DS versus PSP: the battle for the best LCD
by Andrew Yoon 
{ Oct 25th 2006 at 4:04PM }
PC Magazine got a "display expert" from DisplayMate Technology to evaluate the screen performance of the DS Lite and the PSP. To a casual observer, both have stunning displays. But how do they fare when they're analyzed by the same methods used on high-end HDTVs? The report is incredibly thorough, so I'll just give you some key highlights:
- Both the DS & PSP screens feature incredible DPI (dots per inch): 110 for the DS, 130 for the PSP. The PSP is the clear victor here, cramming in more pixels into its screen per square inch. (For reference, a 19" LCD monitor has a DPI of 86. So both screens are quite impressive.)
- The DS Lite's brightness is no joke: it can go as high as 200 cd/m². The PSP, even when plugged into an AC outlet, can only produce 148 cd/m². When running solely off of battery power, the brightness drops even further to a maximum of 115 cd/m². (Clearly, Nintendo wants to destroy your eyes faster than Sony.)
- Although the DS Lite is much brighter the the PSP, it has an extremely limited viewing angle. The PSP outclasses the DS in terms of viewability, earning it "first place among all of the mobile displays." (Clearly, Sony wants everyone on the subway to be able to see the smut you're watching on the go.)
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The PSP features professional-grade picture contrast. "PSP gray scale is outstanding and virtually perfect."
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The DS handles color much better than the PSP, though: 74 percent of the color gamut range versus PSP's 56 percent. The DS has the "largest color gamut of all the mobile devices tested."
So, which system is the winner in the end? The PSP, but by a very small margin. For "Overall Image and Picture Quality," the DS Lite got a B, and the PSP got a B+. But, the PSP's grade can go even higher than that, if Sony implements a few changes to their firmware: "Much of the reduced image and picture quality of the mobile devices is due to sub-optimal processing within each unit." Dr. Soneira suggests that a simple change in firmware can produce A-level image quality. Let's hope that Sony takes that into consideration.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ladsaber @ Oct 25th 2006 4:33PM
So the news today were kotaku saying vice city is gay,which i think is stupid but meh.
By the way Phil Collins isnt gay.
Then this,which obviously PSP wins since ds screen is craptasticly small.I find weird that the difference in brightness were that small since you can use the PSP as a Lantern,i think sony put a limit so it cant burn your eyes.It seems playing with the Ds can produce a hell of eye problems.
Some Videos about Sega genesis collection.Yet theres no video of Comixzone,again.
Vice city sotries music(Excelent).
Well nothing truly remarkable except for the PSP camera videos thanks to PSPfanboy.
Oh yeah theres the yugioh Gx PSP manual and some mgs ops info on the konami site,i get the news letter.
SuicideNinja @ Oct 26th 2006 10:41AM
Interesting.
I still feel that the DS has a much higher quality screen than the PSP. And I have an OLD fat DS.
However, I feel that the PSP has better colors. I'd much rather look at a still picture on the PSP than the DS (which I can do such on either).
The reason I don't play the DS any more is because it's too uncomfortable (weight/stylus. I need to buy a Lite). The reason I don't play the PSP anymore is that the games don't really interest me, and the screen is too small. Which is odd...because the DS screens never felt small too small to me. It must be the PSP's console-ish type games that make me yearn for the 51" HDTV leaving me not wanting to play it.
Hopefully the PS3 will leave me putting the PSP to use.
Give me Stars or Give me Death! @ Oct 25th 2006 5:48PM
Yeah Ladsaber, Sony is concerned for your eyes. Did you know that if you play a DS Lite for too long your pupils spontaneously combust? Somebody put the equivalent of a muzzle on this guy's fingers so that he can't type anymore. Holy shit.
pixelator @ Oct 25th 2006 11:45PM
I agree with stars (!) -- Lad needs a permaban, IP style.
As for this comparison, I compared both a while back and yeah, the DS Lite is definitely brighter. In fact, it really IS too bright to comfortably view in a dimly lit room. And the cost for that brightness is actually threefold:
1). The semi-reflective qualities of the old DS screen are all but gone - the Lite is about as useless in the sunny outdoors as the PSP is.
2). Cranking the Lite brightness up to those retina-torching levels puts the DS Lite squarely in PSP battery life territory, if not a bit shorter (about 5-ish hours).
