How to dim the GN screen even more? - Samsung Galaxy Nexus

I find the dimmest screen toggle still too bright. I find it embarrassing to use in dark public spaces.
Is there a way to dim the screen even more?

Download the screen filter app from the play store. Literally puts a filter effect on the screen to make it appear darker making it much easier to use in the dark.

Yes its possible to take the screen much lower, but we have to edit the framework. Nobody had done this mod yet for some reason.

CM9 has the ability to change the screen lowest settings built in

B97 said:
Download the screen filter app from the play store. Literally puts a filter effect on the screen to make it appear darker making it much easier to use in the dark.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1. I use Screen Filter also, it's uber handy for reading at night when the light seems too bright. If you've got hardkeys like I had on my Desire, you can even turn them off.

i wrote a tutorial on how you can mod the frameworks apk. it's very easy and you can change the brightness levels to anything you want. here's the thread
screen filter only puts a transparent layer on the screen and messes with the colors. modding the frameworks will lower default brightness to any level you want. you can raise it too if you like.

Thanks for all the ideas. I went with the easiest one, Screen Filter.

AOKP also has an option to reduce screen brightness...

dynamicpda said:
Thanks for all the ideas. I went with the easiest one, Screen Filter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good man!
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA

neotekz said:
i wrote a tutorial on how you can mod the frameworks apk. it's very easy and you can change the brightness levels to anything you want. here's the thread
screen filter only puts a transparent layer on the screen and messes with the colors. modding the frameworks will lower default brightness to any level you want. you can raise it too if you like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great work, I've been wondering why nobody did this mod yet for the nexus. I made that same mod on my atrix, using the sgs2 thread as well. But I've been too lazy to do it for nexus.
The above mod is the best option. Screen filter doesn't achieve the same results. The above mod reduces power draw as well when on the lower brightness setting of 5 or so. Screen filter just hides the higher brightness but has same power draw.

RogerPodacter said:
Great work, I've been wondering why nobody did this mod yet for the nexus. I made that same mod on my atrix, using the sgs2 thread as well. But I've been too lazy to do it for nexus.
The above mod is the best option. Screen filter doesn't achieve the same results. The above mod reduces power draw as well when on the lower brightness setting of 5 or so. Screen filter just hides the higher brightness but has same power draw.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be correct for back-lit screens. For the Galaxy Nexus screen, though, Screen Filter does help reducing power draw as a darker screen content = lower brightness.
I used to use SF for quite a while until I got fed up of it causing stutters to most animations. After thorough examination I concluded that the Nexus's GPU is the culprit. For some reason it just doesn't like multiple graphics being updated at once. Modding the overlay XML allows it to run at full speed.
Can anyone confirm the same reduced framerate issue?. It's also the reason why some ROMs include a setting to remove the navigation buttons glow. I tested with CM9 on the SGS2 and experienced none of the stutters in cases where the GN would. Another example: sliding between sections (comments, ralated, etc.) in YouTube is laggy iff the video is playing.

fnf said:
That would be correct for back-lit screens. For the Galaxy Nexus screen, though, Screen Filter does help reducing power draw as a darker screen content = lower brightness.
I used to use SF for quite a while until I got fed up of it causing stutters to most animations. After thorough examination I concluded that the Nexus's GPU is the culprit. For some reason it just doesn't like multiple graphics being updated at once. Modding the overlay XML allows it to run at full speed.
Can anyone confirm the same reduced framerate issue?. It's also the reason why some ROMs include a setting to remove the navigation buttons glow. I tested with CM9 on the SGS2 and experienced none of the stutters in cases where the GN would. Another example: sliding between sections (comments, ralated, etc.) in YouTube is laggy iff the video is playing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, GPU just isn't good enough. I hate the lag with the button glow animations on!
I use an app called root dim, it's really useful. Let's you use a brightness level of 1, which is really quite dim. Free, too.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

Remoteconcern said:
Agreed, GPU just isn't good enough. I hate the lag with the button glow animations on!
I use an app called root dim, it's really useful. Let's you use a brightness level of 1, which is really quite dim. Free, too.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the tip, on the Galaxy Nexus it's possible to set the brightness to 0 by writing to /sys/class/backlight/*/brightness but the brightness is checked and reset to the minimum (default 10) every time the screen is turned on. I guess Root Dim works to the same effect so it runs as a system service. Still, it'd be an awesome addition for people who haven't bothered to mod.

