Just wanted to say I just received the kit a day ago, and thanks to this vid installation was easy. Also, the screen being laminated with the lens looks BEAUTIFUL & the “hum and hiss” isn’t as apparent with these ITA screens. Definitely recommend.
you gotta see the one i just put together yesterday. Charmander Shell and ITA screen with ORANGE EVERYTHING ITS SICK and the ITA LCD is vibrant with the colors and has those retro lines on it. Now i see why ppl get the IPS mod but i kinda like that retro look to it. Honestly either one is cool but i would like to see IPS side by side but unfortunatly i ordered another ITA from funnyplaying in china so it wont be here for forever and returns would be difficult.
@@Grant-H2O it might come sooner than you think. I ordered my GBC laminated kit & shell about 7-9 days ago and I thought I wouldn’t even get it this month but it came yesterday!
I think a big con to these laminated kits is the fact that we have to buy a specially made shell. I love the look of the laminated LCD but I'm not a fan of aftermarket shells.
That is certainly a con. And after reading your comment I just thought of another which is if the the screen lens cracks it will be difficult to replace. I’ll definitely mention that in my next laminated ips video.
There are a lot of crappy aftermarket shells, I agree. But I heavily modded my GBA and haven't looked back. The new shell I got for it came from HandHeld Legend, it's made by RetroSix, and it's the pearl edition. It's got a matte finish and a slight rubbery texture where your hands hold onto the console on the back. It looks and feels nice and gives the console a nice grip. I paired that shell with buttons from FunnyPlaying. Plus there's no excess plastic to shave off because it's made for ips screen mods 🙂. Unfortunately price wise it is a bit on the higher end as far as shells go though. It also fits the chargeable battery pack mod and you can get a matching battery cover that has a type c usb hole in it. The only shells I find that are always bad, no matter what, are the horrid DS lite and nds shells. There's always excess plastic and they require too much plastic shaving just to get original OEM parts to fit.
Are the screens very prone to cracking? I'm guessing if you drop it on the floor it'll crack for sure but does it withstand the odd drop on the table if it slips out your hand?
For anyone buying this kit now, the display bracket has been changed. It fits over the connected ribbons so you don't have to un-tape the board from the display at all. If you try to put the bracket under the board so that the ribbons lay on top of the bracket like the video, you'll damage the bottom ribbon. Unfortunately my display arrived with the bottom ribbon broken off where the ribbon comes out of the display, so unless I want a screen with no backlight (defeats the whole purpose), I'm waiting for Retro Repair Shop to replace :(
Thank you for this! Good luck with yours. My dilemma is that I like to look of the transparent shells, but this kit has really bad light bleed on anything that isn't a solid color. Haven't made up my mind yet.
@@familybarton Luckily I bought a solid black shell so light bleed shouldn't be an issue. I like the ITA more than the IPS. It looks more retro with the natural pixel grid and less saturated colors. Funnyplaying instructions show the board on top of the bracket, so maybe they still want you to install the same way. But the cut outs on the new bracket don't align to the ribbons perfectly on mine to do it that way. Makes more sense for the bracket to sit on top. New screen comes Monday. I'll try it again and confirm.
@@familybarton Received my replacement display. Honestly, I can't figure out which way the bracket should go. Both ways stress the ribbons once in the shell. I even tried ribbons below the bracket and display board on top of the bracket as a third option and that also didn't work out. I'm reaching out to Retro Game Repair Shop and FunnyPlaying for guidance because at this rate every way I try is going to wreck these ribbons.
@@Grave79 Thanks for the additional info. I just ended up buying the older unlaminated ITA kit. I wanted the option of being able to use an original OEM shell, so just went that route. Good luck though!
@@Grave79 I just finished an installation with the revised kit, and I had to install the DSi LCD ribbons under the bracket instead of over. It was very frustrating to figure this out. Running these ribbons over the bracket almost destroyed the video signal ribbon -- I could not get anything but a white screen in the assembled form. Now everything is working fine.
I already commented a week ago, but I wanted to come back just to thank you for this tutorial! This build looks FAR better than my IPS modded GBA & was way easier to accomplish thanks to this tutorial! Can’t wait for your next video, this really made my weekend!
