TVs

[Rusty Venture]

If I may ask... why does everyone prefer old CRTs again?

Because CRT's are the only TV's 100% "Blast Processor" compatible.

[Devil N]

Old games are designed to be played on interlaced screens, simply because that's what was common at the time. Modern LCDs and plasmas are all progressive screens, and so require a deinterlacing step before they can display old games. Deinterlacing usually works fine on normal TV broadcasts and 3D games (though quality varies depending on the TV), but for 2D games it simply doesn't look good. Old CRT screens display incoming signals in their original interlaced form, without any filtering, and that always looks best.

[Iron Lizard]

Better black levels, contrast,etc.

[Flygon]

Old games are designed to be played on interlaced screens, simply because that's what was common at the time. Modern LCDs and plasmas are all progressive screens, and so require a deinterlacing step before they can display old games. Deinterlacing usually works fine on normal TV broadcasts and 3D games (though quality varies depending on the TV), but for 2D games it simply doesn't look good. Old CRT screens display incoming signals in their original interlaced form, without any filtering, and that always looks best.

Mega Drive games arent actually interlaced, they are all 240p. The only game that actually used the interlace mode was Sonic 2.

[Devil N]

Mega Drive games arent actually interlaced, they are all 240p. The only game that actually used the interlace mode was Sonic 2.

True, but the actual signal that gets sent to the TV is always either 480i or 576i, and the TV doesn't know the difference. If you could tell a TV that the image was originally constructed in 240p resolution, then of course it could reconstruct that image faithfully from the interlaced signal. Sadly, no TV that I know of does this.

[Chilly Willy]

True, but the actual signal that gets sent to the TV is always either 480i or 576i, and the TV doesn't know the difference. If you could tell a TV that the image was originally constructed in 240p resolution, then of course it could reconstruct that image faithfully from the interlaced signal. Sadly, no TV that I know of does this.

Incorrect. The signal sent to the TV IS 240p, not 480i. The TV interlaces only when a half a horizontal line difference is introduced to the vertical sync signal. So an interlaced signal generates 262.5 H lines per field, while a console in non-interlaced mode generates 262 H lines per field. That extra .5 H is critical for interlacing as it actually laces the lines of the next field between the lines of the previous field. Without the half line, the next field is drawn directly over top the previous field. These are NTSC figures, of course. PAL has more lines at a slower field rate.

[WarmSignal]

Because CRT's are the only TV's 100% "Blast Processor" compatible.

Blast processing eh... is that anything like a blast beat?

[WarmSignal]

Old games are designed to be played on interlaced screens, simply because that's what was common at the time. Modern LCDs and plasmas are all progressive screens, and so require a deinterlacing step before they can display old games. Deinterlacing usually works fine on normal TV broadcasts and 3D games (though quality varies depending on the TV), but for 2D games it simply doesn't look good. Old CRT screens display incoming signals in their original interlaced form, without any filtering, and that always looks best.

Hmm. I use a 22" LCD and I have no complaints.

[Rusty Venture]

Blast processing eh... is that anything like a blast beat?

Holy Raul Julia.

Do you forget where you're posting?

[WarmSignal]

Holy Raul Julia.

Do you forget where you're posting?

Nope.

[Rusty Venture]

I like your style, WarmSignal. You remind me of a young me, not much younger mind you... perhaps even a couple years older.

[retrospiel]

If I may ask... why does everyone prefer old CRTs again?

CRTs are the only ones capable of displaying 240p as 240p. Most HDTVs somehow think they'd be getting a 480i signal and mess up the picture by applying de-interlacing filters and other such nonsens. They are good for anything 480p and up though.


If you live in Europe, it's no question what to buy for retro gaming: A 4:3 CRT with RGB-SCART socket.

If you're in the US it's kinda hard to say whether a CRT via S-Video or an LCD with RGB-SCART to HDMI converter would be the better option.

[gamegenie]

Even though I have all my consoles on my 30" HDTV, even it being a CRT it is still not fully compatible with my Sega accessories. My Sega Menacer doesn't work at all on it. My guess its that whole up converting it does to any 480i picture it receives and converts it to 480p out.

I do have a extra 27" SDTV on hand to test with.

[mick_aka]

I would guess gamegenie that your TV runs in 100Hz, also making it incompatible with the menacer or indeed any light guns....

[retrospiel]

I've tested three 4:3 CRT based HDTVs with Mega Drive via a custom made RGB-SCART cable (which doesn't output an additional composite signal, but RGB only). The Philips looked absolutely terrible and disabling all filters didn't help the slightest bit, the Grundig looked kinda okay I guess with colors that looked more like S-Video than RGB. The Samsung looked pretty good actually, but none of them came close to my 80s Nokia TV.

And yeah: any CRTs with 100Hz do indeed cause a similar mess as to what modern HDTVs do.


- The best CRTs are the simple ones without digital picture enhancements.