Best tv for NES/SNES

[lotec25]

We've got a MASSIVE 40" CRT in the basement that we use for SNES/PS2/ and DDR.

Here's an old pic of the gaming setup with our 27" TV before we upgraded. Need to get a new pic.

I love this picture. you have got to get a new one with the 40" I have to see it.

[Eduardo]

I'm walking around pawn shops trying to get the biggest CRT I can for my light gun games. Does anyone know whats the size of the biggest production CRT that would be easy to find. I know there are like 40 inch ones out there but it seems a lot of people here settle on the 32 right?

[aaron7]

Only had my cell but here's a pic with the 40":

[imanerd0011]

As far as the Tau series, I generally would stay away from hd crts for classic gaming. They are great for high definition content, but still tend to make standard definition content look bad. Arguably the best hd crts were those with the Sony Super Fine Pitch tube. I have one, the sony kd-34xs955. SNES, Gamecube, Dreamcast look decent on it, but much better on a standard definition set. Even through component video(480p), standard definition content looks better on standard definition sets(480i). I may post some pictures later comparing SNES on my HD-CRT and on a good Sony standard definition CRT.

I recently got the KD-36XS955 and I agree. Gamecube/Wii look great, but I still would think they could look better on a curved SD set, especially if hooked up via S-Video.

Does anyone know what the absolute top of the freaking line Sony XBR Trinitron that has a curved tube is? I know the 32XBR48 has to be up there, but there is very little online info about them, because they are so damn old.

[imanerd0011]

Alright, I did a little research and found the absolute top of the line non flat screen Sony CRT. It's the KV-32XBR100. The thing sold for damn near $3,000 in 1997! I'm currently looking for one, but they are VERY hard to find, compared to the high end HD CRT sets.

[Seaquest]

I always have liked a good old antalogue tv. Flat screen is evebn better!

[imanerd0011]

I always have liked a good old antalogue tv. Flat screen is evebn better!

I don't think so. Most Flat Screens (especially the HDCRT's) don't display a good picture when viewing an SD picture. NES looks pretty bad on them to be honest.

That's why I'm looking for the best SD Sony Trinitron, which I believe is the Kv-32xbr100. The only problem is that they are VERY hard to find!

FXmercanery,

What is the model number of your Sony Trinitron?

[Gavica]

those are nice

[Ed Oscuro]

I'd also suggest a SMALL CRT.

A 33" non-flat I've been using seems fine to me. Guess it's just preference. Myself, I like to see details bigger...less eyestrain that way.

[Zing]

I'm still confused as to why some people believe that a curved CRT is better. Yes, you want to avoid HDTV sets, but SD flat screen should be better than curved. It's not like the NES or its games were designed with a curved tube in mind.

[lotec25]

I'm still confused as to why some people believe that a curved CRT is better. Yes, you want to avoid HDTV sets, but SD flat screen should be better than curved. It's not like the NES or its games were designed with a curved tube in mind.

Actually they were designed with a curved tube in mind. Not saying that NES games dont look fine on the Wega style tv's. But just like game developers now are programming for HDTV with 480 up to 1080P output. I do see a difference using a Wega style and a regular curved tv, but not that much to make a difference.

Alright, I did a little research and found the absolute top of the line non flat screen Sony CRT. It's the KV-32XBR100. The thing sold for damn near $3,000 in 1997! I'm currently looking for one, but they are VERY hard to find, compared to the high end HD CRT sets.

Have you found any tv's like this yet? after you said this I did a little searching and this tv was awesome back in the day. But finding one of these does not look easy.

[Eduardo]

I need a bigger CRT to play PS2 light gun games in two player mode. I tried some Time Crisis and it was unbearable. I can get a 42" Trinitron for $250, Ill go see it tomorrow and see whats up.

[imanerd0011]

Yep, I agree. I've done quite a bit of research and the two top of the line SD Trinitrons are the KV-32XBR100 and the KV-32XBR200. The KV-32XBR200 is a flat screen, and the 100 is a curved tube. They were both the top of the line sets in their day.

