Is it just me, or is the original DS not very bright?

[toptenmaterial]

I picked up a DS for pretty cheap here in RI. It's the original fat blue one, which happens to be the same model as the first one I owned backin05. I noticed that the screens on this one aren't very bright. Both of them seems to project about the same amount of light, which leads me to believe that the screens themselves are fine. Were the original DSs just rather dark?

[Atariboy]

They were dark by the standards of just a couple of years later. But they seemed very nice at the time. It was the first Nintendo handheld with a nice enough screen that I actually purchased one. Before the DS, it was the Super Game Boy and then the Game Boy Player for enjoying handheld Nintendo games. And I imagine the lack of any tv/out options on the DS probably also factored in my decision.

 

I can still enjoy mine today but when I fire up my backlit SP revision from a couple of years later (And the Micro also has a nice screen but I've never owned one), any PSP, and successor models of the DS and now 3DS, I'm reminded just how dim it really was. But a few seconds later I'm just enjoying a game and have forgotten about it.

 

So it's serviceable. It's not as nice as a handheld screen can be but it also doesn't detract from the experience any like the primitive handheld screens Nintendo had used previously. I'm unsure how the side lit SP model was although it's my understanding that it's significantly darker than the original DS. But I never had any use for the original GBA (except as a controller hooked up to my Game Boy Player) or any Game Boy or Game Boy Color.

 

Just horrible screens that suck the joy out of trying to actually enjoy a game on them.

Edited July 6, 2013 by Atariboy

[Hatta]

It's not *just* the DS. ;D

[Vic George 2K3]

Seriously speaking, I never owned the original DS, but I heard that it was dimmer compared to the DS Lite and DSi models.

[Rex Dart]

I've owned all the models except the DSi, and that original DS is pretty dim & hazy in comparison to the later models.

[Atariboy]

Seriously speaking, I never owned the original DS, but I heard that it was dimmer compared to the DS Lite and DSi models.

 

It's much darker than all of Nintendo's subsequent handhelds. The backlit SP revision, the Micro, the DS Lite, and all DSi and 3DS models have much brighter screens by comparison.

 

The DS is the last of the old breed of Nintendo handheld where the screen technology was less than perfect. But it's more than serviceable which is more than can be said for earlier Nintendo handhelds and the system itself is built like a rock. And if one likes GBA compatibility on their DS and appreciates the portable nature of a handheld, the cartridges sit flush with this system unlike on a DS Lite.

[Jess Ragan]

That's not very nice! He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he tries really hard!

 

Oh, you mean the brightness of the screen. Never mind!

[famicommander]

The original DS screen is frontlit, which means the light is projected onto the screen and reflected back to you. That would be why it doesn't appear as bright as the Lite or DSi, which are backlit. Interestingly the DS Lite has a lower refresh rate screen than its older brother, similar to how the backlit GBA SP screen is a lower refresh rate than its frontlit counterpart.

 

The DSi is both backlit and high refresh rate, making it the best model to play DS games on. But it unfortunately loses GBA support, similar to how the Game Boy micro is the best way to play GBA games (due to being the only backlit system with the high response screen+a nonproprietary headphone port) but comes at the cost of GB/GBC support.

 

Makes one wonder what might be the pros and cons of the inevitable 3DS refresh.

[Atariboy]

That's curious that the Micro's screen has a faster response rate. I've never seen that said anywhere else before and it seems strange when you realize that the DS Lite and the backlit revision of the SP both arrived during the same time period.

 

And while I've never owned a Micro, I remember well several shots of all three side by side with the same GBA game running and all three appearing identical. While that wouldn't show anything where the response rate of the screens were concerned, it just reinforced my thought that the technology was identical across the three with the only variance being in screen size (And a different aspect ratio and touch screen support on the DS) since I know from experience that the quality of the screens on the DS Lite and backlit SP are absolutely identical.

 

Any idea why the Micro's screen would've had a faster response rate than the other two?

Edited July 21, 2013 by Atariboy

[NE146]

I bought at launch pretty much every major iteration of gameboy & DS models there are and still have all of them. I still like to fire up the original DS or GBA or whatever now and then and yes of course it was pretty dim by the models that followed. But that's the way it goes.. things get better. And it continues that way..if you spend a lot of time on the original DSi, when you go back to the DS-Lite the screen looks inferior.

 

I don't know if it was what was intended, but to me the "DS Lite" didn't mean it was "light" as in weight.. but rather it was LIGHT as in BRIGHT LIGHT. That was the entire big deal about it to me, not that it was a smaller model. Then again their marketing probably meant both. Who knows.

Edited July 21, 2013 by NE146

[famicommander]

That's curious that the Micro's screen has a faster response rate. I've never seen that said anywhere else before and it seems strange when you realize that the DS Lite and the backlit revision of the SP both arrived during the same time period.

 

And while I've never owned a Micro, I remember well several shots of all three side by side with the same GBA game running and all three appearing identical. While that wouldn't show anything where the response rate of the screens were concerned, it just reinforced my thought that the technology was identical across the three with the only variance being in screen size (And a different aspect ratio and touch screen support on the DS) since I know from experience that the quality of the screens on the DS Lite and backlit SP are absolutely identical.

 

Any idea why the Micro's screen would've had a faster response rate than the other two?

I do not know why, but I do know with absolute certainty that the DS Lite and Backlit SP respond slower than the DS, DSi, GBA, GBA SP Mk1, and micro.

 

There are easy ways to test this. Any reasonably paced platformer (Sonic Advance 1 or 2, SMB3 or SMW) or action game (Gunstar Superheroes) suffers from noticeable ghosting on the DS Lite or backlit SP as compared to the other mentioned models. It is also apparent in comparing certain DS games played on the Lite as compared with the DSi. Mario Kart DS and Sonic Rush exhibit significant ghosting. The affect should be easily visible but it's downright obvious if you happen to have two copies of a game, and can put them side by side.

 

The backlit SP also has a tendency to oversaturate colors, whereas the frontlit washes them out. The micro does neither.

[Atariboy]

I can definitely see ghosting on any reasonably fast paced 2D game on any handheld screen. I can see it with ease on both my Lite and my backlit SP although it's well within reasonable limits and puts to shame something like a PSP 1000 (Load up Ecco the Dolphin sometime on one of those via Sega Genesis Collection).

 

I don't doubt you any. Heck, I don't even own a Micro so only a idiot would disagree with you without facts or at least personal impressions. But are you sure that having just a 2" screen that's nearly a inch smaller than that on a SP isn't playing a factor here? The smaller the screen, the more disguised the flaws are going to be.

Edited July 21, 2013 by Atariboy

[+wood_jl]

I agree with what has been said. It was the best you could do for the time, but then the GBA SP "With Brighter Screen" (AGS-101) and DS Lite showed the way. I still like the original DS, but the screens are definitely not as nice to look at as the DS Lite.

[famicommander]

I can definitely see ghosting on any reasonably fast paced 2D game on any handheld screen. I can see it with ease on both my Lite and my backlit SP although it's well within reasonable limits and puts to shame something like a PSP 1000 (Load up Ecco the Dolphin sometime on one of those via Sega Genesis Collection).

 

I don't doubt you any. Heck, I don't even own a Micro so only a idiot would disagree with you without facts or at least personal impressions. But are you sure that having just a 2" screen that's nearly a inch smaller than that on a SP isn't playing a factor here? The smaller the screen, the more disguised the flaws are going to be.

Again, no. It is not due to the smaller screen. The display on the backlit SP is lower response and it is apparent in comparison to ANY other GBA screen, not just the micro's. Same goes for the Lite versus the other DS mode)s: