The Best Game Boy DMG Screen Mod Ever! 

Dang, this almost looks like someone added the image by video editing, it’s so sharp looking! Goodbye my savings, you shall not be missed!!

That screen when I first saw it made my jaw literally drop, if they made a Gameboy classic this would be epic.

Finally, the game boy is transformed into a perfect being. I'm very impressed.

Damnit Colin. Stop making these videos. I'm gonna go broke buying all these sweet mods 😭😭😭

That's not a Game Boy, that's a Game Man.

A few important notes and frequently asked questions: --The initial batch of these IPS screen kits cause the two greyscale levels to be flipped on the new screen (medium grey becomes dark grey, and vice versa). This can be fixed by swapping two of the pins on the wide ribbon connector that goes to the front PCB. However, I've received word that the manufacturer is aware of the issue and future kits shouldn't exhibit this behavior. --The replacement shell I used here is also from Hand-Held Legend, but since minimal modding is necessary you could, of course, reuse your original shell if you wanted. This mod is also compatible with replacement glass screen covers. --There seems to be confusion regarding the replacement front PCB. On the Game Boy, all of the logic happens on the back PCB. The front board only handles the connection to the display, the contrast wheel, the button contacts and the speaker connection. Since the original rear PCB is still used, the Game Boy functions and plays games just like it always did. This kit does not turn your Game Boy into a "clone" console by any means.

I just installed the V3 model of this screen and WOW! What a difference! Completely crisp, REALLY bright and almost no motion blur. Scrolling games are finally playable! One of the best retro mods I have ever installed. I am particularly enjoying the green colour setting on the screen, it still feels like a Gameboy with an original screen the way you imagined it before you saw the blurry mess the actual screen was.

I love how far these mods have came in the last few years, I remember watching your video when it released of the AGS-101 mod for gameboy advance, trying it myself and loving how well it came out, now we're adding IPS panels, fitting DS's inside color shells, who knows what else we'll be seeing in the next few years. Thanks for keeping us updated on these Colin, my wallet hates you haha.

I’m disappointed in Handheld Legend for not addressing the palette issue with this mod, and I find it curious how it wasn’t mentioned in this video. I bought this from HHL on day one, only to find out on RU-vid that every unit of this has the light gray and dark gray palettes swapped. So while the ips screen looks great, every game looks wrong. The user must cut traces and solder tiny wires if they want their games to look correct. Handheld Legend has one sentence that reads “fixing the color palette issues with the dmg ips kit (rips)” between the features and contents of this kit, but it doesn’t link to anything, or explain the problem. Two weeks after HHL released this kit, Retro Modding released it and were very up front with the problems, and also offer a version that is fixed by them and has speaker pre-installed. I like HHL, but I think they pretended there weren’t any problems so they could sell more kits. I don’t know if the palette issues have been fixed in the example in this video, but all potential buyers should be aware of this kit. Neither HHL or this video bring up this issue.

Whewwww I need this in my life! But it’s sold out! Can’t wait for more stock 🧐 Also what a nice video! Like many others it was your original DMG video that brought me to your channel and kept me here over the years! Kudos!

As I was looking at my broken Gameboy this video came out. I sadly broke my first Gameboy trying to Led mod the screen your videos are well made and awesome. This new product is game changing !! THANK YOU!!!

I have to say a big thank you for taking the time and sharing this with us! I got all the equipment needed during quarantine time one year ago and followed your instructions and upgraded my old game boy to this amazing game man as another commenter said! The instructions are flawless and this turned out to be a meditation project for me during those times. I just came back to it because I want to create a new one for a gift! Thanks for all the content you are sharing with us. All those videos are so valuable and nostalgic for all of us that grew up with all those devices! I forgot to leave a comment the first time because the hype overwhelmed me and forgot I think but I had to do it now! Again, thanks for your time and looking forward to your next amazing videos and content!

No mention of battery life? How does the new screen impact it?

