CRT Fetish Thread

Catoblepa

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No matter how many images I see of Vewlix cabs, Ossc and FM setups to newer TVs it just doesnt look the same with retro stuff. CRT will always be king for classics.

Couldn't agree more. And why chase the perfect scanline simulation on your flat panel when you can get the real thing, dirt cheap (besides PVMs)? Doesn't even need to be a huge CRT, in fact I think 14" is the perfect size for gaming. ;)
 

RAZO

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Couldn't agree more. And why chase the perfect scanline simulation on your flat panel when you can get the real thing, dirt cheap (besides PVMs)? Doesn't even need to be a huge CRT, in fact I think 14" is the perfect size for gaming. ;)

I'm playing on a 14 inch Ikegami and I like it. I prefer 20. I think 20 is the perfect size but I'm down to only one and trying to preserve it lol. I still have a 27 inch Wega but haven't used it in a long time. Great picture but doesn't do rgb but still good for scart to component.
 

Catoblepa

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I'm playing on a 14 inch Ikegami and I like it. I prefer 20. I think 20 is the perfect size but I'm down to only one and trying to preserve it lol. I still have a 27 inch Wega but haven't used it in a long time. Great picture but doesn't do rgb but still good for scart to component.

Yeah, I feel the sweet spot is something between 14" and 20" (that's the size of my arcade monitor); not sayin' a 32" CRT is bad, but you can't get too close. I still have my 16:9 32" Grundig in the basement, huge beast... it was incredible for the few PS2 games that supported widescreen (Time Crisis 2, for example).
 

RAZO

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Yeah, I feel the sweet spot is something between 14" and 20" (that's the size of my arcade monitor); not sayin' a 32" CRT is bad, but you can't get too close. I still have my 16:9 32" Grundig in the basement, huge beast... it was incredible for the few PS2 games that supported widescreen (Time Crisis 2, for example).

Yea you need a bigger CRT for light gun shooters. Especially if you want to back up and play standing. That's the way I like to play them.
 

Catoblepa

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Yea you need a bigger CRT for light gun shooters. Especially if you want to back up and play standing. That's the way I like to play them.

Same here... loved them, before CRTs went out of fashion, light guns ceased to work and crappy/laggy motion control ruined the whole genre! Had lots of fun with Point Blank on PS1, playing against my friends. For Time Crisis, I used to put the Namco arcade stick on the floor and pushed the buttons with my foot, as pedal, to hide and reload... it's surprisingly effective! Of course it's best if you take your shoes off. Great memories. :D
 
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NERDtendo

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Yea you need a bigger CRT for light gun shooters. Especially if you want to back up and play standing. That's the way I like to play them.

We were playing Time Crisis 3 at my monthly Game Night this month... I love gun games!

 

Capitalistix

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I've got an opportunity for a $15 KV-36FS100 Trinitron local to me. Supposedly no issues to speak of. Does anyone have any experience with these big bois? Ive had a small trinitron before and I liked it, as well as a 2 PVMs that Ive since sold. I wanted something physically larger than most PVMs go that would be good for couch co op gaming mostly 16 and 32 bit stuff like Genesis and Saturn.

EDIT

I have a few professional RGB monitors in my stable. I have a 20" sony pvm for a gamecube and my sons Sega Pico and I have a 29" Sony PGM-200R1U for my retro systems and laserdisc player. I was using bose 201 bookshelf speakers with it but upgraded to a Yamaha YSP-800 w/ 21 tweeters and 2 woofers. It's a bit of an upgrade.

That is the peak console lineup hooked up to the flatscreen. Perfect amount of classic consoles, underrated tech (X'Eye/Saturn) and just a touch of autism (Jag/3d0)
 
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Bratwurst

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A 36" flat Trinitron weighs 250 pounds, whoever has it should be paying you to take it away. I had a 27FS100 for a while and the display was very nice, I never noticed or was bothered by the geometry issues characterstic with flat tube CRTs while it was in use.

However, I was able to source a 32" Toshiba curved tube made around 2005 (s-vid and component inputs) and it actually weighed less than that 27" Sony, with the same clarity. Sony is also notorious for doing things their own way which needlessly complicate the fuck out of the internals and it can make working on them a real chore. 2 or 3 layers of daughterboards when you just need a neckboard and chassis. The FS100 series also cannot be modified for RGB input (which I was able to easily do with the Toshiba) though that's not really a deal breaker.
 

TK86079

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8tQ2Goy.jpg
Cool, I had the same Monitor from my Amiga and I used it for my first Neo in the 90s :) I found it on an old VHS Video
C33DBADF-98A6-4055-B67C-11A841108AAD.jpeg
 

Capitalistix

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A 36" flat Trinitron weighs 250 pounds, whoever has it should be paying you to take it away. I had a 27FS100 for a while and the display was very nice, I never noticed or was bothered by the geometry issues characterstic with flat tube CRTs while it was in use.

However, I was able to source a 32" Toshiba curved tube made around 2005 (s-vid and component inputs) and it actually weighed less than that 27" Sony, with the same clarity. Sony is also notorious for doing things their own way which needlessly complicate the fuck out of the internals and it can make working on them a real chore. 2 or 3 layers of daughterboards when you just need a neckboard and chassis. The FS100 series also cannot be modified for RGB input (which I was able to easily do with the Toshiba) though that's not really a deal breaker.

I remember reading about that somewhere, is it issues with scrollers like sonic, since I assume they were developed with curved glass in mind?
 

Catoblepa

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Cool, I had the same Monitor from my Amiga and I used it for my first Neo in the 90s :) I found it on an old VHS Video
View attachment 56073

A picture of a CRT inside a CRT? Can't get more Fetish than this :D
All jokes aside, this particular Philips model was really the monitor of choice for us Amiga gamers here in Europe, and it holds up incredibly well even today! I'd say it's the same quality of an arcade monitor (after all, Hantarex used Philips tubes, for example).
PVMs are fantastic, but if you're talking "bang for the buck" I don't think you can do better than this.
I can't imagine how cool it would've been to play a NeoGeo AES on the CM8833 back in the 90s, you're a lucky guy ;)
 
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TK86079

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Yes back then I really loved that Monitor because it was possible to adjust the the picture perfectly, so you never lost any pixel behind the plastic, even when it is small, I miss it much :)
 

Catoblepa

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Yes back then I really loved that Monitor because it was possible to adjust the the picture perfectly, so you never lost any pixel behind the plastic, even when it is small, I miss it much :)

Yeah, the trimmers in the back panel offered a lot of picture control (not as much as an arcade monitor or a PVM, like cushion or trapezoid correction, but it was more than enough).

uWEDupc.jpg


I used to enlarge the picture for windowed Amiga games, to make them look full screen... the scanlines became huge, but it was still a nice trick :D
 

Atro

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Sorry for the crappy smartphone photos... but I've recently dusted off my Philips CM8833 (good old friend of my Amiga days) to test my jamma boards, and what an absolute joy it still is.

When you get used to LCD screens you kinda forget how vibrant a CRT can look (and this was just a quick test, didn't tinker much with settings). The pics don't make it justice.

8tQ2Goy.jpg

A2HPvcz.jpg

That Philips is absolutely LOVELY. The 1084 too, which is a rebranded version with slight modifications on the inputs.
 

Catoblepa

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That Philips is absolutely LOVELY. The 1084 too, which is a rebranded version with slight modifications on the inputs.

Thanks ;) Yeah, the Commodore 1084 is basically the same... maybe it's got better input for the 8 bit machines? I've read that the CM8833 has some problems with the best Commodore 64 video signal, but I don't remember where I read it...
 

ChuChu Flamingo

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A 36" flat Trinitron weighs 250 pounds, whoever has it should be paying you to take it away. I had a 27FS100 for a while and the display was very nice, I never noticed or was bothered by the geometry issues characterstic with flat tube CRTs while it was in use.

However, I was able to source a 32" Toshiba curved tube made around 2005 (s-vid and component inputs) and it actually weighed less than that 27" Sony, with the same clarity. Sony is also notorious for doing things their own way which needlessly complicate the fuck out of the internals and it can make working on them a real chore. 2 or 3 layers of daughterboards when you just need a neckboard and chassis. The FS100 series also cannot be modified for RGB input (which I was able to easily do with the Toshiba) though that's not really a deal breaker.

As long as it has a BA-5 Chassis it should be rgb moddable. Atleast for KV27FS100. I know they make variants with an L on the end. The FS120 isn't iirc.

https://www.reddit.com/r/crtgaming/comments/649y8z/just_got_done_modding_my_kv27fs100_for_rgb/
 

Bratwurst

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As long as it has a BA-5 Chassis it should be rgb moddable. Atleast for KV27FS100. I know they make variants with an L on the end. The FS120 isn't iirc.

That's exactly what I had, a 100L with a BA-6 chassis. Go figure, I thought they were all unmoddable. Mine for sure had a consolidated microprocessor with no obvious access to the blanking lines.
 

ggallegos1

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Ant of y'all know how to take away the "Video 4" off? I don't have the remote

TV is a Sony Trinitron KV-27FS100
c3330f0e40ab36bd48206451296d1906.jpg
 

Neodogg

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find a cheap universal...or get a Sony one off ebay for like $10
 

RAZO

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Ant of y'all know how to take away the "Video 4" off? I don't have the remote

TV is a Sony Trinitron KV-27FS100
c3330f0e40ab36bd48206451296d1906.jpg

Geo, If you dont mind waiting for when I goto my parents crib I might have a sony controller that will work with your tv. I just have to look for it
 

xb74

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I have a sync strike for it (Arcade Forge with LM1881). The strike used to work OK with the 2950, and it worked with a PVM with one ext sync connector. The 2950 has two connectors, one for horizontal and one for vertical, so I don't know how it could be composite sync if it's split into two connectors. Maybe the strike worked with the other PVM because it only had one connector.
The 2950 also used to work with RGB output from a PS2, but not anymore.

Currently wrestling with the same problem. I have read they are fickle with inputs. I am hoping a sync strike solves my problems as well. Otherwise, admit defeat and go full component cables with your consoles?
 

90s

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I've been doing a lot of gaming on my pvm 2030 during quarantine and it's made me realize I have no back up for this thing when it stops working. I already have two no working 2530s in storage. I had a look on Ebay and the prices for these monitors are insane.

I've spent a lot of money in an rgb set up, so I would want to maintain it. I was wondering what the best way to play RGB on consumer CRTs is, as I think that is the route I will go after my pvm stops working. Would it be something like this?

https://castlemaniagames.com/collec...cart-video-to-component-video?ref=w9_zngec1o_

Also, how much of a step down would it be from pvms?
 

xb74

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The XRG series of converters might be worthwhile as non CRT solutions also.
 

GohanX

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Ant of y'all know how to take away the "Video 4" off? I don't have the remote

TV is a Sony Trinitron KV-27FS100
c3330f0e40ab36bd48206451296d1906.jpg

I don't think there is a way to do it without the remote! You can buy them on ebay cheap, or I can send you my old beat up one for the cost of shipping. I have the same set and it came with remote but I bought a new one from the 'bay for like $10 or something since it was beat to shit.
 
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