Do you still play old video game systems on a CRT TV?

[crtretrogamer]

I still play my Atari 2600 & NES on my 27" Sony Trinitron CRT TV. This TV is 13 years old. Picture Quality is great! Do you still play old video game systems on a CRT TV? In 20 years from now, Will I still be able to take my CRT TV to a repair shop to be repaired? Will there still be CRT rebuilders to rebuild old and antique picture tubes in the United States or other places in the world? Is there a chance that new Analog CRT TV's for classic gaming will come back to the production line in America or be imported to America in the future?

Thanks,

Chris :)

[Polygon]

I don't currently because I don't have the room, but I have my old Trinitron waiting for the time when I do and all my retro consoles will be on the CRT. As for a good quality CRT, or any CRT for that matter, going back into production... that's never going to happen. People like us make up such a small percentage of the public. There will never be enough of us for any company to have the incentive to produce CRTs again.

[sixwayshot]

CRTs aren't really able to be repaired anymore, at least not everywhere. Keep a good one around, because there isn't any chance you'll get a new one any time soon. Hell, most thrift stores and pawn shops don't accept CRTs anymore because nobody wants them. To the average person, they take up too much space and they provide a comically-low resolution picture.

The main reason that I have a CRT is because I know that the NES Zapper or Super Scope, or the Namco GunCon won't work with my HD TV. There's also the fact that older TVs do make the older games look better - the sometimes-blurry picture makes it so that the game looks like one continuous image, rather than a mess of pixels. CRT TVs also hide a lot of the tricks that developers used to get around color palette limitations and on-screen sprite/character limits.

Though, in the long run, it's not the end of the world to play these games on a newer TV. You'll have to do it eventually.

[Polygon]

Though, in the long run, it's not the end of the world to play these games on a newer TV. You'll have to do it eventually.

Tell that to people still using amplifiers with tubes. There are plenty of people still enjoying far obsolete technology. However, I suggest having spare CRTs around.

[Darkwing]

Do you still play old video game systems on a CRT TV?

Hell yes I do. I have the same 27" Trinitron as you....it's fantastic for my old games. I hope I never have to make the switch for them. It's just not the same.

[theclaw]

Barely. My last CRT on hand is SD only with component input, accepts NES Zapper or Famicom RF usable enough.

[Jack_Burton_BYOAC]

Every day.

The CRT won't ever really die. They're fairly easy to repair, or even make. Might get a tad pricey.

[bb_hood]

Yeah I love my CRT. I got one of those 50$ RGB boxes off ebay about a year ago and it works really well with my CRT. Colors are nice and really vibrant. Whenever I play anything thats not PS3 I use my CRT.

[YoshiM]

Yes. I have my 32" Sony Wega in my game room on a TV stand in a closet, a 27" Apex in the basement and a Commodore monitor in storage. I'll keep it classic on the CRTs as long as they last.

[T.A.P.]

I still play new games on a CRT.

[Edmond Dantes]

Yes, I love my CRT televisions. I used to have an Emerson 20" with a DVD and VCR built in, but recently replaced it with a 32" Apex because the Apex allows me to adjust brightness and volume without the need for a remote (the Emerson started having problems detecting its remote, and a lot of newer games appear muddy and dark on it).

Although come to think of it, I never did test to see if light guns will work on my Apex...

[ShinobiMan]

Currently rocking a SHARP 32" CRT TV in my office / computer room. I have 15 retogaming consoles hooked up to it utilizing 3 composite inputs, 3 switch boxes, and a coax input with a splitter houses my NES and Atari 7800.

It's the way to go for the classics. They just don't look good on HDTV's having not been designed for them.

[Xander]

Nope, no more CRT for me.

When I bought a PS3 and hooked it to my old CRT via composite I could not play a few games (ex: Skyrim). So I bought a Sony Bravia.

I hooked my old systems to it, and they look fine to me. I'm not hardcore enough to notice much of a difference honestly, so I'm probably oblivious to any kind of quality loss I might have with this setup.

Would not go back, I love my new TV, I love HDMI. I hooked my old laptop to it permanently and it kicks major ass as an entertainment center.

[Gameguy]

Yes I still use a CRT television. It's needed to play lightgun games so I won't just get rid of it.

[PreZZ]

Nope, no more CRT for me.

