I'm a heavy video streamer and I do most of the streaming on my Playbook and connect it to my big screen and I'm sure there are many of you who are same. So my question is how long does your Playbook last from 100% charge to 0% with constant video playback/streaming. Mine lasts about 4 or 5 hours, is that normal or should it last longer?
That is pretty normal. It also depends on signal strength. If you have the PlayBook connected to a tv, I recommend an extra charger so you can stream all day!
That is pretty normal. It also depends on signal strength. If you have the PlayBook connected to a tv, I recommend an extra charger so you can stream all day!
If you have Battery Guru you can check power use. What settings do you use? Also can't you do this with the rapid travel charger working?
My brightness is very low and I turned auto dimming on so brightness isn't an issue here. And I do stream a few episodes before bed and the signal is pretty weak in my room so I believe that also "hurts" the battery life more.
I don't think one can answer that question without more details. Many factors will make a big difference:
Wireless signal strength, wireless standard (G vs N), wifi encryption (WEP/WPA/WPA2), transfer protocol (http, https, UDP), ...
hardware acceleration. If the video stream is decoded in software, it will eat much more battery than if the decoding can be handled by the GPU;
bit-rate & encoding method of the video stream. A 1080p video will cost more than a 480p one, and some mp4's will stream for longer than other mp4's depending on encoding profile;
a DRM-encrypted video would be more work for the PlayBook, thus use more battery;
post-processing: scaling the video to fit the resolution, applying pull-down, deblocking or interleaving may deplete the battery too.
So it very much depends on the app, streaming service and content that is being streamed.
Under the settings cog, tap "Screen" and you will be able to turn auto-dimming on or off.
My settings are shown in the attached screenshot.
If auto-dimming is on, then after a minute or so of not being touched, the screen will dim slightly. One tap brings the screen back.
If the screen is dimmed like this, and you didn't notice, then you go to tap the screen to do something, nothing happens. This is because the first tap only brings the screen back to the previously set brightness level. You have to tap a second time to execute your next play on the PlayBook.
