Options for Modern TVs?

[Animedude360]

As most of us are coming to find out, Time is a cruel mistress. The Atari 2600 is one of the oldest video game systems that exist, and as such is one of the hardest to get connected to modern televisions. While I DO plan to get a CRT TV eventually (no classic gaming room is complete without one), I simply do not have the room for one at the moment.

 

What (if any) are some of the feeisble options for playing atari 2600 on newer TVs. I've looked around, and the Atari 2600 seems to have an odd lack of third party clone consoles like the Retron or SuperBit machines.There are the Atari Flashbacks, but they are built-in games only, and it would mean ignoring my (growing) Atari 2600 cart collection. I enjoy collecting for the Atari (and other older systems), and have over 100 Atari carts. I have an Atari Flashback 2 I found at a garage sale, and I've heard it can be modded to play carts, but I can't find very detailed instructions on how to do the mod. I fear it might be beyond my skill level.

 

Is the only option an old TV for an old system, or have people found other solutions or work-arounds?

[Fr0st]

Make room for a crt :-)

[ubersaurus]

There do seem to be kits for modding the VCS for more recent video modes, like composite or S-video (assuming your tv has inputs for those). And if you've got the money to throw down, there's the new RGB mod, which can be coupled with a Framemeister to do HDMI out.

[mikey.shake]

I'm pretty much a noob around here, so others can weigh in with more details, but I was in the same boat not too long ago.

 

Frankly, other than the input lag problem (which you're likely to get with any modern TV), you're probably going to just want to pick up a good-deal VCS and get the $3 RF-to-coax adapter. Beyond that, you can get into a Framemeister to upscale the input, etc., but that's all fidgeting and perfecting. If you've got carts and a TV with a coax/antenna input, you can get playing' pretty quickly on a "real" console.

 

There's also the emulation avenue, but that's a different path to go down, since you mention your actual cart collection.

 

And a CRT really did make a nice difference when I picked one up, just sayin'. Have fun!

Edited November 3, 2015 by mikey.shake

[Keatah]

There's also the emulation avenue, but that's a different path to go down, since you mention your actual cart collection.

 

Someday I believe emulation may be the only option. It may take many more years and loss of hardware through failures and attrition and estate cleanouts.

 

Sure you'll always be able to get hardware on fleabay, but how much is it going to cost? And how much time and money will need to be spent bringing it up to reliable working status?

 

IDK, just how I see things developing.

[ubersaurus]

 

Someday I believe emulation may be the only option. It may take many more years and loss of hardware through failures and attrition and estate cleanouts.

 

Sure you'll always be able to get hardware on fleabay, but how much is it going to cost? And how much time and money will need to be spent bringing it up to reliable working status?

 

IDK, just how I see things developing.

I think that's likely the future for practically every piece of gaming hardware or software - even things kept in immaculate shape will eventually fail. If we're lucky, eventually ICs can be cloned or replaced since those will likely be the biggest failure point... but as it stands every console kind of has a lifespan.

 

With that in mind, we're probably decades away from that point, and a lot could happen. After all, if a boutique industry can spring up around keeping Model Ts up and running, who knows what'll come up for helping people keep playing their Ataris, NESs, and what have you.

[Animedude360]

I think that's likely the future for practically every piece of gaming hardware or software - even things kept in immaculate shape will eventually fail. If we're lucky, eventually ICs can be cloned or replaced since those will likely be the biggest failure point... but as it stands every console kind of has a lifespan.

 

With that in mind, we're probably decades away from that point, and a lot could happen. After all, if a boutique industry can spring up around keeping Model Ts up and running, who knows what'll come up for helping people keep playing their Ataris, NESs, and what have you.

It's going to all depend on how technically skilled you are. As more and more systems break, there will be less people willing or able to try and fix the problem. But the skilled collectors will be able to take two broken systems and make one working one. Even this will have a shelf-life, but they will be in the game longer than most. The line between collector and DIY-er blurs more and more the older the thing you collect. Just look at car collecting.

[BigO]

I think a fair test of viability of a display for use with the 2600 is to be able to play paddle games. Any significant lag makes it practically impossible for me to play fast action games like Circus Atari or Kaboom.

 

Using an external analog tuner ("demodulator"), feeding composite video to my 60" Sharp TV, I was easily able to play my paddle games. So, current generation displays aren't completely out of the question. There is lag, but without CRT experience to compare to, I don't think I'd have had a second thought about it. I would, however, expect lower priced TV's to be less responsive.

 

Having said that, I almost always use my CRT TV. It's superior enough in performance and overall experience that I'd say it's worth having one. I'd stick with the CRT even if it meant once again carrying a 100+ lb TV up a flight of stairs by myself.

Edited November 3, 2015 by BigO