The Surprising Retro Gaming Upgrade You Need
CRT display technology still has many advantages on the best current screens in flat panel, which means that CRT televisions are often the best way to live retro games. However, large and bulky CRT televisions are not the only way to access CRT technology for retro games.
There are also a large number of CRT PC monitors that always do the rounds, and in some cases, they can actually be a better solution than a CRT TV or a professional video monitor.
Before going down this list, it is important to note that most CRT PC monitors – in particular VGA models only – do not support the 15 kHz (240p / 480i) signals which console the exit natively. You will need a converter or a deception, unless you are lucky to have a rare multisync model.
This will introduce a certain latency, although even with some of the cheapest avga boxes that I have tried, I do not personally feel this latency, and the rest of the chain remains analog and essentially without gap, so that the total latency should always be less than a flat screen screen.
CRT monitors are the best solution for consoles which natively support the VGA output without modification, or can be modified to produce a VGA compatible signal, either by hardware modification or using a softmod. The only consoles with native VGA support are the Sega Dreamcast and the Xbox 360. For everything else, you need a converter box or a console mod.
The list below assumes that you have a console that can be used with a CRT monitor, you are aware of the specific drawbacks (a little more latency, lack of scanning lines on modern CRT monitors, etc.) and that you cannot obtain an appropriate PVM at a reasonable price.
6
Clearer image quality and higher resolutions
A computer monitor offers a much clearer and more detailed image than a consumer television. After all, it is designed to display crisp computer graphics, not low -fit composite cable signals and Fuzz.
Of course, in this case, you run a composite, S-Video or component signal on the monitor, but you will always notice more details reproduced than on your TV. The drawback is that you will not see the scan lines which are so appreciated by many retro players, but if you don’t mind, the results on a CRT monitor are quite good.
5
Best support for VGA and RGB signals
If your console supports the RGB output or can be changed to support it, connect it to a CRT monitor with correct conversion equipment, and you will get results that may seem more clear than a PVM. Most CRT consumer televisions offer, at best, a S-Video or component video entrance, so even if the console in question has RGB outputs, the TV can do nothing with it.
That said, some CRT televisions can be modified with a native RGB support, although it is risky and difficult, with a real chance that you will throw television.
4
Smaller, lighter and easier to install on a desktop
One of the reasons why retro players like PVMS are so compact and can go to a desk. I have two CRT televisions. One is a 20 -inch “compact” model and the other a huge Sony trinitron of 150 lb of 150 lbs of 150 lb. I love my tube televisions, but there is no speech that they take a lot of space, even for “small” models.
My two CRT monitors are 17 -inch models, even if you live in a small apartment. Look at this little retro corner that I set up using one of my CRT monitors. He barely takes any space, and I can exchange the PC for one of my retro consoles if I wish, as long as they work with my AV-to-Vga converter.
3
Less surfance over-saved and more precise
CRT televisions have a problem of “surface”, where certain parts of the image are cut at the edges of the screen. Now, the game developers on these consoles were perfectly aware of the overlays and have designed their games around him. However, not all televisions have the same degree of overcharging, and you rarely have control unless the game in question has an adjustment utility on the integrated sofa.
Most PC monitors, at least since the last decade of their time, allow you to adjust and frame the image with precision. For example, here is Gran Turismo 4 Running on my monitor Samsung Syncmaster 793s via a conversion box and I can adjust the image to adapt exactly.
2
No intertwining flicker
I love To what my psone console looks like on my Big Sony Trinitron, but most of its games take place at 240p with the short “P” for progressive scan. This means that with each refreshment, the 240 whole lines of each frame are redesigned. Since the TV is designed for 480 lines (for NTSC, it is 576 lines for PAL), there are visible gaps called colloquially under the name of “scan lines”, but the image itself is brilliant and stable.
However, on consoles like PlayStation 2, the games came out at 480i with the “I” being short for intertwined. Here, only half of the frame (called “field”) is drawn with each refreshment. The CRT beam draws strange lines and even alternating. This gives you a much higher resolution image, but the result is an image of gradation with a visible flicker. I can get used to 480i fairly quickly, but it is undeniable that playing my PS2 with the help of a deinterplacement with a CRT monitor makes the contents 480i much more pleasant, giving you a stable and sparkling image while retaining the advantages of the movement and the color of the CRT.
1
Less wear than old televisions, more common than PVM
I touched this above, but if you want a small compact CRT solution with high net image quality for retro consoles, your first option should be a PVM or a BVM that accepts analog input. It is roughly the gold stallion for retro games on CRT with regard to consoles specifically.
The problem is that PVM and BVM were rare and expensive when they were up to date, and now they are even rarer and expensive! At the same time, most CRT televisions that you will find to buy used are fairly struck by years of travel or serve as a family television – which may or may not involve forced sticky substances through the vents.
On the other hand, I noticed that most of the CRT PC monitors that I have looked at are in good condition. They have generally been used in own environments on offices and have not moved much or subjected to chaos in household life.
This is essentially a long way to say that you will have much easier to find a CRT monitor at a good price and in good condition than the other options of the table.
PC CRT monitors are practical, generally inexpensive, relatively compact and offer clear image quality with a lot of fine control over the appearance of things on the screen.
Using the right signal conversion equipment, they are also incredibly versatile and, depending on the model you get, they will probably survive most CRT televisions that are still there today. Perhaps the best of everyone, you can take an instructor for almost nothing, or sometimes literally nothing in most places. It therefore costs very little to know if it works for you or not, and it is certainly less a commitment than a big tube television!
