How much CRT do i need?

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Michael_

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Jan 14, 2023
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Hi, i just joined so this is my first question. :)

A friend of mine has an InterView 28HD96 that he borrowed me a couple weeks for retro purposes.
I noticed i get WAY less "fatigue" when sitting in front of this monitor for hours than i do with the typical flatscreen monitors.
(I don't know why. Searching the internet it seems to be the other way around for most people...)

Now i'm toying with the idea of getting one as my main monitor.
I currently have an EIZO Flexscan EV2450 (24", IPS, 16:9 & 1920x1080).

I also found out a high end CRT like the 28HD96 or GDM-FW900 is hard to find and costs a small fortune. (Not sure how much they REALLY go for but probably 4 digits?)

But I'm not sure a good 22" 4:3 - as far as i know the only affordable solution - is still adequate these days? (In regards of screen size & resolution)
I almost feel like (don't know though) everything below my current monitor (specs above) isn't really adequate anymore? (I'm talking basic tasks like surfing the internet, office, watching youtube videos...)

So if i should decide to go that route:
Do i have to shell out big bucks for a high end CRT or will a good 22" 4:3 be sufficient?
I'm obviously biased towards the 28HD96 but i don't know about the price tag (that i can only assume).
My friend does NOT want to part with his 28HD96 unfortunately.

Also do you think something like the 28HD96 will be adequate for 5 more years? (Since 4k displays gain more and more popularity.)
 
19" and 22" are fine.

A good 19" will do a nice 1440x1080 at 80-90hz on the desktop, up to 2400x1800 at 60hz for games. A good 22" can do 1600x1200 at 80-100hz on the desktop, and up to 2880x2160p at 60hz for games

Those desktop resolutions at or above 80hz are fine for working and browsing

But I still mostly use LCD for browsing, just because I like saving my CRT for games and movies. The fewer hours I put on it day to day, the more years it will last me into the future.

How many years is that? Only God knows. Or gods. Or nobody, depending on your theological outlook
 

hi Michael_​

well you case is rather rare, but first i would like to ask you since i see you did not mention about it, but did you try to reduce the strengh of your IPS backlight luminance? i have seen people that get eye fatige with IPS screens and improve this by reducing its brightness (luminance) levels.

according to a TFT central EIZO Flexscan EV2450 review i found clicking here, the EIZO Flexscan EV2450 have a peak brightness (luminance) of 250 cd/m2 (or nits), when CRT monitors peak brightness are around 100 + cd/m2 or nits, so maybe if you are using your IPS at max or high brightness setting, this could explain your fatige compared to the CRT monitor you have used and you can try to lower your IPS brightess to match the CRT brightess levels.

as for buying a CRT monitor at this stages, i also currently use CRT monitor for everything but specialy for gaming from which to my likes and enjoiment, they still have the edge for every type of gaming (retro and modern) but for evey other use i think current technologies are very good and CRT definitely not needed for other things, in my opinion buying a CRT monitor at this times and with those absurd prices is very risky, my FW900, even when was not in use for about 3 months, when i restarted to use it after all that time being not used, started to suddely do this weird Greenish screen everytime i turn it on after being off for hours or days, at the moment of writing this still does this, and it seems many GDMs are failing that way, also my other CRT monitor compaq 7550 CRT got this issue suddelty, even when it was stored with no use for months, just one day i took it out from storage and turned it on and the picture was displayed that weird way, so it seem really at this stages many CRT monitors are starting to fail or close to it.

so i would recomend you to first try the brigtness reduction on your IPS
 
Enhanced Interrogator said:
19" and 22" are fine.
Click to expand...

Do you mean 19" - 22" or 19" AND 22" by that? But i probably would not go below 22" anyway.

There is currently a rebadged Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 2070sb for sale semi locally.
As far as i can tell the best still affordable CRT?

3dfan said:

hi Michael_​

according to a TFT central EIZO Flexscan EV2450 review i found clicking here, the EIZO Flexscan EV2450 have a peak brightness (luminance) of 250 cd/m2 (or nits), when CRT monitors peak brightness are around 100 + cd/m2 or nits, so maybe if you are using your IPS at max or high brightness setting, this could explain your fatige compared to the CRT monitor you have used and you can try to lower your IPS brightess to match the CRT brightess levels.
Click to expand...

I indeed run the EV2450 at full brightness.
BUT when i first got it i used it for a couple days with the factory preset settings and then played around until i finally left it at full brightness.
It was an unpleasant experience / to dark with lower brightness for me. Maybe because the monitor is in a room without daylight? (Lit up with conventional light bulbs)
I do not have this issue with the 28HD96 or my Atari SM124 despite you say they are less bright.

It's also not eye fatigue but overall fatigue.
I blame it on the fact that the technology used to generate the picture is completely different. CRT vs. LED/LCD.
Seems that some people think LED light isn't the most pleasant and my EV2450 uses that for backlighting.

------

When it comes to CRT prices can someone put realistic price tags on these?
Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 2070sb
Intergraph Interview 28HD96
Sony GDM-FW900
 
Michael_ said:
I indeed run the EV2450 at full brightness.
BUT when i first got it i used it for a couple days with the factory preset settings and then played around until i finally left it at full brightness.
It was an unpleasant experience / to dark with lower brightness for me. Maybe because the monitor is in a room without daylight? (Lit up with conventional light bulbs)
Click to expand...

