Late 90s HDTVs

Printable View

Show 40 post(s) from this thread on one page

05-25-2020, 01:05 PM
Yharnamresident

Late 90s HDTVs

I feel this is a very interesting subject. A lot of people are fascinated nowadays that there were HDTVs in the early 2000s, but in North America it was actually 1998 when the first HDTVs became available. So these late 90s HDTVs were the very beginning of the era of HDTVs.

Of course there was no 1080p anywhere, it was only 720p and 1080i. And no Blu-Ray, no game consoles that could do HD. TV stations were the only HD sources.

Our first TV will be the Pioneer PDP-502HD:

https://i.imgur.com/rZBCZf7.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/EoN3RMP.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/871IRm6.jpg

This came out in 1999 and was 720p, 50" with Component input. It would be a lot of fun playing PS3 or 360 on this, you can't deny.

So my questions to start this thread are, do you know of any popular HDTVs from the late 90s, and do you know the first one that came out in 1998? Its really hard to do research on this topic, even the Wayback Machine doesn't offer much information on this obscure subject.
05-25-2020, 01:27 PM
Leynos

Not HD but the first LCD TV was 14 inches in 1990. Of course the first HD game was Hi-Ten Bomberman in 1993.
https://i.imgur.com/FngoKFJ.jpg

I used to frequent a store as a kid in the 90s a place called Ultimate Electronics. I remember them selling HDTVs and one of them was under a brand called Proscan I believe. No idea if they still exist. Another was Phillips as I remember the 90s their better ads on everything including an HDTV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doms-hzGPYA

I read tech magazines back then so the articles on Digital and HDTV how it would be as big a deal as when TV went color in the mid-60s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtIz9C_G0zk
The first flat-screen TV I remember seeing was in a Harrison Ford Rom-Com called Sabrina. He shoots one. Seeing it for the first time in 25 years I now realize it's fake but it stuck out to me then.
05-25-2020, 03:39 PM
BonusKun

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yharnamresident

I feel this is a very interesting subject. A lot of people are fascinated nowadays that there were HDTVs in the early 2000s, but in North America it was actually 1998 when the first HDTVs became available. So these late 90s HDTVs were the very beginning of the era of HDTVs.

Of course there was no 1080p anywhere, it was only 720p and 1080i. And no Blu-Ray, no game consoles that could do HD. TV stations were the only HD sources.

Our first TV will be the Pioneer PDP-502HD:

https://i.imgur.com/rZBCZf7.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/EoN3RMP.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/871IRm6.jpg

This came out in 1999 and was 720p, 50" with Component input. It would be a lot of fun playing PS3 or 360 on this, you can't deny.

So my questions to start this thread are, do you know of any popular HDTVs from the late 90s, and do you know the first one that came out in 1998? Its really hard to do research on this topic, even the Wayback Machine doesn't offer much information on this obscure subject.

I would have loved to see how a Gamecube looked on that thing with the Component cables.
05-25-2020, 08:14 PM
turboxray

The flat panel LCD TVs were horrible back then. For years they had that "screen door" effect. On top of terrible black levels, washed/crushed/oversaturated levels, etc. A mid-to-high range HD CRT rear projection (not a DLP) was superior.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BonusKun

I would have loved to see how a Gamecube looked on that thing with the Component cables.

I ran a brand new 2003 57" 1080 HD Hitachi set with the Gamecube from 2003 onward. It was the most beautiful thing. Alternatively, the PS2 looked like crap with component cables haha. Though still better than composite, just worse in other ways. FFX had this "nearest neighbor" pixel crawl on all the FMV parts, and the fake blur looked horrible in hi-res component.
05-25-2020, 08:51 PM
gamevet

I remember Walmart having EDTVs (480p) next to HDTV's (720p/1080i) on the endcap of their electronics section. The EDTV looked horrible, because it had large pixels. My 1st HD display was the Sony Hi-Scan KV32HS420 (floor model for $825) @ August of 2004. There was no HD television services, but I wanted to play Xbox and PS2 games using component video to get 420p. This is is a 4:3 CRT, so it was perfect for 480p gaming. I'd later get the component cable for the Gamecube. It's the perfect display for 480p gaming.

