The DS/DSi Screen Protector Thread

G a f f e r

Prominent Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2003
Messages
3,245
Reaction score
1,117
Points
819
Location
U.K.
Firstly, let me just apologise in advance as this is not being typed on my usual laptop (I'm using someone elses) so the layout and typesetting of this post may be slightly off.

Now to the meat of the subject.

As most of you know, I recently bought a DS lite. As is common with most handheld owners, we like to put screen protectors on them. I personally have one on my mobile phone and had one on the PSP I used to own.
Well, now it's time for the DS.

There is really only one company to go for here. The officially licensed set is made by a company called Hori. They are so good that, unfortunately, there are many fakes out there too.
Here is my own experience of dealing with this issue.

It all started before I found out about the R4 DS cart. Back then, I thought it would be a good idea to get a cartridge case for my games. Looking through ebay, I found this chap (futureplayuk) who was not only selling the case, but chucking in a free Hori screen protector set (yaay).
I was sold, so I ordered and the shipment arrived quite promptly.
As the primary purchase (the case) was in great condition and as described, +ve feedback was left.

I then proceeded to apply the Jap import Hori protectors.
The first thing that struck me was the fact that there were no English instructions (expected if an import) but there were simple words on the protective tabs on each "plastic film" on either side of each protector.
Basically, each protector comes with a peel-off layer on both the sticky side and the glossy/writing side. As there are two protectors (1 for each screen), that gives 4 tabbed "peel-off's" in total.

Now it's common sense that the sticky side is uncovered first so that it can be applied to the screen, and the glossy side peel-off comes off last.
However, the labels were the wrong way round :eek:.
No, I'm not making this up. What this meant was that the label that instructed you to "peel off first" was the non sticky side of the protector. Not only would it not stick to the screen, but I also ended up getting the actual sticky side dirty after doing as instructed and peeling off that layer second.

I was miffed to say the least, I mean how could a company make such an elementary mistake with it's own instructions?

Suffice it to say that the resulting effect was poor to say the least. Grubby marks which wouldn't wash off on both sides (the Hori screen protectors are meant to be washable and reapply-able <---- just made that word up :D ), and a very poor finish.
Not only that but the upper protector caused MORE reflections rather than reduce them :mad:.

I had a few suspicions about it and wanted a second go at putting some on ------ this time I would go to another seller though.

So I ended up buying another set froma DIFFERENT ebayer (they only come to £3.50 inc. del anyway, and the first set from futureplayuk were free).
NOW is when I learned the truth.......futureplayuk had sent me fake Hori's.

This side by side comparison of the packaging was the first clue:


The fake Hori's sent by futureplayuk are on the right. As you can see, the print is slightly off and the blue around the Hori logo is dark (almost black) blue rather than royal blue.

The clincher is this shot of the cleaning cloths they come packaged with. Again, the real Hori one is on the left and the fake Hori one sent by futureplayuk is on the right.


As you can clearly see, the genuine Hori cleaning cloth is a quality item, not too dissimilar to the cloths you get with a pair of glasses, whereas the fake one on the right is just a white bit of cloth/tissue.....rubbish.

There was another clue on the screen protectors themselves. the genuine Hori "peel-off" films have only a single tab on each telling you what to peel off first. The fake Hori peel-offs supplied by futureplayuk (on the right) have extra yellow stickers on them that shouldn't be there.


Interestingly, the genuin Hori tabs were the right way round, so the protectors applied brilliantly first time round :).
Also, the genuine Hori protectors are a very snug fit compared to the fake futureplayuk ones, which had a small gap around the lower screen protector especially noticeable.

A final look at the back of the packaging also showed that, in actual fact, the fake print (right) is very very slightly oversaturated c.f. the original packaging on the left:



The genuine Hori protectors I have on now were easy to fit, look great, the reduce glare as stated and (most importantly) come with a decent quality screen cloth for application. They are definitely worth the money and are a great buy for your DS.

The fake ones, on the other hand may have labels the wrong way round (eg the sticky side "peel-off" which should come off first, may be incorrectly labelled as needing to come off second as was the case on mine), the screen quality is second rate (actually might add to glare) and (most importantly) the sure fire tell-tale sign is that the screen cloth supplied with fake Hori's is usually rubbish.

