Disclaimer:
This is a subjective account of De-Yellowing using tools and software that wasn't foolproof and wrought with issues. I format it similar to a scientific paper as that is what I’m comfortable doing and what makes sense to my mind when it comes to organizing information. I do not expect to follow the rules or etiquette of scientific paper writing, so take the organization as inspiration.
This post is an observation and shouldn't be interpreted as concrete data.
Abstract:
I sought to repeat @Jake64’s video on “De-Yellowing DS Lite Screens” with 5 Dsi LL consoles experiencing a range from mild to extreme screen yellowing. Over 58 Days, these consoles were left on a white screen 24/7, and, It would happen that @Jake64’s findings were repeatable All 5 consoles that experienced yellowing saw a noticeable change; some more than others (also slightly different when you see them in person). I did see the most change in the first 11 days of the experiment, so if you wish to repeat this experiment or try a fix on your yellowed screens, anywhere between 1 and 11 days should produce satisfactory results.
Intro:
A video by @Jake64 began circulating on the subreddits I follow. In their video, they show that a once yellowed DS Lite bottom screen became more white over 23 days (max brightness on the main menu).
The cited cause of yellowed screens that I've heard was damage due to humidity and non-use as most of the worst cases of yellowing I've seen appeared on otherwise great-condition Japanese DSi LL consoles. This may be a case by case basis as that may not be the whole truth, but for my experience, the DSI LL consoles had the worst yellowing of all consoles. Traditionally, this meant the screens were beyond repair, and needed to be replaced.
I decided to tackle this issue with a batch of 5 DSI LL consoles I recently purchased. These consoles ranged from mildly to extremely yellowed.
*For the sake of cleanliness, I'll isolate sections into Spoiler Blocks.*
Day 0: 7/29/24 - Set Up
Day 1: 7/29/24
Day 11: 8/8/24
Day 22 – 8/19/24
Day 58 – 9/24/24
Conclusion/Discussion:
There is some validity to the theory that keeping consoles with yellowed screens on for a duration of time can work to reverse the yellowing. For the three consoles, White 1L, Bronze 1L, and Bronze 2L, whose yellowing was very minor to begin with saw, what I would consider a full recovery; for lack of a better word. For the two consoles with the more extreme yellowing, White 2L and Burgundy, the yellowing appears to be irreversible. So, in the most extreme cases, it would appear that yellowing is permanent damage.
(For the graphs, the lower the score, the closer the screens are to matching the control console)
The duration of the experiment, 58 days, ended up being wholly unnecessary as the most significant improvement to the screens occurred within the first 11 days. If I do this experiment again, I would be interested in seeing how many days are needed before the Delta E begins to plateau so that a practical recovery plan can be recommended to people who are experiencing yellowed screens on their DS consoles.
If I were to look at this batch of consoles with the goal of selling them, White 2L and Burgundy would be far too yellowed to be considered sellable. The other three consoles, however, I would part with them as their screens look very good.
Another way of saying that is White 2L and Burgundy would be unplayable for most people as the yellow would, most likely, be noticeable while playing games.
(For the graphs, the lower the score, the closer the screens are to matching the control console)
(Note the different scales for the Y-Axis)
Though I was not testing for it, it would appear that the vignetting on the bottom screen of Bronze 1L neither got worse nor better. I wonder if vignetting is damage due to powering on and off the displays, and not due to constant display usage.
This is a subjective account of De-Yellowing using tools and software that wasn't foolproof and wrought with issues. I format it similar to a scientific paper as that is what I’m comfortable doing and what makes sense to my mind when it comes to organizing information. I do not expect to follow the rules or etiquette of scientific paper writing, so take the organization as inspiration.
This post is an observation and shouldn't be interpreted as concrete data.
Abstract:
I sought to repeat @Jake64’s video on “De-Yellowing DS Lite Screens” with 5 Dsi LL consoles experiencing a range from mild to extreme screen yellowing. Over 58 Days, these consoles were left on a white screen 24/7, and, It would happen that @Jake64’s findings were repeatable All 5 consoles that experienced yellowing saw a noticeable change; some more than others (also slightly different when you see them in person). I did see the most change in the first 11 days of the experiment, so if you wish to repeat this experiment or try a fix on your yellowed screens, anywhere between 1 and 11 days should produce satisfactory results.
Intro:
A video by @Jake64 began circulating on the subreddits I follow. In their video, they show that a once yellowed DS Lite bottom screen became more white over 23 days (max brightness on the main menu).
