How many of you are actually still using CRT TVs?

[nightrnr]

That looks marvelous.
I wonder how much they are asking, or when the blazes it is supposed to be available.

Will probably get one, regardless.
But I'm afraid that this Genesis will just output a sharper version of the lines and jailbars that plagues it now. I think more will have to be done to it still (I've heard of caps going out on the RBG lines).

I do have a few other Genesi that are a bit better. But I have strange habits, one of which is using my most battle-worn systems.

I have 2 CRT's that could benefit from the cable. Looking forward to it...

[Ziggy]

I wonder how much they are asking, or when the blazes it is supposed to be available.

How much? I really don't know, as I'm not interested in getting one for myself. But I would assume it'll cost more than what a Genesis S-Video mod would cost if you did it yourself (it's extremely cheap, even if you have to replace the encoder) but probably less than what you'd have to pay someone to do the mod for you.

As for availability, they have a recent blog post that says it's approved for production. So, soon!

Will probably get one, regardless.
But I'm afraid that this Genesis will just output a sharper version of the lines and jailbars that plagues it now. I think more will have to be done to it still (I've heard of caps going out on the RBG lines).

Well, ALL Genesises have absolutely HORRIBLE composite video. Plain and simple. The quality of composite doesn't reflect how S-Video or RGB will look.

Caps are caps, and 25 years old. Same is true for all retro consoles, really. Really, ALL of these retro consoles need a recap at this point. Whether they're having issues or not.

I do have a few other Genesi that are a bit better. But I have strange habits, one of which is using my most battle-worn systems.

There are some model 2's out there with a really shitty video encoder, but since I've never owned one, I can't speak for what RGB would look like on one. But yeah, the later model 1's and earlier-ish model 2's have horrific audio, so you really don't wanna be using them for that reason anyway.

[samsonlonghair]

Caps are caps, and 25 years old. Same is true for all retro consoles, really. Really, ALL of these retro consoles need a recap at this point. Whether they're having issues or not.

I'm not sure I follow your logic here, Zig. Granted, a twenty-five year old capacitor has exceeded its intended warranty period. But if my Genesis is not malfunctioning I fail to see the benefit in attempting to re-cap it. I can always wait and see what the future holds. When my genesis eventually fails, I can recap it then. What's the advantage in jumping the gun? My grandfather used to say, "don't fix what's not broken... or it will be."

[Ziggy]

I'm a big believer in "don't fix what isn't broken," but I don't think electrolytic capacitors fall into that. Luckily, it would seem that Nintendo and Sega used quality caps since these consoles are all ~25 years old and we haven't seen massive reports of leaking caps. But still, electrolytic caps are something that should be replaced after X years and you're kinda rolling the dice if you just ignore that fact.

Let's say I score an awesome Marshall JCM 800 (an extremely popular guitar amp from the 80's) in an estate sale or something. The only thing I know about it is that it's been in some dude's attic for the last 20 years. I take it to an amp tech and tell him to service it. One thing that he's gonna automatically do is change out all of the electrolytic capacitors. He's not gonna think twice, and he's not gonna tell you "Let's wait until they become a problem first." Caps are cheap.

You don't know if a cap (or caps!) will start leaking, sometimes until it's too late (not all caps will bulge before they leak), and leaking caps could cause worse problems than a simple recap job. Also, unless you pull them all out and test them (at which point you might as well just replace them with new ones) you don't know if they're still within spec. You might not perceive a problem, but that doesn't mean it isn't there. There could be a drop in AV quality that you're just unaware unless you A/B test it. Also noteworthy is all the retro goodies that are coming out. Flash carts definitely pull more current than standard carts. Console mods are very popular, a lot of which add extra components that will use more power than the console was designed for. Even those component cables I mentioned above, they have an RGB-to-Component transcoder built into them, and they run off the console's power.

Me, personally, I have yet to recap ANY of my consoles. The only console I have right now that I think actually needs a recap is an original Gameboy (it has distorted audio). But, most of my consoles have modifications. My only excuse is that it's really annoying. Not the actual replacing of the caps, but making a list of all the caps I need and placing an order for them. I hate that. But there's no excuse for my laziness right now. Console 5 has recap kits, along with the lists of parts, schematics and very clear diagrams on their website. There's really no excuse.

Of course, I'm not recommending for every beginner or novice to pick up a soldering iron and attack their consoles. But if you have the means, don't be lazy. Me, personally, I plan to recap my consoles as I modify them from here on out. The recap kits are cheap and the diagrams make it cake. Might as well do it before there's a problem.

