Mendoza wrote:Tell us a bit more on what you plan to use it for.
Watching TV (Obviously), gaming (NES, SNES, N64, GameCube, Wii, Xbox 360, PS3), watching blu-rays, etc.
pakopako wrote:
Input juggling -- make sure you have all the inputs you want, like VGA or S-Video
Sound output -- for audiophiles, look for strong speakers or audio-out
TV overscan -- something I just learned about; my older TV has a ridiculous 11% overscan and cuts off the outside edges of everything (the FOX logo will be partially gone, etc.)
VGA overscan -- a recent problem I've seen; some TVs won't let you scale inputs properly
The one I'm looking at has more than enough inputs I think. It has 6 HDMI which is way more than my Dad's 54" Panasonic Plasma. But as for overscanning, I'll have to check it out!
Have 50" and a 63" Plasmas from Samsung. I'm now a sort of brand loyalist to Samsung. The first one I got (the 50) needed repair and I took advantage of the manufacturer warranty- the Samsung people came out and were polite and helpful and managed to fix the set on-site. Dealing with them on the phone was easy and they took care of my problem.
Mendoza wrote:Tell us a bit more on what you plan to use it for.
Watching TV (Obviously), gaming (NES, SNES, N64, GameCube, Wii, Xbox 360, PS3), watching blu-rays, etc.
pakopako wrote:
Input juggling -- make sure you have all the inputs you want, like VGA or S-Video
Sound output -- for audiophiles, look for strong speakers or audio-out
TV overscan -- something I just learned about; my older TV has a ridiculous 11% overscan and cuts off the outside edges of everything (the FOX logo will be partially gone, etc.)
VGA overscan -- a recent problem I've seen; some TVs won't let you scale inputs properly
The one I'm looking at has more than enough inputs I think. It has 6 HDMI which is way more than my Dad's 54" Panasonic Plasma. But as for overscanning, I'll have to check it out!
This might work for you. Its a fair price, not great but not overboard.
Though i would really suggest a separate CRT for your retro game systems. They can be had a small sizes for pretty cheap at most pawn and second hand shops.
darthmunky wrote:Why do so many people like playing retro games on CRT televisions?
Personaly i find the picture is better because these games were made with CRTs in mind. I have a small hdtv (26 inch) that is ok for retro gaming, but when i play snes on my big 50 inch plasma the picture is just not as good.
Also i love light gun games, and they don't work on LCD or Plasmas.
darthmunky wrote:Why do so many people like playing retro games on CRT televisions?
Because CRT phosphors aren't square. LCDs make pixels look blocky, and if you filter it just looks blurry. CRT looks just right. There's also no lag, and they come with all the right inputs. Cheap too!
CRTs are still the superior display technology when it comes to contrast, resolution, and response time. LCDs have the advantage of being smaller and sexier, eventually they will surpass CRTs but that time isn't here yet. FWIW, there's only one LCD in my house that didn't come attached to a portable computing device, and it's not mine. I don't see why I would "upgrade" to an LCD monitor that can only do 1024 lines of resolution when my $10 CRT can do 1200.
We are prepared to live in the plain and die in the plain!
darthmunky wrote:Why do so many people like playing retro games on CRT televisions?
Any older games that relied on flickering a sprite for a transparent shadow before the hardware could handle actual transparency will look better on a CRT since it works with the interlaced nature of the image instead of against it. Also CRTs are necessary for pre Wii lightgun games for the same reliance on interlaced drawing of the screen.
darthmunky wrote:Why do so many people like playing retro games on CRT televisions?
Any older games that relied on flickering a sprite for a transparent shadow before the hardware could handle actual transparency will look better on a CRT since it works with the interlaced nature of the image instead of against it. Also CRTs are necessary for pre Wii lightgun games for the same reliance on interlaced drawing of the screen.
actually it's not the 'interlaced' nature of CRT... it's the 'scanline' nature that some lightguns take advantage of.
It depends on the lightgun though. For example the NES DuckHunt lightgun the flashing screen method that turned the screen black with coloured (usually just white) boxes on the screen where the shootable objects were located. This does not require CRT.
Where as say the more precise lightgun games that knew where exactly on an enemy you hit (arm, vs torso vs leg), they generally used the scanline technique. Which consisted of scanning a line a certain distance across the screen to locate the point your are pointing at. You'll notice these types usually have a 'calibration' screen where you shot varying targets on screen in the corners and the center.
In contrast to LCD displays, plasma televisions and CRT TVs have a virtually instantaneous response time that is at least a thousand times faster than that of the fastest LCDs.
