Making classic games look better on an LCD TV

[Atari2008]

I recently received an LCD TV as a gift, and of course one of the first things I did was hook up my 2600 to it to see what the difference would be like. While I do agree that the LCD TV does take away a bit from classic consoles I wasn't too disappointed. The Astrocade also looked alright on it. But when I hooked up the Channel F System 1 it was a whole different story. The colors looked washed out and I could see vertical lines on all the graphics - definitely took away from the experience. The Channel F System 2 fared much better in the graphics department although the audio seems off - not sure if it's due to the TV or the fact that my System 2 isn't in the best of shape. I figure the best thing is to get a CRT TV at some point to play the Channel F 1 on but in the meantime I was wondering, are there any adapters or anything that could make classic consoles look a little better on a newer TV?

[+Ransom]

Every console's a bit different, but here are some simple things that I've done to make old consoles' output look better on my LCD TVs:

 

1) Video mod. If possible, get your machine to output (in order of preference) component, s-video, or composite -- or the highest of these that your TV will take, anyway. A well-designed video mod can make a huge, huge difference for some consoles.

 

2) Good RF cable and connector. I typically use heavily-shielded cables sold for composite video output as RF cables. And of course I use the RF connector instead of a switchbox. In the case of my Intellivision, this method has yielded output that is very near composite quality.

 

3) Adjust the TV settings. Thanks to Longhorn Engineer, I finally turned my TV's 'color temperature' setting to low instead of the default medium, and that has made things look a lot less washed out for some of the consoles -- including modded consoles.

 

Others may have different suggestions, but these are the things I've had success with.

 

Good luck!

[Atari2008]

2) Good RF cable and connector. I typically use heavily-shielded cables sold for composite video output as RF cables. And of course I use the RF connector instead of a switchbox. In the case of my Intellivision, this method has yielded output that is very near composite quality.

 

3) Adjust the TV settings. Thanks to Longhorn Engineer, I finally turned my TV's 'color temperature' setting to low instead of the default medium, and that has made things look a lot less washed out for some of the consoles -- including modded consoles.

 

Thank you for your suggestions! I'm going to try options 2 and 3 first since I don't know anything about modding a console, and as much as possible I'd like to keep the systems in their original configuration. In terms of a heavily shielded cable used for composite video output is it something like the following item?:

 

NXG® 13.1-Ft. Ruby Series Composite Video Cable

 

Is this a good type of RF connector? I figured that since it's gold-plated it should help:

 

Gold-Plated "F" Jack Connector to Phono Plug

 

I'll also look at my TV's manual, since it's that new to me, to figure out how to change the color temperature setting. I'm assuming that I'd have to change the temperature when I want to watch TV again?

 

Thanks these are some awesome suggestions!

[mattyg]

Make sure also that your input res is either set to Auto or 480 - additionally also set your ratio to 4:3 from 16:9.

Cheers

[+Ransom]

Thank you for your suggestions! I'm going to try options 2 and 3 first since I don't know anything about modding a console, and as much as possible I'd like to keep the systems in their original configuration. In terms of a heavily shielded cable used for composite video output is it something like the following item?:

 

NXG® 13.1-Ft. Ruby Series Composite Video Cable

 

Is this a good type of RF connector? I figured that since it's gold-plated it should help:

 

Gold-Plated "F" Jack Connector to Phono Plug

 

I'll also look at my TV's manual, since it's that new to me, to figure out how to change the color temperature setting. I'm assuming that I'd have to change the temperature when I want to watch TV again?

 

Thanks these are some awesome suggestions!

 

I haven't had to buy new cables in a few years, but I recall buying Dynex brand and stuff from Cables to Go (not their 'Value' line, of course). The Radio Shack ones may be just fine; it's worth a try! Fat cable doesn't always mean good shielding, but I haven't had experience with those Radio Shack cables. As long as it's returnable, why not try it?

 

Of course, I should mention it'll depend on how much interference there is in your area, as always. Where I live, I get medium interference with a standard cable and RF connector. With a good cable, most of the time I don't see any interference. But some days, it's there.

 

I hope your experience is at least as good. As you said, it's worth trying before delving into the world of video mods.

 

Good luck!

[Atari2008]

Thank you for your suggestions! I'm going to try options 2 and 3 first since I don't know anything about modding a console, and as much as possible I'd like to keep the systems in their original configuration. In terms of a heavily shielded cable used for composite video output is it something like the following item?:

 

NXG® 13.1-Ft. Ruby Series Composite Video Cable

 

Is this a good type of RF connector? I figured that since it's gold-plated it should help:

 

Gold-Plated "F" Jack Connector to Phono Plug

 

I'll also look at my TV's manual, since it's that new to me, to figure out how to change the color temperature setting. I'm assuming that I'd have to change the temperature when I want to watch TV again?

 

Thanks these are some awesome suggestions!

 

I haven't had to buy new cables in a few years, but I recall buying Dynex brand and stuff from Cables to Go (not their 'Value' line, of course). The Radio Shack ones may be just fine; it's worth a try! Fat cable doesn't always mean good shielding, but I haven't had experience with those Radio Shack cables. As long as it's returnable, why not try it?

 

Of course, I should mention it'll depend on how much interference there is in your area, as always. Where I live, I get medium interference with a standard cable and RF connector. With a good cable, most of the time I don't see any interference. But some days, it's there.

 

I hope your experience is at least as good. As you said, it's worth trying before delving into the world of video mods.

 

Good luck!

 

Thank you for your input! I have little to no experience with these cables so I think your idea is a great one to just try out different cables until I find one that works best. I'll make sure they're returnable which I'm sure they are. This will be an interesting experiment! I'll keep you posted.