fnf said:
That would be correct for back-lit screens. For the Galaxy Nexus screen, though, Screen Filter does help reducing power draw as a darker screen content = lower brightness.
I used to use SF for quite a while until I got fed up of it causing stutters to most animations. After thorough examination I concluded that the Nexus's GPU is the culprit. For some reason it just doesn't like multiple graphics being updated at once. Modding the overlay XML allows it to run at full speed.
Can anyone confirm the same reduced framerate issue?. It's also the reason why some ROMs include a setting to remove the navigation buttons glow. I tested with CM9 on the SGS2 and experienced none of the stutters in cases where the GN would. Another example: sliding between sections (comments, ralated, etc.) in YouTube is laggy iff the video is playing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Screen filter may reduce power. But amoled screens save power with lower brightness. There is no difference between lcd vs led on this issue. And modifying the framework to bring min brightness down to 5 rather than 15 saves much more power than screen filter. Its no contest. This isn't different from lcd in this case.
---------- Post added at 03:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:14 PM ----------
fnf said:
Thanks for the tip, on the Galaxy Nexus it's possible to set the brightness to 0 by writing to /sys/class/backlight/*/brightness but the brightness is checked and reset to the minimum (default 10) every time the screen is turned on. I guess Root Dim works to the same effect so it runs as a system service. Still, it'd be an awesome addition for people who haven't bothered to mod.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes we can write to that sysfs file, but it gets reset. The mod to the frameworks incorporates that backlight file so its now able to go down to 1, 2, 5, or whatever you want. It makes it now stock, so you are no longer capped at 10 (actually I think 15 is the cap I see). But that mod is just removing this cap and making it lower to whatever you want. Stock.
So no extra app is needed. No additional tweak. It now makes the stock brightness able to go down to 1 by itself whenever it needs.

Related

ScreenDim

New on the Market:
https://market.android.com/details?...mkub21lZ2FjZW50YXVyaS5TY3JlZW5EaW0uVHJpYWwiXQ..
"Is your minimum screen brightness still too bright? Dim your screen below what your device normally permits for comfortable use in darker environments, reading in bed, amateur astronomy, etc.! No root required."
I find this app indispensable for comfortable reading at night.
Thank you so much for this, I was just thinking last night that even the dimmest setting on the A100 was still to bright
Sent from my EVO Shift 4G
Brilliant find, normally use the Kindle when reading in bed but the web browser is diabolical.
Toyface
Sent from my A100
Try screen filter from market instead....its free
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
jimmyUT said:
Try screen filter from market instead....its free
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm the ScreenDim developer. Screen Filter is free and clever, but it doesn't do the same thing as ScreenDim, at least not on LCD devices. Screen Filter basically just alpha-blends a dark box over the screen, without lowering the backlight level below what the OS normally allows. The result is that Screen Filter lowers the contrast and the color resolution, and in a dark room, the blacks will be gray because of the backlight shining through them.
ScreenDim allows you to both lower the LCD backlight level below what the OS normally allows on many devices and, if that's not good enough, to control the contrast just as Screen Filter does. Furthermore, because ScreenDim allows you to lower the backlight level, it will save on batteries in a way in which Screen Filter will not, again on LCD devices. (On OLED devices, there is much less of a difference.)
Moreover, my testing on my Archos 43 indicates that Screen Filter lowers the 2D rendering performance by about 30%. ScreenDim at 100% contrast shouldn't affect the 2D rendering, and even with the contrast adjust, I couldn't measure a noticeable 2D performance loss.
For real free alternatives to ScreenDim on backlit devices, there are AdjBrightness and my RootDim, both in the Market. Both require root, however. And ScreenDim's dual brightness-contrast adjustment feature is found in neither.
+1 for root dim, I use it and it works well on this tab and my atrix
be careful not to set it to 1 because its turns off the screen but the tablet is still on. i got stuck trying to find the slider to slide it back so i can see the screen again. nice find though.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using xda premium
jahciple said:
be careful not to set it to 1 because its turns off the screen but the tablet is still on. i got stuck trying to find the slider to slide it back so i can see the screen again. nice find though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tapping random places on the screen should quickly restore the brightness.
Also, if the tablet has volume buttons, you can adjust brightness with them.
Once you figure out what the lowest you can go is, go to Options | Set minimum brightness. Then you won't have this worry any more.
screen filter
Love screen filter it works great and its free, super simple, plus pop notification bar too. Awesome app. Screen filter is
https://market.android.com/details?...ch_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5oYXhvciJd
Screeeeen filter link above!
arpruss said:
Tapping random places on the screen should quickly restore the brightness.
Also, if the tablet has volume buttons, you can adjust brightness with them.
Once you figure out what the lowest you can go is, go to Options | Set minimum brightness. Then you won't have this worry any more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ahem. I'm not sure exactly where those buttons were when I needed them to try to get the brightness restored, but I couldn't find them on two occasions. I had to hard power off.
Great idea but it won't work for me unfortunately. I want something that will turn my tablet into pure darkness except for a small, dimly illuminated, clock on the screen. No matter what I find, an app always has too much backlight on and it bothers me when I'm trying to sleep.
If only I could get this app to interact with my alarm clock app somehow!
Status bar
Is there any way to remove the status bar icon of the ScreenDim?
I thought the app was designed to reduce distraction while using a device, but the icon being in the most prominent spot (upper left corner) draws attention constantly.

[Q] How to lower minimum screen brightness?

I know this is possible in CM9's display settings, but I'm currently running AOKP. Is there any other way to lower the minimum screen brightness?
I've given Tasker root permissions, approved it as a device administrator, and approved it as an accessibility service. Still, when I use a task to lower the brightness to very low levels, the brightness will only hold for a fraction of a second before it ramps up to the factory minimum.
So is there some system component I can modify to allow lower brightness, or is this only available as a ROM control like in CM9?
byrong said:
So is there some system component I can modify to allow lower brightness, or is this only available as a ROM control like in CM9?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FWIW the lowest possible brightness setting can't be altered via the CM9 settings, only the auto brightness levels, both sensor input levels ("bins") and the brightness level associated with that input/bin. The minimum value of 19 for the lowest slot can't be lowered further. There are other display parameters (related to brightness) that can also be altered in the CM9 settings, but it won't accept a value less than 19.
Edit: I see from a link in your sig that you're familiar with the custom levels
Yes we can do it in the frameworks to go lower than 19. I did it on other phones. I'm not sure why it hasnt been done yet for nexus, and ive been too lazy myself.
But we can even take it down to zero or 4-5 etc so its much dimmer at night. Its on my to do list.
Also i posted some kernel code in a similar thread where this question was already asked. But mod the framework is much quicker.
RogerPodacter said:
Yes we can do it in the frameworks to go lower than 19. I did it on other phones. I'm not sure why it hasnt been done yet for nexus, and ive been too lazy myself.
But we can even take it down to zero or 4-5 etc so its much dimmer at night. Its on my to do list.
Also i posted some kernel code in a similar thread where this question was already asked. But mod the framework is much quicker.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I should have clarified more clearly that my post above was regarding doing it via the CM settings.
I'll mod mine...at some point...but like you, too lazy for something that won't blow me away.
You want this app, works great https://play.google.com/store/apps/...yZy5wcm9qZWN0dm9vZG9vLmRpc3BsYXlmaWx0ZXIiXQ..
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus GSM using Tapatalk expect possible typos
I'm an idiot; I just found it in AOKP. It's in the custom backlight settings.
My experience does not mirror you guys. When I decrease the "screen dim level" in the custom brightness settings, it applies globally. I just did it in AOKP the same way I used to in CM9 and now with Tasker I've taken the screen all the way down to 1
Is there any way to decrease the minimum brightness on stock?
aidanbree said:
Is there any way to decrease the minimum brightness on stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes with above linked app. I confirm it works on stock
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
I've used a similar app called Screen Filter. My only problem with these types of apps is that I find the black/gray filter they use greatly decreases contrast at low brightness levels (more so than a "true" brightness level at an equivalent setting). Still, if you are running a setup in which they are your only option, they certainly beat having nothing.
The problem with using a screen filter is that it limits the maximum brightness when in sunlight.
I only want to affect the minimum as it is too bright.
Has anyone been able to do this on a stock rom? I too think that the minimum brightness is too high, but I don't want to use the above linked program because it also affects the maximum brightness too. I would like to be able to set custom light levels as per cm9/cm10 and pretty much any custom ROM right now, albeit with my stock ROM. Any flashable zips out there?
Cheers,
Dan

