The RePortable Vol.1 No.7
The Trouble with the PSP 3000’s screen
There’s no joy in Sonyville as many people who just bought shiny new PSP-3000s are recoiling in horror at the ever present scanlines and interlacing problems that appear on the new screen. Threads popped up on the Playstation.com boards alerting others to the problem.
[fanboymoment]Can I just say how much I’m loving my Phat right now? [/fanboymoment] Okay that was a bit mean, but to make up for it, now we’re going to venture into my first multimedia blog! Are you ready? Take a look at the pictures and get ready to have last night’s dinner scared out of you.
This is a scene from a movie being played on the PSP-2000:
And here’s the same scene as played on the 3000:
Here’s a video comparing both screens in the XMB: http://www.edensoto.com/PSP-2000_vs_PSP-3000.mov
Big difference. I’d be mighty pissed too if I’d just bought a $200 PSP-3000 and heard the statement Sony Corp. issued October 21st:
”Since this is caused by hardware characteristics, there is no plan to fix it with system software update. On some occasions, scan lines may appear on scenes where brightness changes drastically, due to the hardware features of the new LCD device on PSP-3000. Installed with this new LCD device, PSP-3000 offers more natural and vibrant colors on its screen, but the scan lines have come out to be more visible as a result of improving response time to alleviate the afterimages on PSP-3000. Since this is due to hardware specification, there are no plans for a system software update concerning this issue.”
Maybe I’m a little sensitive but it sounds like a nice way of saying, “Shut the fuck up and deal with it!”
Some people have said that other than this issue, the screen looks fantastic, and while I haven’t gotten a chance to rest mine eyes on one (for some reason Best Buy keeps these greasy old 2000s out on the displays) so I’m still looking forward to that. I’m told that it’s most noticeable when watching movies or playing games with lots of movement.
I guess sometimes when you improve the quality of certain things, you make little imperfections that were always there a lot more noticeable, which looks like the case here. Ah well, think of all the money you’ll be able to make selling a 2000 on eBay! See? There’s a silver lining here!
Wow… just, wow.
I was not aware of these problems. “Games with movement”!? That’s pretty much every game, and if they mean by ‘fast movement’, that’s… still many games.
I’m gonna hold on to my SlimPSP.
Thanks for the heads up! I sold my original PSP due to wanting the shorter loading times and ability to video out to the TV, I’ll be sure to buy a refurbished PSP-2000 and not the 3000. I can’t believe how lazy, greedy and seedy Sony can be.
I don’t think Sony WANTED this to happen. I just think that it’s the price of the oversight and rush to get the product out.
I think that in many ways, Sony has made a worse product through each generation. When it was remodeled for the first time, Sony didn’t add anything “new” except for the output ability and 32mb more memory. Meanwhile, they took out the IR sensor. I’d rather have the ability to use the PSP as a remote than use the Playstation Portable as a console. If I wanted a console I would have bought the Playstation console. With this new version it seems as though the screen is worse and they haven’t added in any super advanced new features or functions at all.
Keep up the good work. I like reading your stuff.
Wow, that’s seriously fucked up! Man, I remember back when you said you sympathised with those who’d bought the Slim, I was really pissed, as I was one of those who bought it. But, seeing this, I don’t think the Slim was such a bad decision! Also, I wonder how they counter-measured Pandora’s Battery…which part will we need to hack this time?
I’m certainly happy to eat my words on that count!
The 3000’s screen’s full potential is only unleashed when displaying strawberries(http://kotaku.com/assets/images/kotaku/2008/08/pspshowdown2.jpg). So, if you are an ardent fan of the fruit, or have some twisted berry-fetish, do get one of these new fangled devices.
Otherwise, stick with one of the older models. The “phat” model has gotten the job done for me, and I don’t intend to upgrade to any of the newer models.
I agree with snake. That phat PSP units are probably the best for someone wishing to utilize homebrew its fullest and get the most value from their PSP.