The cited cause of yellowed screens that I've heard was damage due to humidity and non-use as most of the worst cases of yellowing I've seen appeared on otherwise great-condition Japanese DSi LL consoles. This may be a case by case basis as that may not be the whole truth, but for my experience, the DSI LL consoles had the worst yellowing of all consoles. Traditionally, this meant the screens were beyond repair, and needed to be replaced.
I decided to tackle this issue with a batch of 5 DSI LL consoles I recently purchased. These consoles ranged from mildly to extremely yellowed.
*For the sake of cleanliness, I'll isolate sections into Spoiler Blocks.*
Day 0: 7/29/24 - Set Up
Equipment and Tools:
Methodology:
The Dsi XL consoles were loaded with the LCD Tester program and left on the white screen for the entire duration of the experiment. The consoles were not turned off or put into rest mode. All consoles were plugged into a charger. Battery and charger conditions were not measured beforehand but were functional enough to keep the consoles on.
Consoles were left on an unlit shelf in a temperature-controlled home ~68 F. Due to the lack of measuring equipment, factors such as humidity and day-to-day room temperature were not accounted for. Ambient light from LED lights in the room was the only light source that would impact the images aside from the consoles themselves.
Samsung A20 is Velcro strapped to the shelf above the consoles as a means to hold the camera in a somewhat fixed position for the duration of the experiment. The software Camo and OBS were not controlled and may have been updated at various points in the experiment.
When it came time to photograph the console, each console was moved, by hand, underneath the Samsung A20 on top of a Cyberpower mouse pad. The ‘Cyberpower” text was used as a reference point for me to try and keep each photo the same.
Since I do not have an objective means of capturing the exact color value of the screens (via colorimeter or other such color accurate devices), nor a controlled environment, all accounts will be subjective and to the whims of both the camera capturing programs, and the phone used to capture the images. I will make a Subjective Observation of what I see with my eyes, and an observation of the photos between the testing periods.
At the end of the experiment, the photos taken will be bought into the photo editing software Gimp and, using the Color Picture Tool and CIE200 Calculator on Colormine.org (CIE2000 Delta-E Calculator - ColorMine.org ), a Delta-E measurement compared to the control will be taken and graphs will be made for each console showing the progression. I am very ignorant when it comes to color theory, but this is the only objective measurement I can think of doing with the equipment I have.
The GIMP color picker was used on the same spot for every console. Both spots were on the corner of each screen where I believe the yellowing is expressed the most. This would be the top right corner of the top screen and the bottom right corner of the bottom screen.
The experiment will last for 58 days starting on 7/29/24 and ending on 9/24/24
- 5 Dsi LL consoles. Each console is functional to the extent I was willing to test them. Functional to the point of loading the LCD Tester (more below).
- A European Green Dsi XL was used as a control. This console has screens I would consider in excellent condition in both color and temperature. The console was left off and unplayed when observations were not made.
- SD cards containing the Flipnote Lenny exploit (Launching the Exploit (Flipnote Lenny) | DSi Guide (cfw.guide)) and a copy of the LCD Tester (DS LCD Tester – GameBrew) to create a solid white screen.
- A Samsung A20 Smartphone is used for the camera. The phone was left on default settings.
- Camo Sudio Application for the Samsung A20 Smartphone and Computer for communication between devices. The program was left on “auto” for all settings.
- OBS Studio for Samsung A20 device capture and screenshots.
- Insignia NS-22E400NA14 Computer Monitor for viewing the photos.
- A Cyberpower mouse pad as a background for the images and a reference point for lining the console up when it came time to take photos.
- LibreOffice for Word Processing and Data.
- GIMP for photo and color capture.
- CIE2000 Delta-E Calculator - ColorMine.org for Delta E Calculations.
Methodology:
The Dsi XL consoles were loaded with the LCD Tester program and left on the white screen for the entire duration of the experiment. The consoles were not turned off or put into rest mode. All consoles were plugged into a charger. Battery and charger conditions were not measured beforehand but were functional enough to keep the consoles on.
Consoles were left on an unlit shelf in a temperature-controlled home ~68 F. Due to the lack of measuring equipment, factors such as humidity and day-to-day room temperature were not accounted for. Ambient light from LED lights in the room was the only light source that would impact the images aside from the consoles themselves.
Samsung A20 is Velcro strapped to the shelf above the consoles as a means to hold the camera in a somewhat fixed position for the duration of the experiment. The software Camo and OBS were not controlled and may have been updated at various points in the experiment.
When it came time to photograph the console, each console was moved, by hand, underneath the Samsung A20 on top of a Cyberpower mouse pad. The ‘Cyberpower” text was used as a reference point for me to try and keep each photo the same.