Another notable problem of the IPS LCD is the problem with brightness as many think that it may not be ideal to use it in darker places.
Click to expand...
Source: https://www.stoneitech.com/tft-display-vs-ips-display/

I guess that could be part of the issue then.
 
OP speaks as if you can just hop in the car or jump on the internet and just casually buy any of these units? That Intergraph you speak of is quite the rarity along with an FW900. You may be able to find the other units you mention though. Good luck!
 
cesarioFL71 said:
OP speaks as if you can just hop in the car or jump on the internet and just casually buy any of these units? That Intergraph you speak of is quite the rarity along with an FW900. You may be able to find the other units you mention though. Good luck!
Click to expand...

I know they are rare, i even mentioned that in my first post.
But what i would really need is some price guide on these models:
Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 2070sb
Intergraph Interview 28HD96
Sony GDM-FW900

-----

I did some more research and found people saying the LEDs are the problem and that an LCD with fluorescence/CCFL backlighting is better.
But who knows there are endless possibilities i think i should just go for a CRT since it works for me.
Especially since all new monitors seem to use LEDs of some sort and there probably isn't a 4k LCD without LED Backlighting. (Is there even a FHD 1920x1080 one?)
 
There is no price guide for those models. The market will yield what people are willing to pay. The units you seek have been selling for thousands of dollars in recent auctions. I should know since I have both sold and purchased a mint condition new in box FW900 in the past year. Prices for these units defy common sense at this point unless you can find old b stock units that may command less of a premium. Also, you need to ask yourself what are you willing to spend since you will be competing against collectors or enthusiasts to whom price is seemingly not an issue. That said let's assume you can actually find one of these rare units somewhere in the wild, with a seller who's been living under a rock for the past two years? If he or she is prepared to sell the unit at a reasonable price then expect to pay at least a few hundred dollars plus shipping if necessary.
 
cesarioFL71 said:
That said let's assume you can actually find one of these rare units somewhere in the wild, with a seller who's been living under a rock for the past two years? If he or she is prepared to sell the unit at a reasonable price then expect to pay at least a few hundred dollars plus shipping if necessary.
Click to expand...

Yeah, from browsing r/CRTgaming on reddit, I can tell that people that ask for prices on stuff like the FW900 aren't actually very serious about getting a FW900, otherwise they would have done more research and realized there is no reliable price for a FW900.
 
I just offered 500$ incl. shipping for a LaCie electron 22 blue IV.
I think that would be fair?
I actually feel stupid to offer 500 bucks for an old CRT but it really seems that people are paying stupid money for the higher end units. (Of course its not a FW900, so its not 4 digits thankfully.)
 
Michael_ said:
I just offered 500$ incl. shipping for a LaCie electron 22 blue IV.
I think that would be fair?
I actually feel stupid to offer 500 bucks for an old CRT but it really seems that people are paying stupid money for the higher end units. (Of course its not a FW900, so its not 4 digits thankfully.)
Click to expand...
All depends on the condition of the unit. If it's a solid unit with no defects then 500 with shipping is not a bad deal for that unit. No matter what you are rolling the dice and gambling with your money because any of these units can arrive DOA or develop issues shortly after taking delivery. I've won some and I've lost some in this fun but very silly hobby. :)
 
Diving headfirst into the CRT pool can really be wallet draining. Fortunately I have enough CRTS to last me the rest of my life as I got in early when they werent really worth much. I was lucky to get into retro before retro computing was a thing, I was getting all the old junk no one wanted. No way I would be able to afford all the stuff I collected over the last 20 some years nowdays.
 
BTW, can OP post a link or image to the Lacie you just offered 500 for? Would love to see it before it ships and it's location.
 
OP did you move forward with purchasing of the Lacie for 500? Where are you shipping it from?
 
cesarioFL71 said:
OP did you move forward with purchasing of the Lacie for 500? Where are you shipping it from?
Click to expand...

There are actually 2 in the local classifieds (germany) 1 for 250€ without pictures and 1 for almost 600€ with pictures.
I contacted both multiple times and did not get a response from any of them. I guess its someone fishing for interest/prices...

If someone has this model crt https://crtdatabase.com/crts/mitsubishi/mitsubishi-2070sb (sold under a couple different names) that is located in germany or willing to ship let me know.
I would be willing to pay somewhere in the ballpark of 500€ incl. shipping. But please no junk only 100% working and good cosmetic condition.
 
Michael_ said:
There are actually 2 in the local classifieds (germany) 1 for 250€ without pictures and 1 for almost 600€ with pictures.
I contacted both multiple times and did not get a response from any of them. I guess its someone fishing for interest/prices...

If someone has this model crt https://crtdatabase.com/crts/mitsubishi/mitsubishi-2070sb (sold under a couple different names) that is located in germany or willing to ship let me know.
I would be willing to pay somewhere in the ballpark of 500€ incl. shipping. But please no junk only 100% working and good cosmetic condition.
Click to expand...
Germany? Wow! Was hoping it was here in the states and someone selling multiple units. Good luck!
 
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