Classic Gaming on an RGB CRT

[twistedsymphony]

Not really collecting or CE related but I was wondering if anyone here plays their classic games (pre PS2/Xbox era) on an RGB CRT, for a beautiful and authentic experience.

Earlier this week I picked up this bad boy:
https://scontent-lga.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xfa1/l/t51.2885-15/11251259_982459668432004_863947949_n.jpg

This is a re-branded Sony-PVM which is a 20inch "Broadcast" monitor used in TV Production back before LCDs and HDTV broadcasting, this particular model was re-branded for medical use. Not only are these extremely high quality but more importantly they accept an RGB signal, which is much higher quality than the Composite Video or the S-Video signals that most classic consoles are limited by.

Here's why RGB is Better:
http://retrorgb.com/images/Link%20RGB%20Compare.jpg

more info here: http://retrorgb.com/rgbguide.html

Those of you who live in Europe had a number of consumer grade TVs that worked with RGB over SCART, we didn't have anything like that available to us here in the states.

Anyway, I'm new to the whole RGB thing, I don't even have any of the cables I need to actually use this monitor yet... Anyone else here run their classic games on an RGB CRT?

[Gazereths]

Heh very cool :) I plugged my Old Amiga 500 in to my LCD a few years back and it's just not the same as back in the old days :P

TBH I haven't got room for anything like this at the moment, but it'd be nice to have one for those rare times I feel like retro gaming......Maybe make one into a coffee table mod. CRT face up in the middle and some old skool joysticks built in....hmmm.

[Dreamcazman]

I built a fully functioning arcade cabinet a fair few years ago with a 68cm CRT & modded Xbox for all my retro games. Haven't used it in a while though, but still works perfectly.

http://www.ckpcomputers.com.au/pictures/UXA7.JPG

[Twisted]

does anyone remember back in the 80's in the US, Nintendo had an official licensed upright cabinet that you could buy and it required you to supply your own 19 inch tv or monitor and your own NES system that had like an open slot where you placed the system where normally the coin slot would be...I recall I think the buttons and joystick being in red, and the cabinet color was a crème off white..i remember it was pricey, more like overpriced..the price they were charging was what one would pay for a actual tv and nes system included with what they were asking for the empty arcade cabinent..I don't think it sold well at all..but in retrospect I wish I would of bought it..cuz it was officially licensed and marketed by Nintendo mailers, but I've NEVER seen it on-line or heard of anyone purchasing the thing..it was meant to give you the arcade experience at home.

[game_player_s]

I don't recall that off hand Twisted, but I know someone who use to have a Nintendo licensed either 19" or 20" TV set that had the NES built-in. Cartridges plugged in dead center below the screen and actually stuck out quite a bit, was a sight to behold. Actually met up with that person recently and asked whatever became of that Nintendo TV. Was told it sadly got fried during a thunder storm in the mid-90's and was sent to the landfill. Suspect that was the fate of many such wonders of the old world.

As for RGB, yes and no sort of. I have a third party VGA adapter for the SNES/N64 which works beutifully. And have a VGA adapter for the Dreamcast. Own two Commodore 1702 CRT Monitors, both of which have composite and Precursor S-Video "Chroma Gamma" inputs. Unfortunaley for me, both of monitors need their capacitors replaced to be useable again as I literally wore them out during the nearly twenty years of near daily usage.

[Twisted]

yea, i remember what i am referring to was an upright cabinet that looked like the red one in this thread..but the marketing brochure implied the tv was "built in" and you had to put your NES underneath it where the coin slot would be..i remember being upset, that in the fine print it said tv not included,..i remember it was official Nintendo because i called there number at the time and complained about the pictures showing a "built in monitor" and then the footnote said tv/monitor not included.

[twistedsymphony]

I built a fully functioning arcade cabinet a fair few years ago with a 68cm CRT & modded Xbox for all my retro games. Haven't used it in a while though, but still works perfectly.

Very cool, that's a nice looking cabinet. I have a bunch of arcade machines myself, I actually just got another one earlier today :lol:

yea, i remember what i am referring to was an upright cabinet that looked like the red one in this thread..but the marketing brochure implied the tv was "built in" and you had to put your NES underneath it where the coin slot would be..i remember being upset, that in the fine print it said tv not included,..i remember it was official Nintendo because i called there number at the time and complained about the pictures showing a "built in monitor" and then the footnote said tv/monitor not included.

