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Best CRT TV for old school systems...?
- Thread starter Fernando Rocker
- Start date
Hey, just bought the Aus equivalent of the XBR960 (KVHR32M31, 34" has far more geometry issues), so 32" instead of 34" BUUUUUUT just wondering... HOW DO YOU GET THE DAMN THING UPSTAIRS? Should I use a three-wheel trolley thing and try to get it up the stairs? The thing is so heavy LOL!
sixteen-bit
Member
some hot CRT porn from tumblr
http://gazillion-points.tumblr.com/post/59161992351/hot-stuff-right-there-glorious-240p-porn
http://gazillion-points.tumblr.com/post/59161992351/hot-stuff-right-there-glorious-240p-porn
Well Olympus is finally bringing some new equipment to the hospital. So they are finally phasing out the old Olympus branded PVMs I posted about earlier!!! Just have to hear if Olympus is taking them back or not and if not, I get one! Better choose one that hasn't been used as much huh? 
Better get a cable ready for testing with this thing ASAP! Thinking my good ol' Genesis should come first since unlike the other systems (minus NES), I don't have ANYTHING above RF for that system! :-X
Better get a cable ready for testing with this thing ASAP! Thinking my good ol' Genesis should come first since unlike the other systems (minus NES), I don't have ANYTHING above RF for that system! :-X
Flipping through a B&H catalog I get in the mail on occasion, not at ANY level, consumer or professional. Either LCD all the way to OLED professional monitors, up to a 4K pro monitor that'll cost you as much as a new car! Not to say these pro monitors wouldn't have the connections, but their performance is something I'm not sure would compare to a PVM or BVM.
Speaking of which, would have walked out work with a PVM, but there was a temporary hold up. Saw the head of the Bio-med dept. who I'm extremely cool with and he right away remembered about me wanting the monitors and was calling up to see where they were being stored. The guy I guess responsible for their storage, was fine with it, but he didn't know me and wasn't sure I was going to dispose of it properly should it ever crap out. I'll try again tomorrow since I'm off today, and tell him "HEY! I have more recyclables than trash on trash day! Gimme the damn monitor!!!" ^_^;
Brings up a valid point. You wouldn't trash these things when they go (I've seen my share of old monitors left on the street as a kid), what place WOULD you bring it to either to get fixed or recycled?
Well came back to work to hear that they'll give me not one but TWO PVMs to take home. Would have had them in hand today, but it was very busy, so I didn't have a chance to snag them yet. Maybe better luck tomorrow.
I know they should be good to go, based on the ones I see used during operations, but hope they don't need TOO much maintenance for games. The one I took a picture of was Manufactured in '99 after all. Still....two free PVMs. I'd be crazy to say no to that. Just waiting on some cables and such. For now, I just have S-Video to work with. Any misc. info I should keep in mind?
I know they should be good to go, based on the ones I see used during operations, but hope they don't need TOO much maintenance for games. The one I took a picture of was Manufactured in '99 after all. Still....two free PVMs. I'd be crazy to say no to that. Just waiting on some cables and such. For now, I just have S-Video to work with. Any misc. info I should keep in mind?
Brought my Genny to work yesterday to try some newly acquired RGB cables on some 20" Olympus branded PVMs. Seems they really are on their way to being tossed out and was offered to take 2 of the 5 sets off their hands. Now I haven't used my console in years and it was a bit fussy waking up after probably a decade long slumber (all I had was RF cables, and I wasn't about to subject myself to the the horrors of RF on a LCD! :O ). Sprayed some air on the cartridge and the cartridge terminals on the unit itself and it was at least displaying the TMSS screen. After airing it one more time, Sonic 2, the game I brought with me to demo, was up and running. Monitor 1 was pretty much all set, and required no adjusting. Everything was where it should be far as picture orientation was concerned. I've now seen the light and it was the sharpest I've EVER seen an actual Genesis look by far! Very clean picture too! Monitor 2 had it's "No Sync" message way too low on the screen, to the point where you only made out the very tip top of the letters. But a push on the overscan button seemed to fix things as it was pretty much identical to how the first monitor displayed the game.
Both were actually much newer than I was expecting, and my friend in the Bio Med dept. mentioned that they didn't have too many hours on them (compared to the ones that they JUST replaced two days ago with Sony Pro LCDs. Manufactured in 1999, those things were on practically all the time since I work the busiest wing in the Operating Room, so I was obviously a bit cautious). Dated November 2002 and December 2002, they were the newest manufactured models to boot! Can't wait to take them home, hopefully today if my friend's boss remembered to write the note for us to take them off property without security raising eyebrows.
