PSP-3000 scanlines a hardware feature; no fix planned

by Jem Alexander { Oct 21st 2008 at 10:00AM }

Sony Japan has responded to criticisms about visible scanlines on the new PSP-3000 systems. While Sony America is looking into the situation, Japan's statement doesn't bode too well. It seems that the scanline problem is a feature of the new LCD screens. SCEI says that the "PSP-3000 has a new LCD device with vastly improved picture quality, achieving a more natural and vivid picture than older models. By improving LCD response time to reduce ghosting, the horizontal-line phenomenon becomes more visible."

The worst news is that there's no fix. "Since this is caused by hardware characteristics, there is no plan to fix it with system software update." Looks like it's here to stay. We're still waiting on a statement from SCEA but, from the looks of it, they won't have much new to add.

Update: SCEA response, after the break.

"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."

Tags: psp-3000, psp-brite, scanlines, SCEI, sony

Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)

Jacksons @ Oct 21st 2008 9:48PM

I had no plans to upgrade from my 2000 (why would you..?) but it's still unfortunate.

ryan @ Oct 21st 2008 10:20PM

so, i bought mine launch day, can i return it? i have been playing echochrome, so i didn't notice the lines until i stuck in a different game... :(

Squirtbot @ Oct 21st 2008 11:09PM

I sold me 2000 version 2 months ago on ebay, so that I could trade up on a 3000. I was waiting for the black pack, so I haven't bought one yet. I really hope they fix this screen, because I want a new one bad!

Jeremiah @ Oct 22nd 2008 12:41AM

I just returned mine the guy a Best Buy says people have already started returning them due to the screens. This is going to bite Sony in butt big time... On a positive note they did have 1 last GOW bundle and I picked that up instead, and I am very happy with that purchase :)

Grant @ Oct 22nd 2008 2:20AM

Have a PSP-1001. I'll forgo the 3000 until the scanlines are hopefully resolved. In the meantime, I think I'll go out and buy memory for my 1001 instead.

Christopher @ Oct 22nd 2008 11:23AM

IAWTC

Dr Haisook @ Oct 22nd 2008 7:51AM

I upgraded from phat to slim (2000), and I wasn't very impressed. The device (mine was made in China) feels cheap, creaks, and has screen alignment issues (I opened it up yesterday, voiding the warranty, just to align the screen a bit to the right using a piece of hard paper). The thing I like about it is that it's finally portable. I carried it my pants pocket the last plane trip. The phat had to be put in a handbag. Other minor advantages are USB charging (you don't need to carry the charger on vacations), better D-pad, better analog nub, and slightly better WiFi.

So my advice is simple. Upgrade to 2000 or 3000 only if your main interest is a smaller, lighter, pocketable version of the PSP. And try to get a Japanese one. Those Chinese ones are poorly manufactured. Otherwise, keep the phat, it's a quality product.

Warner Young @ Oct 22nd 2008 8:11AM

I just tried a bunch of my games on my 3000 to see how obvious the scanlines are, and I'm happy to say that (at least for me), they're not all that noticeable. If I squint and look for them, I can see them. If I take off my glasses and stick the PSP right up to my face, then yeah, they're kind of obvious, but playing that way's probably not too good for my eyes :)

Overall, I think the ghosting problem was more annoying than the scanlines. Again, that's just my take on it. Obviously, since some people weren't bothered by the ghosting, everyone will have different opinions.

I also discovered that my old Tekken DR game saves don't work on the new PSP! Whose bright idea was it to tie the saved games to the PSP unit?!

LM2007 @ Oct 22nd 2008 9:22AM

I bought a Sony Bravia LCD TV Model 32L4000 and i see the same stupids scanlines and is really bothering me because is so visible and annoying in very dark areas, then reading this, doubts come to my mind now if i should or should not buy the psp3000, we have to do what Warner Young say, try to use a psp demo in a store or..just bring it back to store for money or credits back.

Christopher @ Oct 22nd 2008 11:26AM

"It seems that the scanline problem is a feature of the new LCD screens. "

Oh Sony, you crack me up! And you almost had me sold on the 3000.

Reuben @ Oct 22nd 2008 2:45PM

I really don't see this as a big deal. I agree that Sony could have chosen their words better when they referred to it as a feature, but otherwise I have no issue with it. I didn't even notice them on mine until someone pointed it out.