ScreenDim 1.10 beta -- need testers

I apologize if this violates forum rules.
ScreenDim is my (paid) app for dimming the screen beyond standard OS settings. On OLED devices, it basically does what ScreenFilter does, but I think in a rather more friendly and useful manner, including pre-sets. (On LCD devices, it's much better than ScreenFilter, as it actually dims the backlight, thereby improving contrast and battery life.)
I just finished making a beta of ScreenDim 1.10. The main new feature is Easy Mode which combines the brightness and contrast sliders into one. Currently, Easy Mode only works on Galaxy S2 (including Epic 4G Touch and other versions) and Kindle Fire. You can toggle Easy Mode with Menu | Settings | Easy Mode.
I'd be grateful for any beta test results. To the first ten people who send me useful reports, I'll give give free copies of the paid ScreenDim 1.10 once it's released, as well as free copies of my LunarMap HD and Force2SD apps, if you want them. (Alas, I don't have a gift-code setup arranged, so the free copies won't auto-upgrade.)
I would be more than happy to be your first beta tester!
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Buggy at times, when at 0% it doesn't work with volume keys --- only min: 0.0% and Max 0.1% when put down to 0.0% with volume keys...
Same applies when pressing min (highest will go to 0.1% when holding volume up and repeatedly hitting volume up...)
When screen is too low a dialogue should pop up saying if you do not confirm this brightness within 15 seconds, it will go back to your last setting...
There should be an option to disable notification icon (not invisible, just not at all) totally when using and/or not using the application.
A more detailed About/Help menu would be more useful...
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
If I've helped, I am interested in free paid versions of your apps... I believe that if you send a check in the mail after the person buys the app as reimbursement would be more easier than consistently updating via email. (Not to overstep you or anything, just a suggestion.)
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
App works as promised. Some screenshots attached.
Suggestions: have way to disable notification icon.
Also when not in easy mode the lowest you can go is 11.8 on both sliders. Not sure if that is design or a bug.
Sent from my Galaxy S2
Looks good, except the plus button above the brightness slider doesn't work. I'll play with it tonight and let you know how it goes.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Nice app! Everything seems to be working, I just don't understand the "Active" action..I'm not sure what the purpose of it is.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
deedscreen said:
If I've helped, I am interested in free paid versions of your apps... I believe that if you send a check in the mail after the person buys the app as reimbursement would be more easier than consistently updating via email. (Not to overstep you or anything, just a suggestion.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great idea. I can send a paypal payment. I had someone do that for me when I tested their app, and I forgot that I could do it myself.
Bigt2003 said:
Looks good, except the plus button above the brightness slider doesn't work. I'll play with it tonight and let you know how it goes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When did you download? I think I fixed that problem around midnight last night and uploaded a version with that fixed. (But I forgot to mark a version number.)
chucky_93 said:
Nice app! Everything seems to be working, I just don't understand the "Active" action..I'm not sure what the purpose of it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean the "Active" checkbox? That turns ScreenDim on and off.
ravizzle said:
Suggestions: have way to disable notification icon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't be done without sacrificing reliability. Unless you do something root-ish (and I really want this app to be non-root), the only way I know of keeping an app from being killed in low-memory situations is by using Service.startForeground(), but the OS requires a notification icon when you do that.
