I have old Viewsonic E70f flat screen CRT monitor which is being repaired. But I don't know how's good they are because it's broken
So what is good monitor for retro PC according your experience?
Millennium retro, flat display CRT?
1998 - 2000, later convex display CRT with OSD?
Sony Trinitron based monitors were considered top notch in their day. I'd find one of those.
wrote:Sony Trinitron based monitors were considered top notch in their day. I'd find one of those.
It's hard to find, probably Dell CRT monitor has Trinitron technology. But I don't want mix Dell monitor with my HP Vectra computer. 😜
For low resolutions I wouldn't recommend a trinitron (aperture grille). Shadowmasks are much better at that.
I just use my 28" LCD same as my non retro PCs. They all share the same KVM. I guess I've never been one to dedicate the desktop real estate to a retro monitor.
wrote:For low resolutions I wouldn't recommend a trinitron (aperture grille). Shadowmasks are much better at that.
Yes. I have a GDM-FW900 and resolutions of up to 496x384 have a Beautiful scanline effect, but anything lower than that and the effect starts being too pronunciated. I'll upload some pictures
wrote:wrote:For low resolutions I wouldn't recommend a trinitron (aperture grille). Shadowmasks are much better at that.
Yes. I have a GDM-FW900 and resolutions of up to 496x384 have a Beautiful scanline effect, but anything lower than that and the effect starts being too pronunciated. I'll upload some pictures
That is the weirdest resolution I ever heard of 🤣
Is there actually some game that uses that?
I wouldn't say ALL shadowmasks are good at low resolutions though. The smaller the screen, the better it will perform on low-res.
I'd say, from my own experience, these are the "ideal" resolutions for a convex shadowmask monitor:
14" = < 800x600
15" = 320x240 - 1024x768
17" = 640x480 - 1280x960
19" = 640x480 - 1600x1200
21" = 800x600 - 2048x1536
Though this somewhat depends on the brand and type of monitor and mostly on personal preference. Flat-screen shadowmasks tend to look worse on lower resolutions as well. Aperture grille is even worse, but then I shouldn't say much about it as I don't like aperture-grilles at all.
The visible metal wires with aperture grilles suck too. Not an issue with TVs but it's more apparent with PC monitors and white desktop images. I bet some people were caught off guard by this when buying a Trinitron after hearing about their great reputation.
wrote:wrote:For low resolutions I wouldn't recommend a trinitron (aperture grille). Shadowmasks are much better at that.
Yes. I have a GDM-FW900 and resolutions of up to 496x384 have a Beautiful scanline effect,
What about 384x224?
wrote:That is the weirdest resolution I ever heard of XD Is there actually some game that uses that? […]
wrote:wrote:For low resolutions I wouldn't recommend a trinitron (aperture grille). Shadowmasks are much better at that.
Yes. I have a GDM-FW900 and resolutions of up to 496x384 have a Beautiful scanline effect, but anything lower than that and the effect starts being too pronunciated. I'll upload some pictures
That is the weirdest resolution I ever heard of 🤣
Is there actually some game that uses that?I wouldn't say ALL shadowmasks are good at low resolutions though. The smaller the screen, the better it will perform on low-res.
I'd say, from my own experience, these are the "ideal" resolutions for a convex shadowmask monitor:
14" = < 800x600
15" = 320x240 - 1024x768
17" = 640x480 - 1280x960
19" = 640x480 - 1600x1200
21" = 800x600 - 2048x1536Though this somewhat depends on the brand and type of monitor and mostly on personal preference. Flat-screen shadowmasks tend to look worse on lower resolutions as well. Aperture grille is even worse, but then I shouldn't say much about it as I don't like aperture-grilles at all.
Mostly Arcade games
wrote:The visible metal wires with aperture grilles suck too. Not an issue with TVs but it's more apparent with PC monitors and white desktop images. I bet some people were caught off guard by this when buying a Trinitron after hearing about their great reputation.
A bit exaggerated. My monitor has two dampening wires and they are only noticeable at resolutions of 1600x1200 or higher
Virtua Racing Model1, 496x384x73Hz-120Hz
Some of you may think those scanlines are exaggerated but for me Model1 and Namco System22 games look perfect on this monitor.
>Lei-Lei, I'll upload a picture of Vamp Savior running on it as soon as I can. As I mentioned before, scanlines start becoming too bing at such a res (384x224), but maybe you would like to see it by your own.
Iiyama VisionMaster CRTs were very good too. Graphics people used them for the sharpness and color fidelity. I had two and liked them both.
wrote:wrote:The visible metal wires with aperture grilles suck too. Not an issue with TVs but it's more apparent with PC monitors and white desktop images. I bet some people were caught off guard by this when buying a Trinitron after hearing about their great reputation.
A bit exaggerated. My monitor has two dampening wires and they are only noticeable at resolutions of 1600x1200 or higher
Yeah, I didn't mean to. I think it's minor too, not really noticeable in games. Just meant that maybe not everybody knew about it w/o internet etc. and could have been surprised by the fact that it exists.
Get anything thats NIB/New old stock as crts wear out over time, ive got 2 black 17" ibm crts from about 2005/6 and they look fantastic as they were boxed and never used, its a good size for 320x200 up to 1024x768.