Warner Young @ Oct 22nd 2008 3:39PM

Actually, based on the way Sony worded their response, I'm wondering if the old PSP Phat and Slim screens also had a scanline issue, but the refresh rate was just slow enough that you couldn't see it. In other words, did the ghosting basically hide the scanlines?

I'm trying to think if there's any good way to check that. Really high speed video of the screens, maybe? If anyone can think of a way to check on this, I'd love to see what the results are.

In any case, I did find one game where the scanlines are much more obvious: Lumines II. The vertical bar that moves across the screen doesn't look like a straight bar, but more like it has little zigzag edges all along its length. That's the only game so far where this is really obvious, though.

Ray @ Oct 22nd 2008 8:16PM

I picked up a 3000 as an upgrade to my 1000 and love it. Screen looks great to me and I don't notice any lines while playing games or movies, and overall it looks better than my 1000

Nezrou @ Oct 23rd 2008 4:46AM

I would have to see it for myself, but I'm getting the impression that people are overreacting a bit. Yeah, scanlines are a new flaw, but from what I've read they are only appearing in the same places as ghosting did, so it's not that scanlines are visible all the time, significantly affecting graphics, in most of games they are barely noticable.

Ray @ Oct 23rd 2008 10:50AM

I agree with you. The lines aren't noticable unless you look for them and over all the picture looks much brighter and clearer than on my 1000.

Bibbly53 @ Oct 23rd 2008 1:08PM

The brightest of whites and the darkest of blacks.*

*respectfully.

Bibbly53 @ Oct 23rd 2008 1:07PM

The rub?
No on is saying that turning the brightness down does anything. When I know it must.
Faster LCD liquid flow is cool and all but the reflective interlacing seen is possibly a refraction of the light emitted behind the LCD itself causing several different reflections of the image on it's way out and through the new ANTI glare coating into your eyeballs.
This can make the lines more noticeable than otherwise.

I want to see this line problem for myself.

gibet_b @ Oct 23rd 2008 3:34PM

I have a PSP 3000 and I have no problem of scanline. Or more precisely, I don't see them. I tried with TDU, Force Unleashed, God of War, and some other demos from PSN, and nothing noticeable. I tried with movies too, and it's the same, nothing who make my psp experience as a nightmare. I like my psp !
As some peoples, I think "people are overreacting a bit". I'm happy to see I'm not alone to think the psp 3000 is not bad.

Warner Young @ Oct 23rd 2008 3:58PM

Yup, I agree that most people are probably overreacting to this, especially people who haven't actually seen the PSP-3000 in person. With that said, however, I did find one game where this problem is VERY obvious: LocoRoco.

When you play the first level in LocoRoco, look at the stalks of the large wavy flowers (basically the bounce pads). These stalks turn into big zigzags when the screen is moving, either when you go left/right or tilt the planet.

I could stand the problem (or couldn't see it) in most other games, but I don't know... LocoRoco is one of my favorite games, and I'm guessing LocoRoco2 will have the same issue. I'm not sure just how annoying this is to me yet. I'm going to have to dig up an old PSP and see if the ghosting problem is more or less annoying now.

Nezrou @ Oct 26th 2008 3:06AM

So, from what I learnt scanlines are visible mostly in 2d games and in older games that have different palette of colours. To sum up: it's still not as big issue as some people claim it to be, but a noticable flaw in some games. Hmm, actually I like 2d graphics more than 3d so it does bug me a little. I wonder how visible scanline artifacts are in other games like Metal Slug Anthology. I would have to see for myself, but right now I would rather stay with my 2000. But I'm guessing that majority of PSP owners wanted it for outstanding 3d graphics and don't care much about 2d games, so for them PSP 3000 is still an upgrade from 2000.

Warner Young @ Oct 26th 2008 3:14AM

Okay, I finally had a chance to try LocoRoco on an old PSP Phat, and surprisingly, the interlacing artifacts (or what I think are interlacing artifacts) also appear on the phat. They're not nearly as obvious, because the really obvious ghosting kind of hides them. But this would imply the maybe all PSPs have had this issue, and it really is the faster refresh rate on the 3000 that makes it so noticeable.

Nezrou @ Oct 26th 2008 5:25AM

Hmm, interesting, I decided to check LocoRoco on my 2000 to see if interlacing issue is visible on it too, but it's not there. Stalks of big flowers in the first level don't even have ghosting on it which is weird, because they are almost black. I was only able to see small ghosting at the area where orange ground becomes blue background. So it seems that PSP 2k has the best screen for LocoRoco.