The DS Lite's Tint Problem

January 19th, 2007, 00:41 Posted By: wraggster

Via gaming age

Since the DS Lite launched in America, various message board denziens have been complaining that their touch screen carries a darker, more yellow tint, than the top screen. I, and many others, initially wrote it off as folks being overly sensitive, the effect likely a result of a coating on the touch screen or some such. I mean, my touch screen was a bit darker than the the top screen, but I barely noticed, nor did it bug me, I just assumed all DS Lites were that way.

That is, until my girlfiend went out and bought herself one. Comparing our two systems, I discovered that slight tint of my touch screen was mysteriously absent on hers. The whites of the top and bottom screen seemed to match on hers, but on mine, the bright top whites appeared almost grey on the lower screen.

And that's when the tint started to bug me. Luckily, it's not all that prevalent, the difference is only noticeable on light backgrounds, like the bootup warning screen, Brain Age, and Big Brain Academy. Colorful titles, like Meteos and New Super Mario Brothers, curiously aren't affected. It's easy to tell which system is whose when they're at the warning screen, regardless of the brightness setting, but when placed side-by-side while both running Mario, neither of us could tell the difference. In fact, during the Mario comparision, she incorrectly guessed that my Lite was hers.

For the skeptical, here's some a picture to highlight the difference among the two. Be forwarned, the difference isn't all that noticeable on LCD monitors due to their inherent brightness, but those on CRT monitors should be able to clearly identify which DS is which.

Though both DS Lites are on the third brightness setting, there's a definite difference between the two.

The Lites have been swapped with this juxtapose, made from the first picture. The tinted screen is now placed on the right to emphasize the difference -- Ignore the differing shades of the bottom line, as that line flashes to garner attention. I don't think it has anything to do with angle or lighting, as the tint is pretty uniform, not to mention that the top screens match up pretty well and don't suffer from the same problem. If anything, the top screen on the right is a bit brighter....

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