Both were actually much newer than I was expecting, and my friend in the Bio Med dept. mentioned that they didn't have too many hours on them (compared to the ones that they JUST replaced two days ago with Sony Pro LCDs. Manufactured in 1999, those things were on practically all the time since I work the busiest wing in the Operating Room, so I was obviously a bit cautious). Dated November 2002 and December 2002, they were the newest manufactured models to boot! Can't wait to take them home, hopefully today if my friend's boss remembered to write the note for us to take them off property without security raising eyebrows.
sixteen-bit
Member
Congrats, on the recent acquisitions. How heavy are they?
Thanks! I haven't acquired them just yet, hopefully by the time I get out of work tonight. I lifted them on a cart yesterday and they are quite heavy. They seem small looking on a imaging cart, but they look huge when it's just them your dealing with, LOL! But I can handle it. I lift heavy patients at work after all!
RobFox64tm
Member
Hey all! Just set up a nice litte space purely for retro games in my game room over the last weekend. I happened into a 20" Phillips CRT consumer monitor that my sister was throwing out. It has component and s-video connections, so I thought it might make for a nice monitor for my old systems. Boy was I wrong. Very poor voltage which causes major screen distortion on the sides of the screen with bright images and also has some serious banding issues with white against greyish backgrounds.
Now, I know of the PVMs and that they are pretty much the best out there for this, but I really feel like they'd honestly be too much for what I want to do. What I'm really looking for is just a simple 19" to 20" consumer grade monitor that has above average picture quality and component and s-video inputs. If it is fairly easier to find, that is a plus too. I would appriceate any help on this.
Now, I know of the PVMs and that they are pretty much the best out there for this, but I really feel like they'd honestly be too much for what I want to do. What I'm really looking for is just a simple 19" to 20" consumer grade monitor that has above average picture quality and component and s-video inputs. If it is fairly easier to find, that is a plus too. I would appriceate any help on this.
baphomet
Member
Just hit up Craigslist and see what you find. If you're not wanting the best possible quality just see what people are giving away on there. Most of the later CRTs have component video or at least svideo. It's worth searching for "pvm" on there just to see if there are any around your area. I've come across quite a few since I've started looking for them. For cheap as well. A pvm is an investment though. You'll want to spend some money on cables once you see how good the stuff can look, and it adds up quick.
George Claw M.D.
Member
If you decide to get it, make sure to bring a forklift.
The Sony 27FV300 is the best overall CRT TV for 240p/480i 4:3 and 16:9 composite, s-video, and component videogame signals. Top notch comb filter, widescreen mode, color controls, decent speakers. And the best balance between size/flatness/color/contrast and geometry imperfections I've seen. Found one of these with very low hours but they don't pop up very often since they were the high end model when such customers were not buying CRTs anymore.
Panasonic's top of the line early TAU 32 inch flatscreen EDTVs are the best TVs for 480p content, the ones that Nintendo were showing off Gamecube games at the E3 before it launched. I don't have space for one of these yet.
For TATE mode and RGB support I found a brand new old stock 20 inch Sony PVM that works well.
And for PC gaming I also found a brand new old stock Mitsubishi DiamondPro 2070sb, probably the best 4:3 computer gaming monitor ever made. I also use it for HD consoles since it displays 720p natively better than any HDTV and the letterboxing perfectly compensates for console games' too-low FOVs.
Panasonic's top of the line early TAU 32 inch flatscreen EDTVs are the best TVs for 480p content, the ones that Nintendo were showing off Gamecube games at the E3 before it launched. I don't have space for one of these yet.
For TATE mode and RGB support I found a brand new old stock 20 inch Sony PVM that works well.
And for PC gaming I also found a brand new old stock Mitsubishi DiamondPro 2070sb, probably the best 4:3 computer gaming monitor ever made. I also use it for HD consoles since it displays 720p natively better than any HDTV and the letterboxing perfectly compensates for console games' too-low FOVs.
This is pretty much the reason I dont want it. I dont want to haul it up the stairs. I used to work at best buy in the late 90s and we had to haul these mofos daily.
