Please help me find a good gaming TV!

[Gunstar Hero]

As my topic states I am in need of a new TV. I will mostly be using it with my NES, SNES, Genesis, N64, PS1, and Dreamcast. I heard Sony Trinitron's are good for retro gaming, but I am unfamiliar with which models (Year, Model Number, Etc.) are the best. Used TV's are definently OK and price is not really an issue though don't start telling me about $1000 CRTs :). Oh yeah, and I would like it to be a CRT and my main concern is retro gaming. Links are the most helpful, and the more specific information the easier it will be to find one. Thank You!

[kedawa]

Sony XBR line is generally pretty good.

[WCP]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/290784906330?afsrc=1



Step 1. Buy the monitor in the Ebay listing above

Step 2. Go here: http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/200300-fs-female-scart-to-bnc-adapter-cables/ and get yourself a female euro scart to BNC adapter

Step 3. Go to Ebay and buy euro scart RGB cables for all your various systems.

Step 4 . ENJOY !

[Gunstar Hero]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/290784906330?afsrc=1



Step 1. Buy the monitor in the Ebay listing above

Step 2. Go here: http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/200300-fs-female-scart-to-bnc-adapter-cables/ and get yourself a female euro scart to BNC adapter

Step 3. Go to Ebay and buy euro scart RGB cables for all your various systems.

Step 4 . ENJOY !

Seems like a pretty solid idea. But what inputs can it receive? Because if I were to buy it and have to get converters and new cables for all systems that could get pretty pricey. Actually I think the only problem is having to get a famale Euro SCART to BNC converter from Atari Age. Plus how good is BNC? I don't know much on the topic of all this as you can probably tell, but to me BNC looks like RF which I dread to connect my systems with. Sorry for all the questions I'm new to all this; the highest quality I have gone is composite!

[Jack_Burton_BYOAC]

As an alternative you could choose a good period-accurate tv rather than the super clean and crisp Sony's of the 2000s.

I have an RCA Lyceum TV. It looks like this:

http://www.retroaudiolab.com/pictures/79rca.jpg

Now, this TV only supports RF and Composite video. However, it has a few factors going for it.

-The size of the tube (24.5") is a very nice size for playing retro games on.

-It doesn't have the advancements in color, contrast, or noise reduction that later CRT's have.

-It has a very round picture tube.

-It has a very warm color temperature

-When you turn it on you pull out the volume knob and it makes a satisfying whoomph sound.

-When you turn it off you push in the volume knob and it makes a nice loud click and the image shrinks to nothing.

-The speaker has that nice boxy sound.

And finally it has a very course dot pitch. This is especially important. This means that the scanlines of the image will not be nearly as defined as they would be on a newer trinitron.

All in all, this means that when you play games on this monitor you will be experiencing them in a way that would be considered very nice in 1989. IMO the games just "feel" more alive on old technology like this.

Now, I'm only playing devil's advocate for this type of TV here. The PVM's and other similar monitors can be absolutely fantastic, especially if you've never played in pure RGB before. But considering that TV's like the one above can be found on craigslist for a song, why not give it a try?

[Gunstar Hero]

Also I heard many talking about Sony Trinitron TVs. I found one on Craigslist located in the town where I live. How does it sound to you guys? http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/hsh/3328273404.html

And I know craigslist isn't always the best, but it's in my town and with purchasing a TV I was going to have to either do lacal pickup or pay $100 for shipping on eBay.

P.S. I can ask for photos to see.

This one looks good too and is close:
http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/ele/3329266465.html

Please Help with any comments!

[theclaw]

Seems like a pretty solid idea. But what inputs can it receive? Because if I were to buy it and have to get converters and new cables for all systems that could get pretty pricey. Actually I think the only problem is having to get a famale Euro SCART to BNC converter from Atari Age. Plus how good is BNC? I don't know much on the topic of all this as you can probably tell, but to me BNC looks like RF which I dread to connect my systems with. Sorry for all the questions I'm new to all this; the highest quality I have gone is composite!

BNC is just a general purpose socket. In addition to video, it also was used like Ethernet for networks.

See the US never standardized physical input for the type of RGB found in old consoles. On the few American monitors that accept console RGB, you may find yourself needing SCART, BNC, d-sub, DIN, or other methods.

[RP2A03]

Also I heard many talking about Sony Trinitron TVs. I found one on Craigslist located in the town where I live. How does it sound to you guys? http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/hsh/3328273404.html

And I know craigslist isn't always the best, but it's in my town and with purchasing a TV I was going to have to either do lacal pickup or pay $100 for shipping on eBay.

P.S. I can ask for photos to see.

This one looks good too and is close:
http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/ele/3329266465.html

Please Help with any comments!