I haven't found a single KV-32XBR100 for sale anywhere near me. They are extremely hard to come by. I did find a KV-32XBR200 near NYC for $150 (great price!) that looks damn near brand new and comes with the original stand. I'm just not willing to drive that far right now.
My dream setup would be having my NES/SNES/N64 hooked up to a KV-32XBR100, the NES via A/V and the SNES/N64 via S-Video. It would also include having my Gamecube and Wii hooked up to a KD-34XBR960N, both systems via component video.
Having these systems hooked up in this fashion would give the best picture possible (I would think).
Tracking down either of these televisions is quite a task, but I'm hoping to get at least one of them (or hopefully both) by the end of the year!

Actually they were designed with a curved tube in mind. Not saying that NES games dont look fine on the Wega style tv's. But just like game developers now are programming for HDTV with 480 up to 1080P output. I do see a difference using a Wega style and a regular curved tv, but not that much to make a difference.



Have you found any tv's like this yet? after you said this I did a little searching and this tv was awesome back in the day. But finding one of these does not look easy.

[Pikkon]

Here is what I use for retro gaming.


Its a old Konka tv I found in a abandoned house.

Its super heavy but the quality I get when playing snes and nes games are very nice.

[Zing]

One thing I looked for when buying my CRT was a headphone output. A couple of the very last CRT models Sony released here in Canada had them, but since they were relatively "new" and still being sold in store for $500-700, people wanted far too much money for them. I ended up getting a slightly older WEGA without a headphone output.

Do any of the higher end older Sony sets have headphone out?

[lotec25]

One thing I looked for when buying my CRT was a headphone output. A couple of the very last CRT models Sony released here in Canada had them, but since they were relatively "new" and still being sold in store for $500-700, people wanted far too much money for them. I ended up getting a slightly older WEGA without a headphone output.

Do any of the higher end older Sony sets have headphone out?

Now this is a good idea, I forgot they used to have headphone out. I have most of my systems running threw my Logitech speakers that has a headphone jack on them, so I use that if need to, I remember having an old maybe 10" back in the day that had a Headphone out, And it sounded awesome.

On the Note of the Wega I did pick up one of them this weekend from a friend. Ill get a picture of it up later. Its a 27" and the picture quality is fine. As far as the Gun games I have not tried.

[Zing]

One thing I did when I bought my used TV was to hook up my PlayStation 2 and run through a calibration DVD on the composite input. I optimized the brightness (to control blooming), fixed up the geometry, and got the overscan down to 4% on all sides. The set has some minor convergence problems in the bottom left, but it looks far better than it did when I acquired it.

I actually got the seller to knock $50 off the cost because it had a huge geometry problem in the top right. I knew it would be a simple matter of adjusting the system menu settings, which I would do anyway, but I wasn't going to tell him that.

[Leo_A]

Actually they were designed with a curved tube in mind.

I've never seen any evidence of a design decision made in a game due to the curvature of the set.

[Zing]

I've never seen any evidence of a design decision made in a game due to the curvature of the set.

I agree. It is an extremely dubious claim.

If this was true, then at the very least, the games would be distorted on flat panels, emulators, etc.

[lotec25]

I've never seen any evidence of a design decision made in a game due to the curvature of the set.

I should of worded this different, But let me explain. When they were testing the code display they used a curved screen to see how it looked, just like they use flat panels now to test and check the code displayed. Sorry if i worded that wrong.

I actually got the seller to knock $50 off the cost because it had a huge geometry problem in the top right. I knew it would be a simple matter of adjusting the system menu settings, which I would do anyway, but I wasn't going to tell him that.

The Wega I picked up is doing this also. like the left side is higher then the right side. I looked threw the menu but did not look very hard to see if there was a way to correct this problem. Cant really tell until I bring up my cable channel list witch has lines running left to right, and it is apparent it is leaning.