Naked Snake
Member
Zelda uses dynamic resolution and dips below 720p in handheld mode (also Splatoon 2 testfire demo)
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Detailed review of Switch screen quality (and compared to 3DS) by Erica Griffin
- Thread starter Naked Snake
- Start date
Zelda uses dynamic resolution and dips below 720p in handheld mode (also Splatoon 2 testfire demo)
Those games look fine though. Better than fine even.
Believe me I'm not a fan of the vaseline smear in portable mode.
Naked Snake
Member
I'm stating a fact, you're stating an opinion
The point is that using a 1080p screen on Switch (that some poster wished for in this thread) would have been stupid.
I'm stating a fact, you're stating an opinion
The point is that using a 1080p screen on Switch (that some poster wished for in this thread) would have been stupid.
Oh I agree with that completely. No need for it on a 6" display, never mind the technical drawbacks.
Naked Snake
Member
Some Switches have it. I compared some side by side and the warm/cool difference was only noticable on a white background. Color images looked identical to my eyes. Even though I usually prefer warm screens over cool ones, I didn't mind taking the Switch that had a slightly cooler screen of the two I was choosing from, because the difference was so minor and only noticable on white.
I question whether they are actually bottlenecked on production seeing as the Japanese government actually bailed out JDI last year due to falling production numbers.
JDI is just one of a few suppliers providing LCD screens for Apple. The bailout iirc let JDI invest in an OLED manufacturing plant because more products are switching over to that from LCD screens.
1000:1 is actually good for an lcd display. iPhone displays are around that. The marketing tv makers push out have imaginary nonsense contrast ratios.
my amfilm glass screen protector brought my Switch screen from a 9 to a 10
IMO, the Switch screen is extremely vibrant, just like the Vita's OLED. I have not done a side-by-side comparison but I played my Vita A LOT for several years. The screen on the switch continues to impress me...just booting up Puyo Puyo Tetris is a pleasure to the eyes.
Worth noting that displays often go for colder whites. What you find yellower might actually be closer to the "right" white level. Anyway, I find that when the deviation isn't crazy, that you get used to warmer or colder whites anyway after a while.
Or other phones or tablets for that matter. We've known the 3DS' screens were bottom of the barrel from the start.
EhrgeizVII
Member
The colors on the Switch are more accurate (less saturated) but the black levels are obviously worse. I love the Switch' screen though, but still hoping for a Switch XL with an OLED screen in the future.
LordOcidax
Member
I'm baffled at your comment...
Doesn't really take a detailed review to see how excellent this screen is, but it's still nice to have some technical facts. Pretty interesting.
It's obviously much better, you're talking about a 2011 low end OLED screen vs a good 2016 LCD screen. Higher brightness, better color reproduction, higher resolution/dpi, no burn in, black level isn't the same obviously but it's still pretty great for an LCD. Even pixel response time isn't an issue at all on Switch.
Hopefully they're better, yeah.
It's obviously much better, you're talking about a 2011 low end OLED screen vs a good 2016 LCD screen. Higher brightness, better color reproduction, higher resolution/dpi, no burn in, black level isn't the same obviously but it's still pretty great for an LCD. Even pixel response time isn't an issue at all on Switch.
Hopefully they're better, yeah.
So happy the Switch stepped up the screen quality so significantly, I was always let down by the lacklustre 3DS display across all models that I had.
I notice the undocked Switch doesn't quite hit the colour depth that docked does on my TV in full RGB mode, but it's still tremendously crisp and vibrant. Even the games I've seen go below native res (Zelda at times and Splatoon 2 testfire) still look decent and a big step up from Vita games at sub-native, though I hope we see more hit 720p than not.
I notice the undocked Switch doesn't quite hit the colour depth that docked does on my TV in full RGB mode, but it's still tremendously crisp and vibrant. Even the games I've seen go below native res (Zelda at times and Splatoon 2 testfire) still look decent and a big step up from Vita games at sub-native, though I hope we see more hit 720p than not.
Spaced Harrier
Member
I found my 3ds unusable compared to the vita, for basic qol stuff and that horrible screen.
Always did love the 3D effect though.
Milly Osworth
Member
GG Ninty
Kingpin Rogers
Member
No ideas what any of this actually means. The Switch screen is obviously better than the 3ds screen though.
Not particularly surprised by the results, I've been singing the praises of Switch's screen since launch. In fact I think she does it a disservice by only comparing it to the 3DS, it's an excellent screen compared to almost everything out there.
Purely anecdotal, but having compared them side by side I far prefer Switch's screen. Vita has slightly higher contrast, but Switch wins on pretty much every other category; colour accuracy, viewing angles, etc. A good 2017 OLED would certainly have a leg up on Switch's screen in a few areas, but Vita used very early OLED tech, which was far from perfect.
Purely anecdotal, but having compared them side by side I far prefer Switch's screen. Vita has slightly higher contrast, but Switch wins on pretty much every other category; colour accuracy, viewing angles, etc. A good 2017 OLED would certainly have a leg up on Switch's screen in a few areas, but Vita used very early OLED tech, which was far from perfect.
Vampirolol
Member
It's the first thing that really surprised me. The Switch feels very good to look at.
It has nothing to do with manufacturing issues. It's a design flaw. It's because the digitizer on the Switch is not fused to the LCD. It's really stupid in this day and age because dust will get in under the screen because of it. It's why every modern phone have fused them together. I think the last iPhone that had the same problem was the 3GS. Really shows how far behind Nintendo is in some areas. It's pretty crazy that we have to worry about dust under the screen in 2017...