That second one is an HD tube and, like all consumer grade TVs, is fixed scan. This means that your games will be scaled to 1080i and light guns will not work. The first one sounds like it's SD, so you should be good. However, you can probably get one for considerably less if you are patient and wait for one to show up at a Goodwill or some other thrift.

[wingzrow]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/290784906330?afsrc=1



Step 1. Buy the monitor in the Ebay listing above

Step 2. Go here: http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/200300-fs-female-scart-to-bnc-adapter-cables/ and get yourself a female euro scart to BNC adapter

Step 3. Go to Ebay and buy euro scart RGB cables for all your various systems.

Step 4 . ENJOY !

Just sent that member on Neo-Geo a private message since Atari Age isn't letting me post.

Is that how you got your connector?

[WCP]

Seems like a pretty solid idea. But what inputs can it receive? Because if I were to buy it and have to get converters and new cables for all systems that could get pretty pricey. Actually I think the only problem is having to get a famale Euro SCART to BNC converter from Atari Age. Plus how good is BNC? I don't know much on the topic of all this as you can probably tell, but to me BNC looks like RF which I dread to connect my systems with. Sorry for all the questions I'm new to all this; the highest quality I have gone is composite!


1. Ok, if you've never seen BNC connectors before, then they can look a little weird, but it's no big deal. Any professional class monitor is going to have BNC connectors. You won't see it on normal consumer gear, it's more for the professional industry. The good news, is that if your monitor has BNC type hookups on it, you've got a professional grade type monitor. When you plug a wire up to it via BNC, you just kind of twist it on, and it locks into place. Hard to describe, but it's very easy to do. You won't have any trouble with it. Also, it has regular composite, but you just need a single RCA to BNC adapter for the video signal. (I would send the audio from your game systems to a stereo or amp or some computer speakers or something) Radio Shack has the RCA to BNC adapters for $7.50 each.


http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102688

You can probably find adapters like this at monoprice for much cheaper.


2. It does have S-Video on it, so you can use S-Video right away, without ordering any cables at all. Of course, the whole point of getting such a high quality monitor, is to take full and total advantage of it's capabilities. That means getting RGB from your consoles to it via a special adapter and some Euro Scart RGB cables. Getting the Euro Scart RGB cables is the easy part. Just do an Ebay search for SNES Scart or Genesis Scart or Saturn Scart, etc, etc. Make sure it's the standard Euro type scart connector, and not a japanese Scart connector, because the pinout is different.

There are probably various guys, on various forums that can make you the special Scart to BNC adapter for the Sony monitors, but apparently this one dude is kinda making a side business out of it, because I guess he's making a bunch of these adapters. I've already contacted him, because I need one of these myself, and he said that he's already got customers waiting on them, and that it might be a few weeks before he can make any more. I'd contact him now, and get on his waiting list.


3. You can also do regular component video on this monitor (but not progressive scan). You know how you can get component cables for the PS2 ? You can plug those into this monitor, but you just need 3 of those Radio Shack adapters that I linked to above. Then you can plug component into it, and use that.


Certainly, what you're really going to want is the special adapter so you can see all your systems in true RGB. Unfortunately, you're just going to have to be patient in waiting for this dude to make a bunch more.




Just sent that member on Neo-Geo a private message since Atari Age isn't letting me post.

Is that how you got your connector?


I'm actually borrowing some cables from a friend right now. I just contacted that dude today, to try to get on his waiting list. I think he said it will be 4 to 6 weeks before he will have more to sell. Yeah, it sucks to have to wait that long, but what are you gonna do? The whole point of having these monitors is to see the beautiful RGB picture quality. If I have to wait 6 weeks, then so be it...

[Ryudo]

Any flat screen Sony CRT. XBR is the most prefered I have a Sony 27 inch trinitron flat crt.

[Scotterpop]

Yeah, I can vouch for the superior picture quality of the Sony PVM series monitors. I've got an older version than the one linked above but it blows away any other consumer tube television image I've seen. They can also display a PAL image so they're ideal for import consoles from that region. Got mine from Craigslist as well and luckily the guy had already installed the BNC adapters so I was ready to plug and play! But if you're unable to pick up one of those then a good choice would definitely be a Sony Trinitron or WEGA series tv. Generally excellent picture and very well made. Although I did just replace the Sony I was using with a Toshiba 24Af42 24" that gives an even better picture, much to my surprise, as I was under the impression that Sony were the top dogs when it came to gaming tvs. So my advice to you would be to do as I've done and scour your local thrift stores and read through Craiglist listings and you will eventually find a good deal on a gaming monitor that suits your needs. But be warned, once you start upgrading you're not going to want to stop. I've owned about a dozen different tvs in the past 5 years looking for that elusive sweet picture for my retro gear. Just takes a little patience (and a strong back... some of those over 30" tube sets weigh upwards of 200 pounds!). Good luck!

