DS Lite vs. PSP: who has the best picture quality?

by David Hinkle { Oct 26th 2006 at 3:15PM }

In the third part of their Picture Quality Shoot-Out series, PC Magazine, along with DisplayMate Technologies' Dr. Raymond Soneira, put Nintendo and Sony's handhelds under the magnifying glass to try and discern which had the superior picture quality. Given that most folks are happy with whatever choice they made for handheld gaming (or both if they're pretty hardcore), picture quality superiority isn't all that important in defining a console's overall worth. However, having the word "fanboy" in our title means we need to comment on the report and you fine readers undoubtedly need to comment (we welcome the comments!).

Surprisingly, the picture quality on each device is close to equal. The PSP has a better DPI (dots per square inch) coming in at 130, with the DS Lite trailing at 110. However, the brightness on the DS beats out the PSP, even when plugged in to an AC outlet, by featuring a 200 cd/m² brightness (compared to the highest possible on the PSP being 148 cd/m² and 115 cd/m² when unplugged. Finally, the article points out that the DS is leagues better at handling colors than the PSP, with the largest color gamut of handheld devices at 74%, compared to the PSP's 54%.

According to the report, the PSP wins with a score of B+ compared to the DS Lite's B. Still, the margins of victory are fairly small on each aspect tested, so the technical superiority of either platform is easily argued.

[Via PSP Fanboy]

Tags: ds, dslite, fanboy, lite, nintendo, nintendods, pc, pcmagazine, playstation, portable, psp, sony, sonyplaystationportable

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

SuicideNinja @ Oct 26th 2006 4:09PM

This is one issue I don't agree with them on. The DS screens are much easier to look at for a period of time than the PSP's. *cough* bad refresh rate *cough* Nintendo put some high quality LCD's in their little toy, and it was surprising.

However, although they say the color is *better* on the DS...I personally think the PSP wins in that department.

ac @ Oct 27th 2006 12:50AM

what does this test matter? one system is outselling the other by a large margin. one system has an excellent gaming library, and the other mediocre. this test means very little regardless of the outcome. next test we'll be seeing the ps3 looks better then wii under a magnifying glass. in the end will it matter? if you compare the overall experiences of each system, then that would be interesting.

Drew @ Oct 26th 2006 9:58PM

I'm an admitted Nintendo fanboy and I love my DS Lite. I admit the PSP knocks the socks off the DS in raw horsepower, but DSL's screens really are bright & beautiful. I continue to be amazed by the little white wonder.

RupeeClock @ Oct 26th 2006 11:30PM

Whilst the picture quality might be a bit better on the PSP, this is really a matter of quality/quantity, or functionality, not one mention of the DS's touchscreen.

So long as the image is clearly defined that's great, two B screens can be argued as superior to a single B+ screen.

graham @ Oct 27th 2006 3:30AM

watch movies on the two systems, you'll see the difference easy. PSP really kicks the crap out of the ds. It's just because the ds cant run as many colors as the psp, but oh well :)

Nik @ Oct 27th 2006 10:13AM

Yeah Ladsaber, Sony is concerned for your eyes. Did you know that if you play a DS Lite for too long your pupils spontaneously combust? Somebody put the equivalent of a muzzle on this guy's fingers so that he can't type anymore. Holy shit.

Kazooie77 @ Oct 27th 2006 10:14AM

You know I did not buy a ds to watch movies on. If I wanted to watch movies I would of got a portable DVD player. Also here another point I'm going to add I have 12 friends that own DS not PSP.

Extinction @ Oct 27th 2006 3:38PM

"I'm going to add I have 12 friends that own DS not PSP."

I have 20 friends who own PSPs and love them, 3 of them own DSs and regret buying them since DS games pale in comparison to PSP games. DS games come off as feeling like glorified tech demos

Fox @ Oct 27th 2006 5:06PM

Why are to trolling Extinction? Surely you have better things to do with your life than declare on a DS site how you think DS games are "glorified tech demos." That's pretty sad if that's the best you can do with your time.

Anyhow, I'm more surprised that the DS screen was only barely beaten by the PSP's. I think we should all know and accept that the PSP has the better screen, even with a crappy refresh rate. I do think that the DS's screen is more than good enough for what it does though--especially the very nice brightness of the lite.

With all due respect,
Fox

Alien @ Oct 28th 2006 2:20PM

The PSP has a batter screen , thats it . It also has a greate library of games , and not a mediocre one . Please dont start shiting the PSP , because it is the best non-Nintendo made handheld . Its not a flop , only because the DS sells batter . Whas the N64 a flop , because the PSone solled batter ??? No it wasnt , not even the Gamecube ( which deffinatly did worse than the PSP ) . So please , I respect both sistems , the PSP and the DS , the fact that I like the PSP batter doesnt means that I hate the DS , its just that for me the PSP serves a batter purpose than the DS , for others its the oposite . We are all different , and we are lucky that we can choose different consoles . And for this we have to thank Sony and Nintendo :)