A year later all of those HD CRTs were getting clearanced out and I managed to snag a brand new 2nd CRT of the same model for just $500.
05-25-2020, 09:36 PM
Leynos

https://youtu.be/8u2yj8-yHAE?t=654

If it doesn't automatically go there. 10:49 mark is a segment on HDTVs. This is from early 2004. Back when Dell/Gateway sold them. Not late 90s but still early 2000s. Tech TV had Plasmas for their sets and had severe burn in. You can even tell from this grainy video the blacks were awful then.
05-25-2020, 09:56 PM
gamevet

This reminds me. Back around 1999 (I remember it well, because I left the jobsite at lunch to pick up my Dreamcast) we were doing the network cabling for a company called Digital Convergence. They had a 42" flat panel display (more like a computer monitor) that displayed something like 1600 x 900. The price of that display was nearly $8,500. They also had some crazy hi-res projector setup that was over (it might have been higher) $20,000. Those prices were insane back then.

They created a device known as the Cue Cat. It bombed shortly after it was shipped out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CueCat
05-25-2020, 10:25 PM
Baloo

Does anyone know if the HD CRTs are worth getting for retro gaming with the Sega Genesis and SNES Minis? I've been thinking about looking for one when coronavirus is over to hook these up because I hate the input lag on the new TVs, games just don't feel the same at all. At the same time though I can't move a 250 lb TV myself. What do you guys think is worth it to play the retro games on? The Polymega especially looks enticing.
05-25-2020, 11:25 PM
Leynos

Quote:

Originally Posted by gamevet

This reminds me. Back around 1999 (I remember it well, because I left the jobsite at lunch to pick up my Dreamcast) we were doing the network cabling for a company called Digital Convergence. They had a 42" flat panel display (more like a computer monitor) that displayed something like 1600 x 900. The price of that display was nearly $8,500. They also had some crazy hi-res projector setup that was over (it might have been higher) $20,000. Those prices were insane back then.

They created a device known as the Cue Cat. It bombed shortly after it was shipped out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CueCat

Holy shit I remember those! I used to see them in thrift stores all the time. I thought it was a novelty mouse. I thought it was strange how so many people had this Cat mouse but I figured it was a joke. They were always in with the mice bins.
05-25-2020, 11:51 PM
Yharnamresident

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leynos

I used to frequent a store as a kid in the 90s a place called Ultimate Electronics. I remember them selling HDTVs and one of them was under a brand called Proscan I believe. No idea if they still exist. Another was Phillips as I remember the 90s their better ads on everything including an HDTV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doms-hzGPYA

I had a feeling someone was gonna post that. That TV is actually 480p. For awhile I was fascinated by 480p TVs, but now I realize they were just stopgap TVs and 720p was the way to go. You can say kinda the same thing about 1080i TVs that couldn't do 720p.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BonusKun

I would have loved to see how a Gamecube looked on that thing with the Component cables.

Would've been a absolute perfect match.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gamevet

This reminds me. Back around 1999 (I remember it well, because I left the jobsite at lunch to pick up my Dreamcast) we were doing the network cabling for a company called Digital Convergence. They had a 42" flat panel display (more like a computer monitor) that displayed something like 1600 x 900. The price of that display was nearly $8,500. They also had some crazy hi-res projector setup that was over (it might have been higher) $20,000. Those prices were insane back then.

They created a device known as the Cue Cat. It bombed shortly after it was shipped out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CueCat

Well I might as well mention that the Pioneer TV in my first post would've costed $22,000.
05-26-2020, 12:32 AM
gamevet

Plasma was always really expensive. LCDs were just easier to produce.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leynos

Holy shit I remember those! I used to see them in thrift stores all the time. I thought it was a novelty mouse. I thought it was strange how so many people had this Cat mouse but I figured it was a joke. They were always in with the mice bins.

