Is there an accurate reading of power levels (DBS movie)?

[Hugo Boss]

even Ginyu would cause a scouter to blow up.

Sure, but the scouters used by Ginyu Force were able to measure a powerlevel of 180,000. Likely, it depends on how much energy each version can take, which demands a further advanced technology. Freeza’s absence might have caused their resources to deplet, so they couldn’t develop potent scouters anymore. At least, until his forces regained power.

[Green_Goblin]

No, Vegeta was still probably weaker than first form Frieza at that point. Frieza only transformed because Vegeta asked him to.

Frieza himself stated that his scouters can read up to 1.3 million in Resurrection 'F' (the movie). Vegeta was pretty close to Frieza's 530,000 - let's say 500,000 for sure and Frieza had transformed when he realized that Gohan and Krillin could step in for Vegeta and cause him troubles.

Frieza did not say that. He said that he could reach a power level of 1.3 million, not that scouters record up to 1.3 million. For all we know they have a machine meant for reading power levels scouters can’t. Or maybe they have a few expensive scouters that can read that high. But the ones in the Broly movie clearly hit their limit at 99,999. You can literally read the number on the screen and it only goes up to five figures.

He stated a number, implying a scouter (the canon measuring method, as the scouter computer that was shown to check both Final Form Frieza and SSJ Goku was in filler) was able to check that high (let alone the fact Toriyama probably got mixed up and thought his Namek peak was just 1.2 million).

And about the scouters used in Broly, that can't be right, must be a design mistake, the scouter Ginyu used could read up to 6 digits and it was less advanced than those. Also, the one Sorbet used managed to check out Tagoma's power level which is over 6 digits.

[dragon boss z]

He stated a number, implying a scouter (the canon measuring method, as the scouter computer that was shown to check both Final Form Frieza and SSJ Goku was in filler) was able to check that high

How does it imply that? Frieza was guessing how strong he would become, not how strong a scouter would read him at. I'm not saying you are wrong, but that's a bit of an assumption.

(let alone the fact Toriyama probably got mixed up and thought his Namek peak was just 1.2 million).

I think he was going off of his 530,000 number. Toriyama got the idea for the movie from the song F, and in that song it says Frieza's power level is 530,000. So we know for a fact Toriyama heard that line, and something tells me he didn't bother to go back and re read the entire arc to double check. But it works out fine because it just means Frieza was talking about his first form and that he ended up being wrong anyways.

And about the scouters used in Broly, that can't be right, must be a design mistake, the scouter Ginyu used could read up to 6 digits and it was less advanced than those. Also, the one Sorbet used managed to check out Tagoma's power level which is over 6 digits.

You could say it's an inconsistency, but unlike in Z where the numbers were in another language and unreadable, you could read the numbers every time they scanned someone. 2,000 for the saiyan sniper, 920 for kid Broly, 4,200 for Paragus were all visible on the scouter, and you can watch it go up to 99,999 and then stop when reading Broly. So you can call it an inconsistency, but that's just how it is.

[Grand Marshal 1]

even Ginyu would cause a scouter to blow up.

Sure, but the scouters used by Ginyu Force were able to measure a powerlevel of 180,000. Likely, it depends on how much energy each version can take, which demands a further advanced technology. Freeza’s absence might have caused their resources to deplet, so they couldn’t develop potent scouters anymore. At least, until his forces regained power.

I agree. This makes me to believe that the scouters weren't only a tool. They would be considered special items that may indicate someone's ranking within the Freeza Force. The higher the quality of the Scouter, the more powerful, or more high-ranked the individual. There could be experimental scouters used by beings like Freeza that would be able to measure power levels greater than a million.

Let us not forget that it has been 40 years ever since the introduction of the "modern" scouters, meaning that the current one's used by the Freeza Force should be of much superior tech. Last but not least, Cheelai and Lemo were part of the expansionary force used to enlist soldiers. As such, they could havebeen given Scouters of higher quality, than those of the standart troops, but with their limit being 100k, it is possible for regular troops to have access to at least 20k, subsequently better scouters than the ones used by Vegeta (a high-ranked individual in the Freeza Force) back in the Saiyan Saga (8k was the limit).

[Green_Goblin]

the ones used by Vegeta (a high-ranked individual in the Freeza Force) back in the Saiyan Saga (8k was the limit).

Vegeta destroyed his by frustration that Goku's power level was over 20 times stronger than a year earlier (the BP Carddass of then when the DBZ anime ran claimed Vegeta was initially at "7,800" - perhaps that was where they thought of originally placing him). It's likely that his scouter, much like Raditz's, was of the kind that explodes once reaching over 21,000 (Zarbon's older model by the Namek Saga exploded at 22,000).

[Grand Marshal 1]

the ones used by Vegeta (a high-ranked individual in the Freeza Force) back in the Saiyan Saga (8k was the limit).

Vegeta destroyed his by frustration that Goku's power level was over 20 times stronger than a year earlier (the BP Carddass of then when the DBZ anime ran claimed Vegeta was initially at "7,800" - perhaps that was where they thought of originally placing him). It's likely that his scouter, much like Raditz's, was of the kind that explodes once reaching over 21,000 (Zarbon's older model by the Namek Saga exploded at 22,000).

Seems accurate.

[Rubens]

(...) It's likely that his scouter, much like Raditz's, was of the kind that explodes once reaching over 21,000 (Zarbon's older model by the Namek Saga exploded at 22,000).

If I'm not mistaken, Bulma was wearing Raditz's scouter while Goku was fighting Vegeta and when Goku powered up the kaio-ken x3, she was reading it and exploded at 20,000 - you're not wrong, just pointing that out.

[Green_Goblin]

(...) It's likely that his scouter, much like Raditz's, was of the kind that explodes once reaching over 21,000 (Zarbon's older model by the Namek Saga exploded at 22,000).

If I'm not mistaken, Bulma was wearing Raditz's scouter while Goku was fighting Vegeta and when Goku powered up the kaio-ken x3, she was reading it and exploded at 20,000 - you're not wrong, just pointing that out.

In the Hebrew dub she says: "it's going over 21,000" and then it explodes. I believe that's the case in the Japanese and English dubs as well.

[Dagon]

The whole thing with scouters exploding from high power levels, while it is dramatic and serves to emphasize the power of characters well, doesn't really fit with what we know about electronics and scientific measurement scales, even in-universe.

Just say that scouters use a reactive element in their construction that reacts to changes in ki level. When the power increase is too great, the reaction reaches critical mass and explodes.

[Polyphase Avatron]

The whole thing with scouters exploding from high power levels, while it is dramatic and serves to emphasize the power of characters well, doesn't really fit with what we know about electronics and scientific measurement scales, even in-universe.

Just say that scouters use a reactive element in their construction that reacts to changes in ki level. When the power increase is too great, the reaction reaches critical mass and explodes.

That's a really bad design feature though.

Unless Freeza did it on purpose to annoy his underlings.

[Dagon]

That's a really bad design feature though.

Unless Freeza did it on purpose to annoy his underlings.

Maybe it's the only way to make a device to read power levels, at least as far as Freeza's scientists know. Perhaps they have an element that reacts to ki and that's all they have to read ki.

[ZombieVito]

Scouters on Namek couldnt read past 250,000 so the ones on the movie where low tech.