3). While many games for the DS look better with the newer screens, *some* DS games wind up looking like total ass, such as Resident Evil. Why? Developers only had those dim, low-contrast screens of the older Phat models to work with before, and made their games lighter in tone with more severe gradients between shades of color in order for them to read well. As the newer games come flowing in that were developed with the Lite in mind, this problem should go away.
The PSP also displays a broader color range, which the ASV or 'amorphous Si' display by Sharp (or Samsung) handles rather well. However, there is the dark-color ghosting caused by the relatively low response time, which does interfere with some games and video (except UMD, which seems to be running at an odd framerate to avoid smearing).
Kevin @ Oct 25th 2006 7:14PM
And nobody says anything about the blurriness of the PSP screen? I find it's unusable for watching most video, especially low-contrast scenes.
Don @ Oct 25th 2006 10:02PM
Kind of funny, right off the bat the comparison is skewed by one important point: You can't view photos with the DS right out of the box. You have to buy some sort of flash memory adapter to mimmick the PSP functionality (the one used by PCmag costs $100.00)
But comparing the 2 devices side by side in the pictures, the DS Lite images always seem to look better. Maybe it's simply brighter.
I find that it looks best when a pic is darkened slightly (using Photoshop) before putting it on my PSP. I love the size & dimension of the PSP screen, and I use it to show off photos quite a bit.
Touch-Gen @ Oct 26th 2006 11:52AM
Ok...so its screen can produce more. This isnt surprising considering that it was made as a multimedia device that does a half assed job of everything. Granted DS is a gaming system through and through but at least it does it to a level that Sony only promises to do but has yet to even come close. And be Honest with yourselves Sony-Fans! The PSP has yet to even come close to the quality of games that grace the DS's dual screens. Something that is reflected in units sold and not SHIPPED as Sony loves going on about. Yes by now you can tell im a Nintendo-Fanatic and I should go back to my own site. but hey, Shouldnt we banter each other? Anyways, I never see a point in comparing the DS to the PSP or vice-versa. Sony has tried to create a system that is technically impressive, on a visual level. But its only that, pretty polys! For a Multimedia device that says it can do it all!!! It totally falls on its face because of its limited memory and lack of any AAA titles. Which I think is a shame, the PSP showed alot of promise and I was looking forward to a real battle this time but then Sony never innovated anything and instead of doing something new for a change they done the same thing AGAIN. To stay in any business you must not become a yes company. You must be a why company and never stay still...Sony has donminated the home console market for the last two generations a feat that I respect. But they are making the very mistakes that Nintendo did...more power less innovation. Obviously im refering to the N64. A
Ladsaber @ Oct 26th 2006 4:31PM
Lmao,wow i just check this and i found a lot of losers.im not going to waste my time replying it to you so heres the small reply.
I dont give a f**ck and whatever you say.Ds Screen is crap,i had the worst headache playing mario kart on that freaking thing.The color is blinding awfull and in castlevania and most of the ds games way too dark.
NDSL is an Awfull system.is like crack,is bad but people like it no matter it can hurt you.And i used the word crack 'cause is related to the NDSL Poor quality
Also i did never mention sony but they care,they dont want lawsuits which nintendo seem to like but i guess people like you prefer to have their eye balls burn out of their skull to complian to nintendo about how they didnt make the screen bigger.
But it seems people like you think ds is perfect no matter the cheap plastic,yellowish screen,the fact that is complety destructible and now that it has this god damn awfull screen
So keep playing your Nintendo Does Suck while you can still see it.Lmao.
Nintendo system Mediocrity FTW!
pixelator @ Oct 26th 2006 6:08PM
"I still feel that the DS has a much higher quality screen than the PSP. And I have an OLD fat DS."
Again with the SHOCK that you, of ALL PEOPLE, would make a statement that would otherwise fly in the face of reality in order to make the DS look good, and the PSP bad.
STUNNING news, really, since you're so clearly unbiased when it comes to Nintendo products vs. Sony products.
"still picture on the PSP than the DS (which I can do such on either)"
Not without a flash reader cart on the DS.
"he PSP has yet to even come close to the quality of games that grace the DS's dual screens."
Well, Gamerankings and Metacritic prove that little theory to be pretty much bullshit, and the rest of your DS fanboyism inspired rant follows suit, and is unworthy of comment. The DS game sales reflect the hysteria over Pokemon and the ubergimmicky Brain/Cooking games, which hold about as much interest for me as licking a chalkboard.
"NDSL is an Awfull system.is like crack,is bad but people like it no matter it can hurt you."
