. I want a silver 4gb at some point…if it meant turning up the brightness 25%, I could live with that, maybe turn the backlight to 10 seconds, although I rarely run below 50% power in normal usage, so I might not worry at all. Life’s too short to get so worked up over a cool little device like this…relax people…it’ll be ok :wink:

19

@marvin_martian wrote:

I wouldn’t assume anything until you see them side-by-side. My brightness on my red one is all the way down, and backlight at 15 seconds. I want a silver 4gb at some point…if it meant turning up the brightness 25%, I could live with that

I’m sure there’ll be some minor unit-to-unit variation – there’s *always*minor variations from one “identical” unit to the next with *all* products (key word being “minor” in this day and age of TQM).  With the two *different* models that I compared – the black, and the silver – the silver, at MAXIMUM brightness, was as bright as the black, at 1.5 clicks from MINIMUM brightness. (In other words, it was slightly brighter than the black Clip a 1 click, and slightly dimmer than the black Clip at 2 clicks.)

What I’m saying is that your thought of “turning up the brightness 25%” is *wildly* optimistic. You’ll see what I mean when you hold the two units side-by-side and do the comparison for yourself.

This is not a subjective “feeling” – it’s actual measurement – a full-bright silver is the same as an ALMOST all the way LOW-bright black.  That’s pretty nontrivial.

20

@pickmorel wrote:

I’m sure there’ll be some minor unit-to-unit variation – there’s *always*minor variations from one “identical” unit to the next with *all* products (key word being “minor” in this day and age of TQM).  With the two *different* models that I compared – the black, and the silver – the silver, at MAXIMUM brightness, was as bright as the black, at 1.5 clicks from MINIMUM brightness. (In other words, it was slightly brighter than the black Clip a 1 click, and slightly dimmer than the black Clip at 2 clicks.)

 

What I’m saying is that your thought of “turning up the brightness 25%” is *wildly* optimistic. You’ll see what I mean when you hold the two units side-by-side and do the comparison for yourself.

 

This is not a subjective “feeling” – it’s actual measurement – a full-bright silver is the same as an ALMOST all the way LOW-bright black.  That’s pretty nontrivial.

 

That definitely sounds like a more pronounced difference  than I had thought. I had heard about it being hard to read outdoors, but maybe I’ll have to reconsider…I wasn’t planning to upgrade to the 4gb’til tax time anyways, so hopefully Ican see them side-by-side before then…perhaps black would be better after all.