+ZuluGula Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 The only cost of CRTs is space they take. I can have three 24" LCD on my desk and plenty of room for other stuff but if I putt there one 20" CRT I can barely place a keyboard in front of it (but 1200XL is a no go). Otherwise CRTs are superior for retro gaming. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bretthorror Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I have no idea why anyone thinks CRTs are better for anything aside from light gun games. Maybe there was the odd game where they used shitty CRT technology for an effect or something, but they're dog shit compared to real TVs. Any compression of pixels or whatever that garbage is more than made up for with much more exciting colors and better contrast. Every fucking CRT I've ever owned was a fucking nightmare to set up picture wise and not one ever looked right. I have kept 2 around because of my extensive light gun collection, but that's it. I'd get rid of that crap in a heartbeat and replace 'em if it wasn't for that one reason. And they both just fucking have to be 27" monsters. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZuluGula Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Here's a good example of differences between CRTs and newer flat screens displays. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bretthorror Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Yeah when I was a kid I had a little 13" CRT and it looked clear as fuck and super great too. Move up to a decent size TV and it's not so pleasant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZuluGula Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 You don't have to worry about anything with more popular 20-24" TVs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punisher5.0 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I have no idea why anyone thinks CRTs are better for anything aside from light gun games. Maybe there was the odd game where they used shitty CRT technology for an effect or something, but they're dog shit compared to real TVs. Any compression of pixels or whatever that garbage is more than made up for with much more exciting colors and better contrast. Every fucking CRT I've ever owned was a fucking nightmare to set up picture wise and not one ever looked right. I have kept 2 around because of my extensive light gun collection, but that's it. I'd get rid of that crap in a heartbeat and replace 'em if it wasn't for that one reason. And they both just fucking have to be 27" monsters. I really don't think that excessive swearing is necessary. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I have no idea why anyone thinks CRTs are better for anything aside from light gun games. Because they are better, *if* you get the right one. My family will have to pry my Sony Wegas/Trinitrons from the early 2000's out of my cold dead hands. The picture for old consoles on them is pristine, even via composite. I've owned multiple Philips and Samsung TVs over the years as well, and they were blurry messes in comparison. Just because it's a CRT doesn't inherently mean it's going to be great by default, but if you get the right CRT, you won't want to play your sub-HD systems via standard hookups on anything else. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cimerians Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I have a Sony Wega and that thing makes everything from Xbox\PS2 on down look awesome. Way the heck better than an LCD\LED\Plasma nowadays. As Austin said you need the right type of CRT and they are actually getting harder to find (the good ones). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bretthorror Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Because they are better, *if* you get the right one. My family will have to pry my Sony Wegas/Trinitrons from the early 2000's out of my cold dead hands. The picture for old consoles on them is pristine, even via composite. I've owned multiple Philips and Samsung TVs over the years as well, and they were blurry messes in comparison. Just because it's a CRT doesn't inherently mean it's going to be great by default, but if you get the right CRT, you won't want to play your sub-HD systems via standard hookups on anything else. Nooooooo, man! People can't cherry pick a TV made in 2000 to play a 2600 or NES! You gotta find a grand ol' piece of shit from that same time! You can't just go forwards in time! It says so in the Nostalgia Video Game Rulebook 2016 Edition! The true spirit of nostalgia, daggonit! I'm just saying I find it a bit hypocritical people would take a game system made in 1977 and use a suped up tube from 2000 and think that's a proper retro experience. I don't care if they do it, hell, I would too, but so many people piggy back on this "real retro experience" which means they should be using shitty sets from the 80s. I like to play devil's advocate to those who ride the "true retro experience" high road. Not that you do, I'm generalizing. But I definitely like my HD emulators tons more than my crummy CRTs. They suck. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZuluGula Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Commodore monitors make nice displays for old systems and are from proper era. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Love them 1084s! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bretthorror Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) My CRT TVs look out of date (they were probably made around 2002) but I literally would be so embarrassed to have that 1084 monitor I looked up in my home haha. I'd think people thought I was a serial killer or some shit. Edited January 5, 2016 by bretthorror Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gentlegamer Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Commodore monitors make nice displays for old systems and are from proper era. My C=128 monitor was my NES and SNES display for many many years. