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After having my old systems in storage boxes for 15+ years, I've dusted off my SNES, Genesis, N64, and PS2 and have decided to get to work on achieving that retro goodness.
First up, the systems. My focus right now is on upgrading the output signal. The Genesis, SNES, and PS2 all natively output RGB, but the N64 requires a hardware hack to induce RGB output. To be honest, I'm not that [H] where I'm going to hack my N64, so it'll remain saddled with composite. For the rest, I've ordered RGB-Scart cables. Going from composite to RGB-S (that also carries audio) will be a big improvement.
Second, I've ordered the latest version of OSSC. For me, being able to connect RGB-S (in) and HDMI (out) along with audio pass-though to a modern TV or monitor was the major selling point.
Hence, CRTs are out of the picture for me. And frankly, I'm now of the opinion that tube TVs are of questionable quality and condition at this point in 2019. Basically, the time as come and gone. I've burned about $80 on two used tube TVs recently (plus another two that were free that came from family storage, manufactured late 90's and early 00s). Even after gingerly handling them (one thing I won't miss is how much they weigh, UGH), driving them home, and getting them set up, I've discovered display issues every single time. Whether it's finding retrace lines on the AV input (that was a real bummer since it was a Trinitron), picture distortion with the flat tubes, or sporadic flicker, I've said to hell with them. I've looked into BNC and regular CRT monitors, but I find them to be too small relative to what I feel is a good size, which for me was 27" 4:3.
The device chain will look like this:
[Game System] --> [RGB-Scart Cable] --> [OSSC] ---> [HDMI Cable] --> [LCD TV or Monitor]
So my question, fellow [H]'ers, is what do I choose- TV, or monitor? And what brands.
At first I was inclined to buy a 720p TV, and you can still find them on the discount racks at the big box stores. However, after reading up, 720p TVs are not really pixel-perfect 720p... they're usually 1366 x 768, which is a tad beyond 720p. The equivalent "real" 720p resolution is 1280 x 720, but it seems you can't get a 720p TV in that specific resolution? Makes no sense to me, maybe it's for overscan?
Anyway- as for monitors, something with a 4:3 physical aspect ratio would of course be ideal, with a native resolution that is a multiple of 240p. The issue is -- for monitors these days -- 4:3 is almost non-existent.
I'm not opposed to using a 16:9 display (pillar boxed), as long as I can have a pixel-perfect representation on screen through 4:3 mode (TV) or 1:1 (monitor), again in multiples of 240p. I'd be completely fine with that.
TL;DR version: I need suggestions for an LCD monitor or LCD TV for retro gaming, especially from people who use an OSSC to output to their display. All comments are welcome, thanks!
First up, the systems. My focus right now is on upgrading the output signal. The Genesis, SNES, and PS2 all natively output RGB, but the N64 requires a hardware hack to induce RGB output. To be honest, I'm not that [H] where I'm going to hack my N64, so it'll remain saddled with composite. For the rest, I've ordered RGB-Scart cables. Going from composite to RGB-S (that also carries audio) will be a big improvement.
Second, I've ordered the latest version of OSSC. For me, being able to connect RGB-S (in) and HDMI (out) along with audio pass-though to a modern TV or monitor was the major selling point.
Hence, CRTs are out of the picture for me. And frankly, I'm now of the opinion that tube TVs are of questionable quality and condition at this point in 2019. Basically, the time as come and gone. I've burned about $80 on two used tube TVs recently (plus another two that were free that came from family storage, manufactured late 90's and early 00s). Even after gingerly handling them (one thing I won't miss is how much they weigh, UGH), driving them home, and getting them set up, I've discovered display issues every single time. Whether it's finding retrace lines on the AV input (that was a real bummer since it was a Trinitron), picture distortion with the flat tubes, or sporadic flicker, I've said to hell with them. I've looked into BNC and regular CRT monitors, but I find them to be too small relative to what I feel is a good size, which for me was 27" 4:3.
The device chain will look like this:
[Game System] --> [RGB-Scart Cable] --> [OSSC] ---> [HDMI Cable] --> [LCD TV or Monitor]
So my question, fellow [H]'ers, is what do I choose- TV, or monitor? And what brands.
At first I was inclined to buy a 720p TV, and you can still find them on the discount racks at the big box stores. However, after reading up, 720p TVs are not really pixel-perfect 720p... they're usually 1366 x 768, which is a tad beyond 720p. The equivalent "real" 720p resolution is 1280 x 720, but it seems you can't get a 720p TV in that specific resolution? Makes no sense to me, maybe it's for overscan?
Anyway- as for monitors, something with a 4:3 physical aspect ratio would of course be ideal, with a native resolution that is a multiple of 240p. The issue is -- for monitors these days -- 4:3 is almost non-existent.
I'm not opposed to using a 16:9 display (pillar boxed), as long as I can have a pixel-perfect representation on screen through 4:3 mode (TV) or 1:1 (monitor), again in multiples of 240p. I'd be completely fine with that.
TL;DR version: I need suggestions for an LCD monitor or LCD TV for retro gaming, especially from people who use an OSSC to output to their display. All comments are welcome, thanks!
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