View Full Version : Best tv for NES/SNES
kedawa
03-12-2012, 07:54 PM
RCA has to be one of the most inconsistent TV manufacturers of the CRT age. Most of their products were the usual Thomson-made crap, but every now and then, they'd make something really great.
Back in 2002, I had a 36" RCA with two VGA inputs, one of which supported 800x600. It was the best monitor I've ever owned by far. Dreamcast (and my other systems connected through an XRGB2+) looked glorious on it, and at the time, 800x600 was adequate for my computing needs. The only real downfall was that for some baffling reason, it couldn't do progressive scan through component, even though it was capable of progressive scan via VGA/SVGA.
Ultimately, frequent moves and some overseas travel made it a completely impractical thing to own, so I passed it on to my brother, who later gave it to my nephew. It died last year, but at least it got plenty of use.
Parodius Duh!
03-12-2012, 08:44 PM
What model is that tv you just bought?Nice rca tv you have:).Can you also take some pics of that tv with some games hooked up to it?
mines a 1997 RCA Home Theater F36676ET model.
Tried my best to take some better pics...this set has perfect deep blacks and bright colors
http://s17.postimage.org/3vw3pxl7z/Picture_003.jpg
http://s17.postimage.org/it964onu7/Picture_001.jpg
http://s17.postimage.org/4o3d2vesv/Picture_002.jpg
Rickstilwell1
03-12-2012, 09:00 PM
I really liked my Philips TV, but the problem with those is that the RCA connectors get weak and wear out. Cheap components
dukenukem
03-12-2012, 09:28 PM
Thanks for the shots.Isn't that tv pretty heavy?I also have broken those plastic tabs off one of my snes's and luckily it went well and now i can play my super famicom games on it:).
My 20" TV as a teenager was an RCA. This would have been in 1990. I didn't think highly of RCA at the time, but it was all I could afford that actually had composite input. My dream TV was a mitsubishi 27" with a theoretical 800 lines of resolution, which was mindblowing at the time for a mid-price consumer set.
charles__99
03-12-2012, 11:15 PM
I really liked my Philips TV, but the problem with those is that the RCA connectors get weak and wear out. Cheap components
That's what happened to a Phillips I had back in the day too, as a kid I thought it was the AV cables but was not surprisingly wrong.
Parodius Duh!
03-13-2012, 02:05 PM
Thanks for the shots.Isn't that tv pretty heavy?I also have broken those plastic tabs off one of my snes's and luckily it went well and now i can play my super famicom games on it:).
it is insanely heavy, three guys struggle to move it.
dukenukem
03-13-2012, 03:04 PM
Wow that's crazy.I am also eying a samsung flat screen 16inch crt and have a 13inch curved screen panasonic coming this week.Have you owned any other crt's besides that rca tv?before i had acquired my current 3 crt's we had a nice 20inch panasoni crt that lasted 20 years before dieng in 2005.I am extremely glad my saturn light gun works with all 3 of my crt's:).
kedawa
03-13-2012, 03:31 PM
At this point, tuners are pretty useless, so I'd choose a monitor over a television.
If you don't mind small screens, pick up a Commodore 1084s if you see one for a reasonable price.
I've been using one since the late 80's, and I've always been happy with it.
It doesn't support component obviously, but composite, s-video, and RGB are really all you need.
Being able to adjust the screen geometry is also really nice.
If you want to go a little larger, the Sony BVM/PVM line is excellent, or so I've been told.
As far as really large CRTs go, the type of monitors that used to be used in airports and bus terminals are really nice, if you can find one. Most of the surplus supply of them dried up years ago.
BetaWolf47
06-25-2012, 09:23 PM
So, what would you guys say are the best CRT manufacturers other than Sony? I'm looking to get rid of my oversized TV and get one more suitable for my living area. I don't see anything decent around me besides a silver Sanyo set with side-mounted speakers.
xelement5x
06-26-2012, 04:17 PM
I've got a 27" Samsung from the early 2000s that I use for most of my retro gaming. It's old enough to still be SD, but new enough to have component/S-Video/RCA jacks and looks really nice for what I use it for.
wiggyx
06-26-2012, 05:30 PM
"besides Sony"
Why even bother? Sony is king as far as CRTs go, and if you're buying used (which is sorta your only option for SD tubes), why not just get a Sony and have what'll be best for the purpose PLUS last damn near forever?
NayusDante
06-26-2012, 06:27 PM
I actually don't see very many Sony CRTs when I go hunting. The other brands I do see have been a crapshoot. I have a very nice Samsung, and a very BAD Samsung. The one I'm using now is a 13" flat Toshiba, but I'd love to find a bigger one once I have a place to put it other than my desk. I'd go for a Sony given the chance, but there doesn't seem to be a very solid suggested 2nd choice even with the age of this thread.
When I was a kid, I used a 22~27" JVC which I remember had a very good picture. A bit too much overscan, but it served me well until it got all demagnetized and the color warped just a few years ago.
Retromangia
06-26-2012, 08:50 PM
fucking awesome... so glad to see this thread still going after 2 years.. well it kinda fell asleep for the last 2 :)
Anyhow, Sony is king for CRT. Keep looking, you will find them.
If you look back through this thread from around 2 years ago.. I was in love with the idea of finding a Sony XBR-200... well, wouldn't ya know.. about 6 months ago I finally found one near my house!