[Jack_Burton_BYOAC]

There is one series of monitor that might be better than a PVM, depending on your tastes. That's the Mitsubishi Megaview.

http://i.imgur.com/Q4Hjss.jpg (http://imgur.com/Q4Hjs)http://i.imgur.com/K4GWns.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/m88y7s.jpg (http://imgur.com/K4GWn)http://i.imgur.com/sb2tEs.jpg (http://imgur.com/sb2tE)http://i.imgur.com/h0Lwhs.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/fzEnDs.jpg (http://imgur.com/h0Lwh)http://i.imgur.com/m1Xbrs.jpg (http://imgur.com/m1Xbr)http://i.imgur.com/hQ2O0s.jpg (http://imgur.com/hQ2O0)http://i.imgur.com/Qoysrs.jpg (http://imgur.com/Qoysr)http://i.imgur.com/oIWPAs.jpg (http://imgur.com/oIWPA)

They look awesome in action, and run up to 42" in size. The built-in speakers are also very high quality.

[BlastProcessing402]

This one looks good too and is close:
http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/ele/3329266465.html

Please Help with any comments!

Keep in mind, when they say "Would need to be picked up by two able bodied adults as the unit weighs over 250lbs." they are not kidding. Sony CRTs are great, but they're heavy as hell. Even two able bodied adults could have trouble, because not just heavy, but also awkward to get a hold on and it's the front that's the heaviest, so if it tips and falls, it's going screen down.

I'm not saying don't get a TV like that, just saying, be aware beforehand. And if you need to get it up or down stairs, heaven help you. I've heard of people leaving such sets behind when they move rather than trying to get them up/down stairs again.

[Gunstar Hero]

Thanks for all the help everyone! My friend just got a new TV and said he'll give me his big Panasonic CRT if I want it for $5. Now this is a pretty sweet deal as I saw it and the picture quality is fantastic but it's a flat screen CRT and I don't know if my light gun games will work on it. Can anyone shed some light on this?

[RP2A03]

Thanks for all the help everyone! My friend just got a new TV and said he'll give me his big Panasonic CRT if I want it for $5. Now this is a pretty sweet deal as I saw it and the picture quality is fantastic but it's a flat screen CRT and I don't know if my light gun games will work on it. Can anyone shed some light on this?


Light guns will work just fine as long as it's not ED or HD.

[Gunstar Hero]

Some pics of the new TV:
5804

Sorry I'm using my iPad to take photos.

[Gunstar Hero]

Oh and btw it does work with light gun games!!!

5805

[wiggyx]

Keep in mind, when they say "Would need to be picked up by two able bodied adults as the unit weighs over 250lbs." they are not kidding. Sony CRTs are great, but they're heavy as hell. Even two able bodied adults could have trouble, because not just heavy, but also awkward to get a hold on and it's the front that's the heaviest, so if it tips and falls, it's going screen down.

I'm not saying don't get a TV like that, just saying, be aware beforehand. And if you need to get it up or down stairs, heaven help you. I've heard of people leaving such sets behind when they move rather than trying to get them up/down stairs again.


This times a million. I picked up a 36" Sony tube last month. Took 3 adult men to slide it down the fucking stairs and lift it onto the stand. It will never leave my basement as long as I live here. 243 lbs according to Sony and it feels every once. Worst part is, it ended being in worse shape than I thought and it doesn't work with the Super Scope, which was really the main reason I purchased it since light guns don't work with my Sony 60we610 :/

That said, the 60" grand wega I just mentioned is by far and away my favorite gaming TV. TONS of inputs. Coax, composite, s-vid, component, DVI, optical audio. No HDMI or VGA though :( The quality for pretty much anything that I play on it is fantastic. S-vid modded SNES mini and Genesis are extremely crisp, and the PS3/Xbox look fine and dandy as well. It seems to have zero problems with the resolutions that older consoles provide unlike so many flat panel displays (yes, it's rear projection, which is its only real shortcoming IMO).

They're also very easily maintained and repaired. I found mine on a tree lawn. In the rain. Needed a lamp and its cooling fans cleaned. 3 years and running. Harder to find and not as cheap as a decent tube, but I would gladly pay 400 or so for one now that know how great it is.

I'm sure plenty of people will boo that choice in favor of something "period correct" or any quality tube. I just find it too much of a PITA keeping a multitude of TVs around just to play my different consoles. I'm already annoyed by the 36" tube that I picked up because it takes up space and just looks absurd and redundant in a room with another (freakin' huge) TV. Just my .02.

[dukenukem]

Nice tv:) What model panasonioc is it?

[Tanooki]

I for one use the Sharp NES TV for NES and also have the Master System and N64 daisychained with a pair of RF connectors. SMS so it looks best and N64 so it is playable since N64 (and other 1st gen 3d systems) fails to work properly on LCD and later TVs since the systems used some cheats CRTs would allow for with lighting and display including scanlines.