Also when not in easy mode the lowest you can go is 11.8 on both sliders. Not sure if that is design or a bug.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want, you can make the brightness slider go down to 0.4% by using the "Set minimum brightness" menu option. But you will find that below 11.8%, the brightness stops changing, so there is no point to that, and that's why I set the default minimum for the Galaxy S2 series to 11.8%.
You could make contrast go below 11.8%, but the display would probably be dimmer than anybody wants (I am about the pickiest user in terms of darkness, because I am an amateur astronomer, and I don't want the device to destroy night vision), and the display quality would be low. Unfortunately, given how OLED devices work, at low brightness levels there are much fewer colors available.
Technical stuff in case anybody is curious:
The way Easy Mode works is that 30% on the Easy Mode slider is equivalent to 11.8% on the brightness slider and 100% on the contrast slider. When you go above 30% in Easy Mode, you're increasing brightness and keeping contrast at 100%. When you go below 30% in Easy Mode, brightness stays at 11.8%, and contrast goes down, hitting 11.8% when the Easy Mode slider is at 0%.
On LCD devices, the brightness slider controls the backlight and the contrast slider controls the white level (by drawing a gray rectangle over the screen). On OLED devices, both of them have a similar visual effect, namely they both reduce the intensity of the miniature LEDs that make up an OLED display. But at low brightness levels, you have fewer color intensities available on the physical display.
Works great. I have been waiting for this so I don't have hear the wife complain that my screen is too bright at night and keeping her up.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Loving it! I am trying to purchase the paid version but the Play Store keeps popping an error message on both phones. I guess I will have to buy it later today. Nice job!
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2
I just posted 1.10b (see link in original post) which fixes a few minor issues.
arpruss said:
You mean the "Active" checkbox? That turns ScreenDim on and off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh I see..well this app seems to be working great
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
everything works really well, tested in easy mode... only issue was the " + " button didn't work the first time I pressed it, and the n I pressed " - " and they both started working again. I could not get the issue to happen again, don't know why it happened the first time.
works as expected. only problem, and perhaps this is intentional, is that if you change the brightness in the android display settings (as oppoposed to the app), then it goes back to the standard android brightness scheme. in other words, the app and android settings dont seem to correlate with eachother? lemee try to give you an example...
i go into android display settings and change it to 100%. then i go into your app and set the brightness to 0%. this dims the screen down tremendously, which is exactly what i like. okay, now if i go back into android display settings (still leaving the app still at 0% with ultra dim display), and lower the android screen brightness setting to say... 95%, the app seems to disable or something and the brightness will jump UP to android's 90%. instead of the display getting further dimmer, it instead shoots back up to almost full brightness when it should be going down. i hope that makes sense.
cnstarz said:
works as expected. only problem, and perhaps this is intentional, is that if you change the brightness in the android display settings (as oppoposed to the app), then it goes back to the standard android brightness scheme. in other words, the app and android settings dont seem to correlate with eachother? lemee try to give you an example...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, the system settings partly override ScreenDim's brightness setting. I can't lock in the settings without root.
this app rocks man, thx
I found a bunch of bugs when using "Quick activate" and loading presets and changing settings starting from a disabled state. I fixed the ones I found in 1.10c (now up), but there may be others.