About the touch sensor acting up on it's own, I find that the best solution is to turn Frame Blending off in the OSD menu (since it's an ITA display, this feature isn't all that necessary).
I know this video focused on the screen kit, but man that drop in rechargeable battery mod is so slick. Utilizes the existing battery connectors so you don't have to desolder them, fits neatly in the battery compartment, only need to swap out the little door.. they really thought that through and made that as user friendly as possible!
Just love this system so much. So many mod options for any price point, and you get access to most of the 16-bit era for a huge discount compared to the home consoles.
Damn these kits are looking pretty slick 👀 Those touch sensors really piss me off though so I'd probably end up lopping it off and just wiring it. I always accidently touch it on all my builds that have them.
Awesome tutorial as always, Tito! I put this kit together last weekend after watching this video and it looks awesome! FYI for those who want to try it out - I ran into a small snag where the screen was only showing white when I first fired it up, but some quick adjustments to the potentiometer mentioned at 8:32 fixed that right up. Keep up the great work!
Another great video, thanks Tito! I'd say one of the cons of a laminated screen is that, if you have the bad luck to scratch it, you have to replace the whole screen. Instead with a regular screen you just need to replace a much cheaper lens.
the power of thumbnails, i never had a gba in my life and didnt knew what were you talking about at first but the whole subject of moding stuff is cool, ty for sharing this with the world
I followed this guide to put together something similar! Two corrections: You placed the A/B membrane on backwards and didn't place the power light diffuser. The screws that come in the kit are pretty soft and strip easily, so the less you have to open it back up the better. P.S. The original screws for the GBA are stronger and reusable.
One con that should be mentioned is that these shells with the battery compartment that allow for both rechargeable and regular AA batteries are actually not awesome for AA batteries. The batteries can get easily knocked out of place if you're not careful (which happened to me while playing a game, almost dropping and catching the GBA... to find that it was turned off because one battery fell out of place). Awesome video as usual, Tito!
@@Tye2K I want them to support their past products. Whether it's through an online option, like the NES, SNES, and N64 online service, or create an add on, probably in the next system that allows people to play their old kart games on. There's a company called Epilogue that created the GB Operator, it allows you to back up your games, back up old saves, and even play the kart you put in the slot for backing up. Nintendo has a vast library of games they could still make available to play, and the ones they can't relicense for an online service, they could create an addon that allows people to play their own games, the tech exists already, they even made their own at one point.
@@Punmaster9001 lol what an ignorant and entitled comment dude, Nintendo DOES support their old stuff, more than any other game company! Even in the form of merch and collectibles, and with the actual games you’ve had classic systems in every single system since the SNES in one way or another lol..even the GBA had NES classics and tons of SNES PORTS! The switch has four retro gaming apps with dozens of titles available as well as compilations released all the time on physical
I’ve had about half the touch sensors on various kits malfunction and self-trigger. I usually just snip them off. If you wire the buttons it’s irrelevant. Also worth noting is the AGS101 and DS TFT’s do not natively support 5 levels of brightness. The potentiometer can only accurately dial in one level, so realistically I would go with the default brightness (3) on any retrofit kit using a TFT, not worry about changing brightness, and calibrate the potentiometer for that. Odds are it’s going to already be close to perfect for the default brightness anyway.
Love these GBA mods. I've been waiting for a kit just like this. I have kept my GBA in the drawer for years because the screen isn't back-lit. Thanks to you sharing this kit, I'm ready to order one and pickup my GBA. Thanks Tito!
Love the production quality of your videos and I'm definitely the target audience but man, when your video title says 'No Solder' it's hard to explain what you're doing at 3:54 to my friends who are afraid of soldering because they see that first and get freaked out. But I am really glad you explained the difference between models. Here's hoping we can find some 32 pin models.
Totally agree solder can be pretty daunting, I’m glad there is an Avenue to do this mod solder free with a 32 pin model. Wish it was for all models though
This really seems like a no brainer if you're trying to resurrect an old GBA with a dead screen! Thanks for another top notch video Tito, hope you're doing well!
