Choosing a television to play NES through ps2/gamecube gen

[CRTGAMER]

Get the PVM, its a good compact spare for link play or play a game while the TV is on. Since yours is a widescreen, curious if 480p, 720p and 1080i all have the same size black bars on 2:35 widescreen movies?

I can't imagine why they wouldn't unless the TV has different overscan settings for different resolutions or something.

the 2:35 black bars being encoded into the 16:9 image and all

It is different, at least on my HDCRT. From 480p to 720p to 1080i the area the black bar takes gets larger. At 1080i, the black bars are huge. PS2 Gran Turismo at 1080i is crystal clear, but huge black bars, best to keep at 480p. The 480p mode offers the best pic as far as the image taking more estate on the screen. Its just the way earlier HD CRTs worked, before Zoom and Full features were incorporated into the settings option. Later HD CRTs came with the extra setting options.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Not to derail the current discussion but I thought I'd mention that YMMV when it comes to LCD and Plasma TVs. We have 3 LCDs and one Plasma in the house, all different models that I've tested will all my systems.

So to start, I'd like to point out that at least in my experience, LCDs fair a bit worse with SD content than plasma. Although many people think of plasma as a digital TV, the technology is actually analog, and a high quality plasma can certainly rival a CRT in terms of picture quality. I do most of my gaming on a Panasonic TH-46PZ85U, and it looks just as good as the SDCRT and HDCRTs I've owned, provided that you have s-video. Although I have a reciever to handle all my incoming inputs, the TV certainly isn't short on them. 2 component, 2 s-video, 3 composite, and even a VGA + 3.5mm audio jack for some 480p Dreamcast games.

On to the LCDs, it's really a mixed bag. The -XBR KDL-40XBR3, while very nice for HD content, looks absolutely gross with SD content. Completely washed out and fuzzy. I would not recommend it. It does have an s-video port though, but it's lacking on everything but HDMI. This also applies to our KDL-26L5000

The last LCD a KDL-32ML130, actually has very decent picture quality as well. Not quite as good as the plasma but definitely respectable compared to most LCDs when it comes to SD content. It only has 1 s-video, but it does have 3 composite, 2 component, and 2 hdmi as well as a VGA and 3.5mm.

I'll post some pictures later perhaps, but I just wanted to share that not all LCDs and Plasmas are terrible with SD content.

[Zing]

If the black bars are different sizes on the same letterboxed content using different inputs or scan rates, then your TV settings need to be adjusted. TVs will have different positional settings on a per-input basis. Use a calibration DVD to put up an overscan pattern or just a plain crosshatch. Then adjust the geometry while in the service mode. Sonys will use the HPOS/HSIZ and VPOS/VSIZ settings. On a CRT, adjust the overscan to around 5% on each side. On a digital display, you can go as low as 1-2%.

If you adjust the overscan to be equal on each side, your aspect ratio will then be correct. Do this for every input you use, and the black bars will be the same size, regardless of the source.

[ApolloBoy]

hmm, so what do you guys think about the pvm to scart converter? Found one on ebay, specifically made to connect european or japanese scarts to a 25 pin sony pvm rgb. Does the converter preserve the RGB signal?

I have the exact same converter you linked to and it works great! It's nothing more than a passthrough cable so the RGB signal stays intact.

[shateredsoul]

thanks apollo, I might get it then!

[shateredsoul]

just realized my advisor has a PVM 1390 from research waaaaaaaaaaaay back in the day, I could probably get that for free, it's never been used in the 4 years I've been here. Should I just settle and skip on the 2030? The 2030 is nice, but i'd probably have to pay $75.. since the guy isn't open on weekends I can't pick up the monitor.

[mugenmidget]

I say go for it and forget the PVM 2030 for the time being. Sometimes for multiplayer I think even the PVM 2030 is too small, but a free PVM 1390 is way better than dropping $75 for the 7 extra inches. That 1390 uses the same DB25 connector for RGB, so the adapter you were looking at will still work great. $75 is a good price for the PVM 2030, but it's nothing you won't be able to find again from my experience at least.

And the 1390 will be a good "test run" for RGB, if you end up liking it then you can seek out that 2030 (or maybe even something larger). Plus it will be super easy to TATE!

[ApolloBoy]

just realized my advisor has a PVM 1390 from research waaaaaaaaaaaay back in the day, I could probably get that for free, it's never been used in the 4 years I've been here. Should I just settle and skip on the 2030? The 2030 is nice, but i'd probably have to pay $75.. since the guy isn't open on weekends I can't pick up the monitor.

I actually own a PVM-1390 and it's a great monitor! Pick up when you can, I could never pass up on a free PVM.

[shateredsoul]

I definitely agree with that, too bad I'm getting yellow feet about asking to have it. Not sure why they keep it around.. maybe I should ask first, and then that could lead into "well if you don't want it anymore, I could give it a good home."

just realized my advisor has a PVM 1390 from research waaaaaaaaaaaay back in the day, I could probably get that for free, it's never been used in the 4 years I've been here. Should I just settle and skip on the 2030? The 2030 is nice, but i'd probably have to pay $75.. since the guy isn't open on weekends I can't pick up the monitor.

I actually own a PVM-1390 and it's a great monitor! Pick up when you can, I could never pass up on a free PVM.

[shateredsoul]

I've come to a few conclusions regarding the Sony Wega

It's great for modern systems and ps1, ps2, sega saturn, and sega saturn

It sucks for snes and before and it sucks for n64 (man, so horrible for the n64).

Now, if only I could find a scart switch that retains rgb signal