Hardware 3DS LCD screen color mismatch/discoloration?

[HibikiRush]

Recently I have started to notice that it looks like the top screen of my 3DS has more of a warmer/yellower tone to it than the bottom screen, which is mostly visible on the menu screens. At first I thought it might be something to do with the parallax barrier but when I turned off 3D it is still noticeable. Brightness is on max and power saver is off. Do you guys have what looks to be the same coloring/tint on both of the screens?

The best place to tell I think is when you press the power button once at the home screen, which brings you to the info screen about sleep mode. The bottom is a what I would say neutral color light and then the top has some slight warmth to it, like I described it sort of "yellow-ish". They are most definitely not equal in how they look though. Could anyone maybe take a look at this screen and tell me if there is or isn't a difference?

 

[lostdwarf]

I had a DSi, it was fine untill the shoulder buttons broke, so i sent it to nintendo, they sent me a nice brand new DSi.
Only roblem is this DSi has a white bottom screen and a very yellow top screen. Apparently it is normal for some screens to be like this so you have this same thing. You could swap it at the store you got it from if you are nice to them methinks, but apart from that it doesnt affect a thing.

I am happy with a little yellow in my life, it doesnt bother me at all.

games still look the same but more colourful lol
hope this helps.

 

[Lucifer666]

It happens on my DSiXL but not my 3DS.
Just have the store you got it from fix it.

 

[dsfanatic5]

This is what Nintendo has to say about it:

Spoiler

Situation:

•A system screen seems off-color (Yellow or Pink)
•A system screen seems off-color, fuzzy, dark, or grainy
•The system screen colors or quality differ when compared to another Nintendo 3DS


Information:

Due to LCD manufacturing processes it is possible for system screens to look different from one another. The image may appear slightly darker, or have a different tint when compared to another Nintendo 3DS.

This is within manufacturing specifications, and the unit does not need to be repaired.

I noticed that when I first turn on my 3DS, the two black screens are at different levels of brightness, and appear slightly different in hue. However, my top screen only looks yellow when I turn power saving on, so I usually turn it off and play at the highest brightness. Perhaps you could take a pic to show us how yellow the main menu is? If it's too annoying and Nintendo won't replace it, I might suggest taking it back to the store if you're able to.

 

[HibikiRush]

Hmm, well I would love to be able to exchange it but I bought it on CraigsList so I have no way to do that... Just trying to see maybe how common this issue is? The thing that frustrates me is I can't even find any units to check out myself, all the demo units at stores have the firmware where you can't access the home screen and compare screens, and I don't know anyone with a 3DS...

 

[Lucifer666]

Hmm, well I would love to be able to exchange it but I bought it on CraigsList so I have no way to do that... Just trying to see maybe how common this issue is? The thing that frustrates me is I can't even find any units to check out myself, all the demo units at stores have the firmware where you can't access the home screen and compare screens, and I don't know anyone with a 3DS...

You don't have to send it to the store then; just send it to Nintendo

 

[Another World]

You don't have to send it to the store then; just send it to Nintendo

it has already been established in this thread that nintendo considers this within the normal operating limits of the system. they state that this can occur from one lcd to another. you can't just send it back if they won't accept it for repair

-another world

 

[Deleted User]

Depends what angle i look at it. if look at it straight on it's fine but if i look at it at about 60 degrees, slightly yellow (Hardly noticable.) hope that helps.

 

[Nollog]

Recently I have started to notice that it looks like the top screen of my 3DS has more of a warmer/yellower tone to it than the bottom screen, which is mostly visible on the menu screens. At first I thought it might be something to do with the parallax barrier but when I turned off 3D it is still noticeable. Brightness is on max and power saver is off. Do you guys have what looks to be the same coloring/tint on both of the screens?

The best place to tell I think is when you press the power button once at the home screen, which brings you to the info screen about sleep mode. The bottom is a what I would say neutral color light and then the top has some slight warmth to it, like I described it sort of "yellow-ish". They are most definitely not equal in how they look though. Could anyone maybe take a look at this screen and tell me if there is or isn't a difference?

I only have this when power-saving is on.

 

[Rayder]

I used to work at a facility that made backlight panels for industrial equipment and one of the most difficult issues was LED brightness consistency. To be honest, I thought they were a little anal about the brightness consistency....they would fail panels I saw nothing wrong with, or it was such a minor deviation that it could have been ignored and used anyway and most people would have never noticed the difference. Apparently, Ninty isn't as anal about it as that company was.

I don't know how the top screen of a 3DS is made exactly, but I could see how a brightness imbalance in its top screen between what the left and right eye sees (if that's even possible) could be detrimental in creating the 3D effect. I guess that would depend on if the parallax barrier screen is lit separately between what the left and right eyes see or not. I don't know. Still, the fact that the 3DS has two very different types of screens in one unit leads me to assume that such mismatches or discolorations between the two screens will occur a lot more often than they do in DS/DSi's. And we KNOW the problem has always existed in the DS line.

