[bazza]

This follows a previous thread about alternative tablets that are readable in bright sunlight. I've bought an Onyx Boox Note 2 e-reader for the purpose and also bought the MSPro e-ink app, but can't see how to install and run it (though the standard MSPro seems to work on the tablet). I know this is a very basic problem to anyone who knows about these things, but I'd be grateful if someone could provide an idiot's guide to setting this up on the Onyx Note 2.

[Oz Cello]

Hey Bazza. Glad to hear you took the plunge. Looking forward to your review. I'm fairly sure that the Note 2 has the same OS as my Max 3 so it should be the same procedure for installation so I'll try and remember what I did.

I think I went to settings first and enabled installing apps from unknown sources (from the home page click 'settings' which for me is at the bottom of the bar running down the left side of the screen, then click 'applications' which is one of the boxes that comes up in the middle of the screen, then tick the box at the top right 'unknown sources').

I then opened the browser (from the home page click 'apps' in the lefthand bar then click 'browser' when the list of apps comes up) and went to Mike's website (zubersoft.onfastspring.com) and bought the e-Ink version and copied the activation code. The download showed up in the notification bar when it was finished so I clicked on that to open it (you can also access it through storage/downloads). If you bought it on another device then you'll need to access your email via the tablet on the browser and download it from the link in the email that would have been sent to you when you bought it.

I think it then asked me whether I wanted to allow the installation of a 3rd party app and went ahead with the installation. I pasted in the activation code when it asked for it and it's worked fine ever since. Let me know if any of that doesn't work for you.

I don't have the standard MSP on mine but I did have the free e-Ink version on it first and had them both on there for a while and that didn't seem to cause any problems so I doubt you having the standard version on there would be stopping you from installing the e-Ink version. (Edit: just installed the standard free version and it really doesn't work on e-Ink. I noticed that the files for the e-Ink version are stored just using the name 'mobilesheetspro' which is I guess also what the standard version would use so maybe that is causing a problem for you - if you can't install the e-Ink version then you might have to try uninstalling the standard version first. If so then perhaps Mike can weigh in on that)

Guy

[bazza]

G'day Oz Cello:  Thanks so much for taking the trouble to post a step-by-step guide to installation.  I haven't tracked down my earlier glitch, but I think it may have helped to uninstall the standard-issue MSP before setting up the e-ink version.  Anyway, it's now loaded and working!  Fairly sunny here today (Sussex, U.K.) so an opportunity to check the investment.  

I'm not likely to make use of some of the more advanced facilities - just simple storage and display of individual tunes and short sets - but I'll post some comments when I've played with it for a day or two.  

Thanks again.

[Oz Cello]

Hey Bazza. I haven't used much of the Max 3 other than MSP. The notepad is handy but the only books I have on it so far are the Max 3 manual and the MSP manual. I've installed a couple of apps (tuner and ear trainer) but doubt I'll be using them on it. It froze up for the first time yesterday while I was using the notepad. I re-started it by holding down the power button for 10 seconds and it was fine. The note hadn't been saved so it was lost but fine otherwise and I haven't managed to make it freeze since. I guess it might've been on for too long - I haven't been re-starting it much. Bit of a worry though as I'm poised to buy a few more for the quartet.

I'm using more functions in MSP the longer I use it. Back up and sync are pretty straightforward, custom group is handy for me (for different instruments until the versioning update comes), as is the multiple library feature. I've done a bit of writing on the scores using the stylus - doubt I'll do much annotating but it works well. The feature to add a note at the start of a piece will be handy for gigs. I haven't really used batch importing but the companion has been great. I've only used bluetooth for pedal/remote control but looking forward to trying out connecting multiple tablets. The metronome works great on conventional tablets but is less good on the Max 3 I think - audio metronome is fine and the LED and metronome graphic work (at least at lower bpm) but the glow setting doesn't seem to do anything on the Max 3 at all. If I need a metronome I imagine I'll use my phone.

Sussex is where I grew up. Nice part of the world. I was back there a couple of years ago - drove through the Downs and walked the Seven Sisters etc and checked out my old home in Ardingly. Pretty sweet there when the sun shines. You could do worse.

[bazza]

I'm beginning to make use of the Onyx Note 2 e-reader with MSP, and it does the main thing I want it to do - make the MSP pages clearly visible in bright daylight, when a conventional tablet is almost impossible to read. 

