Classic gaming on LCD TV

[SlowCoder]

Periodically threads pop up talking about the negatives of playing older systems on LCD TVs. I have a 37" Samsung 550 TV. Definition and color appear to be good on all systems and all inputs. 2600, Intv, CV, Genesis, NES, etc. The only difference I see is that the output is sharper.

 

What am I missing?

[TheGameCollector]

Periodically threads pop up talking about the negatives of playing older systems on LCD TVs. I have a 37" Samsung 550 TV. Definition and color appear to be good on all systems and all inputs. 2600, Intv, CV, Genesis, NES, etc. The only difference I see is that the output is sharper.

 

What am I missing?

 

Only the ability to play retro light gun games really. Not all LCDs have input lag with games. We're some of the lucky ones who bought a brand of TV that has no lag with classic systems. Mine is a SHARP 52" and it has no problems. It's TV stand is a woodgrain 30-something inch Magnavox console which I use for playing light gun games or for having another person playing another system at the same time as me.

[Itchy Koala]

Also, from what I've read, 3D games that work with LCD shutter glasses (AKA SMS 3D games) have a slim chance of working on modern TVs.

[mbd30]

1.) Motion blur can make games with lots of scrolling and panning less easy on the eyes than using a CRT.

 

2.) The old tube TVs have a natural anti-aliasing effect that smooths out the low resolution graphics on classic systems. Games should look much more pixellated with a modern LCD TV.

 

It's good that you don't seem to have a problem.

 

As for input lag, I think most TVs these days have a "game mode" for minimizing lag during gaming.

Edited April 3, 2011 by mbd30

[Reaperman]

Also not all tv's properly display every older console.

My projector specifically cannot do sega genesis, but I have a different LCD tv that does it with no problem.

 

No, it's not a problem with the console.

[Koopa64]

The Sega Genesis doesn't have a constant horizontal frequency, which can cause compatibility problems with some TVs as noted by Reaperman.

 

Also, just because it's a similar subject, the NEO-GEO (either MVS or AES) has a very odd sync frequency. Where NTSC is 59.94 Hz, the NEO-GEO's video signal sits at 59.18 Hz (approx.). Some TVs (like LCDs) can't handle this kind of sync rate, while typically CRTs are flexible enough to work with it.

[mbd30]

I do notice jerky scrolling playing "Metal Slug" with my LCD monitor. I notice it using both Final Burn Alpha and MAME. It might be a result of Neo Geo's unusual sync frequency, and it's something that particularly effects this game.

[Koopa64]

I don't think the non-NTSC sync rate is your answer. Sounds like maybe your video card isn't keeping up with the game or you need a monitor with a higher sync frequency. My monitor deals with scrolling better if I up the Hz rate from 60 to 75. I don't think the non-standard video sync is even present with typical emulation, I think it's an oddity exclusive to the original hardware. EDIT: Besides, jerky scrolling isn't a symptom of the Neo's video sync rate. Typically with intolerable TVs, the entire picture will have stability issues or it just won't display at all.

Edited April 3, 2011 by Koopa64

[mbd30]

I don't know about the graphics card. I have Intel GMA integrated graphics, but that should be good enough. It could be that my monitor can't handle scrolling the graphics in this game without some judder.

Edited April 3, 2011 by mbd30

[Lendorien]

My Olevia 37" does a decent job on systems displayed with svideo. Mediocre on composite and decent for RF. My roommate's 32" vizio on the other hand is awful.

 

I had a video game party 2 days ago with 6 stations set up with classic systems. The only system that worked halfway decently on his TV was the Atari 5200. Svideo and composite look awful. RF is ok, but has a flakey shakey screen for a lot of consoles.

 

I've noticed that there a good number of TVs coming out now with no AV connections at all.

[icopasetic]

i have a 52" samsung, every system looks beautiful on it. it has a gaming mode, but there is still a slight lag. i can't see it, but i know it's there, because i can't beat tyson on punch out, and i suck at kaboom and circus atari. only having problems with three games doesn't sound so bad, but those are three of my very favorite games. i have the same problem with emulators, same games. even using vga.

[sheath]

My Sega Scope 3D glasses work fine on my 40" Toshiba LCD. I actually prefer playing my 2D consoles on this set over Composite, its video quality is very good. My old 40" Rear Projection set would show signal noise in static color backgrounds that I never saw on my CRT and can't see on this LCD. I rarely have to turn game mode on as the lag is very low.

 

My only problem is the lack of light gun games, which I am fixing this week by trading a Wega FD Trinitron I picked up last week for a 26" flat screen RCA that has every connection including Component on the back. This will also give me the option of viewing some of my older consoles over RGB on both my LCD and a standard CRT. Then I have to build a cabinet for it and all of my game consoles.

Edited August 3, 2011 by sheath

[godslabrat]

There are disadvantages to gaming on a newer TV, but that doesn't mean that it can't done well.

[tep392]

The only drawback for me is that I loose some of the nostalgia when playing on an LCD. My HD sets are too large and sharp for the low res graphics on these old Atari's. For this reason I primarily use a 20" crt for my retro gaming. When I was young I did most of my 2600 gaming in the basement on an old 19" vacuum tube Color TV. I guess I'll have to locate one of those to really get the nostalgia going.

 

Perry

[Zing]

i have a 52" samsung, every system looks beautiful on it. it has a gaming mode, but there is still a slight lag. i can't see it, but i know it's there, because i can't beat tyson on punch out, and i suck at kaboom and circus atari. only having problems with three games doesn't sound so bad, but those are three of my very favorite games. i have the same problem with emulators, same games. even using vga.

 

I had a 50" Samsung and there was lag even with game mode. It also had problems with 240p. I returned it for a 50" Sony and it was perfectly fine. 480i stuff looked better on it than my Sony CRT.

[+boxpressed]

Can anyone recommend a 20"-24" 1080p LCD that is good for retro gaming? It will need to double as a computer monitor.

[Rex Dart]

Can anyone recommend a 20"-24" 1080p LCD that is good for retro gaming? It will need to double as a computer monitor.

 

I don't have any specific tips for you, but...

 

A 20-24" 1080p LCD that includes a TV tuner can be sort of difficult to find, but I bet you know this already.

and

Any 1080p LCD TV is going to double as a computer monitor. Hope this helps, however slightly.

[Rex Dart]

I do notice jerky scrolling playing "Metal Slug" with my LCD monitor. I notice it using both Final Burn Alpha and MAME. It might be a result of Neo Geo's unusual sync frequency, and it's something that particularly effects this game.

 

Sounds like something enabling V-Sync would help/correct.