I need a better CRT for my retro gaming room at the house. Help!

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AlexHiro4
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I need a better CRT for my retro gaming room at the house. Help!

Post by AlexHiro4 »

Hey guys!

I recently set up a retro gaming room at mine and my fiance's house. It has a Sanyo HD TV for the more recent of my old systems (N64, Gamecube, Dreamcast, and PS2), and a CRT TV for my most old school stuff (NES, SNES, Genesis, Genesis plug and play, Saturn, and PSX). I actually own two CRT TV's currently, but they both have issues.

One is a Sharp CRT from the early 2000's that only has two composite inputs, one of which you can alternatively use S-Video. The picture is okay, but you can tell that age has caught up with it.

The other is a really nice Samsung CRT that my best friend gave me. It has a flat screen and a very sharp picture. Not to mention it has 3 composite inputs with one of them allowing for S-Video AND it has a set of component inputs as well. It's a killer TV. Unfortunately, I've discovered 2 issues with it. 1) There are a couple of places on the screen that are dark spots. Not black or anything...but when I move my character in those spots the colors become a darker shade. 2) This is the big one. The audio inputs that correlate to the S-Video don't work whatsoever. Zero sound.

With all this being said, I'm in the market for a new (to me) CRT. I don't want to have to pay an arm and a leg though. The surge of retro gaming these past few years has jacked up the prices of CRT's. Yes, I've tried Goodwill. The prices are WAY low, but the selection is practically non-existent. Anyway, I'd like to hear your recommendations for CRT TV's. I know the Sony Tritintron is supposed to be good, but it's super heavy and typically expensive. Not to mention there are some many Tritintron models that I wouldn't know which one is best.

What do you think guys? Help! Lol.
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Shinto-Cetra
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Re: I need a better CRT for my retro gaming room at the house. Help!

Post by Shinto-Cetra »

I have a JVC model no. AV-27D502 CRT. It's pretty good, has composite/S-Video/component, and is about 27 inches diagonally. I've had it for years, so I have no clue where you would find one now. Are you aware of the XRGB-mini Framemeister though? It's a Japanese upscaler that upscales RGB-21 (a connection that is approximately the same quality wise as component/Y PB PR, seen virtually only in Europe (where it is called SCART) and Japan.) The Framemeister is pricey ($318.82), but it upscales RGB-21 into HDMI, and it looks amazing on a HD display, and it's also portable. Out of the systems you listed, I know SNES, Genesis, Saturn, and PS1/PS2 all support RGB-21 natively. Once I started using the Framemeister, composite and s-video looked like garbage. IF you have the money, the Framesieter is worth it. One caveat: there's a slight lag in some games.
You can buy the Framemeister here: https://solarisjapan.com/products/xrgb- ... caler-unit
More info on RGB compatibility by system: http://retrorgb.com/
An ebay seller of RGB-21/SCART cables I recommend: http://www.ebay.com/usr/retro_console_accessories

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AlexHiro4
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Re: I need a better CRT for my retro gaming room at the house. Help!

Post by AlexHiro4 »

Yeah, I'm acrually quite aware of the Frameister/RGB SCART setup. I'm also aware of what systems are RGB native, and which ones need to be modded. However, the small amount of input lag the Frameister allows would drive me crazy. Especially with games I've played off and on for years, like Megaman 1. Thanks for the input though!
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Re: I need a better CRT for my retro gaming room at the house. Help!

Post by Shinto-Cetra »

One other idea I recently became aware of is the OSSC-Open Source Scan convertor: https://www.videogameperfection.com/pro ... converter/ . I never minded the Framemeister's lag as I only play games that are at least somewhat turn-based, but the OSSC claims to have zero lag. It also uses Euro SCART, (video and audio-easier to find than XRGB/JP-21), Component (Video only), and VGA (video only). There are some issues with SCART audio though, it only outputs DVI and 3.5 mm audio. So you may need external speakers. Honestly, I prefer the Framemeister for sure, but this device is pretty new, so I thought I should at least make sure you were aware it existed. For a full review, I'd recommend Adam Koralik's video (aside from him saying the Framemeister is discontinued (it's not!) it's pretty good):

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