Gaming set up

RedXIV

Hey guys!

Need your advice, since starting my collection recently i've picked up a number of extra consoles other than my ps3 and 360, from NES to GameCube. The thing is I only want my current gen consoles downstairs with my main tv as my unit isn't that big so I've got a space upstairs, a nice little cubby area that I want to house everything else.

Thing is, I need another tv for this but reading through the forum, i'm thinking I should get a CRT tv for retro effect? Or is that stupid?

Any advice??

Cheers!

7sr2z3fely84g5

You need CRT tv for playing classic gun games like this,wont work on lcd-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzxQ6raAh1Q

o1s1n

It's not just for the retro effect, old consoles look a billion times better on a CRT then an LCD.

On a crt you get scanlines and the correct resolution. Plus if it's a 4:3 tv it'll be the correct aspect ratio.

On an LCD there's no scanlines so it looks like lego blocks and most of them are widescreen so the picture shape is totally off!

Retr0gamer

CRT all the way. LCDs just aren't up to it and the colours look washed out.

o1s1n

As I mentioned recently somewhere else, because nobody wants CRTs anymore you can get the best of the best for absolutely nothing.

pdbhp

CRT = Win.

I'ce picked up several CRT tv's over the last year or so and I only needed to pay €10 for one of them.

RedXIV

That kinda answers that then doesn't it

Just need to find one now.

To think I gave away a 32inch CRT for free

CiDeRmAn

Get a 4:3 CRT, my Sony Trinitron 29" is perfect, has RGB on one of the scarts as well, plus front phono inputs too.
Not only that but it has an excellent picture.
You can pick them up for close to nothing on Donedeal.ie

Steve X2

It's such a pity that it's the wide screen CRT's that generally have the most video and audio connections built in.

I have a Philips 32" in my parents house and would have brought it up to Dublin for my retro consoles if it wasn't wide screen.
It has 4 scarts and 2 of them are RGB if memory serves and it has composite connections on the side and front and 1 s-video connector and a couple more I think.

I do have my eye on a Sony WEGA KV-40XBR800 that one of my friends has. It hasn't been used in ages and was put into storage in his shed. It's a 4:3 CRT that does HiDef so I'm very curious how it handles retro consoles etc. Might sneak a SNES in one day and give it a bash.



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o1s1n

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Get a 4:3 CRT, my Sony Trinitron 29" is perfect, has RGB on one of the scarts as well, plus front phono inputs too.
Not only that but it has an excellent picture.
You can pick them up for close to nothing on Donedeal.ie

Every retro gaming enthusiast should have that exact television if they have the space. It's perfect. I'd even pick it over my main LCD any day.

It's also the flattest CRT screen I've ever seen..pretty much the same as in a candy dab. The down side being the resulting crazy weight from the size of the CRT in it - but it's worth it. How often do you need to pick up your tv anyway...

I figured out the model number a while ago and posted it around these parts.
Can't seem to find the post though.

Retr0gamer

Most good widescreen TVs have the option to display in 4:3 and I've noticed absolutely no loss in video quality and perfect aspect ratio. Also it's handy for the games on the Saturn, DC, PS2, GC and Xbox that support widescreen.

o1s1n

Steve SI wrote: »

It's such a pity that it's the wide screen CRT's that generally have the most video and audio connections built in.

I have a Philips 32" in my parents house and would have brought it up to Dublin for my retro consoles if it wasn't wide screen.
It has 4 scarts and 2 of them are RGB if memory serves and it has composite connections on the side and front and 1 s-video connector and a couple more I think..

That's really irritating alright. CRTs went widescreen at one point in time and very little 4:3s were made thereafter. It also seems to be when they got a bit more compatable.

I was in my grandparents over the weekend and they had a 32 inch CRT widescreen Sony Trinitron in the sitting room. I was having a look at the connections and it was the same as your one above, lots of scarts, composite, so video and I think there was even componant too.

Steve SI wrote: »

I do have my eye on a Sony WEGA KV-40XBR800 that one of my friends has. It hasn't been used in ages and was put into storage in his shed. It's a 4:3 CRT that does HiDef so I'm very curious how it handles retro consoles etc. Might sneak a SNES in one day and give it a bash.
.

A high def CRT? I've never seen one of them in Ireland, would love to see how the picture on that looks.

Retr0gamer

HD CRTs are meant to look amazing. The only problemis they tried to make them as flat as possible which means there's some warping on the edges.

o1s1n

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Most good widescreen TVs have the option to display in 4:3 and I've noticed absolutely no loss in video quality and perfect aspect ratio. Also it's handy for the games on the Saturn, DC, PS2, GC and Xbox that support widescreen.

