Hacking Homebrew Can mismatched screen calibration be corrected?

[nostos156]

Hi,

I'm sure the more astute (and picky) eyes have long noticed the problem of 3DS screens not being calibrated at all, so their white balance is completely off between the screens. Most common seems to be a yellow top screen and pink bottom screen. In my opinion, this is a worse thing than the whole IPS/TN debacle, but finding a system with matching screens (or close to) is truly a holy grail unicorn moment. I have one system like that, a top IPS with the yellow/pink tinge so minor that my eye can self correct for it and I forget about it/struggle to see it despite how picky I am. So that's all good.

However, I have a backup dual IPS system that has this noticeable yellow/pink tint problem, and I just can't get over it. Annoys me to no end.

Image attached to illustrate.

So, is it possible to manually recalibrate these screens using CFW and match their white points better by eye, and have this setting save across the system?

 

[lone_wolf323]

Hi,

I'm sure the more astute (and picky) eyes have long noticed the problem of 3DS screens not being calibrated at all, so their white balance is completely off between the screens. Most common seems to be a yellow top screen and pink bottom screen. In my opinion, this is a worse thing than the whole IPS/TN debacle, but finding a system with matching screens (or close to) is truly a holy grail unicorn moment. I have one system like that, a top IPS with the yellow/pink tinge so minor that my eye can self correct for it and I forget about it/struggle to see it despite how picky I am. So that's all good.

However, I have a backup dual IPS system that has this noticeable yellow/pink tint problem, and I just can't get over it. Annoys me to no end.

Image attached to illustrate.

So, is it possible to manually recalibrate these screens using CFW and match their white points better by eye, and have this setting save across the system?

im guessing the recalibrate screens from the system settings has done nothing to help with this issue?

 

[nostos156]

im guessing the recalibrate screens from the system settings has done nothing to help with this issue?

No, this is a panel from factory issue, no way around it bar recalibrating the screens via some kind of LUT.

Nintendo just didn't care enough to have a basic white point calibration done on the screens, so it's totally random.

 

[SG854]

It's a children's toy don't worry about it.

 

[nostos156]

It's a children's toy don't worry about it.

Usually, if there is a perfectly functional emulation replacement, I wouldn't (as I have long accepted Nintendo handheld hardware QC sucks ass), but Citra sucks and Mikage is probably a few years off of being playable on mostly everything.

So for now I'm stuck with the 3DS, and I'm pretty anal about my colours matching due to prior work in image based design. Bah.

 

[Ryab]

Hi,

I'm sure the more astute (and picky) eyes have long noticed the problem of 3DS screens not being calibrated at all, so their white balance is completely off between the screens. Most common seems to be a yellow top screen and pink bottom screen. In my opinion, this is a worse thing than the whole IPS/TN debacle, but finding a system with matching screens (or close to) is truly a holy grail unicorn moment. I have one system like that, a top IPS with the yellow/pink tinge so minor that my eye can self correct for it and I forget about it/struggle to see it despite how picky I am. So that's all good.

However, I have a backup dual IPS system that has this noticeable yellow/pink tint problem, and I just can't get over it. Annoys me to no end.

Image attached to illustrate.

So, is it possible to manually recalibrate these screens using CFW and match their white points better by eye, and have this setting save across the system?

No offence but that does come off as extremely picky. As far as I know there is no CFW tool to fix this as nobody has ever seemed to care. In my own person experience I don't think I ever noticed this as an issue until you mentioned it. Wouldnt this really only be visible on the home menu? Most games wouldnt have bright backgrounds of nearly the same color.

 

[SG854]

Usually, if there is a perfectly functional emulation replacement, I wouldn't (as I have long accepted Nintendo handheld hardware QC sucks ass), but Citra sucks and Mikage is probably a few years off of being playable on mostly everything.

So for now I'm stuck with the 3DS, and I'm pretty anal about my colours matching due to prior work in image based design. Bah.

QC sucks ass because of the extremely low price you paid for it.

You either want good QC but more expensive console. Or bad QC but more affordable.