This is my favorite screen out of all. Though I had to redo all the mods I did on my IPS v2 like the clixky buttons and amplifier mods to a new board because my V2 is already starting to wear out but I still plan to keep it as long as the corners of my screen hasn't turned black or faded into white. ITA screen's look is just way in-line with my preference.
Hey my procrastination paid off! I’ve been meaning to mod my GBA for a while but have been kind of intimidated by the non laminated kits, getting dust or a mid aligned screen would annoy the crap out of me. But now I don’t have to worry!
This screen is basically the best of both worlds. The brighter and more modern displays of the AfterBurner mods with the authentic retro look of the vanilla and AGS-101 screens. This is exactly why I always wished for a screen with a 1:1 pixel grid or 1x scaling. I hope similar screen mods get made for the GBC, DMG, GB Pocket/Light and Game Gear.
Another great kit! It's wonderful to see how many options there are nowadays for updating your GBA. I personally love my IPS LED drop in kit that I found through your channel, but within the Gameboy community there seems to be a want for some ITA mods. This looks fantastic and does really capture that time period in gaming.
Thanks for this! I love the idea of a laminated kit as I find it super difficult to keep dust out of these things. One thing I would really love to see is a screen mod that incorporates the colour matrices available in GBI. I have a GBA Consolizer and use the palettes almost all the time - when I use my LCD modded GBA the colours look way too garish in a lot of games.
It’s a mix of the game boy macro and the body of the Gba!! Yes x 100, this is what I’ve been waiting for, finally!! IPS screens look good and sharp, but I love the retro look of older lcds!
This is pretty awesome. I love that more screen options are available. I wonder what the input lag is like? I've personally been waiting for a good replacement screen with less or no input lag.
What is the screen resolution ? Compared to original gba 240x160 and what does the lack of integer scaling mean for gameplay? is there a difference in resolution?
just ordered this entire set thanks to your vid! I've been waiting for a good kit using the AGS-101-like LCDs for the GBA, and I've been practicing soldering so this is just perfect!
Noticed that you didn't mention one of the biggest benefits - less input lag. At least I assume these kits have less input lag than a cheap aftermarket IPS display not originally designed for use with the console? Hope this gets tested, input lag on portables is not talked about or tested nearly enough for these screen replacement kits. It's a MAJOR issue though & needs to be taken into account when buying!
It seems that FunnyPlaying's own IPS kit has at least two whole frames of additional lag, whereas the ITA only has one (which is unavoidable, because the original GBA display drew frames directly with no buffer, and this being a DSi display means it requires a buffer).
This looks great! If only I didn't have a 40-pin model original GBA; I really don't want to have to pick up a soldering kit! But this is definitely something I want to consider in the future as I really want that 1:1 pixel ratio and natural pixel grid look, even if I have to go and buy a 32-pin GBA just for it.
@@MachoNachoProductions I just received a fully laminated LCD FunnyPlaying Kit for the GameGear. So they are even continuing the trend there. You have to cut the shell to fit it in though. I haven't modded a GameGear with it yet, but I hope this means being able to use the full size of the LCD (could also be interesting for Master System Games). Edit: Unfortunately the cutout from the screen protector is still the same size. What a missed opportunity...
@@MachoNachoProductions I have the GBC 2.0. I had to get it after watching your video on it. I have done two GBP''s as well with the non laminated kits. I'd like to see FP take on other consoles Like the Nomad, Lynx, and Gamegear.
1:1 pixels are nice for sure. Really like this option compared to the AGS-101 screen, given that the original ones aren't getting made for years, getting ever more expensive, the corners getting white towards the center and so on, plus killing an AGS-101 if it wasn't board-dead already which I've rarely ever seen anyway. Then the option turns into the Aliexpress new reproductions that have visibly different colors, contrast and sunlight visibility (to be honest not that there was much to begin with in that regard, that's AGB/AGS-001 dominance). This DSi LCD seems to match the color tone between the original AGB-001 screen and the AGS-101 ones. A huge plus in my view, the original 101 is way too saturated in older games. EDIT: ...what does ITA stand for??