[Q] AOKP Screen Brightness

The lowest brightness setting is not dim enough for me in low light conditions so I've been looking to alter it.
After reading around the capabilities of some apps it seems that they only add an overlay which reduces contrast. I would much prefer to do it natively.
I then realised that the AOKP ROM has this functionality!
However, I can't seem to get it to work.
Settings>Display>Custom backlight settings
Changing the screen dim level doesn't seem to change anything for me.
Can anyone offer some tips or advice?
Thanks
Works fine for me. I know it doesn't help your problem any...
danger-rat said:
Works fine for me. I know it doesn't help your problem any...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does your display dim more when you select a lower than default value or did you have to change something else?
Did you change the corresponding value in "Edit Other Levels" as well (if you're on auto brightness)? Not on AOKP, but mine is fully functional both on manual, and auto.
Their implementation is the same as CM9 (which is nearly identical, if not the same as the CM7 implementation).
Edit: just a thought, not sure if the AOKP status bar brightness slider is hardcoded to a certain minimum level? Are the results the same if you adjust your brightness via the Settings>Display>Brightness slider?
Settings>Rom Control>Performance>color multipliers.
Drag the three bars all the way down.
As far as your problem...
Are you on auto brightness?
And have you adjusted the "Dim Level" prior to adjusting the screen levels?
(Dim Level is the level your screen dims to after not touching it for 15 seconds or whatever).
Jubakuba said:
And have you adjusted the "Dim Level" prior to adjusting the screen levels?
(Dim Level is the level your screen dims to after not touching it for 15 seconds or whatever).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Screen dim level is the minimum brightness value attainable (I lower mine to 12 so I can enter a screen value of 12 in my custom levels), but also does correspond to what you mentioned.
Another AOKP user expressed similar concerns but found an app called Root Dim or something that solved his problem.
OpusX11 said:
Another AOKP user expressed similar concerns but found an app called Root Dim or something that solved his problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The implementation must be still broken then; haven't tested the latest AOKP releases. Root dim apps tend to create lag.
Implementation works perfectly here.
Jubakuba said:
Implementation works perfectly here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same.
Jubakuba said:
Implementation works perfectly here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Attaining an altered screen dim level when on auto as well?
Edit: comment wasn't an indictment; just remembering issues that were there on b35 or b36 (?).
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Yep.
Microwave. said:
Does your display dim more when you select a lower than default value or did you have to change something else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I select a lower than normal default brightness, and it appears to just work. The auto brightness decreases, which is what i was looking for at night, and also the overall min brightness decreases. The max brightness seems unaffected...
remember when making these changes you do have to save and apply. many people forget that step.
tspderek said:
remember when making these changes you do have to save and apply. many people forget that step.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's an especially annoying mis-step after entering 23 custom levels.
CMNein said:
That's an especially annoying mis-step after entering 23 custom levels.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol.
And no offense taken at all, man.
And me personally, I just use 5 levels.
One that goes all the way to 600[whateverambientlightismeasuredby] and a screen level of 5.
This keeps my phone from dicking about with it's brightness when I'm indoors...and I have no problem reading it. I don't mind a super-dim screen in general.
The remaining levels I ramp up fairly aggressively for two "by a window" scenarios...
And outside.
And OMGSUNNY outside.
Jubakuba said:
Lol.
And no offense taken at all, man.
And me personally, I just use 5 levels.
One that goes all the way to 600[whateverambientlightismeasuredby] and a screen level of 5.
This keeps my phone from dicking about with it's brightness when I'm indoors...and I have no problem reading it. I don't mind a super-dim screen in general.
The remaining levels I ramp up fairly aggressively for two "by a window" scenarios...
And outside.
And OMGSUNNY outside.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I add 2 levels for the high end, and reduce the other brightness levels considerably. Ultimately I usually end up with the perfect'ish level for most scenarios. I hate having to adjust brightness the old fashioned way
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
CMNein said:
Screen dim level is the minimum brightness value attainable (I lower mine to 12 so I can enter a screen value of 12 in my custom levels), but also does correspond to what you mentioned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which values do you change in the custom levels?
OpusX11 said:
Another AOKP user expressed similar concerns but found an app called Root Dim or something that solved his problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I know an app could potentially solve the problem but I don't like using 3rd party apps when the solution can be more elegantly achieved using native tweaks.
Jubakuba said:
Lol.
And no offense taken at all, man.
And me personally, I just use 5 levels.
One that goes all the way to 600[whateverambientlightismeasuredby] and a screen level of 5.
This keeps my phone from dicking about with it's brightness when I'm indoors...and I have no problem reading it. I don't mind a super-dim screen in general.
The remaining levels I ramp up fairly aggressively for two "by a window" scenarios...
And outside.
And OMGSUNNY outside.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you send me a screenshot of your custom levels, that sounds like the exact thing I'm after - a dimmer screen in general, and having a lower min brightness.
So am I correct in thinking that you need to lower the dim value in order to set lower values in the custom levels?

