I use a CRT, do you?

I use a CRT TV for my Amiga, but also for watching VHS-films and playing on the PS2. :) The Amiga is connected with an RGB -> SCART cable and the image is very, very nice. I don't know about you, but I think the image is much more "Amiga" on a CRT than on a flatscreen. It is more vivid and alive if you know what I mean. The PS2 games looks less pixelated and the VHS-films looks like they should (they are horrible on modern TV-s).

Anyone else using CRT's these days? :cool:

I've got a CRT too for anything retro. And that is the only way in my opinion. When you view a retro system on a modern screen you are not seeing the correct image in several ways. Firstly and most obviously is of course the colourbleed the CRT screens had, in the old days they had that in mind when they drew their graphics. Dithering would for example show up as a solid colour on a CRT television. In the kickstarter for the book The Bitmap Brothers: Universe which documents their history, they could only get permission to reproduce the graphics from Daniel Malone, the graphics artist, if they managed to reproduce them in the book exactly how they looked on a CRT screen. As he had been very conscious of the colour bleeding and had chosen his palette very carefully to make full use of it. And I know you all remember how slick the bitmap brother's games always looked.

But another thing most people aren't aware of is that the aspect ratio is never quite right on a modern screen. Because on a modern screen the pixels are perfectly square, while on old systems they are rectangular. On a CRT the pixels can be stretched however you want (remember those knobs on CRT monitors?) while the same is impossible on a modern display. You can get a close approximation by doubling the horizontal lines on a modern screen, but the image is still slightly squashed. In fact, to view an old game on a modern screen with square pixels in the correct aspect ratio the resolution has to be ridiculously high. But then you get the blocky result you always get with retro systems on modern screens. There is a great article about this on Gamasutra that is worth a read.

So no, the only way to use old systems is on an old CRT. Until someone can finally come up with a decent filter that properly emulates the way it's supposed to look on a modern screen that is. That's why I think modern projects like the Armiga and other similar projects that emulates retro systems for modern displays are great ideas, but not quite there yet. ;)

CRT LOL nope, grandad

I have my Philips CM8833 MkII and my Microvitec 1438 which are great for old machines. The Philips is also good for video/TV stuff. They are preferable to a modern LCD, but as I've said in other topics, LCDs are usable. When it comes to choosing a monitor to use, I tend to use whichever one is most convenient at the time.

I do also have a spare 14" TV, but I don't use that; I just keep it for emergencies, as the Philips monitor has a far better picture.

Here's a photo I took a few months ago: https://www.flickr.com/photos/366515...posted-public/

I do still own a couple of 14" Amiga monitors, but most of the time do use an lcd. Only use them really for testing.

It is possible to make games look correct on an lcd using an XRGB as it contains built in filters to add scanlines back in. But these are not cheap. You can also get cheaper hardware to produce similar if not as good results.

I've been testing various scan doubler, scan line generators and sync strippers in recent years and no option comes close to the XRGB.

Why bother? CRTs, especially large ones, take up a lot of room. My mission has been to Declutter and make things as clean and neat as possible.

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Gave up on CRT years ago. Pro end 19" & 22" Eizo's were simply stunning Multisyncs, but OMG @ the Desk Space & the Heat. Unbearable in the Summer.

Caveat is CRT are still better than most today, unless you dabble in IPS & 12 Bit ones will still beak both legs without a G-Sync card in it.

Also a bit like TV's. - Sure, OLED are up there, but an £1800 OLED is not as slick as a £5000 OLED. - Just the same as Plasma Technology, which of course is now dead too. :thumbsdown2: