Introduction and noob story: crashing into thrifiting in Tulsa, Oklahoma :)

[Mike 01Hawk]

Couple years ago I got back into retro PC gaming (see my sig ) Hence why I joined this forum.

 

From my experiences, PC games didn't fare to well at the local thrifts/markets (and well, I was lazy at the time)... so I basically stuck to getting 'must haves' and 'lots' off Ebay... dam you Ebay, how I hate to love you!

 

Fast forward to today and I have way to many PC games that I need to catalog, sell off the dupes, and well, you know.. that most important thing.. PLAY them (Diablo II:LoD seems to always suck all my PC gaming life out of me, it's worse than crack (not like I'd know)). So I guess I'd be more of a 'collector' than a gamer.

 

Anywhoo.. my usual 'grass is greener' tendencies got the better of me and I figured it was time to complete my "Man Room" by brining out all my old consoles out of the closet/attic.

 

Now, I DID grow up with an 2600, but sadly, it was sold off at a garage sale after my mom saw that I was heavy into Nintendo... I know, please don't stone me... but I'm a Nintendo Kid.

 

Well, I finally finished up my Corner of Console Greatness by getting an early Xmas present for myself a few weeks back : a TV solely for my consoles (and well maybe TV watching... what's TV btw? (joke, ha ha, get it? I get all my entertainment/news from the Internet))

 

 

Down the road there may be a 360, or Genesis nestled in there somewhere.

 

But now I'm jonesing to get some of the 'classics' that I couldn't afford, didn't know about, or just weren't interested in back in the day. I don't wanna go crazy on Ebay like I did with my PC stuff, so I decided I'll finally take the plunge into thrifts. I PM'd Cross a couple days ago and he gave me some pointers.

 

Luckily I travel from Broken Arrow, thru Tulsa to Owasso everyday, so I could cover a LOT of stores if I so desired. Well I decided to check out GameXchange in Owasso (I've never been that impressed with Vintage Stock, it seems like the Wally World of old stuff, nor do I care that much for Gamestop seeing as how it's the Target of what older stuff they do carry).

 

Well, here's where I reveal my noobness... my jaw just DROPPED to the ground when I walked into GameXchange, seeing all those BOXED and SEALED NES/SNES/N64 games... I was elated... then reality struck me... GameXchange just shrink wrapped the boxes Oh well, I was still like "SWEET!!!" The selection was pretty nice I suppose.... but then Reality REALLY hit me... all those boxes were JUST for display!! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

 

Yeah, so.. anyhoo... lol I still picked up a few classics even though I had no idea if I was getting a deal at the time

 

NES Dr. Mario - $7.95

SNES: Star Fox - $6.95

N64: Star Fox 64 - $6.95

N64: Star Wars Episode 1 Racer - $2.95

$26.91 out the door.

 

Went back to check the prices on Ebay, and I got a somewhat good deal, so yeah.. I think I'm now hooked... but I must learn to restrain myself, kinda like the buffet rules: Take all you want, but play what you take.

 

So I guess in other words, this thread is a "Hi, my name is Mike, and I'm addicted to reliving my youth"

[shadow460]

That's kinda what my gaming console looks like, only most of the systems are above the screen.

 

What you see is the following:

 

My 5200 with Q bert just sitting there to keep dust out of the slot, Death Crimson OX behind that, and the DVD player's remote sitting on Death Crimson. Stargunner is in front of the N64 storage unit.

On the table there's a stack of original Game Boy games (solar striker is on top, and Alleyway is just barely visible), a snake light, two each of the first party PS1 and PS2 memory cards, the Official Frogger by Sega for the SuperCharger, a RSI that's been converted to an NES joystick, a Sony Dual Analog pad, Escape From the MindMaster, Water Ski for the 7800, Aerial Assault for the Game Gear, Kangaroo for the 2600 (facing backwards), Tank Command for the 7800, the Red Alert domination Pack from about 1997-ish, and a radio control joystick for the 2600. The monitor is a Commodore Video Monitor model 1701.

 

On top of that you see a PS1 (7000 series), a PS2 (30000 series), a model 2 Game Gear, my N64 with Goldeneye loaded for the HSC, and my NES. Look close and you might see my Super Cobra plugged into the monitor on the bottom right. For the record, the sound system is a GE unit, I think, and the DVD player is a Sonic Blue DVR4300.

Edited November 27, 2007 by shadow460

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Hehe..that TV looks familiar Mike...

 

 

I have the last year's model TX-S3082WH. But I believe it is basically the same feature set wise as yours would be. I love my TV as well, but it took over 3 hours of fiddling in the service menu with a calibration DVD before I did...

 

It also still has 2 minor issues that I can't iron out but seem to be common on this series TV. One is that the Wii and my Saturn will both produce two colored spots off set on the left and right center of the screen. One will have a yellow tint, and the other a purple tint. This only happens when something with a large amount of white being displayed is on the screen for a few minutes. VERY noticable in the Wii menu and browsing the web, and also while playing Zelda in the snowy areas, and Super Swing golf in various places of that game. However, other games and normal TV viewing will erase these spots in a few minutes. But I've seen others on the web complain about this and again, only my Wii and Saturn cause this. The Wii is connected via component while the saturn is connected via composite. So, I don't think the component connection has anything to do with it. I was told speakers could cause this, but the only speakers close to the tube are the ones built into the TV on the sides. I have the TV connected to a receiver for bigger sound, but those speakers are 5' from it easily and are also magnetically shielded type speakers.

 

Last, I notice on occasion small purplish tint in the upper left and right corners with the upper left being the worst. But you don't see any of this normally while watching TV or a Movie..etc. I only notice it on fairly static images with lighter colored backdrops. Degaussing has done nothing for that either...oh well.

 

Still for everything else it looks fantastic especially when viewing HD content on the TV or watching movies. My other serious gripe about this TV and I would suspect yours is the same, is that I bought it so I could get rid of my AV switcher. Problem is...sound from the TV and input video devices attached to it..will only output from the audio out jack on the TV for analog sources?! In other words, I can plug in component cables for the video and audio, but I will only get picture...no audio from the output jack on the tv?! So..digital sources like HDMI or component (Still analog), will only give you audio from the TV speakers themselves?! I have all the systems video cables plugged into the TV inputs, but still have to use an AV switchbox for the damn audio for the Wii, PS2, and TV to the receiver.

 

Still it is nice to have cleaner picture and I use high quality audio cabling to minimize the loss using the switcher.

 

 

That is my current setup for this TV in the bedroom. I have the Wii by itself on the top shelf with various controllers. Middle shelf has the X'eye, PS2, and Saturn on it. Bottom has my old '83 Onkyo receiver and mid 90's model Pioneer Laserdisc player. The LD is connected via S-video since that is the highest this player can output video wise. That is connected to the TV's S-vid input which is sorta shares with the AV2 composite on the side of the TV. Normally audio from the S-vid would be shared with the AV2 composite, but since I run the laserdisc audio to the receiver seperate from everything else, it is a non-issue.

 

Below is my console setup in the living room. This is where the classic stuff is located with only the Cube being the most modern system on this setup. This is all connected to a really old '85 model 26" Sylvania stereo TV. Still works great though a bit fuzzy on the picture quality. I've trid to adjust the focus and this is the best I could get without severe ghosting effects. For all I know TVs back then may have always been somewhat fuzzy and I just don't remember...hehe

 

 

This pic was taken in Oct, 2007 and I've since moved the consoles a bit. But...in this pic you have the TG-16 on the top shelf by itself with a few controllers. Then on the self below that we have my 7800 and my CDX which is masked by the camera flash. Then below that we have the Cube and a model 2 SNES (mini). However, again, this is an old pic so currently the cube is on the middle shelf and the SNES still next to it. I've moved the 7800 and CDX to the top shelf where the TG-16 is in this pic, and then the TG-16 now sits on top of another pioneer late 90s model Laserdisc player. It doesn't output component video and only has S-vid as its highest, but it does have an Optical TOS audio output on it...which means AC3 encoded discs will play just fine in a surround receiver without having to use a converter..Yeah!!!

 

Oh..and of course on top of all of that...sits my 4port 5200 to watch them all. The NES toaster next to it...isn't currently connected. And I'm sure you can see the small DVD player at the far top right of the center. I've other pics as well of stuff, but this isn't the post your gameroom pics thread..hehe..

[Mike 01Hawk]

Ha, this was supposed to be a thirfting thread, lol, guess it'll turn into a "show off your console/tv" thread

 

Cross,

 

Yeah, I have the 3093, it has quite a few inputs:

 

• Composite 1 / S-video 1 (they share the same audio input, so I consider this 1 input, this is where the SNES/N64/3DO hook up, it's on the side of the TV, so it's easy to get to)
  
• Composite 2 (on the back, where the NES hooks up)
  
• Component 1 (Gamecube)
  
• Component 2 (PS2)
  
• HDMI 1 (nothing as of yet)
  
• HDMI 2 (nothing as of yet)
  
• Coax input (get's QAM, weeeeee!!! (basically QAM = Cox has to provide all the HD channels you can get over the air THRU their coax, so you don't have to mess with an over the air HD Antenna, even though I have one anyway)
  

 

I don't have to do THAT much physical switching, The 3DO - SNES/N64 share the same S-VID input, so I'd have to physically move cables around on the side of the TV, but I don't/won't play the 3DO that much, so it's not an issue.

