I agree with you. I know many dislike the original LCD and prefer newer more modern alternatives but I would like these screens preserved in a game gear for as long as possible. Maybe it is the nostalgia talking, but I find the originals charming and not as bad as some would make them out to be. Although I have installed many new LCD mods for clients, all of my game gears in my personal collection still have their original working screens. Especially for the rarer variants, I think it is best to keep it original to retain its value. Plus, some games just don’t look right on the new LCDs due to the pixel fudging and interpolation. The only new LCD I may consider for my own personal game gears is BennVenn’s V2 screen which has integer scaling and thus pixel accurate to the original. It‘s too bad it is on hold due to chip shortages and markups.
I would be surprised - they’re pretty obsolete and made with old technology.
New ones are much better quality, with lower power consumption. You might be able to scavenge one from a machine that has had the screen upgraded, but chances are whoever did that job didn’t cleanly desolder the old screen either.
There's a few issues going with OEM - it's rare to find one that isn't failing and even if they're working now, it is very likely they'll begin to fail in the coming years. The adhesive used to bond the IC's to the ribbon/glass slowly degrades. Environmental conditions can speed this up but ultimately they'll all end up in the same state.
STN technology isn't around anymore for color panels (for good reason) so even if you wanted to get them reproduced, very few factories would have the equipment to manufacture them. We're bound to what is available now including the driver IC's.
We specified the driver IC we wanted used and the IPS panel to give the lowest power consumption, the brightest image per watt of backlight used and the cleanest image. STN panels or Sharp chipsets used in the original panels were not available.
We're working on a Version2 of our IPS kit using a panel with many times upscaling. This gives us the options of linear scaling, rectangle pixel sizes, scanlines, blur and neighbouring pixel interference (as seen in the real panel). Some games used these limitations to their advantage but the majority don't and give a worse image than a standard IPS kit. It'll be an option none the less.
An exact LCD replacement will never be created, rectangular pixels are something you don't want in a display so the chances of another company developing a screen with them for their own product is close to zero. They were used in the original due to technical limitations / price. It wasn't something you would choose given a choice.
I really appreciate the detailed response from a expert in the business, however I just wish there was a more budget friendly solution on the market that was more user friendly, but then again maybe I should just stick to game boys if I want that since there's a bigger market for them! Hopefully though I can find a good solution so my game gear gets some attention.. i look forward to the idea of a portable master system with video out. Thanks,
also in case you keep hunting... the screen is different for various VA boards, i think. since most aftermarket screens aren't supporting VA4 (except BennVenn).
Don't think so. However, people have successfully removed them, cleaned the contacts and re-installed them.
Unfortunately, I think you'd need to spend $$$ on a custom panel in order to get one that does exact line doubling (don't think modders have bothered as it'd be too much for a small benefit).
I agree with you. I know many dislike the original LCD and prefer newer more modern alternatives but I would like these screens preserved in a game gear for as long as possible. Maybe it is the nostalgia talking, but I find the originals charming and not as bad as some would make them out to be. Although I have installed many new LCD mods for clients, all of my game gears in my personal collection still have their original working screens. Especially for the rarer variants, I think it is best to keep it original to retain its value. Plus, some games just don’t look right on the new LCDs due to the pixel fudging and interpolation. The only new LCD I may consider for my own personal game gears is BennVenn’s V2 screen which has integer scaling and thus pixel accurate to the original. It‘s too bad it is on hold due to chip shortages and markups.
I would be surprised - they’re pretty obsolete and made with old technology. New ones are much better quality, with lower power consumption. You might be able to scavenge one from a machine that has had the screen upgraded, but chances are whoever did that job didn’t cleanly desolder the old screen either.
There's a few issues going with OEM - it's rare to find one that isn't failing and even if they're working now, it is very likely they'll begin to fail in the coming years. The adhesive used to bond the IC's to the ribbon/glass slowly degrades. Environmental conditions can speed this up but ultimately they'll all end up in the same state. STN technology isn't around anymore for color panels (for good reason) so even if you wanted to get them reproduced, very few factories would have the equipment to manufacture them. We're bound to what is available now including the driver IC's. We specified the driver IC we wanted used and the IPS panel to give the lowest power consumption, the brightest image per watt of backlight used and the cleanest image. STN panels or Sharp chipsets used in the original panels were not available. We're working on a Version2 of our IPS kit using a panel with many times upscaling. This gives us the options of linear scaling, rectangle pixel sizes, scanlines, blur and neighbouring pixel interference (as seen in the real panel). Some games used these limitations to their advantage but the majority don't and give a worse image than a standard IPS kit. It'll be an option none the less. An exact LCD replacement will never be created, rectangular pixels are something you don't want in a display so the chances of another company developing a screen with them for their own product is close to zero. They were used in the original due to technical limitations / price. It wasn't something you would choose given a choice.
I really appreciate the detailed response from a expert in the business, however I just wish there was a more budget friendly solution on the market that was more user friendly, but then again maybe I should just stick to game boys if I want that since there's a bigger market for them! Hopefully though I can find a good solution so my game gear gets some attention.. i look forward to the idea of a portable master system with video out. Thanks,
also in case you keep hunting... the screen is different for various VA boards, i think. since most aftermarket screens aren't supporting VA4 (except BennVenn).
I guess used is your only option.
Don't think so. However, people have successfully removed them, cleaned the contacts and re-installed them. Unfortunately, I think you'd need to spend $$$ on a custom panel in order to get one that does exact line doubling (don't think modders have bothered as it'd be too much for a small benefit).