I strongly agree. I have the 27FV310, but I am not completely sure of the difference from the 300. I believe the 310 has the high voltage regulator, which completely eliminates blooming/breathing (occurs on virtually all TVs even at below normal contrast settings). I'd love to get another as a spare.
RobFox64tm
Member
I've given up on finding a good consumer grade TV. The lure of the Sony PVM has pulled me in. Right now I have a Sony PVM 20N6U as a potential purchase. It's fairly pricey, but the seller assures me it has been barely used and in superb condition. I'd like to get some advice on this model before I make the plunge though. Does anyone have any experience with this particular model? Also, how would I then hook my SNES up to it's bnc connections. I already have a SCART RGB lead for it.
You'll need a SCART to BNC cable for one. You can get one from this guy on the shmups forum for example.
What kind of SCART lead do you have? Euro or Japanese (21-pin)?
RobFox64tm
Member
It's a Euro SCART lead. I actually found that adapter on my own yesterday, and ordered it up. Also got the monitor too. Both should arrive within the week. Hopefully I can post up some of my own CRT porn pretty soon. Another question I have though; how do composite and s-video connections look on these monitors? I'd like to hook up a NES and N64 to them, but I'm still not sure if I'll be modding. I will, however, be modding my SNES 2 to output RGB, sinse it looks like a fairly simple procedure, and apparently it also has improved picture quality over the SNES 1's output.
Slappers Only
Junior Member
When I had to move my 960 up four flights of stairs, I used one of these savages:
Strapped the TV in, face down with a blanket between the screen and dolly. Two strong guys pulling from the top, and me at the bottom, laying on the stairs and military pressing upward.
Holy crap that thing is heavy. I swear that whenever they sell one, they have to manufacture another on the opposite side of the earth so as not to offset the planet's orbit.
baphomet
Member
You'll need an RCA to BNC connector for the composite video on the NES. They're at any radio shack for a few bucks. The NES looks like composite video, so don't expect it to look great. I don't know if yours has an SVideo input on it, but mine has an input on the back that I use for my GameCube. If you ever decide to RGB mod your N64 hit me up as I do them. I also put the RGB amp in it to give it a much nicer picture. I recently did an SNES 2 for someone, and I also thought it had a better picture than my original SNES. Enough so it's making me consider finding one for myself.
I've only got room for a 14" CRT in our apartment but I finally found one with component and s-video, and it's stereo too! Gonna go pick it up this morning, I hope it works with all my new gear; I got some RGB SCART cables and a SCART to component transcoder. Can't wait to pick up my light guns from home too!
Edit: 240p doesn't work on it?
Edit: 240p doesn't work on it?
Seems today was "CRT acquisition day" for CRT-GAF! Finally got the two PVMs after 4 weeks of ball dropping (seriously, how hard is it to write a post-it Bio-Med boss?!!!). I probably could have taken more than two, but my living space is small enough where 2 is pushing it! That said I...underestimated how heavy these suckers can be. I'm pretty naturally strong, but my strength was definitely put to the test tonight. Carried up a flight of wooden stairs, the first one I actually carried the wrong way (rear side to my front), so it was by far the challenging of the two. Then I underestimated how they would fit in my room. I'm going to have to move my dresser forward a bit just to plug stuff in back there! For now....I'm just gonna sit down and take 5! ( - o -) ===3
This should be what the back of RobFox's PVM should look like:
That's quite an endorsement for finding a SNES 2 Baph! Your tempting me to find one so you can get another job to do!
My N64 probably is RGB-able, but I'll have to double check to make sure.
Outside my Genesis, everything is S-Video atm. Have an official SFC RGB cable, as well as a official Saturn RGB cable coming, but I ordered a convertor plug, and just waiting on that to arrive. Also ordered some BNC to RCA adaptors so I can hook component source stuff too! I'll make use of the Wii's emulator capabilities and run that Genesis 240p testing program too! I'll take pictures soon, just....gotta rearrange my room quite a bit first! @_@;
This should be what the back of RobFox's PVM should look like:
That's quite an endorsement for finding a SNES 2 Baph! Your tempting me to find one so you can get another job to do!
My N64 probably is RGB-able, but I'll have to double check to make sure.
