Retro Gaming Thread!
polycounter lvl 12
So I totes haven't seen one of these threads before, and I swear to god..if someone complains that there is one i will blow up this site.
Anyways! This thread is for Retro gaming, and right now I've got a ton of money from my Tax Return and am converting my office into my personal retro gaming haven. I was wondering what kind of TVs are good for non HD classic gaming. There is input lag with newer TVs right? As a lot of you know, I'm a SHMUP fanatic..and I don't want any delay while avoiding 10000000 bullets.
Anyways! This thread is for Retro gaming, and right now I've got a ton of money from my Tax Return and am converting my office into my personal retro gaming haven. I was wondering what kind of TVs are good for non HD classic gaming. There is input lag with newer TVs right? As a lot of you know, I'm a SHMUP fanatic..and I don't want any delay while avoiding 10000000 bullets.
Replies
If I were you I'd just look into making an emulator cabinet.
http://www.tmsoft.com/article-arcade.htm
And I think it's a requirement to have Battletoads in your game library.
all LCDs have input lag; how much of it varies by panel type, amount of processing, and the manufacturer. even if the panel has no input lag, the TV will scale retro game signals (240p, 480i, 480p), and do all sorts of bad to make it look terrible unless you have an external scaler...
the ultimate option is an RGB CRT monitor. CRTs have red green and blue guns, so using a direct RGB connection will give the signal much more bandwidth and go right to the guns without having to split signals. europe has RGB SCART on most of their TVs, but we in the states have been stuck with awful composite and svideo until fairly recently. that said, it's still possible to enjoy RGB awesomeness here in america, you just need to do a little work.
if you don't already know, SDTVs and low res games run at a vertical scan rate of 15khz, utilizing abount 240 lines. this is either progressive (240p, low res and crispy) or interlaced (480i, ugly flickery crap). VGA monitors and so-called "EDTV" sets run at 31khz, better known as 480p or 640x480 like computers of old. in america, the problem is that 15khz SDTVs don't use RGB, but while VGA computer monitors are RGB, not many can accept 15khz signals.
here's a list of 15khz RGB monitors (not recently updated)
thankfully, only PCs or recent systems like the dreamcast and xbox can output a 480p signal. if those newer systems are important to you, frequent craigslist and try to find an NEC XP/XV/XM29. they're very popular feature-packed aperture-grill CRTs... some with 720p capability! if you're only interested in older, 15khz systems--pick up a Sony PVM, they're top notch and easy to find. check craigslist and you should be able to pick up one of these pretty easily, and for next to nothing. i picked up my 29 inch mitsubishi RGB monitor for $50 and the tube still looks excellent!
once you have the monitor, the correct adapter and cabling is required. ebay can help you with that. all of this is cheaper than an LCD and going to deliver farrrrrrr superior "retro" quality.
a word of warning: once you get into this stuff you can never go back, and will forever lust for the unbelievable low res performance that an RGB CRT delivers. i'll post a short video of my retro setup later tonight.
Also, setting aside the nostalgia factor almost all SNES and NES games would look a lot better on a regular computer through emulation, than when running from the original hardware, on a 90s CRT TV. I think there is something great about seeing sprites crystal clear (as they were originally painted by the sprite artist back then), instead of seing everything blurred out by scanlines and interlacing effects. Just my opinion!
(however it is true that nothing really beats the feeling of putting a cart in and resume a saved game from there... this, I truly miss.)
Maybe you could also look into some of these "two in one" NES/SNES systems available now - there is a chance that some might offer good progressive video output!
Also, something else that I find very nice to have is a bunch of gamepad adapters. I wanted to go back into retro SNES gaming last year, so I got myself an original SNES pad (euro/jap style! Convex, colorful buttons
Keep us updated! And Racer, post pics soon!! Want to see
I will say, I made the mistake of not buying the Famicom with the Red/white/yellow input, and bought the original famicom with a fucking adapter I have no idea how it works.
But as far as TVs go, is this what you were talking about?
sadly with the famicom/nes and other very old systems like the 2600 there are no official ways to get RGB (other than the expensive famicom titler), and very few will hack the playchoice PPU into an NES to get RGB. you're stuck with composite on these unless you're very determined or rich.
scanlines are sick! makes pixely images look really sharp. interlacing, however, is the devil. see, this is why i hate that the US only got god-awful composite as a video standard until just recently, when we got component, then digital formats. since the advent of VCRs, europe had SCART RGB which looks beautiful--just check out the first post here with RGB shots from a pc engine duo hooked up using RGB to a sony PVM.
http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?31657-RGB-on-the-American-continent
direct captures of RGB vs composite: http://www.chrismcovell.com/gotRGB/rgb_compare.html
oh also keep in mind scart ALSO carries composite, so cables need to carry RGB in order for it to look proper.
The Euro PS1 came with composite ... but you could get the SCART cable easily - made everything sharper! Even tho my friends thought I was imagining things (Look! The reds are not bleeding anymore!!)
PS2 and GC over component still look very good too... and again, many good monitors accept that. I run my PS2 that way to this day and it looks great on the projector setup.
We had a retro setup at work a while back, with NES plugged to a super tiny CRT screen hehe
It makes VGA text look more wholesome
convincingly works in SVGA modes too
Crappy games will still look crap, though
Yesssss. Magic Carpet was one of the best damn games that nobody ever heard of. Bullfrog at it's finest. I wish Peter would make a sequel, if he's still got the rights to it. If EA has the rights, I'm sure it will be an FPS with firearms and time travel, set in ancient Egypt. FML
man the memories
hmmm.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/295138/ea-we-havent-forgotten-about-road-rash-magic-carpet/
Just so I could buy an N64, I was such a noob.
I tried to get the sega back later, only to find out those kids broke it.
P.S.
I've been on a mega huge Classic Turtle's Soundtrack kick lately..and I feel I should share the love.
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