I installed the ips v2 for the GBA and i refurbished my wife's old gba from college. I gave it to her for valentines day it was such a hit. XD she's been on it since friday playing her old pokemon carts. :) The screen is gorgeous

This is awesome. I'll for sure try to do this. I'm also planning on getting a gameboy pocket in the future, and I'll probably try to do the same thing with it. It's nice to have something like this with you. We do have smartphones that can play all the roms possible, but it's just not the same. I found that if I have it with me, I tend to use my smartphone less. It's pretty cumbersome to carry the huge gameboy dmg with me, so the pocket would be awesome. I do have the Super Mario Bros Game & Watch, but I want my tetris. Great video. I'll probably use it as reference when I'm gonna do this to mine.

I just did an upgrade on a GB Color and I was wondering if something similar was available for my original DMG. Now I have another upgrade to do. Thanks for posting this.

This is incredible, i messed up my first bivert+backlight gameboy mod and now i can make it work again, thanks so much for sharing !!

Be glad your display had "only" vertical dead lines. If you had horizontal dead lines... there would be no hope. Awesome new Display mod. I do have a spare original DMG model just waiting to be carefully modded like that. I've been waiting for such a display modification. It looks AWESOME. That kit is freaking impressive!!

Well I’ve ordered one and a half broken Gameboy so now I’m ready to bring life back to a classic console. Thanks for the install video, I’ve always kind of been on the fence when it came to these type of consoles modifications but with the way that this mod work it doesn’t really damage any existing hardware so it’s perfect for a game preservationists like me. Thanks

The Game Boy screen: "This Does Not Compute" This Does Not Compute: I'm about to fix this man's whole career

Really happy they have done this, I am one of the unfortunate ones with a dead screen DMG, I did ask them if they could source a replacement screen a couple of years ago... time to go shopping

Typing this in July 2021; Just did this mod with the IPS version 3 and it’s dope as hell. They’ve corrected issues with the mid-tone greys being swapped and it looks phenomenal. Definitely recommend the bracket for the screen and an aftermarket IPS-ready shell. I haven’t done a battery test, but I’ve been playing Pokemon pretty frequently for the last week since doing the mod and batteries are still going strong. I’m planning to order the cleanjuice battery soon.

I love the editing and script. Love the part where you change focus from the nipping tool to the sharpie. That said, I miss the vintage gameboy screen look and would have appreciated more footage of the DMG color palette option.

I just discovered this thing a week ago and couldn't find much on it on RU-vid! Thanks for making a video, Colin! Also, Console5 sells this kit as well but instead of the tape, they sell it with a 3D printed bracket to hold the screen. You can also just buy the bracket separately.

Love your channel! I would love to see an instruction video about how to install a rechargable battery on a DMG

I killed two DMG screens trying to do the backlight/bivert mod and just threw them in a bag of parts. Excited to dig them out and try this out now!

Hey Colin, If you have a V1 of the backlight kit you need to check out Makho's fix to the color spacing. In the process they have reversed the second and third color bank so that's why your Super Mario land doesn't look right.

Ok, I'm in. My screen now has horizontal lines and this is just what I've been hoping for.

I’ve been collecting for the gameboy for 20 years and have seen countless mods. This is by far the best screen I’ve seen for the device

I just wanna say, I really love your videos! It sounds dumb, but they really make my day better. Keep it up! :D

There's going to be a similar DMG mod coming soon that lets you program and save custom color pallets, it has a graphic filter setting so you can turn on smoothing if you want, and it can show the battery status of your Gameboy. There's a review of a prototype on The Chinese Guys channel

I went the whole hog, and did the battery mod as well. This puts a CleanJuice XL USB C Battery Pack in place of the original battery area, and it uses USB C to charge it - no more AA batteries, and the Li-Ion battery can last for upto 30 hours. The whole mods, screen, battery, shell, audio amp, new screen protector, breathes new life into the DMG Gameboy, and brings it into the 21st century. I am loving the GB more than when I got mine back in 1990, and now play it more than ever. I urge any Gameboy lovers out there to do these mods, they are fantastic. You just can't beat original hardware. Forget emulation, or those cheap Chinese handhelds running some Android, and old emulators. The original GB is still the best.

This looks like an amazing piece of kit..and just what I need for a neglected GameBoy..great upload as usual

Done! Thank you for sharing this with us. My dmg lives again!

4:02 Literally looks like the gameboys in the late 80s commercials.