There are two things which put me off wide screen CRTs.

The sheer size of the bloody things.
The black bars down each side of the screen when you put it in a 4:3 aspect ratio. I really hate vertical black bars. It's one reason I'm always rotating screens for vertical shooters

I guess it depends what you're playing on it mostly. My one would be used for 4:3 games, I wouldn't be playing too many DC, ps2, GC and Xbox games on it.

Steve X2

o1s1n wrote: »

A high def CRT? I've never seen one of them in Ireland, would love to see how the picture on that looks.

Yeah, They look very nice all right.
I've seen tv shows and movies running on it and it looks very nice and clear and the colours are so feckin perfect on it.
I've never seen retro consoles on it though so will have to test that out as the scanlines are very fine on the display so might not lend themselves very well to older consoles.

They bought it in 2003 I think and he says they paid around 3k for it, which was a lot back then. Well, its a lot now but we are a little more used to seeing prices around that mark with hidef lcd's etc.

I've seen a lot of HiDef CRT's over the years as that's what a lot of companies had in some meeting rooms and high end tele-conference rooms before we got good old 50"+ LCD's. I haven't seen one running in a good while but I remember the colours on them were something else.

As I'm sure you know they had HiDef CRT's in Japan and those areas long before we had LCD's or even knew what HiDef was over here in Euroland and America.

On a related note, I'm off to Japan in a few days time so I'm really looking forward to that. Hope I can sneak away and get a good few hours in Akihabara while I'm supposed to be working



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RedXIV

well while I have all your attention and to revert back to another topic related question.


So picture this, I've been graciously granted a games cubby hole, which is essentially a hole in our bedroom. Now its about 1m wide by 1m deep and maybe 1.75m tall and starts about .75m off the ground. Now I'm in rented accommodation but it's long looong term. What I'm wondering is how would you best make use of the space?

I was going to put U shaped shelves along the walls and have them slightly slanted to have the stuff almost on display but herself things maybe I should just break it up into 3 shelves with 3 pieces of square board and be done with it.

I'd be looking to get a CRT tv, about 10 consoles (in the future 5 consoles now) and an area for games

If you give me a good enough idea, I'll toss in a retro game or two that I thought about selling

Steve X2

RedXIV wrote: »

well while I have all your attention and to revert back to another topic related question.


So picture this, I've been graciously granted a games cubby hole, which is essentially a hole in our bedroom. Now its about 1m wide by 1m deep and maybe 1.75m tall and starts about .75m off the ground. Now I'm in rented accommodation but it's long looong term. What I'm wondering is how would you best make use of the space?

I was going to put U shaped shelves along the walls and have them slightly slanted to have the stuff almost on display but herself things maybe I should just break it up into 3 shelves with 3 pieces of square board and be done with it.

I'd be looking to get a CRT tv, about 10 consoles (in the future 5 consoles now) and an area for games

If you give me a good enough idea, I'll toss in a retro game or two that I thought about selling

You could check out IKEA or Argos and see if they have anything that would fit inside the cubby or something you could modify to fit in it. IKEA have some great stuff.
You could check out the website but your better off heading in to have a look as they have loads of stuff thats not on the site.

http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/

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landsleaving

Ikea do a range of shelves called GORM (catchy) and you can buy a lot of different sizes, and build them the way you want, making enough space for each console, a tv and whatever else you want to add.

They're easy enough to cut to size, cheap as chips and you can get stuff like little baskets to hang on them as well, handy for wires and controllers, or snacks

Just to give you an idea what they look like in real life rather than ikea's site - http://www.adverts.ie/guitar-bass/pedal-board/425348 Not exactly shelves, but that board was cut to bits, then put back together with the nuts and bolts that come with the shelves, couldn't be simpler.

http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/search/?query=gorm

CiDeRmAn

Find a good quality 21"/25" Crt, with the limited space it'd be better.
The adjustable shelves are a great idea, also make sure you have power sorted, a switched socket for each console and the tv wouldbe best.
Then the av connections, if the tv has an RGB input, see if you can get RGB cables for your collection, well worth the money according to the inhabitants of these forums.
Also, get a couple of decent scart switch boxes, so you can daisy chain and can avoid fiddling around everytime you want to play a particular console.
That's it really, if you can slip an amp in there to handle the audio all the better!
And a beanbag chair would be perfect in a bedroom for your gaming comfort.
If space is such a premium you may want to pick up something else for game storage, maybe a small set of shelves or a bedside locker type thing.
There are several threads here with pictures of our gamesrooms, have a look for ideas, mines a mess right now!