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AE35 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I found this great article on CRT vs LCD http://www.isocube.dk/2015/05/06/arcade-using-an-lcd-instead-of-a-crt/ I'm going to read it again, it is THAT good! /Nicholas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I guess I should be surprised that CRT fans exist, especially in a thread about a retro-style console system. I started to think, were there people like this from decades past, as well? From when a radio console was made of wood, took up a large space in your room, and took several minutes to warm up the tubes? Did some people actively resist the miniaturization transistor radios and yearn for the "warmer" sound of days gone by, despite the advantages of the new technology? Of course they did, and they're still out there. There are probably people who hate seat belts and air bags, too. They're like the anti-vaxxers of technology. A nice LCD isn't what you grew up with, but isn't it nice to have all the characters on the screen more closely resemble the pictures in the printed manuals that you love so much? I have no idea why anyone thinks CRTs are better for anything aside from light gun games. Maybe there was the odd game where they used shitty CRT technology for an effect or something, but they're dog shit compared to real TVs. Any compression of pixels or whatever that garbage is more than made up for with much more exciting colors and better contrast. Every fucking CRT I've ever owned was a fucking nightmare to set up picture wise and not one ever looked right. I have kept 2 around because of my extensive light gun collection, but that's it. I'd get rid of that crap in a heartbeat and replace 'em if it wasn't for that one reason. And they both just fucking have to be 27" monsters. I disagree with you there. CRTs are fabulous for old school game systems. Everything from Game Cube back I hook up to a CRT. And I have an ASUS 1080p monitor that I use with the HD game systems for that ultra low latency you just don't get with some HDTV sets. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) A proper gaming LCD monitor will turn off its backlight while the pixels transition. Then turn it back on again. That's how you get rid of smear. I would think anyone in the arcade repair business knows this. And why would they use a 16.67ms monitor in the first place? And that's for a full black-to-white or white-to-black transition. Going from one random color to another random color can take a full 37ms for the pixels to settle. Same thing for shades of grey. Why? It takes time for for the pixel elements to react to just a few thousandths of a volt different. The subtle voltage changes are soft and gentle. Whereas the full transition voltages for black-to-white are much more hard and definitive and slam the pixel with plenty of force. That Dell monitor is a POS and good for static images only, like for use with office applications. ADDED: I re-read and and re-watched the video. Not that anyone cares, but I did it anyways! So there! Why are they doing all this conversion crap in the first place, lag in the converter, lag in the monitor crystals, lag in the monitor scaling circuit. No wonder the fat guy keeps dying when playing.. Sheesh.. The name of the game is simplification. Replace that dusty & rotted circuit board with a dedicated i3 NUC or similarly powered board. Put MAME and the one game into ROM. Mame will render the image in fractions of a millisecond at the native resolution of the LCD in use. No converter board needed. Better yet, just use a 2.1ms monitor or faster. Ughh.. I'm sure the guys at TNT think they know what they're doing and do nice woodworking and a electronic repairs..and stuff.. But boy-oh-boy I could teach them a lesson and three about how to work with LCD. Edited January 5, 2016 by Keatah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawnphase Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 those commodore monitors are right up there with trinitrons. i used to buy em on the cheap and flip em to my gamer friends. really wish i would have held onto one of em. porno also looked good on em. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gentlegamer Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I dare you to play Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! on anything but a CRT. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roland p Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) A proper gaming LCD monitor will turn off its backlight while the pixels transition. Then turn it back on again. That's how you get rid of smear.That's basically and LCD trying to emulate that 'crappy' CRT Scanning backlight = no blur. Sample & Hold = blur. Edited January 5, 2016 by roland p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punisher5.0 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I dare you to play Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! on anything but a CRT. I heard Battletoads can be impossible too 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 A CRT will never have the consistency, stability, and geometrical perfection an LCD does. An LCD is not likely to have the vibrancy and bloom effects a CRT does. These are two fundamentally different technologies. And when working with LCD you need to feed it an image-signal that is designed for it, spec'd for it. Trying to force old-school dirty analog signals formed from crap consumer parts into a modern LCD isn't going to give satisfying results. Never has, never will. To get the most out of LCD you have to use hardware that can synthesize the image exactly how you want to see it. Not relying on defects and characteristics of the display medium, phosphors and shadow masks. And this means a powerful CPU and GPU combination. Once you do that you're light-years ahead of anything a CRT can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I dare you to play Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! on anything but a CRT. Plays great on my New 3DS! I'll grant that a GOOD CRT > a BAD LCD but if you're gaming on a bad LCD, you're doing it wrong 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StopDrop&Retro Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I dare you to play Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! on anything but a CRT. Or beat Subterrania on the Genesis Or speedrun Super Mario Bros 1 Or even play Super Mario Land, it's the twitchiest Mario game of all IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZuluGula Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I dare you to play Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! on anything but a CRT. This is bad example, because there's a guy who can beat Mike Tyson playing it on LCD tv. But the picture is so bad, that he can't even look at it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bretthorror Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Or beat Subterrania on the Genesis Or speedrun Super Mario Bros 1 Or even play Super Mario Land, it's the twitchiest Mario game of all IMO. I've beat Super Mario Land on an LCD so easily but I've been playing that game for so long. Why would Sub-terrania be hard? I made it to the furthest I ever made it using my Ouya controller no less. But I don't know what happens on down the line in the game. I think I hit the save state at the level where you mess with the gravity. Punch - out is the only game I ever had real problems with on LCD. I made it up to Soda Popinski and got destroyed. I recall easily beating everyone in the game but Mr. Dream as a kid. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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