And at the other side of the spectrum, we've got the slavering Court Fool of PSP Fanboy. What is it, Tesla day, today? We're dealing in absolute polar opposites?
DiahrreaMan @ Oct 26th 2006 7:37PM
These comparison bits always make me laugh. I'm a Ninty-fan, but I can say the PSP does outdo the DS in MANY departments, sound-wise, graphically-wise, etc. But just there, period. Game-wise? Yes, the PSP has had its share of good games, but DS has had much much more than the PSP, hence the DS outselling the PSP WORLDWIDE. So, yeah, fanboys will be fanboys. Some will resort to rambling random incoherent attempts at writing, while others can show their fanboy-ism in a more civilized manner.
LONG LIVE PRESIDENT JAMES POLK (HE DIED ON HIS TOILET BECAUSE OF CHRONIC DIAHRREA)
pixelator @ Oct 26th 2006 8:30PM
Except the PSP has more highly reviewed games according to every meta and general game review site out there.
The reason DS software sells is 1). because the Lite and new colors have boosted hardware sales, 2). Mario 'revivals' and Pokemon are selling insanely well and 3). the quirky titles like Cooking Mama and Brain Age are also selling insanely well. The latter category (and Pokemon) appeal to me not at all, and frankly they're not that well reviewed.
To hear some of you Nintendrones talk, the DS is God's Gift to gaming, and it's surely isn't. Though I've certainly been let down by several PSP titles, I've been disappointed more often than not by the DS games I've picked up, too.
DiahrreaMan @ Oct 26th 2006 9:48PM
Now see, where in post did I even come close to saying something like the DS is God's gift to gaming, nowhere. Others may say that, but I don't. I'm happy that there is Sony to give Nintendo some competition on the Handheld market, because it is that competition that leads to more intuitive games and such. Apparently, you're the type of gamer who's easily swayed by some decent graphics, and several good games. I know the PSP has good games, I never said it didn't. If the PSP had gotten all of the quirky/random games that DS has, then it'd be kicking the sh*t out the DS. But it doesn't, and do you know why? Because Sony's goal was never to take the throne as king of the handheld market. They proved this by releasing a device that does more than just gaming. It can server as your portable mp3 player to compete against the ipod (and it did well because there's many people I've seen who have a PSP simply for the music), it can allow you to watch videos and movies on the go, once again to compete against the video-ipod (and it did well here as well because of its widescreen format), and finally, it can play games with graphics akin to the PS2. Here's why it didn't succeed as well as the DS did. The DS, can't do any of the things described above, unless you mod it. Graphics wise? Its completely last gen, with its "better-than-N64" graphics. The DS wasn't released to be the device that "does it all, in one simple, concise package", it does one, and one thing only: play games. And unlike the PSP that set out to target the "cool","trendy" people only, it went after everyone. There's games from all genres so that anyone can pick it up and have a good time. And that, my pspfanboy friend, sells, sells VERY well. You may not find that the DS has ANY games that meet your "high" standards, but the truth is, that's just you, and all pspfanboys everywhere. Finally on an end note, I'm sure you're dying to buy a PS3 when its released next month, and let me just say one thing: enjoy it, cherish it, get most out of it for the BIG buck you'll pay for it, because even though it's gonna be the "strongest" console out there, we know that "strength" doesn't win it alone. Look to the PSP for all the evidence you want.
LONG LIVE PRESIDENT JAMES POLK (HE DIED ON HIS TOILET BECAUSE OF CHRONIC DIAHRREA)
Ahmed @ Oct 27th 2006 1:19AM
LOL so it took Nintendo 2 consoles, and they can't even make better screen than psp?
bo @ Oct 27th 2006 6:41AM
i see... i am a fanboy of neither.
but the logic of you sony fans is retarded. the ds screen is TOO BRIGHT? next you are going to say you have TOO much money, and your girlfriend is TOO attractive. wtf? ive seen a DS lite, and its not like staring at a spotlight.
and secondly, you are saying that sony did not want to sell more than the ds? yeah, that makes just as much sense. so, sony is saying "we are a company that thrives on not selling as much as our competition. in fact, we were banking on that."
both systems are the best in different respects, its almost apples to oranges as far as abilities. but you diehard sony fans should, at the very least, THINK about what you are typing.
Diahrrea Man @ Oct 27th 2006 10:23AM
Thank you. Finally I see someone who get's my point.