[Q] Z1compact: getting minimum brightness LOWER

Hello Everyone,
I have a problem with my amami and I doubt I am the only one but for some reason people do hardly complain: the brightness even at lowest possible setting is still too bright.
I had this back when I had original FW and I am having the same issue with CM11 (latest nightlies). Using manual control or auto-brightness doesn't make much difference, i.e. in a totally dark room the ambient light sensor reports 0Lux and the screen is still too bright.
I found a workaround already (the ScreenFilter app that people recommend all over the internet) but it sucks because it heavily reduces the picture quality, i.e. visibly reduces contrast and especially the gray color resolution. And it also doesn't reduce power consumption like real brightness value change would do.
I looked around for possible solutions and there is a trick with writting a new value of current limit to Linux settings (some mA value between 0 and 20 to some max_current file in procfs). And this really helps but also impacts the maximum brightness, the screen is hardly ready in sun light with reduced current.
Is there a silver bullet? I am thinking about writing an app for that but it would require SU permissions and is kinda dirty to implement. Can anyone recommend a better solution?
have you tried the xposed Modul "minimum brightness" ?
Install Lux Brightness. from play store.
You can overboost it or make the screen so dark that you can't even see it.
Another great screen mod is Twilight which basically dims the screen red based on clock so it helps fall sleep faster when using phone before bed.
New Folder said:
Install Lux Brightness. from play store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, another vote for Lux. It lets you set brightness to negative levels, mine is usually around -50%. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vito.lux&hl=en
Vote for Lux here too.
Nothing comes close
camaro322hp said:
Yes, another vote for Lux. It lets you set brightness to negative levels, mine is usually around -50%. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vito.lux&hl=en
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the hint. I tried the Lite version and AFAICS it simply uses the same trick as ScreenFilter and other "sub-zero" regulators, putting an alpha overlay on top of the image stack.
You can identify this kludge easily by looking at the button areas, they don't get darker anymore. And you can see the black level not getting real black, i.e. the power consumption is not reduced.
However, Lux seems to be one of the better toys because of the plugin interface. Unfortunately there is no HW plugin for Sony devices but judging by the quick look at the Nexus-4 plugin (it's open source!!) it should be possible to adopt this method to Z1 as well. So, maybe when someone could eventually implement that.
xposed Modul "minimum brightness" works, i tested it for you. you can make the screen dim to complete black with your normal display brightness slider without grey or black overlay. it just sets down the minimum brightness level to 1 or 0 (default is 10 or 20), so it should also work with enabled auto brightness
chertVdetali said:
I looked around for possible solutions and there is a trick with writting a new value of current limit to Linux settings (some mA value between 0 and 20 to some max_current file in procfs). And this really helps but also impacts the maximum brightness, the screen is hardly ready in sun light with reduced current.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as i remember, /proc is only used to call upon information, not to set specific values. What you are looking for is placed within /sys.
To be precise in /sys/devices/leds-qpnp-ee125e00/leds/wled:backlight/. There you will find a file called max_current with which you can easily control the brightness and set it to a very low level. Note that this actually dims the screen and not just applies a filter like most apps do...
One drawback is that the value will change again after you restarted the device. I set up a little flow with Automate β that takes care of this for me. I find this solution a lot better than all the screen filter apps.
This is true for CyanogenMod 11 and GreatDevs Kernel. It might be different on Stock. I know that the path for my Nexus 7 is sys/class/leds/lcd-backlight.
I hope this helps you a little bit.
rob rich said:
xposed Modul "minimum brightness" works, i tested it for you. you can make the screen dim to complete black with your normal display brightness slider without grey or black overlay. it just sets down the minimum brightness level to 1 or 0 (default is 10 or 20), so it should also work with enabled auto brightness
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am wondering how you can claim that the result is complete black. Calling this black is like saying "TN monitors have good black values" (I know such people, they change their mind quickly when they see my Eizo with a VA panel at night).
No, seriously, the default was already 10 (see config.xml in cm11 repo) and the difference between 1 and 10 is hardly visible. It's still way too bright for work without eye strain in the darkness.
@Wooaarr: thanks, this is apparently the way to go, I just need to find time to configure it. And yes, of course, the file is in sysfs and not procfs (automated typing, when I grew up with Linux there was no sysfs out there ).
chertVdetali said:
I am wondering how you can claim that the result is complete black. Calling this black is like saying "TN monitors have good black values" (I know such people, they change their mind quickly when they see my Eizo with a VA panel at night).
No, seriously, the default was already 10 (see config.xml in cm11 repo) and the difference between 1 and 10 is hardly visible. It's still way too bright for work without eye strain in the darkness.
@Wooaarr: thanks, this is apparently the way to go, I just need to find time to configure it. And yes, of course, the file is in sysfs and not procfs (automated typing, when I grew up with Linux there was no sysfs out there ).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
when i disable autobrightness and push the slider to the left my screen goes completely off, so you wanna say that screen off isnt black? funny
chertVdetali said:
Thanks for the hint. I tried the Lite version and AFAICS it simply uses the same trick as ScreenFilter and other "sub-zero" regulators, putting an alpha overlay on top of the image stack.
You can identify this kludge easily by looking at the button areas, they don't get darker anymore. And you can see the black level not getting real black, i.e. the power consumption is not reduced.
However, Lux seems to be one of the better toys because of the plugin interface. Unfortunately there is no HW plugin for Sony devices but judging by the quick look at the Nexus-4 plugin (it's open source!!) it should be possible to adopt this method to Z1 as well. So, maybe when someone could eventually implement that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting information, I did not know that. You are correct, the navigation buttons are brighter than the rest of the screen at negative values. I had noticed that before but didn't know why. Works well enough for me though.
rob rich said:
when i disable autobrightness and push the slider to the left my screen goes completely off, so you wanna say that screen off isnt black? funny
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, you claim that it works for me because you tested it on your device. So... yeah, why not, I could say what you mentioned above just following the same logics. :silly:

Categories

Resources