Nice! I am planning to add a 3D print matrix and an acrylic difusser to my Gen 1 to get a similar effecg. Yours seem to be completely transparent and not diffusing at all. It is all good look nonetheless. Although I would recommend a black diffuser to test out and approach a “square-led” look.
I actually have done all the steps necessary. Just need to get that diffuser I shared above. Sadly, on my first attempt I got the wrong type of acrylic from a different supplier. It wasn’t a diffuser acrylic so it did not work out. However, I have kept it for now because the black translucent acrylic actually looks pretty nice. It gives a silky black look to it:
I really wanted to order the one mentioned way above in the thread, the Adafruit one cuz Adafruit are honestly the gods of DYI proyects like these. (plus it is $10 cheaper) Sadly I don’t have a laser cutter or any cutting tools to cut their panel to the precise size that the Tidbyt needs it to be. So my second option is now that supplier that thankfully does fulfill custom sizing
Btw, did you measure the dimensions of the Tidbyt GEN 2? The GEN 1 does have panel measurements of 192mm x 96mm, I don’t know if that also applies to the GEN 2 or not🤔
I did order it to size, but forgot to ask for rounded corners… So will probably dry fit this one and then order another with rounded corers… maybe I will get lucking and it is close enough.
@locust95 Hmmm, perhaps if you contact them (and your order still hasnt been produced) and ask them if they can do that for you. Well, at least the other supplier from where I got my non-diffusing acrylic were able to make changes for me even after I submitted my order. Laser Cutting & Waterjet Cutting Materials (sendcutsend.com)
I’ll chime in.
Went to order the Gen 1, but decided to wait for the Gen 2. Just got it today.
And no, I don’t like the overly aggressive diffuser. The word “blurry” definitely applies, and there isn’t really a way to spin the word “crisper” so that it actually means “blurrier.”
The display just looks…damaged. Not just the blurriness, but the way it affects the colors, white in particular. It seems like it’s out -of-focus, and suffering from chromatic aberration.
The retro low-bit effect was part of the charm and conceit of the device. Literally just blurring an image doesn’t make it cleaner. Anti-aliasing is real and does indeed improve perceived image qualityt, but it’s not achieved by simply blurring every single pixel in the same way.
I think y’all made a bad call here.
Just set my Gen 2 across the living room, instead of here at my desk, where it had been since I unpackaged it yesterday. It looks great across the room. Give it a chance, folks. Try it in some different positions. I can’t believe how many people are being big babies about this.
Its not about being a baby about it, it just doesn’t look good. At all. You insulting me for not liking what was promised doesn’t help the situation nor makes you any more credible.
I get that beauty is subjective, and everyone has their own taste. But what really bugs me is the button. A lot of people say it only looks great from across the room, but if that’s the case, why even add a button? The button was supposed to be one of the main differences from Gen 1, making people think it was designed to be used up close, like on a desk or within arm’s reach.
On top of that, Tidbyt still hasn’t updated their developer docs, so anyone wanting to make use of the button in their own apps is totally left in the dark. So, between the fact that it looks best from far away and that the button isn’t really supported, it feels like the button is kind of a letdown.
WHAT A DISASTER … the second generation sucks! it’s so blurry, they really messed up Gen2… I guess all you can do is bitch about it online. They will likely not do anything to resolve this… They have a lot of blurry gen2 to sell, need to focus on new users, cause you pissed off your existing fan base… probably would have bought every gen you made and now… whoever made this decision man talk about a mistake… They should at least offer returns give me another gen1, at least they don’t make me feel drunk… lol!!!
I just fired up my Gen2 this morning, and it’s absolute garbage. The screen is blurry. I mean, sure, call it “intentional diffusion” if you want, but I could just look at my Gen1 with my glasses off if I wanted that effect. There’s always some risk to backing a Kickstarter, but typically, “made the product demonstrably worse” isn’t within the scope of that risk. I suppose my only recourse is to complain on the Internet, so here I am.
It was a bit blurrier than expected. From 2 meters it looks passably sharp, but still has a bit of that blur that is reminiscent of my near-sightedness. It is definitely not sharp enough up close to use as a desk or night stand display. For that Gen 1 would be much more appropriate.
My device is probably not the worst (if there really is that much of a variance as some people say). It is a lot blurrier up close than what the campaign images and videos made it appear. I might consider the whole removing the diffuser approach if I ever get the courage.
Edit: Diffusion will of course soften the light. But this is just blurry enough that my eyes constantly try to refocus when watching the display.
I would love if Tidbyt gave us the opportunity to send our units back if only to have the diffusion filter and mesh removed.
I don’t want to inadvertently damage my device trying to do it myself. As a first time owner the Gen2 makes me regret waiting instead of just getting the Gen1.
Apparently, this is the diffuser he used: Amazon.com (I haven’t tried it yet but considering replacing the current diffuser with this when I have some free time)
If you want an acrylic that is completely translucent and doesnt diffuse, you can try this dark grey acrylic which is the one I used on my GEN 1. Acrylic Laser Cutting | SendCutSend
It minimized glare and light harshness while keeping the classic retro look. I am planning to get the TapPlastics diffuse acrylic though
Just here to say also disappointed with the screen. Having read through all the comments I have to say to use the words sharper, crisper, and clearer to describe these units definitely seems misleading at best. Surely at some point along the way the team saw the units and realized hmm people may not agree with this and think it looks sharper, crisper, and clearer???