Nintendo isn't going put that effort in a children's toy.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Does this only occur with IPS screens? Cause I've not experienced it with any of my 3 3DS consoles (all TN)

 

[MikaDubbz]

Guess not all 3DS aren't created equal as evident already by the IPS and TN displays. Having said that, in terms of what you're talking about, I've never noticed much of any difference in the white balance between 2 screens, and having spent as much time with my system as I have, I would think I would have noticed such a thing by now. Don't know if I'm the outlier, or if you are. Regardless, glad to see it isn't a problem that affects my N3DS XL or my N2DS XL for that matter.

 

[ghjfdtg]

Nintendo uses several different LCD panels and they don't seem to be calibrated correctly in factory. Unfortunatelly no one figured out yet how the factory calibration can be accessed (if there is one to begin with). There is a lookup table on the 3DS side but it can barely even correct the crap gamma without sacrificing range.

 

[nostos156]

No offence but that does come off as extremely picky. As far as I know there is no CFW tool to fix this as nobody has ever seemed to care. In my own person experience I don't think I ever noticed this as an issue until you mentioned it. Wouldnt this really only be visible on the home menu? Most games wouldnt have bright backgrounds of nearly the same color.

Oh, I know I'm extremely picky. Wouldn't have to be if Nintendo would do some very basic QC though. However, people definitely do/are noticing this issue as it seems over time the Japanese 3DS's are experiencing significant yellowing due to organic materials in the screens breaking down, accelerated due to the temperature and humidity experienced there.

For certain people like myself, I can tell when something is off with the white balance even without it being an all white screen.

QC sucks ass because of the extremely low price you paid for it.

You either want good QC but more expensive console. Or bad QC but more affordable.

Nintendo isn't going put that effort in a children's toy.

Which is why I'm glad Nintendo has ditched handhelds once and for all. Switch technically is one, but I can hook it up to a TV and don't have to deal with their lotteries anymore. Happy days.

Does this only occur with IPS screens? Cause I've not experienced it with any of my 3 3DS consoles (all TN)

No, it occurs with all screens. You'd probably notice it if I told you to go into the game notes app or something and take a close look at both screens, but I would not advise it if you don't notice it now.

The worst offenders I've seen personally were a couple of all TN SNES models, top screens were very yellow.

Guess not all 3DS aren't created equal as evident already by the IPS and TN displays. Having said that, in terms of what you're talking about, I've never noticed much of any difference in the white balance between 2 screens, and having spent as much time with my system as I have, I would think I would have noticed such a thing by now. Don't know if I'm the outlier, or if you are. Regardless, glad to see it isn't a problem that affects my N3DS XL or my N2DS XL for that matter.

Definitely not an outlier, I'd wager *most* systems are like this (because none of the LCDs are calibrated). Just some people are more sensitive to it than others. If you really want to try, check out the game notes app and see if you can notice a difference between the two screens (do it in the dark to make it obvious).

I've personally handled up to maybe 10 systems, and only 1 or 2 had acceptable levels of white balance where I struggled to notice anything was wrong. Most had significant yellowing on the top screen.

Nintendo uses several different LCD panels and they don't seem to be calibrated correctly in factory. Unfortunatelly no one figured out yet how the factory calibration can be accessed (if there is one to begin with). There is a lookup table on the 3DS side but it can barely even correct the crap gamma without sacrificing range.

Yeah, from what I have been hearing it seems there is no internal LCD calibration data, only brightness curves and contrast bias voltage. If I was to modify the colours, colour information would be lost as the LCD and LUT are only 8bits, so it couldn't handle modifications.

So it seems the answer is its technically possible, but there's a cost. Damn.

 

[XRTerra]

I think that you can actually get new/better screen calibration files. I forgot where tho.
The thing is it might cause issues with your screen anyway(?). You can change your 3ds screen "warmth" in luma3ds settings and it does help.

 

[ack]

The worst offenders I've seen personally were a couple of all TN SNES models, top screens were very yellow.

The LCD itself or the plastic piece covering it? if it's the piece covering it that's yellowing i would just swap that out, if its the lcd i guess you could make a replica of the piece covering it that's as purple as it's yellow?

 

[ZeroT21]

It's the degrading polarizing film over the panel that's likely the cause

 

[nostos156]

It's the degrading polarizing film over the panel that's likely the cause

For older DS models or Japanese 3DSs, that is usually the cause. You can tell because the yellowing tends to start in the corners (greater surface area) and creeps inwards with a vignette effect.

The yellowing I was referencing is just shitty factory non-calibration of the white balance.