I'd never heard of this but a quick google search turned this up:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4C1ZwEub0Po/TOF14XOnxnI/AAAAAAAACko/_a6VGUGNxHg/s640/pro_play_home_arcade_ad.jpg
http://www.videogamemuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/PRO-PLAY-HOME-ARCADE-NINTENDO-NES-VERY-RARE.jpg

I found a few pictures of some in private collections, cool piece of history but man that thing is ugly :lol:

I'd much rather have a PlayChoice 10 or a SuperSystem, the arcade versions of the NES and SNES respectively.

http://a.imageshack.us/img413/5641/1030056.jpg
http://www.videogameconnection.com/MUSEUM/Arcade%20Nintendo%20Super%20System%202.JPG

[Dreamcazman]

Very cool, that's a nice looking cabinet. I have a bunch of arcade machines myself, I actually just got another one earlier today :lol:
Thanks, I'd like to sell this one actually and one day down the track when I have more time & some spare cash to make a sit down Vewlix clone with a 32" LCD. :thumb:

[twistedsymphony]

Thanks, I'd like to sell this one actually and one day down the track when I have more time & some spare cash to make a sit down Vewlix clone with a 32" LCD. :thumb:

One of my machines is a Kraylix cabinet, I have it setup with a PC and HyperSpin

https://igcdn-photos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/t51.2885-15/11189806_1381729225489992_393616001_n.jpg

It's really great for LCD based games like the new Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter IV but I'd still prefer a CRT for older titles. Depending on what you play I'd recommend finding a Sega Blast City or Net City instead. You get the same comfy sit-down setup (which is awesome by the way) and the games can all run on a proper low lag, CRT the way they were intended.

[Dreamcazman]

It's a bit hard going back to a CRT now though, the scan lines & flicker gives me a headache.

I haven't really looked into one of the Sega cabs, I like building cabinets from scratch anyway. :)

[twistedsymphony]

If you do go LCD I recommend getting the highest resolution monitor that you can and then running HLSL in MAME or MESS, the scanline and phosphor glow emulation is superb when setup correctly, but it does require 1080p or higher in order to look right. you wont get the flicker effect of a real crt and you can disable the scanline jitter that is usually responsible for scan-line induced headaches.

some resources:
http://www.videogameperfection.com/2014/07/27/hlsl-for-everyone/
http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=45026

this is what I use on my Kraylix cab and while it's not quite the same as a real CRT, it looks 1000x better than the blocky blurry mess that you normally get when running classic games on an LCD

[rapister]

oh i'm so envious.......

[Belcher]

I used to play games on this machine in our area, It was so fun there with bunch of friends in competitive environment and craze of gaming. I think these machines were better for the community rather than these PS because now we are playing individual or online.

[twistedsymphony]

So over the weekend I finally cleared off my desk enough to work on that broadcast monitor.

Had to repair one of the connectors on the back:
https://igcdn-photos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/t51.2885-15/11380814_446818738811427_699486686_n.jpg

I also built my own SCART to BNC cable

Running the Saturn for the first time after I built my SCART cable:
https://scontent-lga1-1.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xfa1/t51.2885-15/11378876_1137272446299617_625790174_n.jpg

So far I've got the Saturn and the PS1 hooked up, I have a SCART cable on order to get the Genesis going soon. I might pickup a SNES or NES next.

[edge]

Nice piece of work there and some of these cabinets look great!

I have a fairly comprehensive collection of retro machines including my first ever vic 20 at the time an impressive upgrade to the ping pong we had. It spans from 1st to 5th generation.

I have all the commodores, from the 3k vic 20 through to the Amiga cd32. Yup I'm missing the pet.
Atari wood grain old skool pac man :D
Zx spectrum from the original through to the +3 disc
Amstrad cpc which came with its own green monitor, you think grainy colour lines is bad? Try green grainy lines :notworthy:
sega, Nintendo, etc. etc.
Of course that was the turning point battle of the consoles, Nintendo and sega so fixated on beating each other, they didn't see Sony coming!!!

The capacitors replaced in most as to preserve original is difficult given age...even the dreaded on board battery in the Amiga can absolutely kill a motherboard even packed away nicely in a loft!!

Wife hates the size of this collection, plus all the games to boot!! But when friends call in and we boot one up for nostalgia it's well worth it as they search through tapes going " I had this! Pop this on" only to realise as a kid it looked awesome cutting edge....but manic miner ain't all that these days! :rotf:

[twistedsymphony]

The capacitors replaced in most as to preserve original is difficult given age...even the dreaded on board battery in the Amiga can absolutely kill a motherboard even packed away nicely in a loft!!

Replacing caps is a necessary evil, the only real alternative is to not use them.

Got any pics of your collection?