8bitDAD
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So.. those of you who dabble heavily on the electronics side of gameboys, exploring pin outs and functionality of the PCBs.. is there any conceivable method for replacing the stock LCD with a modern backlit LCD? I've seen videos (timbob?) of video out from super gameboy to the DMG's LCD, and I believe another video showing the LCD PCB of the DMG outputting video to a MGB screen.

I know nothing of the requisites behind powering a modern LCD, or the difficulty in making the appropriate signal connections from the old old gameboy to modern LCD form factors, but It would obviously be really really cool.

So I guess I'm just curious what limitations or difficulties or impossibilities there are to this.

Edit: I'm not suggesting this can even be done. But I would like to see some enlightening discussion. Dance, monkeys!

Last edited by 8bitDAD (Jan 29, 2013 1:12 am)

kitsch
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matt's mind

^give me ~ a month

wink  then you'll have a replacement with the right pixel count and considerations and size!

(all going according to the will of the cosmos, that is)

8bitDAD
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Yes, kitsch. Yes. Yes we can.

thebitman
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Um, kitsch has been hinting for a long time now about such a product being made. I'm not sure if it has gone from schematics to working prototype yet, but it might still be on the drawing board. The catch is that since the screen is attached to the front PCB by so many contacts it would almost be easier to design a whole front PCB to match the screen (which is exactly what kitsch was hinting at). He once (possibly jokingly) hinted at HDMI out.

I wouldn't say we will see it soon, but I would not write off such a product.

TheBronyChip
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Maine
thebitman wrote:

He once (possibly jokingly) hinted at HDMI out.

Oh my gawd thats over kill o_o

thebitman
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TheBronyChip wrote:
thebitman wrote:

He once (possibly jokingly) hinted at HDMI out.

Oh my gawd thats over kill o_o

Not exactly. It's convenient if you can hook up to a big screen TV or home theater to show people what you are doing, and you can pump the sound out to a stereo system over the same cable.

8bitDAD
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i suppose that what i read into from kitsch's rumblings of replacement LCD components that it would be a ready-to-go form of the frontlit LCD we're all enjoying on our DMGs today. If this were like a BACKlit modern LCD, I'd be so happy. Am I mistaken?

kitsch
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matt's mind

^ its also torture to implement (haven't gotten it yet), and there are licensing concerns i wasn't initially aware of hmm

basically...  if you want to make an identical LCD, just with an added backlight, you'll be jumping backwards in the progression of tech (and, the IC Sharp used for those is no longer available anyways).

kitsch
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matt's mind

its a backlit design wink

but the LCD component isn't as drop-in replaceable as you're thinking. 

it'll end up being a whole front PCB replacement.  the ribbon cable will plug into the CPU PCB.

everything on the front....  replaced.  there will be a couple+ versions, with varying levels of features... 

there is a FPGA involved wink

and about EVERY type of manufacturing you can imagine.  and the parts all have to FIT!!!!  ahhhhhh!

8bitDAD
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i believe in you. CGB version, perhaps? Wishful thinking / low demand?

Another Castle
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Pittsburgh

Is there the possibility that there could be some sort of video-out capability on the new screens?

thebitman
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8bitDAD wrote:

i believe in you. CGB version, perhaps? Wishful thinking / low demand?

A color screen would require a more-capable CPU, and that would mean there would be a back PCB that would also need to be made. I know that there was a project called Rolf that set out to be a perfect DMG clone, and I would imagine that it would be possible to eventually make a CGB clone. However, Rolf is not a finished product, more like a plethora of schematics and technical details. Chances of seeing this come to light will be slim for a long time, I'd bed.

Telerophon
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Austin, Texas
8bitDAD wrote:

i believe in you. CGB version, perhaps? Wishful thinking / low demand?

The CGB and the MGB both are single circuit board designs with a separate LCD attached to a smaller ribbon cable that the one found in the DMG. Modern frontlit/backlit premanufactured drop-in replacements for those Game Boy models would be very different products that what resident Game Boy Wizard kitsch seems to be developing.

Semantics Moment with Telerophon:
The readily available backlight kits we are all familiar with are true backlights: Their installation involves removing the two part reflective foil and polarizing film backing to replace it with an internal light source. This is true for both MGB screens and DMG screens.

The somewhat popular frontlight modification for CGB involves removing the frontlight panel from a (hopefully) broken GBA SP, and then installing it into a CGB between the existing LCD and the screen protector. These sorts of screens by design cannot be backlit with the same method typically used in the DMG and MGB.

The Backlit LCD on the AGB SP-101 was the first of its kind available in a Nintendo handheld to be a truly backlit color LCD. Afterwards, I believe all of the DS models have used similar screens.

Designing, manufacturing, and selling a Backlit CGB LCD drop-in kit likely wouldn't be impossible; however, conceiving, designing, and manufacturing such a product would far exceed my technical capacity.

Last edited by Telerophon (Jan 29, 2013 2:07 am)

kitsch
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matt's mind

@Another Castle -- yes, thats the plan.  but its not *the point* of the project.  just a perk for a revision if i can ever wrassle the HDMI bit...  (or another video out, pending research into the licensing and stuff)

@8bitDAD -- not without some other major changes, like thebitman mentioned.

kitsch
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matt's mind

if this were my world, i'd give this a big honking coax output with a BNC connector and it'd be crazy ugly....  it'd go with my rig a little better then...

but its not, so why not shoot for the best thing one could do? (no upconverting, etc)   

there is a quote about moon and starts i won't mention here...

kitsch
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matt's mind

(a backlit CGB screen is not an impossibility, nor an improbability)

just sayin'

wink