 

HOWEVER, the SNES/N64 share the same cable (thank you NIN for having the same AV output on the SNES/N64/GCN) so I have to plug/unplug them depending on which console I want to play

 

So, in conclusion if I wanted to be a purist, I'd get another S-Video cable for the N64, and then a S-video switcher, say a 4-into-1 so I could turn everything on upfront and not have to mess with physical connections.

 

TV Color Issues

I have a purplish tint in the upper left corner. It's only noticeable on uniform colored background/static images. On of the guys over on the AVS Samsung Thread mentioned though that these TVs have horrible Power Supply Units. He went out and got one of those Monster power cleaner/filters and it supposidely cleaned up all his coloration issues. SOOOO I'll probably swing by BestBuy, pick up a Monster Power Center to 'test', see if that fixes the issues, then return it and find a proper (ie better/cheaper) cleaner off the net. At the worst possiblity, I can return this TV to Bestbuy in January, since I bought it during the 'xmas' gift/return period

 

TV Sound Issues

I'm just using the TV as my Audio device, so I haven't gone down the road of hooking up a receiver, so I can't offer much help there. Maybe look around on the AVS forum? That's a pain that the TV doesn't output audio, but then again, I'm sure they make some pretty lossless switchers.

 

Hey Cross, why the interest in LaserDisc? Just the Nostalgia factor?

 

Oh and I have an AVIA calibration disk, how do you get into the service mode? Did you have a manual that listed what all the abbreviations meant? I'm not that scared of getting into the Service Menu, but would rather be prepared. However I AM pretty impressed with the geometry so far, either that or I just haven't played on the TV enough to notice any glaring issues.

Edited November 28, 2007 by Mike 01Hawk

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Well, I don't have my stuff plugged into a Monster power filter strip, but I do use a industrial grade power stip with noise filtering that we used to use on our AS400 servers at my last job before they got rid of them all. In fact if you look at the picture of my TV again, you can see the purplish tint in the photo, it actually did catch that in the shot. Like you stated, it only happens or is noticable on light colored backgrounds like the Wii menu etc.

 

As for the audio output, I don't think I described it very well. Here is how it works. The TV does have audio output on the back, but the output only outputs audio from the TV directly, or from external connections connected to the S-vid, or Composite. Anything using the HDMI or component will not have its audio passed thru to the audio out. At first I thought there was something wrong with my TV, and then looking in the owners manual, I noticed a small chart towards the end that listed the audio ouput and shows what will and will not provide audio through the audio output. To me it just seems odd that if the TV has audio ouput jacks, then why can't it output all audio plugged into it and pass it through the audio out jacks? Oh well...

 

As for how to access service mode. On my TV and I suspect would be similar to yours as well. You have to push the following on the remote while the TV is off.

 

Mute, 1, 8, 2, and then power to power the TV on. In a few seconds the TV will then display the service menu options. However, I CANNOT stress enough that I take no responsibility for anything you mess with here, and I strongly suggest you write down all the values as they are before you make any changes. This is part of the reason why it took me just over 3 hours to get things where I wanted it. The geometry wasn't that bad before aside from a tilt issue, and some compression of the image on the right hand side that I still can't get fixed.

 

The compression issue is that the right side of the image is smaller top to bottom then the left side. I adjusted everything I could to no avail on fixing that. I suspect now that the gun itself might actually be offcenter inside the TV. But, I've had the TV for nearly a year now, so the warranty period is over on it. Still 1000x better than it was new from the box, and the TV it replaced which was an older 19" Mits SDTV.

Edited November 28, 2007 by -^Cro§Bow^-

[so_tough!]

Hi I LOVE EBAy

[Mike 01Hawk]

Now that I've been to the following:

 

Good Will: BA, also Admiral and Garnnet

Salvation Army: 71st and Garnnet

 

I have determind that the Tulsa county thrift market for old consoles/games SUCKS!!!

Of those 3 places, I believe I saw in total: 1 Barney Genesis game, 1 PS1 knock off controller, 3-5 Xbox Games, 2 Wii Trailer demos, 1 knock off SNES/NES console for $40+???

 

WHAT THE HECK?!?!?!?

 

When I went to the flea market at the expo bout a year or so ago, I recall that it TOO sucked

 

Guess I'll have to stick to GameXchange, Vintage Stock, GameStop, Craiglist, Ebay, and Garage sales???