Microscopic look at PSP-3000 reveals reasons behind interlacing
by Andrew Yoon 
{ Oct 30th 2008 at 7:30PM }
The 3000 series has pixels aligned horizontally, not vertically. In addition, the blues of the 3000 are much darker. These two in tandem may be behind the interlacing "feature" of the 3000 screen.
[Via Gizmodo]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
kenjix @ Oct 30th 2008 7:54PM
Hmmmm seems rather useless, not sure when was the last time i played my psp 3000 uner a microscope. How about putting up a video showing the issue. So far i see 400% zoomed up still shots or we have here a Microscopic look at the issue.
If it's such a big issue why can't we get a video that runs at normal speed showing how aparent it is?
I guess if you play your PSP at microscopic levels or a 1 frame per second at 400% zoom it might get annoying.
The Fatass of Kickassness @ Oct 30th 2008 10:02PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isC1IOhQt_A
It's noticeable if you play games like GTA.
kenjix @ Oct 31st 2008 1:43AM
Once again I never play my psp at a reduced speed or under a magnifying glass. Show me a video at regular speed at a distance which I would normally play it at ok?
If I slow down a video of a jet going mach5 I bet I can get a glimpse of the pilot inside but when is that going to happen?
Christopher @ Oct 31st 2008 7:58AM
If you want to defend Sony for their design "feature", just come right out and say it. Don't beat around the bush by being snarky.
HAAS599 @ Oct 31st 2008 9:26AM
Im with kenjix
I want to see what it REALLY looks like before I upgrade my phat
kenjix @ Oct 31st 2008 9:34AM
Like I said show me something don't create a situation that's NEVER going to happen when I'm using the device. If you feel I'm defending Sony so be it, I can't see the issue you're refering to when I use the device.
So if you want to make a point then play a game and record a video showing the issue at regular speed and distance. Because based on that video I would need to processing information at 10 frames per second and with my eyeball attached to the screen! So I ask again put up a video that shows the issue as it's happening.
That's all I'm asking
nomad @ Oct 31st 2008 1:17PM
i want to see the chick technision that is runnig the scope.
Corey @ Nov 8th 2008 1:44PM
Dude....Kenjix.....Really! This is explaining a subject you clearly don't understand. you can see this at "regular speed at regular distance". This is showing the difference close up. I made the choice to buy PSP 1001 and 3000. The interlacing is obvious at regular distance and at regular speed.
Ben @ Oct 30th 2008 8:17PM
So will games coded for the 3000 in turn feature scanline issues on the 2000 and 1000 models then?
PSManiac @ Oct 30th 2008 8:30PM
The scan line "issue" has nothing to do with coding of the games, it's a hardware revision to the screen. It's the same as if you change your television that you use to hook up your PS2 or DVD. It may look better but the games remain the same and so does the input from the console.
So the answer is no, any revision of the PSP plays any game without trouble.
PSManiac @ Oct 30th 2008 8:26PM
I signed up for the site just today to comment on this and agree with kenjix. I upgraded from my first gen fat PSP to the 3000 version and am a very satisfied customer. I'd also like to point out I've very sharp eyes to LCD defections after years of owning and working with them.
Since picking it up I've been playing tons of games with lots of motion and color changes such as loco roco and ratchet and clank and I just don't see the big deal about the screen.
Yes, when I stare really really hard at the screen instead of playing the game and enjoying myself I can notice the lines, but I don't know anyone who games with the PSP right in their face and looking for these lines. Seriously.
So please internet fanboys, would you just give it a rest. I for one am much more impressed by the greater color gamut than the slight detraction of the lines. It's just not that bad. And for the record, the scan line issue isn't nearly as bad as the logic arrest screenshot makes it look in the link.
DigDug @ Oct 31st 2008 4:09AM
Agreed. The idiots that say about the PSP3000 screen, clearly havn't seen one, and can't understand that all the photos of the problems are just that, photos. When you actually look at one with your eyes, there are no problems.
Hey idiots, take a digital picture of your television, if you don't understand what I am talking about...
Christopher @ Oct 31st 2008 8:01AM
@ Digdug
Apparently it IS viewable by the naked eye to SOME people. Just because YOU can't see it doesn't mean others can't, and I have heard that it does bother some people.
Also, you're not taking into consideration what these issues will look like once the video is projected into a large screen by connecting the PSP to a large screen TV or projector. Everything gets amplified.
