TV Help: Looking for best possible set for older consoles

[BRP]

Simply put I can't stand how my older consoles(and Wii) look on my current TV. I rather aim for the optimal set-up. However, I am out of my element.

In my head I am convinced the best solution would be a TV set that does anything up to 720p(or should I say 768p?) well and is a CRT. (A monitor would work too I guess, assuming it can support consoles adequately). Problem is I can't find anything for sell on any of my usual sites(I understand they are rare nowadays - wouldn't mind a used one for that matter).

If I am on the wrong track, I wouldn't mind some advice.

(A far-off choice would be a projector, but I wouldn't want to do that unless it was much cheaper than I am asking here. I got a lot of research to do on projectors anyway.)

[BRP]

Whoa, this looks pretty sick: (and discontinued...)

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-GDM-FW900.../dp/B00004YNSR

But I am inexperienced and a bit clueless here...

Pretty damn expensive, even used. Hoping for something cheaper(or else I would probably be better off investing into a projector)

[Kurokikaze]

What you want is a Widescreen EDTV: 853x480 native resolution. This is pretty much what the Wii/GC considers "Progressive Scan". Doesnt matter how big the TV, just as long as the native res is that or 640x480 (SDTV) you should be fine. Any higher than that and you will see stretching. We had a Panasonic 50in Plasma with a 640x480 res at work that we only used for Brawl, looked great. Eventually we had to get rid of it and sold it for 73 dollars on ebay. Those things are cheap.

[Omniyoji]

Not only do they look ugly there's also lag with older consoles on an HDTV. I'm not sure if there's something else available aside from the EDTV route Kuro mentioned.

What I do for my older stuff (SNES, N64, PS2, and Wii lol) is play on a SDTV. The TV's great and still works. I can't just throw it away when upgrading to HDTV. It also has a great color/picture and 16:9 mode.

http://www.amazon.com/JVC-AV-27FA44-.../dp/B00009RTC6

The HDTV is for all that new crap. Can't help ya with projectors. Don't know anything about em.

Also not sure if you play fighting games seriously but SDTVs provide 0 lag unlike HDTVs. Nice job also at presenting the 2010 French Open lol

edit: didn't Elmer make a similar thread like this? Can't seem to find it.

[BRP]

The HDTV is for all that new crap.

Not even then so I hear.

[Darus Grey]

What you want is a Sony XBR960

Thank me later.

Best CRT ever made, and I'd even argue HDTV...

It's the best of all worlds, only compromise at all it's fucking heavvyyy

[BRP]

Hmmm this "geometry problem" phenomenon is new to me.

[Darus Grey]

Geometry problems are an issue with basically all CRTs over-time, to fix it you generally need to "re-cap" them(as in, replace the capacitors). Very simple job if you're comfortable with electronics repair.

Basically CRTs have a capacitor function for...

Vertical Size
Vertical Position
Vertical Hold
Horizontal Size
Horizontal Position
Horizontal Hold

When one of the capacitor voltages winds down before the other, you start getting "Geometry issues", seeing things like one corner of the screen bends alittle bit further than it should(like if you're displaying straight lines, they might get alittle wavy off to one side).

Though again, XBR960 and don't look back, check AVS forums or any other enthusiast site, everyone agrees this is best CRT ever made for both SD and HD material, can often find suckers selling them on craigslist for $100-$300. The 910, 960N, and 970 aren't bad either, but the 960 (non-N) was the best.

[Omniyoji]

wow, I should get me one of those!

[Roranora]

I bought a KV-40XBR800 for older consoles a couple years back. ($180, ebay). It's a huge 4:3 tube, stupid amounts of heavy, but works beautifully. It's technically HD (up to 1080i) but works well for older consoles. Basically, you just want some direct-view, CRT TV for your GCN/N64/SNES/NES/etc and it'll look good; the actual resolution capabilities of the TV won't really matter so long as it's one of these older tubes.

[Darus Grey]

The XBR800 is also a great choice, basically any of the high-end Sony CRTs are a good call.

XBR800 and XBR960 cost like $2500-$3500 brand new just a few years ago, fucking steal at $100-$300.

Getting one that can display a 16:9 resolution(like the XBR800 can, even though it is 4:3) is important though if you're really looking for the "ultimate SD" set.

Many Xbox, GC, and PS2 games all supported 16:9.

The resolution capabilities aren't as important, the reason the sonys were so good though is many of the high-end ones has the "super fine pitch tube" or whatever the marketing term was.

Basically they had a huge increase in the number of scan-lines(the CRT analogue to "pixels"), the difference between a non-super-fine-pitch tube and one was fucking HUGE in terms of picture quality.