CRT, LCD, Video Inputs, Lightgun HD and More Guides

[d123456]

I updated the Wiki Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PlayStation_2_games_with_HD_support

Wow! I did not see that coming! weird. Thanks for the update.
Just bid on a 480p capable crt tv on da bay........
Somehow CRTGAMER´s threads always cost me money........
Because CRTGAMERs threads are legendary!

[CRTGAMER]

I updated the Wiki Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PlayStation_2_games_with_HD_support

Wow! I did not see that coming! weird. Thanks for the update.
Just bid on a 480p capable crt tv on da bay........
Somehow CRTGAMER´s threads always cost me money........
Because CRTGAMERs threads are legendary!

I hope Inazuma does not see all these acronyms
Thanks! Be sure the CRT is a SDTV or EDTV not a HDTV if you want Guncon2 capability. Most of Sony CRTs that just have Component and not DVI or HDMI tend to be 480i only. You can google the specs at the Sony Support site.

Good luck on the auction! If no luck, Thrift Stores have tons of CRTs cheap!

[equalsign]

Thanks for the info! I've been trying to find a Sony Trinitron in my area. I was thinking about getting a 16:9, for the sake of my Wii games looking awesome. Will it make the black bars and preserve the 4:3? Is there any other advantage to the 4:3? Thanks!

These are some I was looking at in my area. I'd appreciate being told if there's any red flags!

http://provo.craigslist.org/ele/2670927970.html
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad ... 20crt%20tv
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad ... 0Trinitron
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad ... 0Trinitron
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad ... 0Trinitron

The ones in Provo and Orem are by far the closest, but that widescreen one apparently has an HDMI input, which could serve me well when I get a PS3 or 360.

[CRTGAMER]

Thanks for the info! I've been trying to find a Sony Trinitron in my area. I was thinking about getting a 16:9, for the sake of my Wii games looking awesome. Will it make the black bars and preserve the 4:3? Is there any other advantage to the 4:3? Thanks!

These are some I was looking at in my area. I'd appreciate being told if there's any red flags!

The ones in Provo and Orem are by far the closest, but that widescreen one apparently has an HDMI input, which could serve me well when I get a PS3 or 360.

See OP for a full explanation
Get a 4:3 if you mainly want to use the TV for older game systems such as Dreamcast, NES and PS1 for example. The 16:9 is handy for newer consoles and movies, but kills Retro Gaming with the black bars and reduced screen image. A HD CRT is the best, my older consoles as well as newer ones all look great with the Sony WEGA HD CRT. The main loss is lightgun support, but the Wii fills that void.

Sonys do have though not common, a fail on the D Board. See my Twenty Dollar Repair Guide in the Guides section for details on this.

[equalsign]

Thanks for the info! I've been trying to find a Sony Trinitron in my area. I was thinking about getting a 16:9, for the sake of my Wii games looking awesome. Will it make the black bars and preserve the 4:3? Is there any other advantage to the 4:3? Thanks!

These are some I was looking at in my area. I'd appreciate being told if there's any red flags!

The ones in Provo and Orem are by far the closest, but that widescreen one apparently has an HDMI input, which could serve me well when I get a PS3 or 360.

See OP for a full explanation
Get a 4:3 if you mainly want to use the TV for older game systems such as Dreamcast, NES and PS1 for example. The 16:9 is handy for newer consoles and movies, but kills Retro Gaming with the black bars and reduced screen image. A HD CRT is the best, my older consoles as well as newer ones all look great with the Sony WEGA HD CRT. The main loss is lightgun support, but the Wii fills that void.

Sonys do have though not common, a fail on the D Board. See my Twenty Dollar Repair Guide in the Guides section for details on this.

What do you mean by reduced screen image with the 16:9 TVs? I'm still totally stressing between a 16:9 and a 4:3. Gah. Lately I've mostly been playing my Wii, but I don't want my old games to look bad either.

[CRTGAMER]

What do you mean by reduced screen image with the 16:9 TVs? I'm still totally stressing between a 16:9 and a 4:3. Gah. Lately I've mostly been playing my Wii, but I don't want my old games to look bad either.

Get a 4:3 and avoid the bars or stretch for Retro Consoles
The reduced image is the black bars. Read the OP, it shows a size comparison of a given TV size between 4:3 and 16:9. You'll be surprised which 36" screen actually has more screen estate.

[equalsign]

I've read through a good bit of the first post. It's interesting that 4:3 screens are actually larger. I'm not too worried about the size though. I'm more worried about not having widescreen on my Wii vs having black bars on old games. Which do you feel is the best way to go?

[AppleQueso]

4:3 sets are only 'larger' if you're watching 4:3 content. 16:9 content when letterboxed will actually look a lot smaller. It's a tradeoff either way.

Here's a great site for comparing screen sizes between 16:9 and 4:3 sets:
http://cavecreations.com/tv2.cgi

A downside is that CRT sizes kinda top out at around 36" or so, it's really rare to find any bigger than that. If you were going to get a modern TV, you could get a pretty big LCD or Plasma that'd give you a pillarboxed 4:3 image that's actually bigger than even some of the biggest CRT sets around. Of course getting a good picture for retro consoles is a lot harder on a modern HD set than on a CRT.

[equalsign]

Hey CRT. I ended up picking up the widescreen. The 4:3 guy I tried to contact never got back to me. It's great overall, except for one problem: the TV makes this really cringe-worthy sound when high pitched sounds are made. For example, that first time each play you pick up a rupee in Skyward Sword it makes a little jingle. That jingle sounds awful and painful. I've tried tweaking the settings and nothing seems to fix it. Happens when I click on Lost Winds in the Wii menu too, but not in game as far as I've seen.

Any tips? Sorry if this is kinda random. I'm having trouble finding relavent results in google because I don't really know what to call it.

[CRTGAMER]

Hey CRT. I ended up picking up the widescreen. The 4:3 guy I tried to contact never got back to me. It's great overall, except for one problem: the TV makes this really cringe-worthy sound when high pitched sounds are made. For example, that first time each play you pick up a rupee in Skyward Sword it makes a little jingle. That jingle sounds awful and painful. I've tried tweaking the settings and nothing seems to fix it. Happens when I click on Lost Winds in the Wii menu too, but not in game as far as I've seen.

Any tips? Sorry if this is kinda random. I'm having trouble finding relavent results in google because I don't really know what to call it.

Which one, make and model number?
I think all you can do to the TV itself is tweak all the audio settings. Kick up the Bass and turn down the Treble. I noticed when I set the Internal Surround Sound to True, the bass is more pronounced. Maybe turning it off might also help in cutting down the rattle?

Bad speakers?
Usually its the bass that sounds bad if a speaker is shot. If the sound is still distorted even with the tweaks, you can easily put new better speakers inside. Just match the OHMs and at least the same wattage of the old speakers.

The biggest improvement
Another option is plug the TV audio out to your stereo aux input. The stereo doesn't have to be a dedicated surround sound system, just an amp with a couple of speakers on either side of where you sit.