When I bought a PS3 and hooked it to my old CRT via composite I could not play a few games (ex: Skyrim). So I bought a Sony Bravia.

I hooked my old systems to it, and they look fine to me. I'm not hardcore enough to notice much of a difference honestly, so I'm probably oblivious to any kind of quality loss I might have with this setup.

Would not go back, I love my new TV, I love HDMI. I hooked my old laptop to it permanently and it kicks major ass as an entertainment center.

This is exactly how i felt when i bought my first lcd tv in 2005. But as time goes on, you realize that CRT was so much better for old consoles and you miss it!

[Spleeze]

I still run my older systems on a CRT.
Gotta have lightgun games!

[Little Miss Gloom]

Naw. I love my new TV. Sure, I can't play Duck Hunt on it, but in the long run, that's one small sacrifice I am willing to make for the sake of space-saving and AV ports.

[reprep]

i like my duck hunt on my sony CRT.

[bigbacon]

i dont but my Plasma TV doesn't an awesome job with all the consoles, it even manages to do to the Sega 3D correctly. Downside, no light gun games but oh well.

At some point I will pick up a nice CRT TV so I can store it till I have a place to put one. I'd like to find a nice Sony or Samsung 24+ inch CRT

[BlastProcessing402]

Not at the moment, but I have a 32" Wega that I plan to use if I can ever figure out where to put it. Just finding a stand for a CRT is a pain these days, especially if you don't want to spend a fortune. Anyway I'll definitely use that set for anything that doesn't support component, HDMI, or VGA (though my CRT has component and HDMI). So basically anything before Dreamcast and PS2.

[WCP]

Hell to the YES.




Sony PVM-20M2MDU monitor via RGB



I used to sometimes play retro games on my plasma TV, but I try to avoid this whenever possible. I just don't like playing retro games on a 16:9 TV. Either you have to stretch it out, or you have the black bars on the sides. Either way, you're compromising the original vision of the creator by playing it like that. 4:3 CRT or bust.

[jperryss]

Yep, I have a 27" Trinitron specifically for the older stuff (NES, SNES, PCE, XBOX)


Tell that to people still using amplifiers with tubes. There are plenty of people still enjoying far obsolete technology. However, I suggest having spare CRTs around.

It's not really the same, since the vacuum tube is alive and well, even if only for a niche market. Audio products are still being designed which incorporate vacuum tubes. You can still easily find replacement parts for both modern and old tube components. And if you need a repair, you just need to find someone that you can ship the thing to. None of these things can be said about CRT TVs.

[johnvosh]

Yup! I use a JVC D-Series 27" CRT for all my older gen consoles, from the PS2 down

[Alpha2099]

The oldest monitor I've ever used for a game system was hooking my PlayStation to a Commodore 64 monitor. Not sure if that's CRT or not. It lasted about a year or so before its age caught up to it.

[treismac]

Yeah, man. CRTs, clunky and space consuming as they may be, are one of my favorite accoutrements of retro gaming. I kinda, sorta hoard them for when the retro video game apocalypse is upon us and we're all hunting and scavenging and killing each other for working vintage video game systems and games.

[wiggyx]

I keep em around just for light gun games. I prefer my DLP for playing pretty much everything.

[Tanooki]

Somewhat I do. I've got the NES sharp tv, so there's that, but I also use the N64 over rf on it too. N64 like other first gen 3d systems doesn't play nice with LCD tvs messing up lighting, shadow and other visuals wrecking some games completely.

I do have a lucky older 720P LCD with such low lag, I have no issues running pre3d in it and it fills most the screen with a crisp sharp image so I mostly use it.

[thom_m]

I own two CRT sets: a 20" Phillips in my bedroom (the SNES is currently living here too) and a 29" LG in the living room, in which I plug the other consoles. I don't own a LCD TV yet.

CRTs are still somewhat common in Brazil; not everyone has made the jump to LCD/LED yet, they're still a bit pricey (but it's only a matter of one or two years now, really). There's even a brand new 20" set for sale here in my town...I feel tempted to buy and store it, specially because my 20" is starting to have vertical problems. But a new CRT set is still not as cheap as I wanted it to be (this one goes for 400 brazilian bucks).

[sloan]

I have 3 old-style televisions, and have never even had a modern flat panel set in my home.