Blue @ Oct 31st 2008 8:54AM
@Christopher:
Actually, why would outputting to a large screen make a difference? The scanlines are due to the hardware, not the signal being sent out to the screens, right?
Kenjix @ Oct 31st 2008 9:37AM
@Blue
I love when logic meets crazy. Good Point Blue. I wonder what Chris's response will be next?
Warner Young @ Oct 31st 2008 3:25PM
When I'm wearing my glasses, I don't have the PSP very close. But occasionally, when I'm tired, I'll take my glasses off, at which point I hold the PSP much closer. It's in these cases that I really notice the interlacing. And once you notice it, it becomes really annoying.
To all the people who say their 3000s don't have this issue: good for you. But it's like the ghosting of the older screens. It's very subjective. Some people tend to notice it, and some don't.
FeaturePreacher @ Oct 30th 2008 8:49PM
I guess this is part of Sony's new mantra "Eh, Good Enough". I wonder if Sony will try even harder to be like Microsoft and release a version of the psp that fails every 3 months. Let's hope the psp-4000 comes out soon, and Sony returns to 1st rate quality instead of the Microsoft-like malfeasance of trying to claim a defect as a feature.
Kspraydad @ Oct 30th 2008 11:52PM
What...no nested album rant ?
Many reviews have said the color and reflection improvements outweight the interlace issues.
Don @ Oct 31st 2008 1:23AM
But not IGN's...
http://gear.ign.com/articles/923/923225p1.html
FeaturePreacher @ Oct 31st 2008 3:07AM
@KspraydadThere's no need for that. The powerful psp has the ability to create folders and move contents into them, unlike the inferior ps3. I know this is "very difficult" for ps3 firmware developers to do. Sorry to disapoint you and other prostrating doormats.
andwhyisit @ Oct 31st 2008 3:10AM
And IGN is supposedly the authority on everything? I've heard reviews that make every small downside in a game sound like a game breaker.
Mars @ Oct 31st 2008 3:56AM
Well as they say, "to each his own". If it's good enough for you then good for you.
But the fact is, those lines are there, and it can be a source of irritation like a very minor scratch in your screen that normally doesn't really affect you but fact is, its there and it lessens the value of your unit. This is something that Sony should have noticed or blatanly ignored (they promised a new screen, noticed the problem, and decided that its a minor issue).
Take note that the direction of PSP right now is like a business model (much like cellphones or Microsoft Windows). Constant upgrades instead of long but big upgrades means things like this screen issue will happen.
Hashbrown Hunter @ Oct 31st 2008 6:06AM
Unrelated post warning!
Have you guys seen this week's PSP Store Update for North America? Here: http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/10/30/playstation-store-update-58/
Now, for some reason the EU Store gets a trailer AND a (highly recommended) PSP game AND a PS1 game. Sure, they do deserve it because of absolutely zero updates for the past couple of weeks (besides last week) but just in terms of Sony, they've really been dropping the ball on the PSP having direct access to the Store. These updates are even more uneventful then they were before FW 5.0. Color me disappointed.
strike @ Oct 31st 2008 11:27AM
Ouch..............one trailer? thats pretty bad, but still, you guys, over in America have been getting great updates lately, maybe this is just a bad week....................
Duscrom @ Oct 31st 2008 1:00PM
See, this is why the DS Fanobys beat us. Because they can feign excitement over a new Hanah Montanna game, meanwhie, we're bitching out Sony, putting words in their mouths, all cause PSP Fanboy wanted s'more Hits. And Of Course, people read the Headline more then the article.
A) Sony NEVER called the interlacing a "Feature". THe exact quote is worded
"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."
So The Hardware features.. the FEATURES are the brighter screen, higher color gamut.. blah blah blah. And because of this. *points up at pictures* The RESULT of the FEATURES, is the interlacing problem.
But then I realized something when watching PSP games posted here. The PSP Already has an interlacing problem.
http://playstation.joystiq.com/2008/10/23/neverland-card-battles-godseal-talisman-trailer/#comments
That's off a Direct Feed video. On top of that, i noticed it looking closely at my new true blue PSP 2000.
This site is s'pposed to be for Fanboys. You guys should be defending Sony, not trying to push folks away from the PSP to getting a DS. Not perpetuating this idea that sony called this a "Feature" when they didn't.
