Exhuminator wrote:No, they absolutely do not. I've compared multiple units simultaneously and proved this to myself after reading about it. At one point I had all of the following models of DS Lites turned on and laid out on a table next to each other, running the same software demos and menus and such, compared screens for about an hour. Yes I am a DS Lite nut and I owned way too many of these things at one time:MyNameIsVince wrote:Wait, not all DS Lites have the same screen quality?
Original Polar White
Two original Onyx Blacks
Silver model
Two Crimson & Blacks
Two Cobalt & Blacks
The original Polar & Onyx models had very rich colors, but their backlights were not as bright as later models. These original models had a LOT of motion blur though, especially in dark areas of games. The motion blur sucks with fast action games. And the original models are prone to hinge cracking too.
The Silver model didn't have as much motion blur, but its colors were a bit more muted, and it had a slightly yellow tint to the bottom screen. It seemed to be the halfway point between the originals and the Crimson.
The Crimson & Blacks were the WORST by far. They had muted colors, washed out contrast, slightly yellow tint to the top screen, and VERY yellow tint to the bottom screen. However they were pretty good about not having motion blur. Also the Crimsons had issues with the d-pad getting stuck, and the volume slider coming loose. Both models had these issues.
The Cobalt & Blacks are GORGEOUS. Strong colors, BRIGHT backlight, great contrast, hardly any motion blur even on dark games, the graphics just pop on both those Cobalts. The hinges are still uncracked to this day.
I did a bunch of research after that and found out that DS Lites' screens were not all manufactured by the same company. (Not all DS Lites were assembled from the same OEM components for that matter.) Rather various companies produced the screens/components and various models got those screens/components. Nintendo knew full well that the Crimson & Black DS Lites were subpar and they did the best they could to liquidate them quickly. That's why the Crimson & Black DS Lite had not one, but two different bundles available (Brain Age 2 / New Super Mario Bros.) to help move it off shelves.
This is all anecdotal and I'm too tired to pull sources. But take it from a guy who's owned a shit load of DS Lites... you want a Cobalt & Black.
Wow, that's dedication. Or insanity. Or both.
I never owned a DS Lite, but my younger brothers do. My brother Trevor originally had a polar white one, and my brother Phil had an onyx one. Trevor's white DS Lite did have broken hinges after heavy use, so he did get a replacement, which was a silver one. Phil still has his original onyx one. If neither one takes their DS Lite when they move to Arizona for college next week, I'll have to check the differences of the screens.
I do remember the Colbalt/Black and Crimson/Black versions coming out later but I am surprised that both are different in terms of screen quality. Build quality I would not be surprised, compared to earlier models. I remember trying one of the newer ones in a store one time, and was thrown off by the matte finish on the bottom as opposed to the smoother plastic finish on the older models. Not that it's bad, just different.
If I were to get a DS Lite, even if I didn't read your post and hear about the differences in screen and build quality, I would have probably gotten a Cobalt/Black one, or one of the weirder variants (like the ice blue brain age one, or the all red one that included NSMB).
Of course the next day the tracking info shows. Im no expert this is my first time actually touching a DS but from my examination its mint condition. No scratches/blemishes on the case or on any of the screens. The film is actually on the screen. So i would hate to return it and with my luck get a beat up one instead... Now i have to get use to the tiny buttons on it. Ive only loaded Pokemon Fire Red to verify that it works and so far so good.