Atari2600Lives Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 (edited) I have tried different 2600 consoles on several modern flat screens, Sony, Samsung, Aquos , LG etc , I have used the adapter as well as the AV mod . On my CRT it looks good and the Av mod is as clear as signal as you can imagine but on the flat screens, eVen though it's clear the colors seem muted and dark. No amount of playing with the gamma settings, color, contrast , brightness etc really fix the issue .it might alleviate it but the colors are not what they should be . When I hook up my intellivision 2 the colors look great . Has anyone else experienced this ? Is there a specific flat screen brand that fixes the color issues ? Is it a limitation of the TIA ? The flash backs I have look great also along with the intellivision 2 but the original 2600 consoles looks dark and muted . Edited January 29, 2013 by Atari2600Lives Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0078265317 Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 My coby 18.5" tftv1904 looks fine. Maybe big screens distort some. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skarro Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I can't answer your question directly, but isn't there an adjustment pot on the AV mod board that you can tweak to change the intensity and/or saturation? Maybe a tweak to the AV mod board could solve your problem (although it would then not look good on an old CRT). For what it's worth, I also find that my 2600 6-switcher video looked a bit flat on my LG flatscreen, but I just put that down to the crappy old RF cable connection I was using. My 2600 Jr. looked somewhat better, but still a little flat (again, just with RF out). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stan Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Yeah, if you have a HUGE screen TV that is really nice HD, you'll probably have issues. Just adjust and deal. My big one sometimes has very slight problems, but nothing that really bothers me when I play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari2600Lives Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 For me it looks dark and colors kind of washed out but we are talking 4 different flat screens ( all new ones frm last few years ) and 3 different systems . I'm thinking on trying it out on an older flat screen from a few years back . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gorfcadet Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Sometimes running the Atari through a vcr first helps. Some vcrs upscale everything to 480i. My RCA 4 head vcr does that and makes a world of difference. Of course, the vcr makes a difference. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0078265317 Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 But how do you know which vcrs are upscalling. And how do you know if it is 480i or not. My 2005 hdtv in the basement has no hdmi but it is 480i and 480p on the rca I think. I know i've seen 480i displayed before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gorfcadet Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 You just have to try it out. Any tv handles 480i or 480p no problem. Many retro systems don't output that however and look outright ugly on new tvs. My Genesis looks terrible on its own, but run through the vcr looks closer to how it appeared on my old crt. Same for the Atari 2600 and 7800. The res on the Sega is lower than 480 as are the Ataris. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aamp Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Has anyone else experienced this ? Yes. I'm back on CRT. Realized I had no other use for it and get an amazingly clean picture with the VCS on RF. Threw the NES and Flashback on there too. My LCD is overburdened with other stuff anyway Sometimes running the Atari through a vcr first helps. Some vcrs upscale everything to 480i. My RCA 4 head vcr does that and makes a world of difference. Of course, the vcr makes a difference. Mine didn't upconvert to component but just composite out from the vcr made a big difference with Colecovision on my LCD. I ran out of room for it. I think it is RCA too, same as my CRT TV, which both like RF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slackerwithin Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 I have had the same problem. I was auctually coming here to post about it. I have an 2600 that is modded with composite out and it looks horrible on my 46 inch LED TV. I guess I was wrong to assume that the composite would make it look ok. I have not really messed with any settings yet, but it's not crisp, it's washed out, and almost blurry.. Any suggestions or should I have expected this?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stringfellow Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 would running a rf demodulator help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gorfcadet Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 I've found running it through certain, not all, vcrs seem to help. Maybe some models upscale or stabalize the image at a 480i signal? I have an RCA the doesn't play tapes anymore, but I use as a passthrough and things look really good through it. Another Emerson model doesn't seem to help at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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