I've been humping it ever since.
- retro
BetaWolf47
06-26-2012, 10:16 PM
"besides Sony"
Why even bother? Sony is king as far as CRTs go, and if you're buying used (which is sorta your only option for SD tubes), why not just get a Sony and have what'll be best for the purpose PLUS last damn near forever?
I'm looking for a 24". 20" is a bit small for me, and 27" is a bit big. I currently DO have a 36" Trinitron that has component inputs, and it's too large for my living space. I'm trying to downsize, and 24" seems perfect. I don't see any Sony 24" TV's where I am, only every other size. I guess a 27" would be okay, but a bit heavy to move if I needed to.
Elsewise, the Sony TV I have has trouble with different shades of off-black. In dark scenes of games, you can't tell what's going on. You have to turn the brightness up so high it starts to drown out the colors. I do love their VM edge-enhancement, however. With component and edge-enhancement, the picture is almost indistinguishable from 480p.
kedawa
07-05-2012, 05:59 PM
It really depends on what kind of tube you want (I hate aperture grill screens with a passion), but Panasonic and JVC made some great televisions, and Sony probably made the best of the best.
I would have never recommended Sony CRTs when they were still on store shelves because of their dubious reliability, but anything that's still kicking today will probably last for a very long time.
NayusDante
07-23-2012, 08:00 AM
I'm in the process of moving into a new condo and the last owner left two rather large CRTs. One is a 36" RCA and the other is a 27" Toshiba VCR combo, both curved tubes. The RCA either needs a serious adjustment or it just has unacceptable overscan and geometry issues. The Toshiba, however, looks excellent. I brought my RetroDuo over and played some Mega Man 6 to confirm the Toshiba didn't have bad overscan. What sucks is that neither have S-Video or Component from what I can tell.
Now I have TWO great Toshibas (the other being my flat 13"), and I'll report back how it works out with the RCA. At the moment, I am very unimpressed with the RCA, despite it's gargantuan size.
BetaWolf47
07-23-2012, 08:19 AM
I use a 36" Sony Trinitron from about 2005. It's a silver one with speakers on the bottom, not the side, and has the typical component and s-video inputs. The thing about Trinitron TVs is they have a feature called VM (volumetric modulation) which enhances the picture quality. Other than a bit of jitter, the quality when using component with VM enabled is virtually transparent to 480p, and maybe 720p. It's really the best way to play anything that can't do progressive scan. The only problem with the TV, is it has trouble showing dark colors. Everything looks black, even after tinkering with the video settings.
Oh yeah, it is heavy. Just barely got it home.
OptionJedi
09-11-2012, 03:20 AM
I have one in good condition with the stand. If anyone is in the San Francisco Bay Area and is interested, send me a message on the board.
This monitor is awesome for retro gaming. Pixel perfect and lag free at 32"
rewindtimegames
09-11-2012, 11:12 AM
If it has knobs your heading in the right direction.
jwlowry
09-11-2012, 02:06 PM
For me, the Samsung GXE1395 hits the spot for retro gaming in general. This is the one that was marketed as a gaming TV back in the 90's, with the fold out speakers. Its two drawbacks are small screen size (13") and lack of S-Video inputs, though with the small size it would be difficult to tell a difference between composite and S-Video anyway. It works well as a desktop setup for anything SNES and earlier.
kedawa
09-11-2012, 03:58 PM
You mean the GXTV? Doesn't it have colour distortion from the speakers?
BlastProcessing402
09-11-2012, 04:04 PM
If it has knobs your heading in the right direction.
Just make sure it's black and white. Color? Who needs it! Just a fad anyway.
Nintegrity
09-12-2012, 01:44 AM
The best television to play nes games on would be the Nintendo Sharp television. It is a 20 inch CRT television with a built in nes. I really can't stand playing retro games on a HDTV and prefer to play on older televisions but thats just me.
I use a 36" Sony Trinitron from about 2005. It's a silver one with speakers on the bottom, not the side, and has the typical component and s-video inputs. The thing about Trinitron TVs is they have a feature called VM (volumetric modulation) which enhances the picture quality. Other than a bit of jitter, the quality when using component with VM enabled is virtually transparent to 480p, and maybe 720p. It's really the best way to play anything that can't do progressive scan. The only problem with the TV, is it has trouble showing dark colors. Everything looks black, even after tinkering with the video settings.
"Velocity modulation" is not desirable. It thickens all dark lines on the screen. Put up a test pattern and adjust the VM settings. You will easily see the black lines grow in size while light lines get thinner. It was intended to be used on composite connections, which often have edges that are too soft. VM should be off for s-video or component connections, along with the sharpness setting turn relatively low, if not at minimum.
kedawa
09-13-2012, 02:07 PM
I have a hard time even looking at a 60Hz CRT these days, let alone one that doesn't have adjustable geometry.
I keep a Commodore 1084S around for my Amiga systems, but even that gets hard on the eyes after a while, especially with PAL content.
The Sony BVM-20F1U is pretty much the best you can get for a 4:3 display. When they were brand new, they would retail for about $14,000.00 . No joke. These things were commonplace inside television studios and television production facilities. If you can find a BVM-20F1U that was made in 2001 thru 2006, and that doesn't have a ton of hours of use, then you can be in 4:3 old school heaven. Of course, you need a RGB cable for your various consoles, but that's the easy part.