They were pretty much given away for free. The Dallas Morning News distibuted over 140,000 free Cue Cats with the Sunday paper. It was pretty much a bar code reader. Magazines would have ads with a Bar Code, that you could scan with the Cue Cat. It would take you to a website, where you could get more information on the advertised product.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baloo

Does anyone know if the HD CRTs are worth getting for retro gaming with the Sega Genesis and SNES Minis? I've been thinking about looking for one when coronavirus is over to hook these up because I hate the input lag on the new TVs, games just don't feel the same at all. At the same time though I can't move a 250 lb TV myself. What do you guys think is worth it to play the retro games on? The Polymega especially looks enticing.

I have a 32" HD CRT. It weighs 169 pounds. I'm 6' 1" and 205 pounds, yet I can pretty much lift if off of the television stand and onto a cart to roll it around, but there is no way I could walk with that. The last time I had to move one of those displays, my shoulder hurt for over a month. It doesn't help that I'm 52 now. It takes a long time to recover from any strains I put on my muscles and joints.
05-26-2020, 12:46 AM
Blades

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baloo

Does anyone know if the HD CRTs are worth getting for retro gaming with the Sega Genesis and SNES Minis? I've been thinking about looking for one when coronavirus is over to hook these up because I hate the input lag on the new TVs, games just don't feel the same at all. At the same time though I can't move a 250 lb TV myself. What do you guys think is worth it to play the retro games on? The Polymega especially looks enticing.

No, they will not display 240p. They will deinterlace just like a flat panel.

A good YouTube channel for this is Modern Vintage Gamer. I believe he uses an XRGB on HDTV for best results.

For new hardware, like the Minis, I haven’t heard of latency issues with regular HDTVs with all options turned off.
05-26-2020, 01:03 AM
gamevet

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blades

No, they will not display 240p. They will deinterlace just like a flat panel.

A good YouTube channel for this is Modern Vintage Gamer. I believe he uses an XRGB on HDTV for best results.

For new hardware, like the Minis, I haven’t heard of latency issues with regular HDTVs with all options turned off.

I don't believe that is true.

I picked up the Genesis component cables from HD Retrovision. Those cables require an HD display that supports 240p. The cable works just fine on my HD CRT.

https://www.hdretrovision.com/genesis

Quote:

Originally Posted by HD Retrovision

Our Genesis YPbPr Component Cable will make every game from Altered Beast to Zero Wing look like you've never seen it before. A standard composite Sega Genesis cable results in blurry text, color smearing, and the loss of some of the original detail. But HD Retrovision YPbPr cables provide a clean, white balanced image that is crisp and clear. Use them on an HDTV that supports 240p, or on a standard-definition CRT for that classic look.!

Here's my Saturn using that cable. The video doesn't do it justice with how good it looks and plays. There's too much glow from the capture my camera did.

https://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ps7nq-x6IE=youtu.be
05-26-2020, 01:09 AM
Yharnamresident

Quote:

Originally Posted by gamevet

I have a 32" HD CRT. It weighs 169 pounds. I'm 6' 1" and 205 pounds, yet I can pretty much lift if off of the television stand and onto a cart to roll it around, but there is now way I could walk with that. The last time I had to move one of those displays, my shoulder hurt for over a month. It doesn't help that I'm 52 now. It takes a long time to recover from any strains I put on my muscles and joints.

I'm still using a late 2000s 1080p plasma. It definitely doesn't qualify for this thread. But even it still weighs 150 lbs, I'm 6'4", 210 lbs and late 20s and its still a 2 person job to move it around.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blades

No, they will not display 240p. They will deinterlace just like a flat panel.

A good YouTube channel for this is Modern Vintage Gamer. I believe he uses an XRGB on HDTV for best results.

For new hardware, like the Minis, I haven’t heard of latency issues with regular HDTVs with all options turned off.

Yes I was just gonna tell him. For Genesis and SNES, a 40" 480i CRT with Component input is the cream of the crop.
05-26-2020, 02:43 AM
turboxray

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blades

No, they will not display 240p. They will deinterlace just like a flat panel.

For some sets, maybe, but that's definitely not a true statement if it's an HD CRT, rear projection or otherwise.

Show 40 post(s) from this thread on one page