A couple of things need familiarity to enable me to find my way round the relevant settings.  E,g., a swift screen swipe doesn't move the screen through the library contents page as quickly and smoothly as on the old tablet.  A similar swipe down the column of initial letters is also rather faltering and less responsive. The Bluetooth page-turning pedal operates slightly slower than formerly, which takes getting used to.  Something I really need to check is that the screen seems to revert to 'time-expired' mode while a tune page is being displayed, which the tablet-based MSP is programmed not to do.  Maybe things like this can be adjusted: I don't yet know. 

So first impressions (bearing in mind I'm not very technically adept) are that I need to find out more about which facilities and settings are Onyx-based and which are managed through MSP.  I don't find that distinguishing between them and navigating through and between the options are simple and intuitive (at least, for the likes of me).  I dare say spending more time with it, and keeping the lid on my frustration at times, will iron out some wrinkles.  It doesn't help that the Onyx manual is mostly about managing collections of e-books - which is not what I want it for - and the translation wasn't proof-read by someone whose first language is English. 

Still, it''s clear to read, which is a Good Thing, and does the useful things that I've been doing with MSP on a tablet -  storing, displaying, and managing a large collection of tunes.

[Oz Cello]

The Onyx manual is a disappointment. It explains things badly and misses things out and the bad English doesn't help. I saw a webcast by the founder of the company who I think is Spanish and my guess is that he wrote the manual himself - the level of English seems to be about the same. It's even more surprising that they didn't have the English in the OS properly translated. In the settings there's a link for giving feedback (which is titled 'feedbacks') so I might send a message through that suggesting that they have the English versions of the OS and manual re-written. It would be great if they could do a more detailed version of the manual too (like Mike's full MSP manual). These would all cost the company money but I imagine it would be worthwhile for sales and reputation. Luckily for me I'm really just using the Max 3 for MSP so it's unlikely to affect me much. I ended up ordering three more. The Aussie dollar is a little stronger at the moment and they have a sale on and gave me a bit more of a discount for buying 3 but still a fair bit of outlay - hopefully it won't be too long before work starts coming back in post-pandemic.

I think the lack of scrolling through the library and the alphabet was a deliberate change on Mike's part - e-Ink is bad at scrolling and animations because of the extra time it takes to create images so we're possibly better off learning to do without them. I think that's the reason behind the slower response to the page turner as well - it just takes longer for the page to be generated. I had the Max 3 MSP linked to MSP on my laptop the other day (which worked like a charm) and when I changed the page on the Max 3 it would change instantly on the laptop and then a split second later on the Max 3 even though it was the Max 3 I was turning the page on. Apparently it can help to optimise the pdf's when you create them or save them but I haven't tried that yet. It might also help to optimise the app through the Onyx OS, maybe lowering the resolution? I'll let you know if I end up giving that a go but I haven't found it necessary yet. I'm used to turning physical pages in a display folder and it's still way faster than that.

You can change the auto-sleep timeout duration in the Boox OS (go to settings, then power, and it's at the top of the list of power options). I've got mine set to 30 minutes but it probably wouldn't make much difference to set it to 'never'. I have the Max 3 in the folio cover that came with it and I have it set to sleep when the cover is closed (which is an option in the same 'power' settings list) and that works well.

[bazza]

Thanks again Oz Cello.  I've changed  the auto-timeout status, and sent feedback about the poor operating manual.  Clearly the pace of scrolling and page-turning is just something to get used to, though I see that the facility to dob a letter in the alphabet column with the stylus brings up the list of 2nd and subsequent letters fairly quickly, reducing the need to scroll when searching the list.

[Oz Cello]

I just updated the firmware on the Max 3 and they seem to have put some work into the English in the OS - feedbacks is now feedback etc. A couple of other useful changes and bug fixes too. I imagine yours will have the same update available (go to settings then updates). Hope yours is going well

[bazza]

Thanks Oz Cello - I've updated as suggested and will look at the revised(?) manual.   I've used the Note 2 a couple of times in the sunshine and it deals with the readability issue.  There is some vexation over the time it takes to scroll / turn pages / respond to searches, but I guess that's just something one has to adjust to.
Cheers.

[Oz Cello]

In the Display settings there's one for rendering preferences where you can have files rendered focusing on speed or accuracy. By default it will be set to accuracy but changing it to speed might help with the page turn speed.

I hadn't checked whether the manual had been updated as well, I just noticed that there were some changes to the operating system. I'll have a look for an updated manual.

[bazza]

I could be wrong about the manual  I just assumed that might be one of the changes, given the feedback they've had about its poor quality.