Folks - can you give me some advice please.... I'm trying to decide if it's worth buying an old second hand CRT - a large one before they all vanish... I would mainly play dreamcast, playstation 1 and Atari 2600 .....(and a ZX Spectrum) Is it worth giving up the room for a large CRT? or are there better alternatives... I appreciate its subjective, but any thoughts are welcome. Thanks.
If your going for a CRT, get a Sony PVM or BVM monitor. These are professional, long lasting monitors used in Broadcast/Medical environments and have the best possible picture quality. They also support RGB natively but via BNC connectors (You can buy BNC to SCART cables to hook up all your consoles, but will also need RGB Scart cables for all consoles you want to use) you can also use a BNC to Phono adapter to plug in Composite video sources and they will look good too (My NES and PC Engine look really nice on mine via Composite). You really want to try and use RGB SCART though as the difference is enormous. You will need to hunt one down as they are not very common, but well worth it. I was lucky enough to know someone who was getting rid of several 20" PVM's and got a few for free. It's worth having a CRT for the best experience, and you can use Lightgun's too! Other than that, if you want that sort of quality on a HDTV, buy an XRGB Mini (Framemeister) Upscaler. Watch this video on PVM's if your interested and want to know more.....
I'll second the Sony PVM, picked up two and they are both pretty snazzy! I've actually found the older non-high resolution units are much nicer looking in the scanline-ability. I guess it depends on if you are a scanliner man like myself Otherwise the HR versions look amazing. Just check for inputs. But as @urbangangsta101 points out the Framemeister is a beast and i need to pickup another one, one day
Definitely PVM if you can. If not, I still throw a vote at a large Trinitron (SD) CRT if you really need retro gaming on a CRT. Once you've tinkered in the service menu, they look great. They are also much more affordable; most are given away for free. I do intend on picking up a Framemeister someday. I've never seen one in person, but, they sound terrific.
15khz SVGA monitors are another option and sometimes easier to find, specifically at recycling centers. I know NEC made a few models that could do 15kz and 31kz, they were refer to as multisyncs.
I'd agree with going to pro monitor route. You might also consider looking into Ikegami monitors. One of my two pro monitors is an Ikegami and I'm happy with it. Their name doesn't seem to get thrown around as much as Sony's PVM line, so maybe you can find a better deal on one.
Folks - many thanks for your comments....I had never thought of a Pro monitor... urbangangsta101 - thanks for the detailed reply. I'll take a look on ebay - I'm in Australia so choice isn't great... I've seen a lot of happy people with Framemeister on Assemblergames, I guess that would save me space... I still miss the sound of a CRT.. Cheers guys.
Do you have thrift stores/charity shops in your area? Around here there's usually a slew of TVs, of all sizes and ages, at any given location. We have trouble giving away even a decent CRT like a later model Trinitron. Or maybe there's an Aussie version of Craigslist? If you're looking for the best, those Sony PVM/BVM things are probably the best, but hard to get without spending some real money or getting very lucky with a good deal. I think you'd be quite happy with a quality consumer-grade CRT. The non-flat Trinitron Sony boxes are easy to find over here, so maybe they'll pop-up over there as well.
No, a PVM is NOT the perfect screen for retro gaming! Maybe as a secondary screen for Lan play due to the size limitation. Do you really want to kick back on the couch and marathon game on a tiny 14" screen? I own three Sony PVMs, one 27" Sony CRT and two 32" Sony HD CRTs. The PVM is very durable and offer great controls, but still have curved glass and do not even displaying 480p unless you get a higher end and pricey unit. Then there is the limitation of the smaller screen size unless you want to spend a ton of money on a rare 24" PVM. Get a Sony HD CRT, have the advantage of a flat tube, added digital picture enhancements, built in stereo and even surround sound! I run all my consoles including an Atari 5200 - NES - Dreamcast - PS2 - Xbox - Wii. All resolutions from 480i-720p-1080i crystal clear with no upscale issues. No lightgun capability is the only tradeoff, but then the Wii manages House Of The Dead just fine. In addition, the SD flat tube WEGAs work with Lightguns and offer a very sharp picture for certainly a lot less money then a PVM and are in a more ideal sized larger screen. SD looks sharp on a PVM (due to smaller sized tube) and looks just as well and sometimes better on the bigger WEGA with its digital enhancements. Not needed on a decent quality CRT TV such as the Sony WEGA.
