Modos Paper E-ink monitor announced — low latency, multiple modes and open source

Modos Tech startup announced on Crowd Supply its Modos Paper Monitor E-ink display with an open source code and development kit for users who want to use their own E-ink display with a Modos controller.

This is a project by Alexander Soto that describes the journey to its creation, which began in February 2021. His goal was to overcome the eye fatigue that occurs during the daily prolonged use of conventional displays. Talking to writers, programmers, students, doctors, engineers, other professionals, and people with health problems, he found that many of them shared his problem.

Working with Dave Crossland and Wingying Zhang, Soto successfully created the perfect monitor for himself. Since his software and hardware are open source and available on GitHub, enthusiasts can create a similar display for themselves.

Main features of Modos Paper Monitor

• Panel type — monochrome E-ink (color panel also available)
• Refresh rate — 60 Hz
• Screen size — 13.3″
• Resolution — 1600 x 1200
• Display inputs — DVI via Micro HDMI, USB Type-C DisplayPort Alt-Mode

For many, low latency may be the most important aspect. Modos promises a «constant latency of <120 ms, compared to competitors that have up to 270 ms», making it relatively fast.

Image modes

• Black and white binary — 60Hz full refresh rate, sharpest image and best response time, but no grayscale
• Bayer Dithering Mode — allows you to add more mid-gray tones, but makes the text a bit jagged
• Blue Noise Reduction — further improves grayscale but makes text even sharper, best for video playback
• The 4 level grayscale mode — is seen as the perfect compromise between the extremes of black and white and 16 level grayscale
• 16-level grayscale mode — is actually «hybrid mode», which automatically switches between 16-level grayscale mode and binary mode depending on the image

Modos Paper Monitor release date and price are not yet known. E-Ink monitors can be quite expensive: Paperlike 253U from Dasung with a diagonal of 25.3 costs $1699.

Sources: Modos, Tom`s Hardware