Best TV's for classic consoles.

[NinjaWarrior]

The way to play old systems like 2600, NES, SNES, Genesis, N64 is a old 20' CRT TV

 

for the 2600, Intellivision, 7800 or 80's systems..CRT with RF

[Punisher5.0]

I only have two complaints against my KV-32FS120:

 

The geometry is poor in the corners. I have looked at three different 32" Wegas and they all have the same horizontal bowing in the corners. This is probably related to the size and flat glass on the tube. I'd love an old style vertically flat trintron, but with component and multiple composite inputs. The older trintrons seem to only have one video input.

 

Second would be an s-video port on each input. They added it to one input, but for some reason, didn't bother to add it to the others.

 

Have you tried fixing the bowing through the Service Menu? When I bought my XBR800 it had very bad horizontal bowing but I was able to fix it through the Service Menu.

[Zing]

I only have two complaints against my KV-32FS120:

 

The geometry is poor in the corners. I have looked at three different 32" Wegas and they all have the same horizontal bowing in the corners. This is probably related to the size and flat glass on the tube. I'd love an old style vertically flat trintron, but with component and multiple composite inputs. The older trintrons seem to only have one video input.

 

Second would be an s-video port on each input. They added it to one input, but for some reason, didn't bother to add it to the others.

 

Have you tried fixing the bowing through the Service Menu? When I bought my XBR800 it had very bad horizontal bowing but I was able to fix it through the Service Menu.

 

I wish I could. The non HD Wegas are missing horizontal adjustments in the service menu. No horizontal bow and no horizontal linearity. The HD Wegas have significantly more adjustments available. I believe they even have convergence!

[Punisher5.0]

I wish I could. The non HD Wegas are missing horizontal adjustments in the service menu. No horizontal bow and no horizontal linearity. The HD Wegas have significantly more adjustments available. I believe they even have convergence!

 

Do you have access to VCEN? It's a vertical bow adjustment but it definitely helps.

[SEgamer]

I've had my 2600 hooked into a Panasonic TR-707 tv for over a year now. I like it because the 2600 sits nicely on top and it has handles on the sides. That way, I can easily move the setup anywhere I want it. Two drawbacks: B&W, which doesn't matter to me with 2600 games, and the screen is tiny. I've gotten my $10 out of it at least.

 

Video of one (not mine):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU4bzcQwOBk

 

Edit: Forgot to mention that this thread is making me look at craigslist for Sony TVs. Someone has a PVM-1342Q for sale, but they want $100 for it. I don't know what they usually sell for, so is that anywhere near a good price if it's in good working condition?

Edited October 13, 2011 by SEgamer

[Zing]

Yes, it is dangerous for me to browse Kijiji for TVs. I usually end up seeing one I want. I think my friends would murder me if I asked them to help me move in yet another heavy TV.

[+Cafeman]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Panasonic+-+42%22+Class+/+Plasma+/+1080p+/+600Hz+/+HDTV/2120195.p?id=1218319596899&skuId=2120195&st=TC-P42S30&cp=1&lp=1

 

What are your thoughts on this Panasonic 42" Plasma 1080P for not only classic gaming, but for DVD as well?

[Atariboy]

I wouldn't go for plasma.

 

While they're great for things like overall picture quality, response time, and motion blur compared to LCD technology, the threat of screen burn-in is still there even in the latest sets (Albeit greatly reduced from years ago). I watch so many academy ratio movies, 4:3 television programming, and 4:3 games that temporary image retention would fairly quickly progress into permanent burn-in of the pillarboxing. So I've stuck with LCD.

 

Unless you predominately plan to use it for 16:9 television programming and games, or plan to stretch everything to fill the screen (Which I bet you wouldn't be doing), I'd suggest staying away from plasma.

Edited November 4, 2011 by Atariboy

[+Cafeman]

Oh, you mean the blank bars on the left/right , when I'm watching 4:3 content, will stay 'burned-in' afterwards?

 

I was under the impression that the burn-in problem was in the past.

[Atariboy]

It hasn't been eradicated, it just has been improved. Things have to be stagnant on the screen far longer than they used to be for image retention to happen and for it to eventually progress to permanent burn-in. But it still can happen fairly easily.

 

Watch a lot of 4:3 content on it in a row without breaks with widescreen programming and the blank bars on the left and right sides that frame the picture can become a permanent fixture.

[leroyneiman]

A wood-grain floor model, because, as my grandfather would say, "it's not just a television set, it's a piece of furnature"

[leroyneiman]

http://www.vintage-ads.com/AdDetail.asp?ItemNum=1970-10160

[Skylark68]

A wood-grain floor model, because, as my grandfather would say, "it's not just a television set, it's a piece of furnature"

 

Even better, get one with a record player and a tuner, etc. all in one!