Overall, check what you're getting CAREFULLY from ebay. Even so called reputable ebay shops with high feedback may be selling (wittingly or unwittingly) clearly fake Hori screen protectors. I wasn't stung on this occasion as the fakes I got fobbed off with initially were a free addition to my actual purchase of the game case, but it is a warning all the same for those of you wishing to buy some.
Don't let this put you off getting them altogether though.....the originals are easy to apply, look great, and are very cheap ;).
 
-- As an eBay Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases --
I bought a 'genuine' PSP faceplate off ebay. It s was very close to the real thing but didnt have the gloss finish to it. It also had a scratch across the screen....

Still better than the one I had originally but still, pretty disappointing.
 
I have experienced exactly the same problem from the same company. The case for the DS is fine.....no issues with that. The free "Hori", i thought would be better than the sticky protector that I was currently using so i peeled off the existing one - only to be lumbered with a fake that was completely useless. I will now be trying to find an original.
 
Well I reported him to ebay. I clearly stated that I was very happy with the price and quality of the case, but that the Hori protectors he was suppliying were fake.

Ebay responded with a standard "Thank you, we're looking into it" reply but his account is still active and he's still trading the fakes :confused:

The originals I got were from someone called qqnuts by the way. Only &#163;3.50ish in total, delivered in 48hrs and definitely genuine. I'd recommend him :)

Insomniac: yep, it's quite disheartening the way ebay seems chock a block stuffed with fakes nowadays.
If it isn't faceplates or screen protectors, it's SD cards and games :(
 
Hi, just did a quick search for the Hori filter on net and the one sold by Play.com at £6.99 and the one u recommend from qqnuts, the packagings are different from the one sold by Play, are they the same products,what are the difference and which is 'offical'? Should we be suspious at the lower price version??
 
i'm guessing that the one on play.com is an english version, and the one from ebay is from hong kong or japan or whatever...
 
^^ yep, that's correct. The qqnuts ones are imports from Japan/HK, but they have english writing on the tabs so are easy to apply correctly.
 
OK, I have just bought one from qqnuts, so will see how good it is on the DS screen. Cheers!
 
Well, got the Hori screen today, tried to apply it to the DS, but once I peeled the 1st bit, it attracted so much dust from static I guess, when I put on the screen, looks terrible:eek: , frankly made a mess with the top screen too, in the end, had to throw in bin, since both filters got so much debris, no point really, will stick to 'no filter' for now:(
 
can't you clean the hori screens and still reapply them? Might be worth giving it a go...
 
Used all sorts to clean from blowing it with a can of co2 dust repellant, lens cleaning brush/wipes etc....the peeled side that goes on the screen is kinda 'sticky' and once debris sticks to it, noway u can brush it off!
 
Just got my Hori protector from digi_buysuk off Ebay. 2.95 including Quick delivery, applied great first time. well chuffed. definitely use them again
 
I tend to cover virtually everything portable:
my treo phone, my old psp, my old palm tungsten etc etc

so i'm quite practised at it now.

Biggest advice I can offer is: go into the garage to do the applying. If no-ones been in there today, and you don't run around too much, it generally has a lot less dust flying around than, say, your living room.

Despite this, I got two or three small specks of dust under both, but they're so small they don't bother me, and I'd rather have the protector's on than off :)

Summary: try a non-carpeted are like a garage or a bathroom when you apply it.....works for me
 
While it's an unfortunate situation, I still can't see why the DS needs screen protectors fitted. PSP, mobile phone, sure - the screens are exposed. The DS, however, is it's own protection. Perhaps I'm missing something.
 
While it's an unfortunate situation, I still can't see why the DS needs screen protectors fitted. PSP, mobile phone, sure - the screens are exposed. The DS, however, is it's own protection. Perhaps I'm missing something.

Ever lent your DS to a small child, like a niece or nephew?......
 
While it's an unfortunate situation, I still can't see why the DS needs screen protectors fitted. PSP, mobile phone, sure - the screens are exposed. The DS, however, is it's own protection. Perhaps I'm missing something.
so it protects itself when it's open wide being played? Think that's the reason why people like to protect it. So it's less likely to get big scratches on screen when using the stylus...
 
The touch screen, from my experience, is ridiculously durable and can stand up to plenty of stylus action...

