VGCollect Forum

General and Gaming => Classic Video Games => Topic started by: sworddude on April 29, 2023, 06:41:08 am

Title: How many on here use a CRT for playing retro games
Post by: sworddude on April 29, 2023, 06:41:08 am
Was wondering how many on here use a CRT for retrogaming and your experiences with it or if you just stick with a modern screen and upscalers or go in raw.

For me personally. in my early days I used a modern huge flat screen. it had all the classic inputs RF to scart/ components also had game mode for not noticable lagg and it had options to alter the image move position etc.

So even on a modern screen retrogames didn't look that bad, better than the average emulator vids even with cheap composite cables. plus could be improved with stuff like frame meister/ retro tink etc.

Clean Pixel look though for retrogames though but they where very sharp especially with rgb quite a huge difference compared to the good ol composite. in my beginning days I used RF because those cables came standard with allot of 2d consoles. it was a Horror show setting up the channels. image was mid but playable. and composite is huge upgrade compared to that and very playable, played allot on that early on and I'd imagine many did aswell.

Later on I used a crt. especially for 2d Gaming it looks way better, Scanlines are great colors more natural, pixels ain't open and can get more depth which looked ugly when it's just sharp and flat. N64 looks pretty acceptable on composite which was one of the few that looked terrible on my modern tv. Also that you can play light gun games.

For 2d games it's a no brainer for me it looks way better on a crt. early 3d is a win for CRT aswell. cube is debatable if you got a component cable but for the gameboy player crt is the way to go. although ps2 looks way better on a crt ps2 games just had lesser visuals. also all modded consoles will work on a crt. since 60hz switches are a thing in europe. if it strays to far off the og it doesn't work on modern display's gotto get an og genesis to play on 60hz than. crt's are more tolerant to such differences. I also like having no black borders because of it being the correct aspect ratio.

Obviously crt has flaws. Decent size crt's are pretty heavy and hard to move gotto have some space for it. Picking one up that ain't to far away and at the bottom floor can be quite the challenge  ::) Let alone a decent model instead of something random.

I wouldn't say it's a must have if you got a decent modern tv with nice inputs for retro consoles and even in the worst case you do have converters to improve the image. It's pretty acceptable and the more easy scenario for plenty I'd imagine, convenience has value it ain't a bad experience even withouth converters. Plus imo I'd take a good modern tv over a small crt of 20 inches or below. screen size has more value than good image because at that point that's smaller than the average pc screen makes the console experience less for me. Although if you really care about image quality. crt's of that size can be carried by 1 person so they are very easy to move. weight goes up big time per extra inch. that's pretty valuable all things considered because those things get heavy. especially if your planning to get said crt to the basement or multiple floors up.


Heard the US doesn't really have scart on consumers tv unless you mod it or go for a pvm/bvm which seems rough. Especially considering for the latter in most cases you gotto open the tv up to have service menu esk options unless you got one of the more desirable moderls which is quite the hassle if your planning on using multiple different consoles aside from the price or rarity. plus that unless where going for the most desired models most pvm/bvm's are in the 20/14 inch visual screen size category which for my taste is a bit small. although I guess you could use converters to get an rgb signal going on a tv that lacks said inputs.

I do see more incentive for a pvm/bvm in the usa than in europe considering lack of scart in consumer crt's but than again those prices rarity and screen size :o That being said composite does have some small advantages. some games used composite image to get cool effects going like the waterfall in sonic 2 or the space background in certain shootemups having more colors/forms in composite. those cases are pretty rare however. plus considering the upgrade for the rest of the game it's still rgb favoured I'd say but it's still fun to see that developers took account that many people used composite back in the day.
Title: Re: How many on here use a CRT for playing retro games
Post by: conduit on April 29, 2023, 06:05:59 pm
I've been gaming on CRT all of my life. Mostly on an average consumer CRT with composite, as most people have. It wasn't until a few years ago I made the jump to RGB on a PVM. Seeing it for myself effectively killed any desire to go back to composite. Before I jumped to RGB I studied up on topics like the operation and maintenance of CRTs, different forms of analog video, and what console mods would be necessary. I enjoyed the process, but this was a serious commitment, both in time and finances. For most people buying an upscaler and feeding it analog is more than acceptable and likely cheaper in the long run. Although, if you have the means and desire to go pure analog RGB I'd recommend it 100%. Its something that once you see it, you can never go back.

As for my setup, I try to keep it as raw as possible. Until my gscart switches from Castlemania arrive there's nothing between my consoles and PVM expect a SCART to BNC breakout adapter.
Title: Re: How many on here use a CRT for playing retro games
Post by: bikingjahuty on April 29, 2023, 09:29:48 pm
Not for a long time, no.


