First Check Comparison Of The Two Screens

[Knoxximus]

I liiiiiiiiiiiiikes the Mk2 screen. :wub:

 

[ste_167]

Why not just take a picture of the REAL screen so we can see the EXACT difference?

See Jr2swiss's photos to see why.. photos don't pick up the fine details. Having tried more games last night, Epicenter is totally correct. It's 6 and 2 threes. Some games look better on the Mk1, some on the Mk2. 8 bit games will look better on the Mk2, especially those with black backgrounds. Speccy games, for example, will benefit from the new screen.

I did notice that the contrast on the MK2 is high enough to knock graphics detail out of some games. Generally, neogeo beat 'em ups look better on the Mk1, however colourful platform games look better on the Mk2.

 

[Gruntfuggly]

So are you still planning to swap your Mk2 for a Mk1?

 

[ste_167]

That Swap thread was more tongue in cheek than anything. I've currently got an Mk1 and an Mk2. I'm not sure I could part with either of them now. They're tucked up in their cases, and I'd feel bad for kicking one out!

 

[Gruntfuggly]

That Swap thread was more tongue in cheek than anything. I've currently got an Mk1 and an Mk2. I'm not sure I could part with either of them now. They're tucked up in their cases, and I'd feel bad for kicking one out!

Well - if you change your mind

Have you found any improvement in the joystick yet?

 

[DavidBeoulve]

Thanks for the photographs, Jr2swiss.

 

[bacteria]

Good post, good work. I like the Mk2 screen, based on the pics posted.

Give it a few months and I will probably buy myself another one (perhaps Mk3)?

 

[ste_167]

Gruntfuggly, both units have the gbax cap (the one with gp32 written on it). On the Mk2 the embossed 'gp32' is at a 45 degree downward angle due to the rotation on the model! I posted this earlier:

The stick's more responsive on the Mk2 too. I can't speak for every Mk1, but mine seems pretty loose and I sometimes have to try twice at navigating simple left and rights on menus (new cap used). Yeah, I should push harder.. The Mk2 allows for lighter pushes. I've been playing a fair number of NeoGeo football games, and it does seem to make a difference with the rotated thumbstick. It almost seems like a proper one! tongue.gif I'd say I prefer it to the PSP thumbstick.. although the PSP's little knob is hardly a benchmark in controls..

 

[Vimacs]

could you take a picture from them displaying a proper test image?

 

[Gruntfuggly]

How is it for hitting diagonals? When I play Rampart in the Lynx emulator, I end up moving the wall pieces diagonally a lot of the time which makes it hard to rebuild the castle - I'd be up for replacing my Mk1 with a Mk2 if it improves that...

 

[ste_167]

Do you mean as in hitting diagonals accidentally, or intendedly? It finds 'up, down, left, right' very easily.

 

[bacteria]

Do you mean as in hitting diagonals accidentally, or intendedly? It finds 'up, down, left, right' very easily.

In your opinion, does this rotated stick solve the issues people have been getting when they move the joystick in one direction and it moves in another direction? (eg it was always hard to press left without hitting a directional). Many people will be interested in your review...

The Mk2 I believe comes with the screen protector pre-installed - is this right? Was there any dust on your unit when it arrived between the scrren protector and the LCD screen itself??

 

[ste_167]

I'll give it a good try on various games before giving full details, as I don't want to raise people's hopes, or depress Mk1ers with misguided information. I'm a newbie to GP2x's and picked up an Mk1 as I didn't want to miss out on getting one before the Mk2's took over.

Last night, I did have slight problems selecting players on a NeoGeo game (the diagonal problem that you talk of) so I immediately tried the same game on the Mk2, and it didn't suffer from the same problem. It still needs pushing over as far as the Mk1 (because, as you know, it's the same controls rotated).

To be honest, I haven't currently played enough games on both models to make an informed comment. I think it's only in actually playing the games properly (to win) that you can judge how well the thumbstick works. As yet, I've only been tinkering. Sorry that I can't be more help.

As a new owner though, I think I was in an unbiased position to compare the two screens. I'll have a check on the screen protector later.

 

[DaveC]

Why not just take a picture of the REAL screen so we can see the EXACT difference?

I did notice that the contrast on the MK2 is high enough to knock graphics detail out of some games. Generally, neogeo beat 'em ups look better on the Mk1, however colourful platform games look better on the Mk2.

Well if done right contrast being high should not knock any detail out. It seems that the gamma is not done right and there needs to be a tweak to the voltage bias on the LCD and/or backlight (haven't seen a M2 yet so don't know which) . This bias adjustment will also help address the viewing angle problem. GPH will probably "fix" this in later units but my guess is they will bump the brightness too high and wash it out (like they did on M1). It is a fine balance and should be done by someone that knows what they are doing and understands gamma, backlight intensity and their influence on each other (certainly not GPH) to get the best contrast and shadow detail.

 

[Epicenter]

Is it just me or is the new screen lens more reflective? Either that, or the new LCD- whichever is the case-- the machine's display looks much more vibrant.

 

[DaveC]

Is it just me or is the new screen lens more reflective? Either that, or the new LCD- whichever is the case-- the machine's display looks much more vibrant.

It is hard to tell from those pics as they are too small. It would be nice to see larger pictures where you can see the pixel structure that people are talking about. Also in that pic one unit is tilted more than the other. Maybe they should be taken at the same angle so you can judge viewing angle?

Also my LCD tweak picture is also very good for judging gamma. The grey and color scale in my pic is helpful in guaging shadow detail and any intensity clipping at either the high or low end of the intensity. The later M1 units showed intensity clipping at the high end. I would bet by comments here that the GP2X M2 would show clipping at the low end. It should have been adjusted so that you can JUST see the darkest grey without washing out the black level. There are some low intensities all of the way down to those small red brackets. If you don't see them they have been clipped by the display. With that pic you can see how far up the scale it is before you can notice a value, and hence how much is missing from images.

 

[Epicenter]

I do believe some close-up shots of a few programs with macro mode enabled on the camera are in order.

 

[DavidBeoulve]

I do believe some close-up shots of a few programs with macro mode enabled on the camera are in order.

Here here!

*saves a copy of that pic for his future Mk2*

 

[yoosty]

*saves a copy of that pic for his future Mk2*

Kind of looks like that's a screenshot from an actual GP2x program?
Which program is that DaveC? (for those of us trying to fill our SD cards while their GP2x is in the mail)

 

[nickspoon]

It's a replacement for the LCD test image in firmware 1.4 & 2.0, it replaces the one in your skin.