What does it even need to be protected against when it's open, anyway? A phone, an iPod, they get scratched by coins, keys and the like in your pocket or bag. You've got to be remarkably careless - or unforunate - to manage to damage a DS screen mid-game.
 
The touch screen, from my experience, is ridiculously durable and can stand up to plenty of stylus action...

What does it even need to be protected against when it's open, anyway? A phone, an iPod, they get scratched by coins, keys and the like in your pocket or bag. You've got to be remarkably careless - or unforunate - to manage to damage a DS screen mid-game.

:rolleyes: I repeat....

Ever lent your DS to a small child, like a niece or nephew?......

Plus, I've used pda's for longer than I have the DS, so I know that this can be an issue.
You're using your DS. You drop the stylus. Stylus lands "tip down" onto the pavement.
This damages the previously smooth profile of the tip.
Stylus will now scratch the screen if you try to write with it.

Having a spare stylus is no help as you will only know it's a problem after your first scratch/set of scratches with the damaged stylus.

My previous PDA had this exact issue after I dropped the stylus and hadn't realised the tip was damaged. After scratching the screen :mad:, I made sure to use a screen protector on my next pda.


Good enough? :rotfl: :thumbsup:
 
Speaking of PDA screen protectors, that's what I use for my bottom DS screen, only cost me a couple of quid delivered and then just cut it to size. Not only is the quality fantastic, it's non sticky so I transferred it from my old DS chunky to my new Lite, but also it has a slight gloss finish which cuts out reflection....perfect!
 
Well, got the Hori screen today, tried to apply it to the DS, but once I peeled the 1st bit, it attracted so much dust from static I guess, when I put on the screen, looks terrible:eek: , frankly made a mess with the top screen too, in the end, had to throw in bin, since both filters got so much debris, no point really, will stick to 'no filter' for now:(

You can use the sticky side of sellotape to clean dust and stuff from the screen protector- it's kind of rubbery/tacky rather than genuinely sticky. I was surprised at how little the sellotape stuck to then protector, but it sure as heck got all the fluff!
 
had my hori protector on for about a week now. How long do these things last? if I leave it on too long will it do any damage? eg difficult to remove.

Cheers.
 
I have 2 DS lites here, one for me and one for my kids. They both have the Hori screen protectors.
I am VERY glad I used them, my touch screen has a dirty scratch on it from where I was playing Touch Golf like a madman. (I think the stylus was slightly damaged causing the scratches so I binned it and bought a replacement)

Here are my tips for installing your Hori screen protectors:

*Dont apply in a carpeted room - go into the kitchen or wherever has no carpet (dust).
*Dont get your fingers on the sticky side of the protector. Hold the protector by the edges as much as you can.
*When applying, start at one side and very lightly drop the protector into place. Check for dust spots. If placed LIGHTLY it will be easy to remove again using a piece of sticky tape to "grab" the protector in case you get dust spots.
*To remove the dust spots use a piece of sticky tape to "dab" off the dust.
*Generally, air bubbles are easy to get out using the little bit of card that comes in the pack - dust spots however have to be removed with the sticky tape.

*NOTE: Whe I say "sticky tape" here it is best to use the stick tape that comes with the screen protectors (you peel it off the protector). You can use selotape if you like, I have and it does work, but it is a bit too sticky really.


Eventually you will have yourself a good install. The fist time I installed mine I made a bit of a mess but it was ok. Now Im on my fourth install and I get it pretty damn good. My DS only has 1 extreemly small dust spot on the top screen right in the corner and I dont ever notice it.

As regards buying them, I got stung on eBay. They never turned up.
Ive seen them in the Oxford Street branch of Virgin Megastores. I also found the extendable Hori stylus's there too.
 
'Magic Tape' by Scotch (the milky white one that smells of pineapples!) is a good one to use to clean the dust, it's not as gluey as Sellotape.

Play sell official English Hori screen protectors, but they're about &#163;7.
 
Excellent guide, Gaffer, thanks. Pleased to say that the screen I ordered appears to be legit, according to your guide.

This is probably a stupid question, but do the Hori screen protectors only go on the touch screen or could I put one on the top screen as well?

My kids seem to have permanently mucky fingers and using one for the top screen would help keep that safe when they are stabbing around with fingers or styli trying to show their siblings something important.
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom