Need advice for LCD TV for retro console

Hi everybody,

Other day I bought a Converter box that convert from S-video to HDMI on my 22inch 1080P monitor (my monitor lacking with S-video input and other input too) and it was so bloody awful. I have to return it back to amazon.

I planning to buy a TV for my retro console like Sega Saturn, PS1 Gamecube and more! I getting a Samsung 15inch LCD TV that has a 720p max resolution. Something like this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Samsung-L...tronics_Video_Televisions&hash=item4618c8a12d


Would this TV make Retro gaming look terrible than CRT TV? If someone has this or has a better knowledge about this stuff... please let me know

Many thanks.


UPDATE

I got my LCD TV, Here the picture for Resident evil on Sega Saturn and Super Mario on Super Nintendo. I surprise LCD hold very well with retro console.

[/

 

If you're only gonna play retro consoles on it, why not just get a CRT? You could get one literally for free.

 

I'm moving out for temporary, CRT is indeed the best for retro console but it takes too much space for my new place.

 

Seriously though and I dont care what anyone else says but a CRT is best for retro (older consoles) LCD does not even cut it when it comes to the PS1/Saturn/DC/GC and so forth. I can understand the space issue, but my RGB modded N64 running on my 32" CRT TV is fantastic. LCD HD 720/1080P can swerve it when it comes to that lol.

In addition, depending on what your playing and using but Light Gun games dont work on LCD's like the DC House of the Dead 2 for example.

 

Does your 32inch CRT TV has a black borderline as 4:3 or you had it to stretch to widescreen without quality loss? I always thought 4:3 ratio is a better display for retro gaming and that why I'm getting 15inch LCD TV but my concern that 720p will increases the quality loss at this stage. Even Samsung didn't even label as a HDTV it just LCD TV

No, I won't be using any Light Gun or any accessory to that. I can't wait to play Tomb Raider and Resident evil 1 on Sega Saturn and hopefully S-video will do the job for LCD TV.
[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD="width: 35%"][/TD]
[TD="width: 65%"][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

any LCD would do and a £250 XRGB Mini

I know its expensive even way too much for me but that is the way to go really

 

No, dont have any borders and it is a Widescreen TV and the quality is great, which is not stretched or anything. S-video will do the job in LCD but again cannot agree anymore that CRT will be more crisper.

 

Its a nice bit of kit but some dont have the budget to spend that kind of money on such a device unless you can just throw away money freely.

 

yeah I know. far too expensive for me too

 

OK, let's put one myth to rest. Not all CRT screens look good with Retro Consoles. The last bread of CRT screens that were actually 720p HD look shit with retro consoles. far worse than a LCD screen. I know this because I owned a JVC one and my father in law owned a Panasonic one. A good quality standard CRT would look great but again ONLY if it was RGB.

I know I sell the Framemeister so people may think I'm against CRT but I grew up using RGB on quality CRT screens since the mid 80's so I know what good CRT quality looks like. A good LCD (not some cheap no brand crap) and a Framemeister will make your games look fantastic. People who've never used one will always say CRT is best but I feel it's like one of those vinyl VS CD arguments.

Anyway, no matter how expensive the LCD you buy is, all your retro consoles will look like crap on it because all TVs have rubbish up-scan converters in them. TV manufactures don't care about old game consoles or SD equipment such as VHS players and so on.

 

The advantage to CRTs is that they're able to display 240p video in its native resolution - no scaling or processing of any kind necessary. Thus you are getting a very nearly direct representation of what the console is outputting, and like Yakumo said, if the display is a quality one, then it looks amazing. An LCD, no matter how high the quality of the display or of the scaler you're using, is still not displaying the video in its native resolution. It will always be processed somewhat. Personally, I just think it looks better on a CRT in its native resolution, but I guess that's somewhat a matter of personal taste. This also applies to 480p/VGA signals. It'll always look better on a CRT, because they're capable of displaying it at its native resolution.

Of course, RGB or RGBHV (VGA) is a must if you want the best video quality.

Also, even for a person living in the US, a PVM is a lot less expensive than a Framemeister.

 

Can you recommend a good, inexpensive 19inch SONY PVM model to get? Are the 14inch ones even worth getting?

 

I use a 14 inch PVM (Model PVM-1442QM) with some of my home computers (ZX Spectrum, Apple IIgs and C64), and it's impeccable. Easily as good as, if not better than my Commodore 1084S, which is also a fantastic monitor if you can get one!

 

I had a regular 14 inch SONY CRT as a kid and I remember it to be quite good if not better than some of the 19 or the 24 inch ones back in the days. I'm just not sure if at 14 inch, a PVM is still worth the trouble to hunt one down.

 

I think a 20" model is a good size. It's relatively large for normal view distance, but it's small enough that it's relatively easy to move around (though still very heavy). I have a 20M2MDU, and I love it. There are lots of other good models, though, so don't limit yourself to that particular one. I'm not an expert on PVMs by any stretch, but I recommend getting one from the late 90s/early 2000s. The picture quality of that line of monitors improved significantly throughout the time they were produced. Even ones from the 80s look pretty good, but they can't really compare to the later models. You might want to look around on shmups.system11.org . There are a lot of PVM owners on those forums, and a lot of informative threads about them.

 

Well guys I went ahead and bought a Samsung 15inch LCD TV, I will let you guys know what it like and I will post pictures too.

Thanks the advice

 

If a CRT is what you really must have i think a 20" is the smallest you should get unless you have a very small room or sit on top of your screen while playing. The smallest RGB TVs we every had at home were 22". We had 2 14" screens in my parents bed room and my brothers room but i found them too small for serious gaming. Before I left the UK to live in japan I had a 26" set in my bed room with surround sound (in 1997 / 1998). It was so big there was only about 80cm between the screen and my bed (^o^). It was amazing at the time but thinking back maybe it was a bit too big for a bed room but man, playing saturn high resolution games on that seriously kicked arse back in 1997.

These days if I had space for a CRT I would have to buy a 20" broadcast monitor. I don't think a normal RGB TV would cut it these days.

 

In my little boys bedroom I had this problem - I've found that on a 32" CRT TV that I was given by a friend for free - the picture is better than on my 42" in our bedroom (I have a 65" Panasonic in my living room but I can't work out how to make it find scart signals lol).


On the CRT it just looks brilliant through RGB scart. We currently have a MegaDrive with Mega CD, a Saturn and a Dreamcast set up!

the other major advantage of CRT is that you can use lightguns!!

 

I'm not into CRTs because I've moved house at least once a year since 2005 and even a small one would be too much hassle, although the potential of playing HotD 2 and Confidential Mission would probably be my main reason for getting one anyway.

I would say the biggest issue is that those early Samsung LCDs are only really any good for VGA. RGB might be passable, but the only advantage over a modern LCD is for 4:3 gaming.

 

Remember that light guns only work on normal CRT screens. They don't work on HD CRT screens or those 100Htz screens.