Standard TV or HDTV?

[CPTRAVE]

OK, so what is the deal, I have noticed through pics many TG16 owners are using standard TV's to hook up there system,why? Are they trying to keep the whole feeling of old school gaming? I thought using an HDTV would probably give you a better picture. Should I buy a older TV to hook up my games.

[Tatsujin]

I have noticed through pics many TG16 owners are using standard TV's to hook up there system,why?

lowres systems are meant to be played on lowres TVs.

Are they trying to keep the whole feeling of old school gaming?

exaclty.

I thought using an HDTV would probably give you a better picture.

wrong.

Should I buy a older TV to hook up my games.

yes.

[Keith Courage]

CRT TVs are definitely the way to go especially when you can pick one up at a goodwill for like $30

[jperryss]

The nice part about this is that there are tons of them on Craigslist for free or dirt cheap as people upgrade to HDTVs. I got a 27" flat-tube Trinitron with matching Sony stand a couple years back for like $75 and it's a great TV for my classic gaming.

At the time there was a 36" Trinitron with stand for FREE to whoever would go pick it up (the thing probably weighed 300lbs and I'd have never got it up to my 2nd floor apt). That setup probably cost $3K new.

[cabbage]

Tats hit the nail on the head

Should I buy a older TV to hook up my games.

You can find a nice TV for free if you keep an eye on the classifieds. Otherwise you can pick one up on the cheap from a thrift shop or similar.

[CPTRAVE]

I will start looking at a local thrift shop or ask some co-workers if they have an old tv they do not want. What about hooking it up to a surround system for the audio good or bad?

[PunkCryborg]

Every time I see my friend playing lords of thunder on his huge vizeo my stomach starts churning.

[futureman2000]

If you're in the US, try to find a tv with both component and s-video inputs

[city41]

The problem with HDTVs is they are a total crapshoot for SD input. My Magnavox LCD actually displays old game consoles exceptionally well. But I just got lucky and most people find HDTVs have a really crappy picture.

A CRT is a sure thing, it will have a quality picture for sure.

And I run all my old consoles on a CRT now, LCD is for the new stuff.

What I really want is an RGB monitor.

[Nando]

Supposedly plasmas are good if you want the best if both worlds. I have a 32" trinitron. Thing is heavy as hell but the picture is awesome. Even does 1080i. Component only though.

[SignOfZeta]

Evidently you've never actually seen someone play a PC Engine before.

It does depend on the set, but without spending a lot (a LOT) of money on exotic line doublers and such you are far better off with a SD set. You can get a wicked-ass 27" Wega from Craigslist for $40 though, so unless you have serious space issues I don't see any point in buying all the gear it takes to get a flat panel to not look like shit.

I recently got this 34" Bravia, including the stand, for less than half the price of an XRGB3:

grab.by/e5EW

Bonus: Technically this is an HDTV (goes to 1080i, has HDMI). There aren't many TVs out that there do a good job of both Laserdisc and BluRay. This is one of them.

[PunkCryborg]

Yeah I am on the hunt for one that does high def. I do most my gaming on my PVM but I want a TV that'll look good with older media and I can still hook up my laptop which only as hdmi out to it.
Zeta does that have HDMI or DVI?

[kazekirifx]

To me, SD signals look great on my LCD HDTV.
The only thing that bothers me is that there is a slight delay that you don't get with CRT TV's.

I would be satisfied if it weren't for the delay...

[FiftyQuid]

This is sort of on topic, but does anyone have one of those HDTV's (flat screen) with a "game mode" built into it?  How well do they work?

[SuperDeadite]

Evidently you've never actually seen someone play a PC Engine before.

It does depend on the set, but without spending a lot (a LOT) of money on exotic line doublers and such you are far better off with a SD set. You can get a wicked-ass 27" Wega from Craigslist for $40 though, so unless you have serious space issues I don't see any point in buying all the gear it takes to get a flat panel to not look like shit.

I recently got this 34" Bravia, including the stand, for less than half the price of an XRGB3:

grab.by/e5EW

Bonus: Technically this is an HDTV (goes to 1080i, has HDMI). There aren't many TVs out that there do a good job of both Laserdisc and BluRay. This is one of them.

The lack of scanlines hurts my eyes though...

[Tatsujin]

yeah, w/o scanlines = no real 8/16bit pleasure.
everything looks like those old pc games via VGA monitor. damn, did I dislike that kind of gaming back then..lol.

[SignOfZeta]

Yeah I am on the hunt for one that does high def. I do most my gaming on my PVM but I want a TV that'll look good with older media and I can still hook up my laptop which only as hdmi out to it.
Zeta does that have HDMI or DVI?

Its HDMI. It doesn't have DVI or VGA, unfortunately.

[CPTRAVE]

Ok so having scanlines is important got it.

[Tatsujin]

I made you a simple check list of what you will need:

/retrogamingimportant.png

close topic.

[SuperDeadite]

I made you a simple check list of what you will need:

/retrogamingimportant.png

close topic.

No "Buy Dracula X HuCard?".  Tats I am disappoint.

[Tatsujin]

lol ok, he can add that too

I also frogot to mention that the PCE/DUO etc. should be at least Svid modded.

[CrackTiger]

I will start looking at a local thrift shop or ask some co-workers if they have an old tv they do not want. What about hooking it up to a surround system for the audio good or bad?

Don't bother running the speakers in surround sound mode unless you're playing a game like Super Darius which supports surround sound. Otherwise, set your speakers to regular stereo for all regular PCE games.

[SignOfZeta]

Well...some people really like the more advanced DSP like DTS Neo 6 and Harmon Kardon's Logic 7. I've messed with both a bit and with movies...I'll still stick with whatever system the original used. While they are both more immersive, they also both tend to produce bizarre ghost effects in the surround channels. They'll usually only do it once or twice during a movie, but it's enough to piss me off so I watch stuff that was made in stereo in stereo, stuff that was made for Pro Logic in Pro Logic, stuff that was made for Pro Logic II in Pro Logic II, etc , but I can totally see where people are coming from. In games that have nothing even like realistic sound affects I think those modes are fine. Keep in mind, I'm not talking about that 90s bullshit like "jazz" and "cathedral", I'm talking about systems that are designed to work with stereo and matrixed 4/5 channel systems and make the rears more descrete while bringing you more "into it".

Logic 7 *really* sucks you in. However, it also makes Hikaru's voice come almost exclusively from the RR when he's first bickering with Misa in Macross: DYRL so I usually leave it off.

I don't see how it could fuck up Bonk though.

[kazekirifx]

everything looks like those old pc games via VGA monitor. damn, did I dislike that kind of gaming back then..lol.

Ah. Maybe the fact that I never played and just ignored that shit is why I don't mind the lack of scanlines today.

[fraggore]

ive got a Samsung tv and old consoles are pretty good on it and i also have got a a CRT set up as well consoles are perfect on that i tend to swap between then really got the duo r connected to the lcd at the moment just because its a bigger screen.

would like to see how them upscalling boxes work you can pick up RGB scart ones on ebay for about £30 dont know if they make a difference can you could combine it with a scan line generator.

[soop]

It depends how picky you want to be.  I play on a 50" plasma, even though I have a CRT right next to it.

And pro-tip, look for CRTs on eBay within 5 miles of your location.  I got my Sony with a nice low-curve screen  ( I think it's about 27" non-widescreen?) for £3, but there were plenty of others going for 99p.

[DragonmasterDan]

Like a few other people on here I also have a CRT HDTV. It's 1080i and widescreen, so it works well for watching HD movies or playing HD games. But it also is a CRT and looks like it. With that said some things like traditional light guns (zapper, SMS Phaser) don't work so well with it, and it has seizure protection where if something blinks super intensely it blacks out momentarily so as not to cause another Pokemon seizure epidemic. Overall it's a good TV for it's purposes. With that said I also have a 27 inch standard definition CRT I use quite a bit as well, entirely for gaming.

[SMF]

I ues 3 TVs for gaming, My 13 inch Samsung gx tv, My 60inch Toshiba projection tv (both in my game room) and finally the Sharp aquos quattron led. I do notice that games look better on the 13 inch tho but in the end it really doesn't bother me.

[Nando]

I play on a 50" plasma, even though I have a CRT right next to it.

How do you like the plasma as far as gaming in concerned?

[soop]

How do you like the plasma as far as gaming in concerned?

Really good actually.  I'm not one to get fussy about picture (I use composite for PCE), but it gives a clear bright picture, and there's barely any delay.  I did mess about with the settings though, it's got some weird "600hz refresh rate" where is analyses and makes up frames, but something about it made me motion sick with fast movements in FPS games, so I think it's off now (if it was on when I got it).

But yeah, it's responsive enough that I can't tell the difference from playing anything else, and any fuzz from the composite tends to fade just from the distance (10 feet?) that I sit from it.

I just wanted the biggest TV I could get for the least money, but I'm very happy with it.

[jeffhlewis]

Definitely CRT for anything 4:3 - I've got a 55" LED LCDTV and although the picture from my Neo Geo and other systems look ok through S-Video, there is still noticable scaling and smoothing going on. Just kind of ruins the experience. My Sony HD-CRT gives me just about a perfect picture, and it only cost me $35 on Craigslist.

I'm also all for using the TV's speakers vs. using my surround sound. Surround for me just kind of ruins the experience. I grew up playing my Sega on a 20" Panasonic set with RF-inputs and one mono speaker on the side, so I try to stick to that as much as possible

[futureman2000]

I do notice the lack of scanlines, but that doesn't bother me nearly as much as the delay that I get on my lcd. It's a split second I suppose, but noticeable in action games.

[Arkhan Asylum]

I have my XRGB and 55" TV.
It works out great to save space.


When I have more room, I saved the 29" CRT, since it looks better.

I may not bother soon though.  The XRGB is doing a bitchin job of looking nice.

[SignOfZeta]

I do notice the lack of scanlines, but that doesn't bother me nearly as much as the delay that I get on my lcd. It's a split second I suppose, but noticeable in action games.

Yeah, scan lines are one thing, but the real killers are delay and the way that many TVs fuckup the special affects in games that rely on flicker. The most obvious one is shadows in KOF. If the TV has a half-assed upscaler usually instead of both players having a half-tone shadow, one will have no shadow and one with be solid black. This same problem causes sprites that are flickering %50, such as your ship in a shooter after you come back from being shot down, to be rendered fully opaque or totally invisible until the flickering stops. That shit is totally unforgivable. I'd rather play in a 13" b/w CRT with a broken VCR built into it (for the RF modulator, you see) that deal with than bullshit.

[fraggore]

there is no argument that CRT tv's are the best for retro consoles if i had more room i would find a nice 32inch crt  i got limited space just fit my 32 inch lcd and my 21 inch crt and my pc monitor in my room with all the stuff that goes with it lol.

[SignOfZeta]

When I was young and broke and had to spend half my paycheck to buy a single PC Engine game I used to run everything through my Commodore monitor. Everything.

[roflmao]

When I was young and broke and had to spend half my paycheck to buy a single PC Engine game I used to run everything through my Commodore monitor. Everything. 

Me too!  Great picture and built like a tank.

[MrFlutterPie]

I use a sweet 32" Sony Triton crt for my set up and it works great!  I even grabbed a 27" crt JVC for free to use when I was at college.  Sadly now it just sits in my garage now a days.  That thing was HEAVY!!!!

[Lilgrafx]

I made you a simple check list of what you will need:

/retrogamingimportant.png

close topic.

(For those with friends) LOL

[kazekirifx]

I do notice the lack of scanlines, but that doesn't bother me nearly as much as the delay that I get on my lcd. It's a split second I suppose, but noticeable in action games.

With that delay, certain types of games where timing is extremely important become practically unplayable: most 2D fighters, shumps, and pinball are just a few I can name. (by unplayable, I mean it is difficult to perform well at them)

[CrackTiger]

I found that lag was only an issue with earlier hdtvs and in recent years the main problem is how hdtvs tend to filter 240p console video when it upscales it, so that it looks like fugly gritty, stained glass, with little pixelization.

[jlued686]

I've got my Turbo Duo hooked up to a 36" Toshiba that I bought about ten years ago, JUST before HDTVs started taking off. It looks great. However, I've hooked up my PC Engine to my 50" Panasonic plasma and it looks great as well.

[kazekirifx]

I found that lag was only an issue with earlier hdtvs and in recent years the main problem is how hdtvs tend to filter 240p console video when it upscales it, so that it looks like fugly gritty, stained glass, with little pixelization.

Well, my TV is only a few years old, but there is definitely a noticeable lag. An easy way to test with a Duo or TGCD is to listen to the audio coming through the headphone jack on the system and see if the audio on the TV is noticeably later. If it is, then the TV is adjusting the timing of the sound to match the lagged video.

[fraggore]

Good tip will give that a try later.

[fraggore]

just give that a try with a few games couldn't see or here any lag must be pretty luck with the tv never noticed any lag on any other consoles on here either out of interest its a samsung le32 bought it a long time ago and paid alot at the time.

[kazekirifx]

Damn. I need to get a new TV. Just bought my current one about a year ago... and I don't have room for more than one in my tiny Tokyo apartment.
You guys who have an HDTV + a CRT for old school gaming must have huge houses as far as I'm concerned. I don't remember what having that kind of space is like anymore.

[SignOfZeta]

It's true. I have shitloads of space and my basement is still about %80 empty.

[CPTRAVE]

just found a trintitron at a local thrift shop 32inch they want 40.00. I hope it works good, I hope I am not paying to much.

[Keith Courage]

That Trinitron should work great for your games. I'd say the price sounds fair depending on the size of the TV. I have a 36" Sony Trinitron that just looks amazing for console games especially through S-Video. On the other hand, I have a friend with a generic Durabrand 32 inch LCD TV from walmart. Looks great when running a Turbo grafx through composite on it.  So it is basically hit or miss if a LCD or plasma will display composite well or not.

[jeffhlewis]

That Trinitron should work great for your games. I'd say the price sounds fair depending on the size of the TV. I have a 36" Sony Trinitron that just looks amazing for console games especially through S-Video. On the other hand, I have a friend with a generic Durabrand 32 inch LCD TV from walmart. Looks great when running a Turbo grafx through composite on it.  So it is basically hit or miss if a LCD or plasma will display composite well or not.

My only gripe with my HD-CRT WEGA is that it looks almost too good - a step below VGA in quality; no real scanlines like an older-school CRT.