I'm not trying to defend Sony here, but for a site based on brand loyalty, SHOW SOME FUCKING BRAND LOYALTY! You're making an ass of yourself in front of the DSers.
strike @ Oct 31st 2008 1:21PM
Well spoken. I agree with everything you said, about the feature misunderstanding people are having, but we can't be defending Sony, when they do something wrong, but we shouldn't bring them down either.
And where are these DSers? They have got their own site, nobody is declaring war, so don't be so freakin' childish.
FeaturePreacher @ Oct 31st 2008 1:30PM
In order for the psp to catch up to the ds, its going to take more than just fixing the screen issue. But take solace in this, in Japan, the psp is beating the ds and the wii. However, for the 6th week, the xbox 360 has beaten the ps3 in Japan. My guess is that people in Japan are tired of waiting for rpgs on the console they thought would have them. PSPFanboy.com is a place to deliver the truth as it relates to the psp, not loyalty. Loyalty is earned by delivering on the promise of your brand. Sony seems to be squandering this loyalty. If they continue to ignore the promise of their brand, they'll just be another crooked company.
Warner Young @ Oct 31st 2008 10:20PM
Duscrom,
"A) Sony NEVER called the interlacing a "Feature". THe exact quote is worded..."
I think you're kind of splitting hairs here. Whether the interlacing itself is a "feature", or whether the screen is the "feature", I think most people are going to view these two things as inseparable. One goes with the other and they can't be split apart.
"But then I realized something when watching PSP games posted here. The PSP Already has an interlacing problem.
That's off a Direct Feed video. On top of that, i noticed it looking closely at my new true blue PSP 2000."
I pointed out that I could see something that looked like this interlacing problem in LocoRoco, on my PSP Phat, in one of my posts. But the fact is, even if it's true, it's pretty well hidden on the older PSPs compared to the 3000. I don't really notice it on my Phat, but I DID notice it a lot on my 3000 (which I've now returned).
I kind of agree about the brand loyalty bit, but being loyal to a brand shouldn't make you blind to a company's faults, either. Now, it may be that Sony knew about this problem and decided to ignore it. It's also possible, based on how many people have posted saying they don't see a problem, that nobody at Sony really noticed the interlacing. It's improbably, but not impossible. Either way, if this is something that makes the customers (i.e. us) unhappy, we have a right to point it out and make it known to Sony. Most companies would never fix problems, or would do so only very slowly, unless they knew it cost them sales. So for those of us who don't like the new screen, there are only 2 recourses available:
1) Vote with your money. Either don't buy the 3000, or return it if you bought it. I bought mine before I knew about the problem, and I've since returned it and bought a 2000.
2) Voice your sentiment. Post to sites like this to let Sony know that you're not happy with the new product. Do it politely, and only do it if you have actually experienced the problem and don't like it. Otherwise, Sony won't know and won't care.
Josh (be logical; vote for Obama) @ Oct 31st 2008 10:11AM
My understanding of the issue:
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/21/scei-psp-brites-scanlines-caused-by-hardware-no-plans-to-fix/2#c15042515
I don't know what to think about the color differences, however.
Jeremy @ Nov 1st 2008 1:49AM
I really think it's just the blues. I was playing my PSP-2000 tonight and I noticed I could see faint vertical lines.
And it's not like the DS is immune to it either. Just on the bootup screen, all white, you can see lines going both ways and little squares (I guess the pixels).
It's just the nature of mobile LCD screens, I guess. Or maybe just LCD screens in general, if I was a foot away from my PC monitor, I might notice them in that, too.
Opcode @ Nov 3rd 2008 10:59AM
Josh (post #24): I agree completely with you, we indeed have two different problems. For problem #2, the interlaced effect, my guess is that it could have something to do with the new TV encoder. Remember that the PSP-2000 worked only with progressive TVs? The PSP-3000 is supposed to work with any TV, including interlaced models, right? So it would be a bug created by the new encoder, or simply the result of Sony cutting costs and implementing an interlaced encoder for both video out and the internal LCD.
Mike @ Nov 10th 2008 6:44PM
I just checked out the DSi, and the new screens in it are similar to the PSP-3000... Big let down... so when playing games with flashing enemies (e.g. Castlevania: OoE), the "interlaced" effect rears its ugly head.... I don't care for this trend with hand held game systems.
Wayne @ Dec 31st 2008 6:14PM
I just purchased a logic 3 speaker grip and I'm trying to find out if it will fit in any way with the psp slim 2000. I didn't think about the fact the 2000 is a bit different then the original psp.