Outside my Genesis, everything is S-Video atm. Have an official SFC RGB cable, as well as a official Saturn RGB cable coming, but I ordered a convertor plug, and just waiting on that to arrive. Also ordered some BNC to RCA adaptors so I can hook component source stuff too! I'll make use of the Wii's emulator capabilities and run that Genesis 240p testing program too! I'll take pictures soon, just....gotta rearrange my room quite a bit first! @_@;
RobFox64tm
Member
I'll keep ya in mind if I decide to mod my N64. Not sure if is able to be modded though. It IS a launch system though, if that's any indication.
baphomet
Member
If the serial starts and is below NS180 it can be done. Being a launch model it should be doable. Once you see one system in RGB you'll want them all in it, lol. Only thing I really have left to do is my NES, and that runs about $300.
Ok need some advice, I been looking for a crt for my old consoles and it turns out my mom had one in her guest room. It's a 32' panasonic tau and its got all the inputs I need and its in good shape but looking around it seems to be an hdcrt and some say it adds some lag? Its free for me so is it worth getting?
Ah, thought so! Mine is a launch model NS150 so it should be do able after all!
Yeah, getting RGB on an NES involves getting a chip from a Play Choice 10 cabinet huh? If only I known, as I had a video store that had one of those back in the day. But there was no way my 10 year old self would have known about it's contents, let alone the concept of an RGB signal back then, as all the TVs I had were Coaxial only.
The closest was when in the Genesis instruction manual where it mentions using a special RGB cable that you'd have to call Sega themselves about even getting info about. Just something that stuck in my mind for years that there WAS something greater than Coaxial, but I couldn't have it...till now anyway!
Crappy cellphone camera, sorry! >_<;
I remember someone in this thread earlier saying it's a good all rounder. But it's main strength is in handling 480p sources like PS2/Xbox/GC&Wii! I'd nab it!
I remember someone in this thread earlier saying it's a good all rounder. But it's main strength is in handling 480p sources like PS2/Xbox/GC&Wii! I'd nab it!
Thats good to hear, Just got GC component cables so I can see how that ends up looking!
Lucky! If only I had the hindsight to get those cables rather than the "at the time" desirable Broadband Adaptor...*sigh*
Post pics!
Speaking of which, here are a few, although at the moment, I'm limited to a crappy cell phone and my Vita (and it seems the Vita does the better job!), so bare with me here! ^_^;
I did a comparison with Sonic 1 regarding S-Video (Via Saturn's Sonic Jam) vs. RGB (Genesis Native RGB)
Obviously these pics won't do this monitor justice, but hope it helps someone get an idea of what these monitors are capable of!
Genesis - The Mega Drive (RGB Native):
Quackshot
Herzog Zwei
Saturn -Get ready for the future! (S-Video)
Puyo Puyo Sun
Rockman 8
Night Warriors
Keio Flying Squadron 2
Cotton Boomerang
While Saturn in S-Video looks great already, I can't wait for my official Saturn RGB cables to come on in so I can make these already colorful games reach nirvana!
Next up will be Nintendo consoles with SNES and N64 (S-Video for now)!
sixteen-bit
Member
Nice pics. Thanks for sharing!
RobFox64tm
Member
My system's serial number starts with NS105, so I think I'm well in range of that. Could you tell me a little about how you do these N64 mods? Is there any comprimises in the picture quality compared to a native RGB console? Also, what do you charge?
I got a JP21 to EuroSCART adapter cable in today from Retro Gaming Cables. I'm using an official Nintendo JP21 RGB cable. And lastly I'm using a EuroSCART to BNC adapter cable. So I went to try this all out on my SNES which looked great with S-Video:
So when I went to hook up the SCARTs I get this:
Is too much being connected to the point of degrading the signal? The Genesis displays beautifully granted it doesn't have to be connected to the JP21 -> EuroScart cable. And I briefly tried the Nintendo cable straight to the SCART -> BNC cable but it was either scrambled or no picture at all. And I don't wanna risk damaging anything connecting that way either, so it was VERY brief. Just what is going on here?!
So when I went to hook up the SCARTs I get this:
Is too much being connected to the point of degrading the signal? The Genesis displays beautifully granted it doesn't have to be connected to the JP21 -> EuroScart cable. And I briefly tried the Nintendo cable straight to the SCART -> BNC cable but it was either scrambled or no picture at all. And I don't wanna risk damaging anything connecting that way either, so it was VERY brief. Just what is going on here?!
The cable from Retrogamingcables states that it converts JP21 to Euro Scart, you're using it to do the opposite (Euro Scart to JP21), did you request the website to make the cable so you could do that?