Yes, that's what is it, and clearly Nintendo chose to do this because they are "behind the times". Let's see what iFixit has to say about this though:
Obviously in a product used by children who can drop it/break it easily compared to a 800$ phone, being behind the times is the reason, despite everything else (including the quality of the panel itself) is great by today's standards.
Interesting video.
For the most part I'm pretty happy with the sceen. The right side is very slightly tinted more yellow than the left, but only really visible on pure white and I wonder if it might be due to the IPS glow that is similarly tinted on the respective sides.
The bigger issue is the line inversion / "scanlines" effect can sometimes be seen during motion on medium values. In Zelda it's mostly visible when moving or rotating the camera in poor weather. In MK8D it's harder to see, though if anyone's curious they can try going back and forth between the Online option where astronaut Toad comes in from the right, on mine lines on him becomes apparent before he's fully faded in. It was much more noticable in Zelda though, probably due to the more muted colors. No mention of this issue in the video so maybe I just got unlucky with my display.
For the most part I'm pretty happy with the sceen. The right side is very slightly tinted more yellow than the left, but only really visible on pure white and I wonder if it might be due to the IPS glow that is similarly tinted on the respective sides.
The bigger issue is the line inversion / "scanlines" effect can sometimes be seen during motion on medium values. In Zelda it's mostly visible when moving or rotating the camera in poor weather. In MK8D it's harder to see, though if anyone's curious they can try going back and forth between the Online option where astronaut Toad comes in from the right, on mine lines on him becomes apparent before he's fully faded in. It was much more noticable in Zelda though, probably due to the more muted colors. No mention of this issue in the video so maybe I just got unlucky with my display.
Naked Snake
Member
I think I may have seen what you're talking about in Zelda, and yes it was almost always in bad weather, usually noticed on a clifside... I'm still not sure about it, but I did notice some weird shimmering/scanline-like effect a few times and always had to do a double-take to make sure I wasn't imagining it... But I think I couldn't keep myself away from actually playing the game long enough to verify it or care. That game has a spell on me.
Hyperbole much? Every phone has the screen fused to the digitizer, even the cheaper ones. Even those phones that children uses today. iFixit writes from a repairability point of view, not from a consumer point of view. For most people changing the screen and digitizer is the same as changing just one of them. No one is repairing their own Switch hardware.
You guys are talking like it's made of porcelain. We already give phones and tablets to children, hell even nintendo has hardware without screen protection. honestly it's not like children destroys screens more than adults.
Not fusing the digitizer to the LCD is stupid and everyone who has ever gotten dust in under the screen will agree.
Wowfunhappy
Member
It's only happening on a tiny percentage of units, and those few have the option to either return it to the store or set up an easy repair. It just isn't that big of a deal.
Also, improved repairability -> less waste -> better for the environment. It's nothing to sneeze at. (Not that Nintendo deserves any overall kudos for being environmentally friendly; they're really crappy in that regard).
Beer Monkey
Member
N3DS IPS is still a massive upgrade over every GBA screen including DS for playing GBA games. VC injection on 3DS is a godsend.
It's also decent for playing 240p 8/16 bit games.
Hopefully OoT 3D and MM 3D get ported to Switch, they'd look fantastic.
It's also decent for playing 240p 8/16 bit games.
Hopefully OoT 3D and MM 3D get ported to Switch, they'd look fantastic.
It's a fantastic display, and I love detailed information and analysis like this. Convenience/portability factors aside, the screen quality is probably the highest contributor to why I play in handheld mode more than docked.
Maybe my 42yo eyes just don't care anymore, but I honestly wouldn't notice the difference with a bump in resolution at that screen size... I would, however, notice the assumed loss in performance by doing so.
Jonneh3003
Banned
A higher resolution is hardly on the cards, the battery is only good enough as it is.
sleepnaught
Member
Love the screen, but I must admit, I wish the colors were a bit more saturated
sixteen-bit
Member
Thanks for the link OP. Sounds like a marked improvement over 3DS.
Naked Snake
Member
Wait what? How is the N3DS IPS screen better for GBA games than a backlit GBA SP (AGB-101), a modded og GBA with that screen, or a DS Lite?
I compared them side by side running the same games and N3DS looked the worst.
Joe Shlabotnik
Banned
Surprised about the slightly cool colors as my screen seems noticeably warm (most visible on the Zelda loading screens)
Wowfunhappy
Member
If there's one thing I hate about the modern tech industry, it's the stupid climb for ever higher resolutions on ever smaller devices.
The new Samsung Galaxy has a 1440p screen. On a phone. This needlessly adds cost and weight, and all of those extra pixels which need to be lit suck up battery life. A simple 1080p screen would have been more than enough.
And then there's that Sony phone that's 4K. Yes, on a freaking phone.
Did I mention the fact that you can't buy an HDR television without also going 4K, for some reason?
There's nothing inherently wrong with higher resolutions, but there are other things we could invest resources into right now—blacker blacks, more accurate colors, less glare, etc—which would be more power efficient and less resource intensive while looking better overall.
I think that Nintendo absolutely made the right decision.
Naked Snake
Member
Uh, Samsung Galaxy phones​ have been 1440p for a long time now, at least since the Note 4, which was released in 2014 (and I'm posting this from). If the S8 is still 1440p 3 years later, you kinda have to commend Samsung for that
TheGamingBox
Banned
i think sony will be releasing 1080p hdr tvs this year