Since I do not have an objective means of capturing the exact color value of the screens (via colorimeter or other such color accurate devices), nor a controlled environment, all accounts will be subjective and to the whims of both the camera capturing programs, and the phone used to capture the images. I will make a Subjective Observation of what I see with my eyes, and an observation of the photos between the testing periods.
At the end of the experiment, the photos taken will be bought into the photo editing software Gimp and, using the Color Picture Tool and CIE200 Calculator on Colormine.org (CIE2000 Delta-E Calculator - ColorMine.org ), a Delta-E measurement compared to the control will be taken and graphs will be made for each console showing the progression. I am very ignorant when it comes to color theory, but this is the only objective measurement I can think of doing with the equipment I have.
The GIMP color picker was used on the same spot for every console. Both spots were on the corner of each screen where I believe the yellowing is expressed the most. This would be the top right corner of the top screen and the bottom right corner of the bottom screen.
The experiment will last for 58 days starting on 7/29/24 and ending on 9/24/24
Day 1: 7/29/24
Subjective Observations:
Author’s comments:
I do expect a change in the extremely yellowed consoles, as what we see in @Jake64’s video, but for the idea that you can make a yellowed screen white, I do not believe that is possible for the damage has already been done.
- White 1L – Mild Yellowed.
- White 2L – Extreme Yellowed both screens
- Burgundy – Extreme Yellowed both screens.
- Brown 1L – Mild yellowing on top screen. Vignetting on bottom.
- Brown 2L – Mild Yellowing on both screens.
Author’s comments:
I do expect a change in the extremely yellowed consoles, as what we see in @Jake64’s video, but for the idea that you can make a yellowed screen white, I do not believe that is possible for the damage has already been done.
Day 11: 8/8/24
Studying the Photos compared to Day 1:
Author’s Comments:
There seems to be a bit of discrepancy between what I see and what the camera sees. That is to be expected, and not a factor that I am able to control. Though Burgundy and White 2L appear to be less yellowed than Day 1, they are far from what I’d consider good. Relative to the images of Day 11, I would say the yellowing is slightly worse than what is imagined.
White 1L, and both Bronze consoles are in pretty good shape, save for the vignetting bottom screen, and it is difficult to see the yellowing on the edges.
A “sellability” measure was not noted for Day 1, to my great displeasure. This, being, a measure in which I would or wouldn’t sell the console due to the degree of yellowness in the screens. If I had to guess based on my memory, I would not have sold any of these consoles due to the degree of yellowing.
For Burgundy and White 2L, I wouldn’t sell these consoles due to the degree of yellowing, but White 1L and the two Bronze consoles, I would have little to no issue selling them, save for, of course, the vignetting bottom screen. I would have to note that there is extremely light yellowing, but not detrimental enough to impact colored content.
- White 1L – No Noticeable change.
- White 2L – A significant reduction in yellowing from both screens. The console is very similar to the current condition of White 1L. The yellowing in the corners was reduced by a significant factor.
- Burgundy – A significant reduction in yellowing from both screens. Screens match the current condition of White 1L and 2L.
- Bronze 1L – Maybe a slight change, but really hard to tell. Vignetting on the bottom screen is unchanged.
- Bronze 2L – A noticeable lessening of the yellowing.
- White 1L – Extremely light yellowing around the edges of the top and bottom screen. If not held up to a control, the yellowing would be really hard to see.
- White 2L – Heavy yellowing around the edges of the screen with mild yellowing in the middle.
- Burgundy – Heavy yellowing around the edges of the screen with mild yellowing in the middle.
- Bronze 1L: - Light yellowing around the edges of the top screen. Vignetting does not appear to have changed on the bottom screen.
- Bronze 2L: Extremely light yellowing around the edges of the top and bottom screen. If not held up to a control, the yellowing would be really hard to see.
Author’s Comments:
There seems to be a bit of discrepancy between what I see and what the camera sees. That is to be expected, and not a factor that I am able to control. Though Burgundy and White 2L appear to be less yellowed than Day 1, they are far from what I’d consider good. Relative to the images of Day 11, I would say the yellowing is slightly worse than what is imagined.
White 1L, and both Bronze consoles are in pretty good shape, save for the vignetting bottom screen, and it is difficult to see the yellowing on the edges.
A “sellability” measure was not noted for Day 1, to my great displeasure. This, being, a measure in which I would or wouldn’t sell the console due to the degree of yellowness in the screens. If I had to guess based on my memory, I would not have sold any of these consoles due to the degree of yellowing.