36" Sanyo
19" Sanyo
27" Toshiba

If you love Master System, then there is no way you can do without one. Too much light gun goodness on that console to pass up.

[atari2600land]

I have a 13 inch CRT TV made in May 1993 that I got new back when I was a kid that I keep around for classic gaming, from VCS to GameCube. I'll need it for the ActionMax I'm going to get. And yes, I have a VCR.

[ApolloBoy]

Sony PVM all the way for me.

[BetaWolf47]

Yeah, I have my PSX hooked up to a Philips TV via s-video right now. The Philips is having problems with s-video though. Video flickering or the like. What's up with that?

[RP2A03]

The Philips is having problems with s-video though. Video flickering or the like. What's up with that?


Sounds like a bad connection.

[VG_Maniac]

There's just no beating a CRT when it comes to older games. I've tried to play NES and SNES on my plasma, but they just don't look as good...softer image, everything looks more pixelated, etc. I worry that some day a working CRT will be next to impossible to get. If nobody will repair them anymore, and all the ones that currently are working finally break down...then what?

[XYXZYZ]

I have a 21" for gaming, a 19" rotated for vertical shooters, and a 27" connected to my HTPC for old 4/3 stuff that looks like shite on the 50" flastscreen, which I generally only use for HD stuff or movies.

[biggzy]

I use a 47 inch Samsung LCD for everything from Atari 2600 to PS3. I totally get what everyone else is talking about, but it just doesn't bother me.

HOWEVER....

I still got a 21 inch CRT in the corner just for light gun games, but I don't play them very often. That's just me, though. Use whatever you like. I think CRTs will be around for awhile, even if it's just an enthusiast's market.

[Black_Tiger]

I will never hook a 240p console to an HDTV if I can help it. I have a 27" crt in my game room that I bought new a couple years ago. Another 27" that I bought new when the Dreamcast was current and a couple 21" tvs I'm keeping in storage.

If I'm not playing in a crt, I might as well just play emulation.

I also try to get s-video out of every console.

[FFStudios]

I have a CRT in my closet in case I acquire any more game consoles that require RCA inputs. So basically, I keep a CRT around in case I buy any consoles that aren't newer than 2006. Which are going to be the only consoles I buy. My 29" HDTV, while wonderful, simply does not have enough Component inputs even with an AV switch to be a viable option for a video game enthusiast. I also keep a very small TV in the bathroom, connected to a spare coax output on my cable box just in-case I want to watch TV while getting ready in the mornings. That one would need some form of RCA-to-coax adaptor for any consoles to work on it.

[WCP]

I'd love to try a 4:3 plasma, that had a native 640 x 480 resolution, if such a thing existed. Then, I could use a XRGB2+ with this plasma, and it would output the 640 x 480, and it would look outstanding on the 4:3 plasma.


Unfortunately, no such thing exists. So yeah, gotta have the real CRT.



which reminds me... I need to start looking out for a contingency plan, just in case anything happens to my current PVM.

[Ed Oscuro]

Tell that to people still using amplifiers with tubes. There are plenty of people still enjoying far obsolete technology. However, I suggest having spare CRTs around.
Tube amps aren't obsolete, though...

I'd love to try a 4:3 plasma, that had a native 640 x 480 resolution, if such a thing existed. Then, I could use a XRGB2+ with this plasma, and it would output the 640 x 480, and it would look outstanding on the 4:3 plasma.


Unfortunately, no such thing exists. So yeah, gotta have the real CRT.



which reminds me... I need to start looking out for a contingency plan, just in case anything happens to my current PVM.
Any LCD with a VGA plug (31KHz signal, same as the XRGB2 output) should support that resolution, though.

Personally I'd love some new display tech that either had fast enough processing to do away with scaling lag, and high enough resolution that it could emulate scanlines, or which didn't have fixed pixels at all (same as CRT) and which had some kind of compatibility with raster scan-type signals.

[WCP]

Tube amps aren't obsolete, though...

Any LCD with a VGA plug (31KHz signal, same as the XRGB2 output) should support that resolution, though.

Personally I'd love some new display tech that either had fast enough processing to do away with scaling lag, and high enough resolution that it could emulate scanlines, or which didn't have fixed pixels at all (same as CRT) and which had some kind of compatibility with raster scan-type signals.


