PSP TFT & Backlight Replacement Review

Written by Brakken
February 2006 Introduction

Most of you probably know my overall stance on Sony when it comes to producing quality hardware. I can sit back and still boot up my Sega CD or NES which were built back in the 1980-1990’s, but I find it hard to believe how many untouched Sony video gaming products I have sitting in the basement collecting dust because they are no longer operational. So I didn’t expect much from Sony when it came to obtaining their latest video game creation the PSP.

Little to say I wasn't surprised to find the unit defective upon first turning it on. I’ve had three PSP’s and from day one each one came with dead pixels on the screen. Of course, according to Sony dead pixels are within normal operational standards and don’t qualify for being fixed via their warranty. I found this out by waiting on hold for over 2 hours after navigating through an automated phone system the size of the Atlantic Ocean. Needless to say Sony PSP systems are flawed.

One obvious flaw is the TFT LCD screen used in the console and for this reviews sake I wont go into detail about it’s numerous other problems. The screen itself has the all too common ghosting problem – where images leave trails behind them like you were on a bad LSD trip. This ghosting is known to give gamers the common eye twitching syndrome and sometimes leaves them with a macho headache.

Another problem is the before mentioned “dead pixel syndrome”. If you happen to read through that oversized manual that comes with your PSP you will notice Sony states that dead pixels are normal and they won’t replace the unit. I’ve heard they will replace it after six of them die, but I had thirty and they still refused to fix it. In fact, even though my unit was under warranty they wanted me to ship it to them at my cost, pay a labor fee to put in a refurbished screen which would take 4-6 weeks.

There has to be a better solution? Thanks to Extreme-Mods there is! Extreme-Mods offers 3rd party TFT and backlight replacements for the Sony PSP which are guaranteed to come with no dead pixels. So will these replacement screens get the job done? Let’s find out.

Features

Brand New TFT Screen
No Dead Pixels
Less Ghosting
Solderless "Plug N' Play" Installation

Contents

The package consists of a backlight and a TFT screen. Both units come inside their own box surrounded with very thick shock absorbent material to make sure they don’t come messed up. Additionally, each has a thin layer of plastic covering them to insure your receive a scratch free solution. Note that you will only need to replace the backlight if you are experiencing greenish/dark blobs onscreen or your contrast is so high you can barely make anything out. Otherwise all you will need to do to fix those pesky little dead pixels is to replace the TFT.

Installation

Make sure before installing the unit you remove the PSP battery. If the battery is in the PSP and the power turned on and you accidentally let the battery fall out you will damage your backlight which results in your onscreen image getting a major irreversible increase in contrast – so much that you can barely see anything at all.

When installing the unit make sure to wear some protective gloves and keep some eye glass cleaner handy as you won't want to leave some fingerprints on your screen!

To install the unit I simply had to remove the PSP’s faceplate. When disassembling the PSP it is very important to remember which screw goes where. Luckily, Team Xtender has an excellent diagram of where the screws go which was created for their PSP2TV device. I would make sure to use this diagram as if you put a large screw where a smaller one should go you’ll end up damaging your original screen like I did. If you’re not careful those little tiny screws can turn your original, dead pixelled, blurry TFT into a nice spidery mess of glass.

Once you have the faceplate removed you will need to pry up the right side of the screen using a small flat object such as a razor blade. Once the screen is lifted up you disconnect the backlight power (small flat cable) and the video signal (large flat cable) and set the old screen and backlight aside.

Next you use that same flat object to remove the top bracket that fits snugly on top of the TFT screen. After this you take the plastic coating off of the new backlight and off of the back of the new TFT and set it into place. Finally, you stick the bracket back over your new creation and then plug the cables in.

Once this is done you fit the backlight and TFT assembly back into place and put the cover back on your PSP. That’s it, there’s nothing to it!

Usage

When I turned on the PSP I was presented with a crystal clear dead pixel free image that made me sit back and thank Extreme-Mods as I once again have a display other then the TV output on my PSP! I wasn’t finished yet as I wanted to check out the ghosting problem. So I loaded up a few games that used to be plagued with ghosting and to my surprise there was barely any. Even the videos on the demo disc that comes with the PSP produced a drastic decrease in the ghosting effect.

Conclusion

Due to the ease of installation, the quality and low cost of both the TFT and backlights I would recommend purchasing and installing these items yourself instead of going Sony’s route which will leave you empty handed for weeks to only receive another malfunctioning screen in return. Having the ghosting go down a lot is also another reason to pick one of these screens up. Well, if all else fails you can go the hammer route, but I think buying a new screen would be a little more reasonable.

Positives No More Dead Pixels Less Ghosting Moderate Installation

Negatives Manual Assembly Fragile Screen Fingerprints are Evil!

-=[ PSP TFT & Backlight Review Discussion Thread ]=-

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