I have a bunch of shadowmask CRTs here in sizes ranging from 14 to 21 inch. If anyone's interested I could take some close-up pictures of them at low res to compare. Maybe that would be something for the wiki, listing specs like dot pitch, size, brand, year, etc with it.
Anyone has any ideas on which games to use then? I'm thinking of Prince of Persia, which looks quite pixelated, and Need for Speed which has actual photographs in 8-bit with good dithering.
wrote:The visible metal wires with aperture grilles suck too. Not an issue with TVs but it's more apparent with PC monitors and white desktop images. I bet some people were caught off guard by this when buying a Trinitron after hearing about their great reputation.
Everyone always mentions that first when talking about trinitrons 🤣
Yet I don't really mind them. I dislike trinitrons for other reasons.
I have the Trinitron but TV 🤣 😜
wrote:I have a bunch of shadowmask CRTs here in sizes ranging from 14 to 21 inch. If anyone's interested I could take some close-up pi […]
I have a bunch of shadowmask CRTs here in sizes ranging from 14 to 21 inch. If anyone's interested I could take some close-up pictures of them at low res to compare. Maybe that would be something for the wiki, listing specs like dot pitch, size, brand, year, etc with it.
Anyone has any ideas on which games to use then? I'm thinking of Prince of Persia, which looks quite pixelated, and Need for Speed which has actual photographs in 8-bit with good dithering.
wrote:The visible metal wires with aperture grilles suck too. Not an issue with TVs but it's more apparent with PC monitors and white desktop images. I bet some people were caught off guard by this when buying a Trinitron after hearing about their great reputation.
Everyone always mentions that first when talking about trinitrons 🤣
Yet I don't really mind them. I dislike trinitrons for other reasons.
Sure, why not
wrote:Get anything thats NIB/New old stock as crts wear out over time, ive got 2 black 17" ibm crts from about 2005/6 and they look fantastic as they were boxed and never used, its a good size for 320x200 up to 1024x768.
I've stocked up on NIB crt's because they aint making any more, and I don't want to find myself forced to use a flat screen for DOS in 20 years time. That makes me kindof a crank I suppose, but it's better than stockpiling ammunition!
I have a ~year old Sony trinitron which I'm using now and love it, when that dies I have a Panasonic, and my last resort is a Dell. All 17", and all beige.
How long does a CRT last on average? Depends on usage I suppose. I use my retro machines maybe an hour a day if that, so they're not getting much of a workout.
Here are some pictures of different monitors. I thought I had a 15" as well but apparently I don't.
All pictures were shot with a Canon PowerShot A2200HD. The camera's white balance was calibrated to the Eizo monitor, which should be 9300K exactly. ISO 80, EV at -2.0 stops. Warning, these pictures are pretty big (4320x3240 JPG)
Monitor: Hewlett-Packard D2802A
Size: 14"
Manufactured: 1995-01
Dot pitch: 0.39mm, shadow mask
Shape: Convex
Max resolution: 800x600@60Hz
Colour temperature: unknown, not adjustable
Description:
My favourite low-res monitor. Colours have diminished somewhat over time, dark images have a red-purple tint. No visible scanlines.
- Prince of Persia -
Full size: http://imageshack.us/a/img11/4250/hp14popfull.jpg
Close-up 1: http://imageshack.us/a/img809/2500/hp14popclose1.jpg
Close-up 2: http://imageshack.us/a/img441/9343/hp14popclose2.jpg
Monitor: Philips 107E61
Size: 17"
Manufactured: 2004-07
Dot pitch: 0.27mm, shadow mask
Shape: Convex
Max resolution: 1280x960@75Hz
Colour temperature: 6500K
Description:
This one's pretty bad. Colour temp was set to 6500K but it looks way off. Has moire issues on higher resolutions.
I think I'd better take these pics again on 9300K.
- Prince of Persia -
Full size:
Close-up 1:
Close-up 2: http://imageshack.us/a/img29/1904/ph17popclose2.jpg
Monitor: Philips 109B70
Size: 19"
Manufactured: 2006-10
Dot pitch: 0.25mm, shadow mask
Shape: Flat
Max resolution: 1600x1200@72Hz
Colour temperature: 6500K
Description:
This tube is extremely bright. I had to turn down the contrast to take some good pictures. Convergence is slightly off near the left side.
- Prince of Persia -
Full size: http://imageshack.us/a/img28/9705/ph19popfull.jpg
Close-up 1: http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/1608/ph19popclose1.jpg
Close-up 2: http://imageshack.us/a/img199/3460/ph19popclose2.jpg
Monitor: Eizo F930
Size: 21"
Manufactured: 2000?
Dot pitch: 0.25mm, shadow mask
Shape: Convex
Max resolution: 2048x1536@80Hz
Colour temperature: 9300K
Description:
Currently my main desktop monitor.
- Prince of Persia -
Full size: http://imageshack.us/a/img19/3222/eizo21popfull.jpg
Close-up 1: http://imageshack.us/a/img842/7364/eizo21popclose1.jpg
Close-up 2: http://imageshack.us/a/img845/4589/eizo21popclose2.jpg (using 10x magnifying glass)
Is this useful to anyone? The age difference between these tubes is pretty big. I got a few more shadow mask CRTs of various brands in the attic, IIRC some older ones as well.