I still own two 28 inch CRTs, however they're both tucked away in my basement and haven't been used now for about 3-years. I started using upscalers, specifically the OSSC and Retrotink 2x, during that time which has more or less eliminated my need to use a CRT. Not only do the upscallers make the image look better than it ever could on a CRT, but also they practically have no input lag either. The only issue I've ran into with using upscalers on my LED TVs is not being able to play my retro lightgun games. I have quite a few and they're also one of my favorite genres of games. Someday I do plan on having a more accessible place to play retro games on a CRT again, if for nothing else than to play those lightgun games. Otherwise I just hold onto them as what I would consider an essential accessory to retro gaming...at least to an extent.
Title: Re: How many on here use a CRT for playing retro games
Post by: wartoy on April 30, 2023, 07:12:44 pm
I use five diffrent CRT tvs in my game room to play my retro systems I use lots of different consoles and this way I don't have to swap out systems. It's better when friends and family are over we can have og xbox land parties or everyone play their favorite retro game without having to wait. All my mordern consoles are running on HD tvs  so if your not in a reto mood I got it covered. As far as connectiions go I use composite or s video and HD when i can.
Title: Re: How many on here use a CRT for playing retro games
Post by: ferraroso on May 01, 2023, 04:46:47 am
I've been using this Sony Trinitron PowerWIDE KV-28PW1 for ages now and I absolutely love it (unfortunately, no photo can make justice to it's real image quality).

(https://i.imgur.com/WFFRzOIl.jpeg)

I have all my retro consoles hooked up to it via composite, S-Video or VGA and, although it has suffered from a little bit of pin-cushion distortion recently, it still looks gorgeous.

I could never find a modern display with what I'd consider an acceptable amount of lag (especially when playing shooters), so I don't ever see myself playing my old games on an LED anytime soon...
Title: Re: How many on here use a CRT for playing retro games
Post by: tripredacus on May 01, 2023, 10:07:53 am
I still have 2 CRT that are set up but I don't use them for gaming. I've been doing everything on the computer for awhile now, including to play CD based console games like for PS1 which I will run through Retroarch.
Title: Re: How many on here use a CRT for playing retro games
Post by: sworddude on May 01, 2023, 03:20:55 pm
I use a 28 inch crt

Majority of my consoles are hooked up with RGB scart through a scart switch but I also have a composite switch for consoles such as the nes, N64 and turbografx which would require mods for scart. it's good enough for those for the moment. Switchers are a life changer for me, it was such a hassle to swap cables it's nice to have a setup that's ready to play for all consoles.
Title: Re: How many on here use a CRT for playing retro games
Post by: ferraroso on May 02, 2023, 05:47:36 am
I use a 28 inch crt

Majority of my consoles are hooked up with RGB scart through a scart switch but I also have a composite switch for consoles such as the nes, N64 and turbografx which would require mods for scart. it's good enough for those for the moment. Switchers are a life changer for me, it was such a hassle to swap cables it's nice to have a setup that's ready to play for all consoles.

I second this! Switches are a must for me!
I've everything connected to my 28" Trinitron via S-Video or composite via three Sony SB-V66S (strongly recommended) switches. Here's my current CRT setup (all hooked up to the same TV and ready to be played at anytime):

Composite Video:
Sega Master System
Sega Mega Drive
Nintendo Twin Famicom
MSX 2
Neo Geo
PC Engine Duo-R

S-Video:
Nintendo 64
Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo Super Famicom
Sega Saturn
3DO
Neo Geo CD

VGA:
Apple Pippin
Sega Dreamcast

Component Video:

PlayStation 2
Xbox

By the way, I don't know what kind of magic NEC did to the PC-Engine Duo-R, but it's composite video looks gorgeous (I don't know if this applies to the Turbografx-16/Turbo Duo though)...
Title: Re: How many on here use a CRT for playing retro games
Post by: megasilverx1 on May 03, 2023, 08:58:55 pm
I have a 26" Sharp CRT TV and still use it from time to time. How my set up is with a Retrotink 2x mini and S-video amplifier, I can play consoles like the SNES, PS2, and N64 on either the CRT or HD TV or both at the same time if I wanted to. I mainly use the CRT for light gun games on NES, SNES, and PS1 and RF only consoles like the Atari 7800. I have a VCR/DVD combo that outputs HDMI so in theory I could have RF games go through that to the HD TV, but I usually have problems getting the signal to display. I have a thing that takes HDMI signals and turns it into Composite video, so if I really wanted to, I could play PS5 games on the CRT :P