For Burgundy and White 2L, I wouldn’t sell these consoles due to the degree of yellowing, but White 1L and the two Bronze consoles, I would have little to no issue selling them, save for, of course, the vignetting bottom screen. I would have to note that there is extremely light yellowing, but not detrimental enough to impact colored content.
Day 22 – 8/19/24
Studying the Photos compared to Day 11:
Subjective Observations:
Author’s Comments:
From what I recall from Day 11, and my notes on Day 11, I notice absolutely no difference between these two time periods. I won’t say that the experiment has plateaued, but there is obviously not as much change as there was between Day 1 and Day 11.
I would say that the screens on White 1L, and both Bronze Consoles are still in good enough shape that the screens are sellable (save for the bottom screen on Bronze 1L).
Since there were no noticable change between Day 11 and Day 22, I will not do any more observations until the last day.
- White 1L – No noticeable difference
- White 2L – No noticeable difference
- Burgundy – No noticeable difference
- Bronze 1L – No noticeable difference
- Bronze 2L – No noticeable difference
Subjective Observations:
- White 1L – Extremely minor yellowing on bottom screen edges. Minor yellowing on top screen edges.
- White 2L – Significant screen yellowing.
- Burgundy – Significant screen yellowing.
- Bronze 1L: - Extremely minor yellowing on top screen corners. Vignetting on the bottom screen.
- Bronze 2L: Extremely minor yellowing on corners for both screens.
Author’s Comments:
From what I recall from Day 11, and my notes on Day 11, I notice absolutely no difference between these two time periods. I won’t say that the experiment has plateaued, but there is obviously not as much change as there was between Day 1 and Day 11.
I would say that the screens on White 1L, and both Bronze Consoles are still in good enough shape that the screens are sellable (save for the bottom screen on Bronze 1L).
Since there were no noticable change between Day 11 and Day 22, I will not do any more observations until the last day.
Day 58 – 9/24/24
Studying the Photos compared to Day 22:
Author’s Comments:
Based on what I see both on the consoles in person and comparing the photos, the choice to not record information between Day 22 and Day 58 was a good one as there was no difference. I was keeping an eye on them, of course, but I could see that there was no noticeable change in screen yellowing.
- White 1L – No noticeable difference
- White 2L – No noticeable difference
- Burgundy – No noticeable difference
- Bronze 1L – No noticeable difference
- Bronze 2L – No noticeable difference
- White 1L – No sign of yellowing. Screens look good.
- White 2L – Yellowing on the edges of both screens. About the same as the Burgundy console when put side-by-side.
- Burgundy – Significant yellowing around both screen edges.
- Bronze 1L: The top screen has a red hue to it, but no yellowing. Bottom screen in vignetting.
- Bronze 2L: No sign of yellowing. Screens look good.
Author’s Comments:
Based on what I see both on the consoles in person and comparing the photos, the choice to not record information between Day 22 and Day 58 was a good one as there was no difference. I was keeping an eye on them, of course, but I could see that there was no noticeable change in screen yellowing.
Conclusion/Discussion:
There is some validity to the theory that keeping consoles with yellowed screens on for a duration of time can work to reverse the yellowing. For the three consoles, White 1L, Bronze 1L, and Bronze 2L, whose yellowing was very minor to begin with saw, what I would consider a full recovery; for lack of a better word. For the two consoles with the more extreme yellowing, White 2L and Burgundy, the yellowing appears to be irreversible. So, in the most extreme cases, it would appear that yellowing is permanent damage.
(For the graphs, the lower the score, the closer the screens are to matching the control console)
The duration of the experiment, 58 days, ended up being wholly unnecessary as the most significant improvement to the screens occurred within the first 11 days. If I do this experiment again, I would be interested in seeing how many days are needed before the Delta E begins to plateau so that a practical recovery plan can be recommended to people who are experiencing yellowed screens on their DS consoles.
If I were to look at this batch of consoles with the goal of selling them, White 2L and Burgundy would be far too yellowed to be considered sellable. The other three consoles, however, I would part with them as their screens look very good.
Another way of saying that is White 2L and Burgundy would be unplayable for most people as the yellow would, most likely, be noticeable while playing games.
(For the graphs, the lower the score, the closer the screens are to matching the control console)
(Note the different scales for the Y-Axis)
Though I was not testing for it, it would appear that the vignetting on the bottom screen of Bronze 1L neither got worse nor better. I wonder if vignetting is damage due to powering on and off the displays, and not due to constant display usage.