LONG LIVE PRESIDENT JAMES POLK (HE DIED ON HIS TOILET BECAUSE OF CHRONIC DIAHRREA)
pixelator @ Oct 27th 2006 11:52AM
The DS Lite screen *is* too bright in a darkened room. I have light blue eyes and have very good night vision, and I have to crank the DSL down to at most 3/4 bright to keep it from hurting. Now, in a car during the day? That intense brightness helps. I never said that it wasn't a good thing in some situations, but it DOES come with some caveats. Only the aforementioned biased fanboys would say brighter is always better.
"Apparently, you're the type of gamer who's easily swayed by some decent graphics, and several good games."
Yes, I prefer decent graphics and good games... As does everyone else. Graphics don't have to be higher resolution or be 3D with a higher palette to be good, however. As a game artist myself and one that specializes in 16 and 8 bit 2D work, I have a particular fondness for doing more with less. That may not jibe with lumping me in with Sony fanboys, but that's probably because I'm not a Sony fanboy.
"There's games from all genres so that anyone can pick it up and have a good time. And that, my pspfanboy friend, sells, sells VERY well."
Um, isn't that what I just said in my previous post? But hey, don't let me steal your thunder, please go right ahead.
As for quirky or wide-age-appeal games, I did just get NeoPets for my girlfriend's 8yo daughter - she's actually dumped her DS *and* Warcraft (yes, she plays WoW daily) to play it. I'm not saying that means the PSP should be beating the DS since the latter has the Mario/Pokemon factor plus the Brain/Cooking/Sim games, but as I said above, it's not so simple as saying the DS is doing well 'because it has more better games'.
"You may not find that the DS has ANY games that meet your "high" standards, but the truth is, that's just you, and all pspfanboys everywhere"
NOT what I said, at all. I said neither the PSP nor DS have a clear spectacular killer app. Of course, I was replying to "The PSP has yet to even come close to the quality of games that grace the DS's dual screens." which is an even more ridiculous and fanboyish comment.
"I'm sure you're dying to buy a PS3 when its released next month"
You're such a typical kneejerk Ninty-fanboy, you can't wrap your brain around the concept of me owning and enjoying everything. I have a reservation for a Wii, not a PS3. I also had a Gamecube *years* before I ever got a PS2, despite having worked on PS2 games. My DS Lite was imported from JP before they were out in the US. I have a Virtual Boy sitting on my dining room table that I play all the time. I know that must really bother you, than someone who clearly prefers Nintendo to Sony overall likes the PSP better than the DS, but there it is. Get over it.
So much for your various theories, I think you're batting a pretty solid zero at this point. But fanboyism aside, you can mark my words on these following points: Wii will sell big at Christmas, PS3 will *eventually* overtake it. The 360 will stay #2 in the USA but worldwide the Wii may be second in overall sales.
Diahrrea Man @ Oct 27th 2006 12:28PM
@pixelator
Ok, I see your point and yeah, I agree with what you're saying. I see where I misintepreted your words, but hey, you misinterpreted my words before. I don't like to consider myself an obessed Ninty fan (though I sound like one), I can see your forecast coming true since that's how it turned out last gen. Since we've stated that these comparisons are akin to comparing apples to oranges, that makes us arguing rather pointless. At least I know now that there's people out there that can look beyond a pretty picture.
LONG LIVE PRESIDENT JAMES POLK (HE DIED ON HIS TOILET BECAUSE OF CHRONIC DIAHRREA)
tentus @ Nov 2nd 2006 11:23AM
Am I the only one who uses the variable brightness settings frequently? When it's dark I darken the screen- it's two or three taps of the stylus. Not that hard, you don't even have to be able to READ to use it.
What this article really needs is a third party to illustrate the quality of both systems. Toss the N-Gage in there for reference. All of a sudden both systems start looking like God's gift to gamers. Or maybe more of an apology...
Anyhow, I feel that the goals are somewhat different, and the overlap is poor. Think about Mario games- bright and colorful, happy. Think about the games more common to the PSP- more contrast and shading, so grayscale is appropriate. Each system seems to have focused on what is going to get used more. Another monkey wrench- the DS has two screens, which means that color is essential to making the system natural to use (Peripheral vision is heavily reliant on color, so even though you can easily watch both screens simultaneously, being able to really home in on one of them and partition your peripheral vision and attention to the other is a plus.)
I really just enjoy the graphics on the DS more, though that falls to the developer's feet, which is a totally different arguement.