[CRTGAMER]

I also believe in not broke don't fix it, unless a mod of some kind. The removal and resolder of new caps itself can be a risk in damaging the PCB. What is really comical is many will just post replace the caps whenever someone states their system has an issue. Usually the problem is something more "mechanical" such as dirty cart slot, bad disc reader, or a cable connection.

[PartridgeSenpai]

I got a great new HDCRT for free off of a friend's family! It was just sitting in their side room with tons of stuff on top of it, and it'd been there for months so I finally asked about it, and they said I could just take it

It's a welcome change from the 70" internal color projection behemoth I used to have, although this one still took two people to move everywhere. It's around 35" or 40" (I haven't bothered measuring) and it even makes a little chime when it turns on :3

It doesn't have HDMI input, but it has composite, and it's smaller, which are the two main things I wanted, so I'm plenty happy with my TV related luck

[CRTGAMER]

I got a great new HDCRT for free off of a friend's family! It was just sitting in their side room with tons of stuff on top of it, and it'd been there for months so I finally asked about it, and they said I could just take it

It's a welcome change from the 70" internal color projection behemoth I used to have, although this one still took two people to move everywhere. It's around 35" or 40" (I haven't bothered measuring) and it even makes a little chime when it turns on :3

It doesn't have HDMI input, but it has composite, and it's smaller, which are the two main things I wanted, so I'm plenty happy with my TV related luck

Make and model number?

The chime sounds like it is a Samsung TV, my flat SD CRT Samsung TX-P2034 does that. Anything is better then a rear projection which has the absolute worst angle view screen darkening then even LCDs! The CRT is bright no matter what angle viewed from.

If an HD CRT, then should have at least a DVI input. You can get an HDMI to DVI adapter cable since both inputs are digital video. You'll still need to use the analog audio RCA inputs since most HD CRT DVI inputs do not have the digital sound pins.

[fastbilly1]

Set up two of my CRTS for this weekends party. One will run an NES with Duckhunt, the other will be running a PC with the MVS version of Stakes Winner 2 (it is a Kentucky Derby Party so horse racing is a stable). Both are 27 inches - Sanyo and Sony flatscreens.

I still use my Amiga 1080s when the video jack wants to play nice. Ofcourse my Apple ][ is hooked up to a Zenith ZVM-123 in glorious 80 character mode.

[chuckster]

I have a slew of monitors and consumer sets, and love them. I don't use them for anything but games, but I have heard plenty of users raving about Laserdisc and even VHS quality on PVMs. They're really nice to have if you are big into retro games (play more than say three times/6 hours a week on average), or if you're dedicated to original/retro hardware.

They're not worth investing in IMO unless you're going for a preservation/restoration angle. The prices for RGB monitors online is outrageous, even though I'm horribly tempted to go for a BVM (if only!).

I can understand people's concerns though, space is a big issue for a lot of us, and CRTs can require some TLC to look decent geometry-wise, especially older sets. I've had to sell or pass up some sets simply because I didn't have room.

For all but the most curious/dedicated, a good HDTV/Monitor with CRT Royale gives about 85% of the look and feel of the old tubes, but that 15% can be huge for some.

[PartridgeSenpai]

I got a great new HDCRT for free off of a friend's family! It was just sitting in their side room with tons of stuff on top of it, and it'd been there for months so I finally asked about it, and they said I could just take it

It's a welcome change from the 70" internal color projection behemoth I used to have, although this one still took two people to move everywhere. It's around 35" or 40" (I haven't bothered measuring) and it even makes a little chime when it turns on :3

It doesn't have HDMI input, but it has composite, and it's smaller, which are the two main things I wanted, so I'm plenty happy with my TV related luck

Make and model number?

The chime sounds like it is a Samsung TV, my flat SD CRT Samsung TX-P2034 does that. Anything is better then a rear projection which has the absolute worst angle view screen darkening then even LCDs! The CRT is bright no matter what angle viewed from.

If an HD CRT, then should have at least a DVI input. You can get an HDMI to DVI adapter cable since both inputs are digital video. You'll still need to use the analog audio RCA inputs since most HD CRT DVI inputs do not have the digital sound pins.

There's no DVI of any kind. Just Component and standard RWY connectors, but I don't mind so much. I kinda actually wanna re-buy a Wii so I can get the much cheaper than the Gamecube ones, Wii Compenent cables so my Gamecube games look all prettiful :3

It's a Samsung model TXM3097WHF (and it took me forever to figure out that it was a 'W' with the font they use on the back sticker). It's a 30" 16:9 res, so it's big, but not toooooo big.