Have you tried testing the Nintendo RGB cable with another console? Gamecube maybe?
Also, never plug a JP21 Male into a Female Euro Scart Socket (or vice versa) it might damage both cables.
I only linked to it so as to show where I got it from, but it is indeed a custom built JP21 to EuroScart Adapter. He even stated it was such when it was being built and when it was getting shipped.
Unfortunately, NTSC Gamecubes don't use RGB and I haven't gotten my N64 modded yet either.
And that last one was why I was waiting so long to finally use my official cable. Only did it briefly to check, but after that, no, that's not happening. But good to repeat for those that don't know.
Man this is depressing.
RobFox64tm
Member
Looks like your RGB cable is dead. This happened to me a few years ago with an official Nintendo RGB cable that I had hooked up to my old XRGB-2. Looked exactly like that after it crapped out on me. As nice as it is to have the official cable (and even broken, it's still a neat collectable) they don't last forever, sadly. You'd be best to get a new one on ebay from Retro_gaming_accessories. They do quality work.
Yeah, that seems to be the case. I looked for other cases similar to mine and found this thread on shmups11. Probably better off just getting a new cable like you said. If by "Retro_Gaming_Accessories", you mean "retro_console_accessories", I actually bought my Genesis/Master System cable from her and I couldn't be happier. Had I known the cable was a dud, I would haven't gotten one a lot sooner. I got one more official cable on the way, a Sega Saturn cable. Hopefully that one will fare a bit better.
Are RGB cables in general, just prone to degrading as time goes on? Your comment on them not lasting forever has me a bit concerned.
HD display will always add some input lag. However, I find that on older displays, the lag is barely perceptible. It will, however, prevent any sort of light gun play.
The main issue with HD sets is the lack of scan lines.
Now that I have the means to get good Video, what are a good pair of stereo speakers that you guys and gals recommend? Can't stay on the PVM's mono forever (and a year before I got on HDTV for the PS3, I WAS stuck with mono from the NES-Gamecube; NEVER AGAIN!)! I own a Logitech set, but it's hooked up to my main TV atm, and it's huge sub woofer is a bit too big for my room. I guess you can say, I'm now "stuck on stereo" in regards to this past generation.
^ _^;
^ _^;
baphomet
Member
Have you opened to cable to see if it had the ground connected to the outer shielding? They should pop open fairly easy.
RobFox64tm
Member
Yes, I did mean retro_console_accessories, sorry bout that. As for the longevity of RGB cables, I can really only speak of the one I had, which did last a long time considering. Official Nintendo RGB cables from the SNES era are over 20 years old though, and they do have a bit more going on inside them than a typical composite or RCA cable. What basically happened is the cylindrical things inside the big connector end start to leak, sort of like an old battery. A good sign to see if this has happened is if you see a white crust start to form on the pins. I was sad that I couldn't use the official connector, and I'm usually very insistant on using only official stuff, but the replacement was just as good, and very reasonably priced in comparrison.
Is there a guide to this? It was mentioned in that thread I linked at shmups11, but I'm a noob to this and I don't wanna completely break anything.
I attempted this a bit and it seems this is the notch where you CAN open it a bit, but it's not easy.
and the other side where it seems like it's NOT supposed to be opened
Yeah, that was the other thing that was mentioned on that thread. The Capacitors could be leaking. But I don't see any crust on the pins at all, so I guess it must be the ground afterall. Here's a shot I took when I first got them.
What's the model number? Maybe a few pics? I didn't end up with "Sony"s persay, but Olympus monitors that are really nothing but Sony monitors with a different name on front.
What's the model number? Maybe a few pics? I didn't end up with "Sony"s persay, but Olympus monitors that are really nothing but Sony monitors with a different name on front.
It's a BT-M1400PSN. I don't have any pics of it going but it looks similar to the Sony PVMs I've seen (BNC connectors, etc). The dude also has some 9" Sony PVMs which intrigue me but I'm not sure I'd have use for them being so small and all.
No need, I can search online and I found these!
iBSLgqNn66w~~60_12.JPG)
I don't see any RGB/Component inputs though. Just Video, but this seems to be a European model, so maybe someone is a bit more familiar with these than I am?
baphomet
Member
I cant see it too well, but you should be unscrewing the round part before you try to pry it apart. The part that the cable is coming out of. At least thats how every other cable ive seen works. Youre right, they can be quite tough to get apart though.