Another great video of this mod. I love these mods for all varieties of GB consoles. I recently watched Spawn Wave's ultimate GBA with the IPS mod and watched The Retro Future's channel filled with all types of GB conole mods and the ultimate build of this, GBC, GBA original and SP.

Super sweet to see you doing more Gameboy vids. Are you gonna take a look at the new GBA IPS kits? Greetings from The Netherlands!

Colin thanks so much for your quality videos love watching them very crisp clean and to the point. This mod is definitely on my to do list👍👍👍

Man your shots are AMAZING! That's my type of content! If you're reading that, what's your filming gear? Anyways keep 'em coming!

I followed your vid to backlight/bivert my dmg a while back. I thought it looked great, but man this screen looks awesome!

Hoping to do this soon to my wife's DMG. It has screen rot, so for a while, I thought it was beyond repair. Top video as always.

Great mod, i have bought a gba recently with the ips mod and 10 brightness settings, amazing quality screen. Much brighter and more clear then my 101 gba.

Decent solution. I’ll wait for this to be available for the pocket though.

Stellar video quality and incredible level of content as always Colin. Your videos are pleasure to watch. One word about the whole IPS panels for DMG though. While I agree the picture quality is amazing, viewing angles and refresh ratio are much better than on bivert modded DMG screens, I like the latter more. Since the quality is so good on IPS screen the retro "feel" of DMG games is kinda gone for me. There's no difference between playing it on emulator on PC or GBC with IPS screen or GBA IPS screen. Or even original AGS-101. This kind of quality struggle to maintain DMG era feel.The "soul" of that era is gone. I feel like biverted DMG screen (especially white one) is the sweetspot for retro feel of DMG games. It still feels like playing old DMG games, but when done right biverted screen looks very clear with no issues at all. But I guess some people will always strike for "the best video quality possible". To each their own I guess. However I agree it's definately a blessing for DMG with damaged screen or those with bad lines which are beyond repairing.

Your instructional videos are the best!! You show great details and don't waste any time. I'm looking fwd to doing this mod. Thanks!!

That DMG IPS LCD mod of your is NEAT!

This video inspired me to order the same kit and mod my gameboy. It's amazing and totally worth doing.

Colin, you should add an update to this that the current version of this IPS has an issue with the color palette. Two of the traces need cut and swapped for it to display correctly.

Sold! DMG goes Super Sayan mode! I will instantly buy this, installed a backlight/bivert last year, but this is so much better! Also I can make use of the 3 beat up replacement part DMG's I have 😉 Thanks!

Dang that looks sharp as hell. I got an really clean dmg with a bad screen, this would be an awesome mod to do

I really never thought I would see something like this. I thought it was wild enough that these were available for the GBA. I'm leaving my DMG with the bivert and backlight, but I am planning on getting a Pocket with this mod. I feel like if Nintendo ever did put out a modern Gameboy they would model it more on the pocket than the original to make it more user friendly.

That looks amazing! Quite pricey but I would love to try it ;)

Im so glad you can switch it to the green color

I miss your gameboy mod videos and this is just beautiful.thx for upload love your content.

I was waiting for something like this you made a old mans, inner child very happy

I am so glad for all the love that is given to these consols ☺️

Absolutely amazing stuff! I love seeing these kinds of mods - really shows how committed some folks are to keeping old consoles alive. The fact that you can simulate the green tint of the original Gameboy screen makes it pretty much perfect, in my eyes.

I can't wait to see this in action as I have a kit in the mail. Got an original GB out of a lucky find early in the week but the ribbon was done, the fix did no good, so I went and ordered this so it wouldn't be as you said, a parts piece.

The idea of saving them from the trash is enough for me. With constant modding on systems and handheld consoles. Less systems will be available in the future for people who are enthusiasts. This is a great win-win video. Thank you for sharing this.

That's so beautiful. I've been wanting an original DMG for a while, but haven't been willing to take on the bivert mod myself. This, however, I could pull off. Time to hit eBay and look for my own new toy!

Your hako battery operated soldering iron is the one I have and I love it

I see that Olive Quest gameplay, good choice!

