Thought I would start a consumer tv thread as some folks were throwing around the idea, as not everyone has the funds or time to find a fancy pvm/bvm.
Heres my consumer TV collection:
Trinitron KV27FS210. I’ve had this several years, I found it at a thrift store for $50.00 It’s my main retro gaming setup with a scart to YUV converter. I’ve tweaked the hell out of it through the service menu, and the image is excellent.
Next up is a recent find, a Sylvania 20" made by Funai under several different brands. Wasn’t expecting much but looks damn good through s-video which is the best input on it, and has decent geometry. this cost me 5 bucks at a thrift store.
Have it hooked up to, you guessed it, a C-64! another thrift store find for $50.00 Perfect shape.
Anyway post your Consumer CRT collection if you got one. Or if you have any questions on tweaking them through the service menu to get the best out of them.
I have a Toshiba 24AF46, which has component and S-Video, which is very nice, since I have the HD Retrovision cables for SNES and Genesis. The geometry isn’t great, but I recalibrated it recently and got rid of most of the issues. Still, I’d like to get a Trinitron or another early 2000s CRT with better geometry and component in.
If only they did progressive scan, I’d agree. Recently I went to a friend of a friend’s house that had a Famicom clone system and we hooked it up to his Commodore 64 monitor via composite.
You wouldn’t think it should look good, but it really really does. Low TV lines is a great look for lossy signals like composite and s-video. There’s no perceptible scanline effect either and zero pixelated corners to sprites as well. Everything has a nice rounded look to it. If I had the room for more CRTs it would be my personal choice for a “low-fi” setup.
In many ways, PVMs are too precise and revealing in comparison (although I’m never giving up mine and still dig playing NES via composite on my 20L5).
That’s really interesting. I have an RGB modded Famicom that I use for all NES and FC games, but I still have my NES and it works great - it’s just composite. It’s hooked up to my PVM, which has a high TVL count, just for comparison’s sake, mainly. If I had the space I’d consider doing this, too, with a lower TVL monitor.
That is hands down the best geometry I’ve ever seen on a consumer trinitron.
Ive owned a 27fs100, 27fs120 and now I use a 32fv310 which is my personal holy grail. I’ve tried it side by side with my BVM1911 and my 800 line JVC D series and it’s the clear winner to me. The picture is very close to my 19" BVM except its 32"
Great thread topic. Would you mind sharing your tweaked settings on that Sony? I have an fv100 that I’ve wanted to adjust, just not very familiar with service menu options.
Also, are you wanting to keep this thread TV-centric, or also ok to discuss CRT computer monitors?
Cool - I’ve been on the hunt for both a CRT TV and computer monitor, mostly as backups but also as an upgrade if I can get lucky enough. I’m pretty bummed that the local Goodwill stores no longer accept CRTs. I was able to get my KV-27FS100 there for $2 a few years ago.
My settings arent likely to work good on your tv as every one is different but most of the service menu settings are the same. Most of them are self explanatory such as HSIZ or VSIZ. WRITE DOWN DEFAULTS BEFORE YOU CHANGE ANY VALUES! you also need 240p test suite if you don’t already have it. also need the original remote.
If you want a Commodore monitor replacement in mint condition and at a low cost, get a JVC TM-A13SU. They tend to pop up on ebay for under $50 brand new or practically new condition. Via Atari-Age:
My favorite replacement for the old school (1702-like) monitors is the JVC TM-A13SU. This monitor is a descendant of the TM-13U which is the monitor the 1702 is based on. Like the monitors of old, this one features a standard resolution P22 tube.
This isn’t strictly a consumer CRT, but it has the characteristics of one… down to the tube, TVL resolution, shadowmask and topping out with S-Video.
Here’s my Trinitron. It’s a KV-27FS320 that I got for free on Kijiji. It was owned by an old retired couple, and it seems like it has extremely low hours on it.
I got a like-new manual and remote with it as well.
Nice thread. I’ve been thinking about getting a CRT TV for my gaming needs. While in the thread I glowed about S-Video on a LCD, something about playing on native hardware makes it feel so right without nostalgia in the mix.