 

[leroyneiman]

Sitting on the floor indian-style to play!

[icemanxp300]

The Sony 40" XBR Trinitron is the ULTIMATE classic gaming TV.

 

The only problem is it's rare, and it weighs 300 pounds.

 

It also has INCREDIBLE sound with a subwoofer built-in. (contributing to that weight, no doubt)

 

304 lbs to be exact lol.

 

 

300 lbs. is ridiculous. You'd need at least 6 people to move that!

 

No wonder everyone switched to flat screens.

 

6 people is crazy. Me and my 60 year old dad just picked one up last night. Granted we only lifted it straight up onto his truck from a cart and then back down onto another cart and wheeled it into my garage.

 

This thing is beast but it does have 2 nice hand grips on bottom of both sides, which I did not know about the 2nd one when I lifted it up, which would have been helpful. However dropping off the tail gate and down was a piece of cake. I just need to figure out how to get it down a few stairs now. The rest of the way will be on a cart.

 

The best thing is I got it for free. Over the summer I got a KD-27FS170 just 2 circles down from me in the cul-de-sac for free as well. Do you guys think this 40" is the best Trinitron? I know it doesn't do light guns, but my 27" does. What's the biggest Trinitron that does light guns and would it be better than the 27" I got.

 

Do you think the 36" stand will support the 40" TV?

https://scranton.craigslist.org/ele/d/sony-trinitron-tv-stand-for/6429863447.html

[CatPix]

[R.Cade]

I have one of the very large 36" Sony XBR's, but the corners are blurry compared to the center, which I think it a common problem. I think the 32" or 27" may not have this problem.

[LaserCat]

double post

Edited December 25, 2017 by LaserCat

[LaserCat]

Back in 2001 I went shopping for new tv. I didn't know anything at all about televisions. Hell I didn't even know what HD was. I somehow ended up with a 36" Toshiba HD crt which cost me about $2000. I wanted one of those Sony 40" XBR sets but they were over 3 grand! I really wasn't that interested in video games at the time so I only occasionally played some 3DO or Dreamcast and it was excellent for both. What I really enjoyed was watching laserdiscs. So for you who has acquired that Sony 40" XBR I can assure you that you have one of the very finest displays ever for watching LD. And if LD is your bag then I recommend the forums at the LDDB for info on how to make your LDs look even better at 1080i, something I wish I had done years ago.

Edited December 25, 2017 by LaserCat

[juansolo]

Depends on the source for me. The good thing is that at the moment, you can pick up CRTs for buttons as people are just throwing them away. Currently I have 4 in use and a few spares stashed away.

 

My main screen for older consoles that has the bulk of them plugged into is currently a 20" Sony PVM, but previous to that it was a straight Sony 21" Trinitron. Poking around inside it to get the best out of the picture is not for the feint of heart (really don't do it unless you know what you're doing. There are deadly voltages kicking around in the back of a CRT set), but once done, the domestic set was a marked improvement from the scaler, SLG + plasma setup I was previously using, and worth every penny of the £10 it and a Trinitron portable cost me. The PVM obviously moves the game on somewhat, but had I not got it for the cost of a tank of fuel, I'd have struggled to justify the asking price many want for them on eBay these days. Plugged into that all via RGB I've got PCE, Jag, Megadrive, SNES, PSX, PS2, Gamecube, N64, Saturn, NeoGeo and a DVD player.

The Dreamcast and RetroPi are plugged into a LaCie 19" VGA monitor. Like the PVM, it's a higher end CRT, but again, £10 on eBay. The picture is simply stunning from that.

The 7800, 65XE and C64 are plugged into Commodore 1702 via Luma+Chroma (predates S-Video). Not as stunning a pic as some of the other tubes, but it suits the sources they're plugged into. Another £10 on ebay job... You may be noticing a theme here.

Finally I've an A1200, 1040STF and Spectrum 128 plugged into a Commodore 1085S via RGB. Cost me a bit more this one as it was part of the A1200 bundle at £50.

For me they all suit their sources and are, where possible, the right sort of monitors for each system. I did the whole scaling thing, which is fine if you only have a few consoles, but when the collection started to grow, that just became impractical. I couldn't go back now anyhow as I just like it the way it is. Everything from the OG Xbox onwards is connected to a 42" plasma, the later computers have their own monitors, usually 4:3 Dells of increasing size until you get to my main system that runs a 24" widescreen display + a 19" 4:3. Quite amusingly I only have two widescreen displays when I think about it!

That's what works for me anyhow, everyone is different, but I'd super happy with my setups.

Edited December 26, 2017 by juansolo