All you can really do is determine if it really bothers you that much and if it does, jam it back to the store for an exchange. Pitch a bitch or lie about what is wrong with it if you have to, like say it tends to lock up at random times (hard to prove or disprove without spending a lot of time messing with it

) or something. Don't try to take it back and only tell them that the screen brightness is out of balance, they will just try to get out of exchanging it or tell you that isn't an issue that warrants an exchange if you tell them that, more than likely.

You paid a premium price for that 3DS. You should expect it to be perfect at such a price. Don't settle for imperfections that bother you. If it's already too late for you to exchange it, then you are screwed as Ninty considers varying screen brightness a non-issue and won't repair it for free.

 

[KingVamp]

I didn't even know this was a issue and I had a ds, dsi and now 3DS...

 

[nando]

i had this issue with my ds lite. i went through 3 ds lites till i found one with decent screens.

 

[HibikiRush]

I used to work at a facility that made backlight panels for industrial equipment and one of the most difficult issues was LED brightness consistency. To be honest, I thought they were a little anal about the brightness consistency....they would fail panels I saw nothing wrong with, or it was such a minor deviation that it could have been ignored and used anyway and most people would have never noticed the difference. Apparently, Ninty isn't as anal about it as that company was.

I don't know how the top screen of a 3DS is made exactly, but I could see how a brightness imbalance in its top screen between what the left and right eye sees (if that's even possible) could be detrimental in creating the 3D effect. I guess that would depend on if the parallax barrier screen is lit separately between what the left and right eyes see or not. I don't know. Still, the fact that the 3DS has two very different types of screens in one unit leads me to assume that such mismatches or discolorations between the two screens will occur a lot more often than they do in DS/DSi's. And we KNOW the problem has always existed in the DS line.

All you can really do is determine if it really bothers you that much and if it does, jam it back to the store for an exchange. Pitch a bitch or lie about what is wrong with it if you have to, like say it tends to lock up at random times (hard to prove or disprove without spending a lot of time messing with it

) or something. Don't try to take it back and only tell them that the screen brightness is out of balance, they will just try to get out of exchanging it or tell you that isn't an issue that warrants an exchange if you tell them that, more than likely.

You paid a premium price for that 3DS. You should expect it to be perfect at such a price. Don't settle for imperfections that bother you. If it's already too late for you to exchange it, then you are screwed as Ninty considers varying screen brightness a non-issue and won't repair it for free.

I totally agree with your statements on this, I think it SHOULD be color matched, not 100% but not like what it is now on mine. I think I am especially anal about this because I am a photographer and kind of expect this color consistency... As I mentioned though sadly I took a gamble and got a cheaper unit off CraigsList so can't return it. I am thinking of buying one at a store to see if it is similar or if it's way better and trying to compare it that way. Across forums I've sort of seen the same ratio of people saying theirs is different and others saying it's fine so I can't really make a decision that way -- though I am just curious how widespread this is. If Nintendo claims that this is a non-repairable/replaceable issue then it might very well be pretty common...

 

[hksrb25s14]

i called nintendo about this problem awhile back for my DS lite, they told me it's suppose tobe like that.
I was like are you sure now? then why is my white ds lite has full brite non yellow top screen and my black one has a yellow tint??? you know what he told me?
"it's a special coating to protect the screen" I was like WTF? then i was like then your telling me my white DSlite is messed up? they he was like "it's only the Black ones"
then i was like BS!!

lucky for me I got it at Best buy and returned it like 5 times (not all the same areas) until I found the right one.
Never Shop at Gamestop or EB Games, they will do everything in their will power to stop you from getting a new DS.
Walmart is good too, they don't give a @#$$.

 

[Opium]

My 3DS has a slightly yellowy top screen compared to the bottom screen. It is noticeable on a white background, but doesn't annoy me too much. True story.

 

[nicklessguy]

Did you turn off the Power-saving?
It makes the upper screen a bit yellowish.

 

[Zarxrax]

My 3d screen has slightly different colors for the left and right eye. It's slight but noticeable when I look with just one eye.

 

[HibikiRush]

To add to this, I am trying to pull some shenanigans with returning my old 3DS and keeping a new one, and just ordered another off of Amazon. I can definitely tell that the top LCD is a little bit less yellow with much better tones, though sadly still not a close match. I might try two more units and see if they might be any better.

Edit: Went to Walmart to try another unit, this one is probably comparable to my old unit, ie noticeable yellow discoloration. I think I will try one more from another store and if that one isn't a better match than my Amazon unit I am sticking with that one as it's bearable -- it's not a perfect color match but it's at least not yellow.

 

[LopX]

Both my 3ds screens top and bottom are turning blue,pink,white, and red. Can y'all help me I'm FREAKING OUT

 

[nccom]

I think I am especially anal about this because I am a photographer and kind of expect this color consistency

Nintendo does not calibrate their screens at all so unfortunately you'll have to suffer through this. These guys have run some tests:
http://www.lesnumeriques.com/consol...-nintendo-new-3ds-a-sonde-a-loupe-n39641.html
8470K color temp? Who cares!
20000K color temp on another unit and horrible blue tint to everything? Good enough!
10.1 dE? Ship it already!

So yeah, thats the nintendo "quality".