Have you tested battery life with this display? It seems really great, but if the battery life gets cut down to only a few hours as a result, that would have to be considered as a trade-off. Thank you for the great video by the way! I love your channel

I have 2 of these old gameboys that still work and a dozen games, I think I might mod one of them like this

Looks incredible. Especially if you like the black and white Gameboy pocket look. Although I'm quite a big fan of the original green screen, and this green backlight version doesn't seem quite so authentic enough for my liking. Maybe if it has a more limey backlight look option too, them I'd be more interested.

I really hope we get something like this for the Pocket eventually. Installing backlight / biverts for the pocket makes me want to cry lmao.

2:44 I would actually advise against using pressure to hold it in place because it can end up causing TOO MUCH pressure which leads to visual tearing or too little and it comes loose

You wouldn't thinkai video made this year is already outdated but it is, you only need to remove the top 4 posts on the shell and not all four, removing the bottom two actually makes the install harder keeping you from using the 3d printed bracket to hold the screen in place...

That picture looks stellar.

another great video I love watching your mods videos do you plan on doing the IPS screen for the Gameboy advance as well?

Thank you! It helps a lot. Now, I have mine and it looks incredible!

It does kind of change the experience / kill off some of the charm when graphics that were made with LCD-lag & inherent pixel ghosting in mind, instead come off as flickering and harsh on a modern (

Awesome video!! Now I'm hoping someone makes an ips Mod that allows you to off the backlight, to save battery power, that would be sweet

I have a parts machine that I bought from one of the members of Infinity Shred for dirt cheap. It's completely missing the front PCB(knew this when I was buying, just wanted a parts machine) This'd be perfect for upgrading it from a spare parts machine to a new machine in general.

Thanks for the great video.. Does the kit come with all the necessary ribbon cables?

Yes! Finally a game boy mod. Missed these videos. I hope one day they already solder in the pieces so it is just drop in and play 😊

Wow ,back in 1989 we could,ve only dream about such sharp screens as advertizers in magazines wanted you to believe, this is what the original gameboy should,ve been in the first place.

I will always remember the title "Block Dude" and playing it in math class back in highschool.

The quality is incredible! I don't see any ghosting

I heard from some reviews that the button contacts on the new board are a bit finnicky (button presses once the system was put back together didn't always work reliably). Did you experience any issues as such on your end? And thanks for the video, mod really does look good!

Kudos to the engineer who made this mod possible. Holy balls!

Damn, already sold out. Well, hopefully this will be back in stock soon and I can get it then. Also really hope they'll offer a new IPS screen for the GameBoy Pocket!

I’m so glad you finally got around to this.

Amazing!! The best mod so far i've seen for Gameboy!!

Just finished two of these and they are amazing for sure.

Wow that screen looks super crisp, def the best screen to date!

This looks great! I'd love to see how an OLED screen looked, though. Obviously unless it was a pricey one it'd lose all those colour options, but it's not like only having black and white on a Game Boy is a massive issue.

This is great and all, but I think that the non-backlit green display adds a lot the charm of the original gameboy. Charm that is, of course, gone when modded.

I've heard that funnyplaying might release a dmg screen soon

Will try that asap. Thanks! I see you're using recharchables for the DMG - mine does not work with them (Ansmann 1.2) and I have to use standard 1.5 batteries. Are the Eneloops different?

I really dig the crispness of these displays. Unfortunately, in all of the videos I have watched so far, the various color modes don't look great. Maybe it is better in person...

Sold out for the time being

I really hate to deal with my second-hand Game Boy units' dead pixels, so this is a Godsend -- Sold out already?

How's the battery life? Love the 20h+ battery life with a bivert DMG on 4xAA

Since I got backlight panel and bivert module few days ago I basically now have to try to install it, damage my screen and then order this. Cool. :D Haha

Damn, that screen looks nice :0 I don't suppose there's a Game Boy Color version?

As much as I want this I've decided an analog pocket is next before any other handheld mods or purchases.

This is the best screen mod, it updates it. You can play it in it's original colors and the game boy pocket colors which appear to be the default.

Great video, where did you get your Gameboy shell from?

Looks incredible, although even with your assurances having the screen taped in there seems dodgy... Also I can understand that having a perfectly sized screen is extremely unlikely to happen, having a screen that scans from the wrong direction doesn't seem like it's gonna be great.