CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[Bodi79]

Hey Guys !

I haven´t been posting for ages, just had to much on my plate the last couple of years. (Offtopic i know..sorry)

Anyway i have a question for all you CRT Veterans, i am currently finishing a dedicated Room for Gaming.
I wanna use it mainly for Retro Consoles ~Sega Genesis/CD , Turbogfx 16, Sega Saturn, Philips CD-i and such. All Systems are RGB Capable or i modded them to be.

I ain´t happy with all the scaling done on typical Digital Systems, so my Idea was to use an CRT Projection as an alternative. Don´t wanna put an old CRT TV in the Room. And i would really like a somewhat decent screensize (Room is not that big so it will be around 70-75" Diagonal).

What do you guys think of my idea? Do i need to worry about burn in that much if used in the completly darkened Room?
Or should i maybe choose an RPTV instead as an alternative?

I could get a Barco 808s very cheap, and i really can´t spend the money for an marquee (and even if could atleast currently i can´t find any).


Thanx for any Advice !

[Spanky Ham]

If it is a dedicated room, then I say go for it. You are talking somewhere in the 65" width area, which any 8" CRT can handle with ease.

[CasetheCorvetteman]

I have been doing just that with all those said consoles for many years now, i would always steer you toward NECs due to their superior convergence, but an 808 should do fine, provided it doesnt have an issue with the composite sync from some consoles.

I was running on a 125" 5:4 screen with both a PG and then an XG, both were easily bright enough even for light gun games. Burn in has never ever been an issue for me even after many hours of constant Point Blank on the PS1

You wont get perfect scanlines like this on a digital

[Bodi79]

@Spanky Ham

Thanx for the reply, yep the screen size won´t be that big. So i will opt with an 8" Model.

@CasetheCorvetteman

Thanx for the Pics (and advice), it really was my motivation cause retro consoles without scanlines is an nogo for me.

If you had no burnin issues i will go the CRT Route than , aswell i won´t have composite sync issues cause every console i own is RGB Capable anyway. (Atleast at the moment)

I would really want an NEC XG but CRT´s became even rarer than a few years back here. (Austria, Europe)
So my options at the moment are very limited. The Barco would be fairly cheap, other than that i could get old 1271 Sonys which i don´t want.

[CasetheCorvetteman]

Almost all consoles use composite video as sync or have dedicated composite sync for RGB. The NECs handle it fine, as does a Cine 9, but i can comment on other Barcos.

[CasetheCorvetteman]

The Sega Saturn is a perfect example, it uses composite video as it's sync, unless youve got a Japan console that has dedicated composite sync.

The PS1 has no dedicated composite sync.

[Bodi79]

@CasetheCorvetteman

Sorry , i totally misread your earlier post.

I read Composite Video Output not Composite Sync.

You are offcourse totally right, almost all of the old console use Composite Sync.
Here in Europe many consoles came with scart leads which were prepared for RGB Output, but always via Csync.
I was aware off that (it´s my job cause i do console repairs and mods) but i just misread.. stupid me

[AnalogRocks]

(Pops head up )

Did somebody say RETRO gaming on CRT?

I was playing Space Invaders on the D50 just this past week.

[AnalogRocks]

(Pops head up )

Did somebody say RETRO gaming on CRT?

I was playing Space Invaders on the D50 just this past week.

[CasetheCorvetteman]

Yes Jeremy, i was waiting for your arrival

There is not many of us around here, but CRT projectors are certainly the absolute best possible display choice for retro consoles and arcade boards. The arcade boards will connect directly to the RGB input on a CRT projector and sync fine, i add 220ohm resistors to the colour lines though to bring the levels down to something more usable.

I too have done many mods and repairs on consoles, and these days im not aware of any console worth playing that cant be modded to output RGB, there is now a kit available for the N64s and also for the Panasonic 3DO, there is a better mod available for the NES that no longer requires the PPU from a PlayChoice10 as well.

[piratepowwow]

So if it's an old NTSC broadcast - THESE LINES SUCK, DOUBLE THEM, WAIT....NO...QUADRUPLE THEM!!!! I'll pay you literally thousands of dollars to remove the black lines.

If It's an old video game - MORE BLACK LINES SCOTTIE!

You all deserve to die.

[CasetheCorvetteman]

The black lines are there for a good reason, my Gen-An close up is 240p, and any retro gamer that sees the NEO•GEO in full swing on my XG is blown away by those perfect scanlines and flawless corner to corner convergence... Its unmatched by even the almighty XM29 direct view CRTs...

[piratepowwow]

I run all my old consoles through a scaler because it looks better.

[AnalogRocks]

[AnalogRocks]

[CasetheCorvetteman]

[cosaw]

Was going to ask about scaling and if not using it then presumably the interlacing on 9" tubes means that you've continually got an interlaced field pattern on the tube - specifically with lower resolution consoles (N64 for example mostly ran 256 x 240 PAL). Is there the potential to wear a low res field pattern on the tubes?

Case - did you take that screenshot above of a paused image or moving? Either way, I'm trying to work out what your camera would pickup. Presumably it picks up two interlaced fields at once or could you time it to pickup just one field?

Interesting to hear about, scaling, lag, and light guns. Might pull out my N64 and Gamecube for some liquid smooth F Zero.

[piratepowwow]

[AnalogRocks]

Gun games DO work on CRT projectors. You just need a dark room.

[AnalogRocks]

Gun games DO work on CRT projectors. You just need a dark room.

[CasetheCorvetteman]

Its 240p, as i said above, so there is no interlacing... its progresive scan, as almost every single retro game console ever made pumps out for almost every single game. There is only a handfull of games that have an interlaced output. Absolutely zero on the NEO•GEO do though, theyre ALL 240p

The camera was an iPhone 4S and was taken moving.

[CasetheCorvetteman]

[AnalogRocks]

I know...Wasn't that Case in the game room with the light gun who dun it?

[AnalogRocks]

I know...Wasn't that Case in the game room with the light gun who dun it?