Yeah, true, but the only 4:3 LCD's out there, were made specifically with PC use in mind, for the most part. I've tried hooking a XRGB2+ to various LCD computer monitors, and it just didn't look right. I'm not saying it looked really bad, but it didn't look quite right. There are also early 4:3 lcd TV's that were standard definition, but again, the LCD quality just wasn't very good back then.


If only you could find a modern day lcd display, with the quality of modern lcd technology of 2013, that had a 4:3 aspect ratio. Unfortunately, I don't know of any. I'm sure there is something out there that could be had, but I'm guessing it would be made for the commercial industry (not consumer use), and would be unbelievably expensive.

[Mytho]

Yep, I'm still using my 24" Sony WEGA Trinitron I purchased brand new back in 2004. It's remarkable how crisp games look on that thing, even over composite. Playing SD consoles on an HD display absolutely destroys my enjoyment of older consoles, especially in any timing based game.

On a slightly different note, I actually don't own any sort of standalone flat panel display at this point. All my HD consoles are connected to an HD CRT, and my PC is connected to an old HP CRT that still produces a vibrant picture. I don't see any reason to throw out perfectly fine displays simply because they don't look trendy.

[Neb6]

Yep!

Mainly because that's how I remember them. I like the slight fuzz factor and the amped colors on the CRT (that and the effect of the scanlines on the pixels).

Up until recently, the lead singer of the band I'm in would only play 8-bit games on a CRT.

[Neb6]

I have a 21" for gaming, a 19" rotated for vertical shooters, and a 27" connected to my HTPC for old 4/3 stuff that looks like shite on the 50" flastscreen, which I generally only use for HD stuff or movies.

Sweet! Now THAT's how it's done.

[Ace]

I game exclusively on CRTs no matter the age of the console. Retro systems are hooked up to a 27" Electrohome 27E510 CRT with every signal it supports (RF, Composite, S-Video and Component) and newer hardware from the 6th generation and up (save for the GameCube which is hooked up to the 27E510) are hooked up to a 30" Sony KV-30HS420 CRT HDTV via Component or HDMI (no 1080p, but this TV doesn't need it). Even retro consoles look quite good on this TV using a video signal as crappy as Composite (RF is the only signal that looks bad on this TV). This setup beats out any LCD TV I've ever used, and quite frankly, if I were to keep only one of these TVs and hook up everything I own to the TV in question, it'd be the KV-30HS420. This TV has 8 video inputs: 1 RF, 1 Composite, 3 shared S-Video/Composite, 2 Component with 240p support and 1 HDMI up to 1080i, so you can hook up a large quantity of consoles to this thing.

[Yago]

Absolutely! I have a 32" CRT right next to my 46" HDTV. In between the 2 TV's I have the classic video game consoles like Atari, Intellivision, Colecovision et cetra. On the HDTV stand I have the more modern consoles. It's all nice, neat and organized but I would not have it any other way. I play the consoles on the TV they were meant to be played on.

[Gregger]

Nope, despite what everyone says I like the look of the HD TV better. I've fired them up side by side and it looks better to me. Then again My tvs for old consoles are smaller so that may be part of it. There's just too much advantage to an HD TV and the things I can plug into it for me to switch to CRT.

[badinsults]

I used to have a 25" CRT TV for playing SNES, but it died last year. I've used my smaller HDTV since then. It doesn't look terrible, as it is set to keep the proper aspect ratio for both NTSC and PAL signals, but there is some lag between what is happening on the screen and when you press buttons. For most games, it isn't bad, but on something like Super Mario Kart, it is noticeable. I'd try to find another CRT, but in all honesty they take up so much room, and I live in a pretty small apartment.

[Eternal Champion]

My PC monitor takes composite and s-video for a couple of years I had my S-NES and NES into it, then YPbPr-modded Genesis into a scaler. Looked OK. Moved house, got two new TVs - 720p plasma and 1080p LCD. Genesis on YPbPr looks like SHIT (very saturated colors, just looks wrong). Even the Wii looks kind of lacklustre over YPbPr on 420p; I have to adjust the picture to be as neutral as I can get it. Standard Definition just doesn't look great on these TVs, unless I'm doing something wrong..

Got 2004 Toshiba CRT for $20, composite, S-video, and YPbPr, put in corner of basement, NES, SNES, Genesis look awesome. Before I got the CRT, I honestly was ready to get rid of everything.