Unfortunately it's not 1:1 pixels. Funnyplaying markets this as having the exact same resolution of the gba (240x160), but both top and bottom Dsi screens had a resolution of 256x192. So either it's not a dsi screen or its not the same resolution. You can see a visible difference in the way the pixel grid looks when turned off if you compare these screens to an ags 101.
@@viridionwaves Doesn't the controller that interfaces the GBA to the DSi screen do the cropping? The GBA frame fits without too much borders inside the DSi frame after all. This would allow some calibration to center the image as well after install.
I just got a 32 pin version the other day. Definitely gonna do this mod after I finish my SP. Great tutorial Tito. How did you fix the touch sensor from auto adjusting?
Sweet! I showed it in the video but the key is to tape the sensors to the top of the shell and make sure that it’s not touching the rear shell by pushing it as far forward to the front of the console as possible. Best of luck dude 👍
So since this is a ribbon cable mod, this should be possible to combine with the HDMI kit and speaker amplifier mod? Those and QI (wireless) charging would make the perfect GBA imo. (Well that and IR, which will probably never be possible 😂)
Can you make a video comparing the different screen mods for these GBA that you have built? What you like or dislike about them & what's your overall opinion on which screen is best?
Great video but you didn't mention the ripple issue (maybe that had been solved in the meanwhile by FP) and most importantly the screen line issue with FP ITA kits (maybe only in 40 Pin models). FP said they can't fix this atm.
i don't understand why they included a touch sensor. it's a solution for a problem i think nobody had and in return introduces a new one, like you mentioned at the end of the video.
sadly , i can still see the horizontal white lines across the screen, that its caused for the funnyplaying ribbon ;/ , sold mine for that reason , you can see them around 9:27 on the warioland 4 intro, in the sky, white lines across all the screen, and on the ground too, that is not normal, funnyplaying know of the problem but they cant fixed right now...or so they say
GB and GBA are amazing, I mod a DMG with a nice screen and a pocket with annother even better. This is quite cool and nice looking BUT, for that price I bough a boxed game cube and with a bit money more a GB player ... and ... I have never used a GB againg, becuse it is awasome. Very nice console and features. But this kit is quite nice ...
Hey Tito, pretty cool laminated ITA kit, thanks for showcasing this build. I have the previous model non-laminated and I can confirm that it's prone to dust building between the lcd and the lens. I'm only disappointed to see that for the moment Funnyplaying have a limited number of shells available, I bought a SNES theme shell with the previous kit that looks amazing and I don't have this option yet with this new iteration. But regardless, the ITA is my favourite LCD for the GBA - resembles the AGS-101. I'm not fully convinced on the rechargeable battery mod, not a bad option, but AA last a ton with this kit compared with the IPS kit version. Have you measured how many hours you pull with a full charge? (I get 9 hours with std rechargeable AAs)
Bought mine and came in today. 2/11/2023. The laminated screen is off center. So bad it cuts off some of the game. Since the screen, glass, and plastic frame make it to where there’s no way it could be off, I know it’s the screen and not installer error. Btw this tutorial is outdated by a lot. Many thing’s different now and there’s no instructions for the updated parts. This also is not a complete comprehensive guide as there are smaller pieces and steps missing.
I really love this kit, everything from the pixel-y display, to the laminated screen. I just have one huge pet peeve, the lens. I really hate a lot of aftermarket lenses, and I am really annoyed that funnyplaying creates multiple lens colors but only one is sold as laminated, and it's not the OEM gray color. The aftermarket black lenses with the thin holographic logo are my biggest pet peeve.
I wish he used the same panel from the v2 ips kit , the pixels not being aligned is a deal breaker credits and text on some games look horrendous on this kit compared to his older v2 with the proper pixel upscaling algorithm . Nonetheless great video
This is amazing. I can put a broken top screen DSi I have to good use. Pricing is kinda weird though, $30 isn't much, but only $7 for DSi added to said kit? Not bad at all! May go for that if that bottom screen I have is worse than i remember
Great vid. Definitely picking one of these up today. I can't stand the IPS look for retro games. It just doesn't look as designed and looks to clean for me making it look worse IMO