Letting go of the CRT

[justin8301]

I think its time for me to get rid of my CRT... I really don't want to, but it just takes up so much damn space... I've been looking into things like the retrotink and it seems like there are plenty of solutions out there to play your old consoles on a modern screen but I just dont know how i feel about it... Do any of you have any experience letting go of your CRTs and making the transition to a modern screen? Please share your success stories and setups, I need some inspiration!!

[tripredacus]

I have changed out a few CRTs for "modern" screens but I did not get rid of the CRTs. They just go into the basement or somewhere to use as backups. I still have a CRT and HDTV in my living room together, so you always have that option.

[Cartagia]

My biggest hangup on getting rid of my CRT is still the lightgun games.  Give me a couple of good remakes or ports to the switch where the JoyCon can be used and I'm good, but what if I really want to play Dunk Hunt or Lethal Enforcers?

[oldgamerz]

Before getting rid of a CRT you should at least buy a modern television with an AV option. You can play your raw consoles on some flat screen televisions buy sometimes plugging the yellow cable into the green hole, but it don't always work, here is a topic earlier. about that

https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,8942.msg151145.html#msg151145

Personally I would use the CRT as a spare television,  I got a CRT as a gift and it's not in the way of anything. but mine can't play light gun games since it's a digital CRT.

[burningdoom]

Even with composite connections on modern TVs, it just doesn't look as good as on a CRT with older consoles; same goes for VHS. Hanging onto my CRTs until they finally die.

But if I was still stuck in a small apartment like when I first moved out, decisions would have to be made.

[Flashback2012]

Even with composite connections on modern TVs, it just doesn't look as good as on a CRT with older consoles; same goes for VHS. Hanging onto my CRTs until they finally die.

But if I was still stuck in a small apartment like when I first moved out, decisions would have to be made.

I had a decent Sony CRT sitting in the basement for a while. I was trying to move it from one end to the other and took it off the TV stand and tried to place it down. The entire plastic back shell just disintegrated and I had to scrap the thing. 

Like OP, I've been looking into those Hyperkin cables as an alternative but I realize if I go that route any light gun games I own effectively become paperweights. My only option to play those is this tiny TV/DVD combo unit I still have though I don't know how effective light gun games would be on it for being such a tiny screen. 

[bigbossman]

There was a large 36 inch CRT that I had for several years. I ended up having to get rid of it because the tint started getting too green. Then the picture started getting too dark. After I still had my 13 inch CRT, but even it ended up going out. Since I didn't have the money to pay a TV repair guy to fix either of them, I had no choice but to get rid of them & get the more modern, updated ones.

While I don't have a problem with playing my games on a modern TV, I just don't like that TV signals are done digitally. When a TV signal started to go out when it was analog, you would get a snowy picture, but could still watch the programming. With digital, the images freeze or sometime the sound goes out completely. That makes it very hard or impossible to watch. I hate digital TV signals.

[retromangia]

Dont' do it.  You'll be kicking yourself in a few years time when you can't find a good one anymore. There only going up in value.  Trust me, you'll thank me 

[droaa]

I got rid of mines early this year. I found myself not using it as much as I wanted despite having a good amount of consoles hooked up to it but also more importantly, I wanted to use the space that was occupied with something else. As it stands, I have no regrets and even before I got rid of it, I did have alternative solutions for modern TVs like the RetroTink with component cables which have been a great solution. Granted at this time I dont have all my retro consoles hooked up but this would be a suggestion that you could use.

[Warmsignal]

It's not a big deal. You can pick them up all day long off of Facebook marketplace. Between my brother and me, we have about 15 of them in storage right now. I've kept one to play on. All my consoles that are non-HD capable are staying with the CRT, hooked up preferably via s-video. There were some groups teasing component cables for some of the classic systems, if those ever actually materialize I might consider those. Having two types of TV breaks up the need to have a million consoles all huddled around a single unit.

[aliensstudios]

I'd like to get a CRT back so I can play some House of the Dead again

[dharmajones93]

I feel like I wrote a blog post about this years ago but can't remember if I published it or not. I had two 29 inchers go on me in one year. Both were tube issues so they really couldn't be fixed. One was a mammoth wood panel. I recycled the tube but kept the frame as a memento (it was the families main tv throughout my childhood). I had a similar situation though, where I was living in a small apartment on the third floor with no elevator... I got sick of dragging heavy TVs up and down the stairs all the time. It was just more feasible to have them all on one TV. I'm using SCART (where possible without modding) and a Framemeister now; I went down this rabbit hole before some of the newer options (OSSC, Tink) were available.

I've since moved to a bigger place. My neighbor actually died and the family put a bunch of TVs out to the curb, so I walked away with a Trinitron and some back up little TVs (kinda want to build an arcade cabinet out of one...). I don't regret switching to flat panel as the main, but I found my way back to CRT anyway. Just got don't playing Ys book I&II for a few hours. Turbo just looks right on a CRT (though the composite is quite good, relatively).

I'd say, in the USA at least, its harder to (legally) get rid of a CRT than it is to acquire one. The trash pick up won't take them, thrift stores won't take them, and even recycling centers won't take them. Best Buy will take them, but you have to pay!!! If it works, definitely try to sell it, because otherwise it's a pain in the butt!

[huffy]

No, why would I get rid of something that still works and/or can be repaired and that I use?
They really don't take up much space, minimalists and people that pay for digital over exaggerate how much space objects take which has infected peoples' minds. A subtle form of marketing really, unfortunately it works.

[pzeke]

I think you're the one overreacting, but hey, that's neither here nor there.

Anyshit, my CRT needs repair. I was told the exact component that needs replacement, and even found a place where I can buy it, but I haven't gotten around to getting it. I'm not getting rid of it anytime soon, so I'm definitely getting that baby fixed.

[bikingjahuty]

I still have two 27' CRTs that I keep around for the "authentic" retro gaming experience as well as my lightgun games. One of them is a one owner TV I bought brand new from Best Buy around 2004 or so. Still works great! But I've accepted that CRTs won't always be a luxury I'll have so I've been working on optimizing all my retro game consoles to play on modern TVs over the last few months. Currently have an OSSC and a Retrotink 2x that I play most of my consoles through.