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  • Console Builds
  • oled
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Modernize a GBA

f5kn
f5kn over 10 years ago

So, the Game Boy Advance came out in 2001, and is notorious for having a bad LCD screen, as it doesn't have a backlight. It wasn't until 2005 that they finally released a model with one.

But I was thinking that the original GBA (which has a great form factor) should have a much better screen, like an OLED screen. Would that be possible? You might need to reverse engineer some stuff, but it could work, right?

Also, batteries are a bit of a problem as well. Yeah, you could use rechargeable batteries, but wouldn't a cellphone battery work that much better?

And what about tactile button switches for the A/B button and the D-Pad?

 

What else could you do to modernize that small wonder?

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  • kidiccurus
    0 kidiccurus over 10 years ago

    Adding an OLED screen would be ridiculously difficult. If you watch Ben's LCD hacking videos you can get an idea of the challenge involved. The AGS-101 gameboy advance sp had an amazing backlit screen and rechargeable battery. Why not source one of those?

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  • f5kn
    0 f5kn over 10 years ago in reply to kidiccurus

    Well, Ben is not a guy who runs away from a challenge, is he? xD

    Seriously, though, I believe the image would look so much better in an OLED screen (bright, saturated colors, deep dark blacks) that it could justify the time spent working on it.

     

    EDIT: It could be hard to find a 240x160px OLED screen, though.

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  • kidiccurus
    0 kidiccurus over 10 years ago in reply to f5kn

    If the colours are that fixated on video quality the a gameboy player is the way to go so you can view the games on a full TV. Otherwise an ags-101 or possibly micro is fine. Having seen an AGS the screen is pretty much perfect.

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