I've got a Magnum TV 5520 VT Stereo CRT television,using it as a TV and a monitor too.It only has SCART and RF,so I use a SCART-Composite adapter to use a PC or a console.
For a short period I had a Pentium 4 rig installed under it,and now I generally use it with a Wii,a PS1 and a VCR.
Pictures will come later.
I have to say,when I tried Abe's Oddysee on the PC,it looked really nice on the TV,while on my LCD it looks just UGLY.
EDIT:Wow,after seeing this,I really feel the need to plug up my Chaintech system and run some MUGEN on it,and take some pictures.Obiviously all of this using the above Magnum TV.

I've got an Iiyama Vision Master Pro 413 17" CRT.
The cool thing is that it can do 1600x1200, which for desktop usage is awful, but it looks very impressive for 3D video games. For normal usage, I usually don't go over 1024x768, it becomes a bit painful to read at higher resolutions. Other than that, a good monitor that I got for free 😀.

Here's a photo of it that I found online:

maverick85 wrote:

Had a LG Studioworks 775N back in the day. Great mojnitor, shadowmask. Now I have two aperture grille monitors which I don't like, especially when playing old games like caesar iii.

I think all the CRTs I ever owed were shadowmask , is one type supposed to be better for some things than the other? ive heard aperture grille are supposed to be better for graphics , though it would be interesting to hear some opinions.

F2bnp wrote:

I've got an Iiyama Vision Master Pro 413 17" CRT.
The cool thing is that it can do 1600x1200, which for desktop usage is awful, but it looks very impressive for 3D video games. For normal usage, I usually don't go over 1024x768, it becomes a bit painful to read at higher resolutions. Other than that, a good monitor that I got for free 😀.

Never thought of playing 3D games at 1600x1200 on my IBM, perhaps, it's time for me to try! Does your Iiyama have 2 thin horizontal lines at resolutions higher than 1024x768? My IBM tells me it's not a misfunction but a feature.

RacoonRider wrote:

Never thought of playing 3D games at 1600x1200 on my IBM, perhaps, it's time for me to try! Does your Iiyama have 2 thin horizontal lines at resolutions higher than 1024x768? My IBM tells me it's not a misfunction but a feature.

You're going to need powerful hardware for that, depending on the game of course. But it does look gorgeous 😁.
I'm not entirely sure about the 2 lines, my monitor seems to have a weird line at any resolution, I think this is because of just how old it is. What are you referring to exactly?

The faint horizontal lines are present in all aperture grille CRTs. They are necessary because the grille consists of many very fine vertical wires which have to be stabilized by one or two horizontal wires, otherwise they would start to vibrate, causing noise and a "shimmering" picture. When using low resolutions, the wires are often not visible, because they are hidden between scanlines.

The one on the right makes me very nervous! 😉

Monochrome displays

I have a thing for monochrome displays, with their amazing clarity due to their lack of RGB triads, high bandwidth inputs (in the case of composite video inputs) and high persistence green/amber phosphors. I've got several monitors to get my high-res monochrome fix:

Unbranded Korean TTL monochrome monitor (green phosphor) from around 1988:

CRT is in excellent shape, very bright, very sharp and no phosphor burn-in. Pure unadulterated high persistence green goodness. I've tried to snap a few pics of it in action but none of them do it any justice.

Amdek TTL monochrome monitor (amber phosphor) from 1983:

This one was in very bad shape when I found it, there's heavy spreadsheet burn-in but brightness & focus are still OK.
I've gotten replacement cables, connectors and knobs for it. There was a built-in anti-glare filter I removed for the above picture (which looks like black pantyhose mounted on a frame) but ended up putting it back because it helps conceal the phosphor burn-in.

Talent (rebranded Daewoo) composite monitor (green phosphor) from around 1986:


This one was sold in Argentina as a monitor for Talent MSX computers (which are just rebranded Daewoo hardware) but I don't have a working MSX. Feature wise it's pretty nice: built-in amplified speaker, automatic 50/60Hz vertical scan rate, low persistence green phosphor and a high bandwidth video input (chroma info is unfiltered). I don't have a picture of this one in action, but when driven from composite mono CGA or the Luminance(Y) channel from a C64, SNES or other console it looks amazing, pixels are so razor sharp you've gotta watch your fingers. 🤣

I also have a 12" monochrome VGA monitor I picked up for dirt cheap at an office equipment auction more than 13 years ago, but being young and stupid I decided at one time to spray paint it black:


As years have passed the paint has been flaking off and I now totally regret what I did to it. I've tried stripping the paint off using brake fluid and the results have been quite good:


...but as you can see there are some areas where the paint has lodged deep into the plastic and short of destroying it with sandpaper or acetone I can't seem to get it out. I got disappointed and the plastic case has been sitting outside ever since. 😢

Color displays

I'm not too much into color VGA displays as I am into monochrome ones or CRT TVs since save for a few corner cases I consider them effectively replaced by LCDs, but I still keep some around.

14" IBM SVGA monitor:

A recent find, you can read all about it here if you haven't.

I'm also working on a late 1992 Samsung VGA monitor (coarse dot pitch) a friend brought me from Argentina. Judging from the dirt and corrosion I found on the inside I believe it had been left sitting outside for years. It's too early to say if it's too far gone but I'll try my best. 😀

Other CRT monitors I own but don't have pictures at hand:

• 19" Dell P992 which I use for 3D shutter glasses due to its high vertical refresh rate.
• 14" AOC Spectrum 4V from the first PC I could call my own, now blurry and badly yellowed.
• 14" LG StudioWorks 500G from the second PC I could cally my own, somewhat yellowed.
• 14" Samsung SyncMaster 591s I used for my retro machines until the IBM came along.
• 14" Apple Performa Plus Display. Fixed 640x480 @ 70Hz, composite sync. Considering getting rid of it.
• Some LG 17" I 'converted' to resistive touch screen.

All these awesome pictures are making me want to start a serious CRT collection. However...

Problem 1: CRTs are becoming very hard to "shop" for. A few years ago when everyone was making the switch to LCDs, you could easily find good CRTs in dumpsters (that's how I got my current CRT). Nowadays, though, you're more likely to find last-gen LCDs in dumpsters. Most CRTs are long gone. Of course there are some on Craigslist, but those are always iffy. And then there are new-in-box CRTs on eBay which cost a fortune to ship.

Problem 2: For apartment dwellers like me, a large CRT collection is prohibitively bulky.

Do you guys have any advice on how to find good quality, lightly-used or new CRTs in 2014? (There's probably no immediate solution for problem 2, haha.)

as promised, a pic of my 4:3 version of the GDM-FW900

Also some of my other CRT's

I have 3 13" trinitron monitors that I will be setting up as console gaming monitors (component inputs!)

NEC multisync 15" - I have the original box for this one and matching NEC computer and mouse and speakers. It's in amazing shape for it's age. I'm not a big fan of the smaller CRTs...I prefer to use a larger CRT for the most part, but still like having the smaller ones also.

This is my newest acquisition...a 22" (20" viewable) ThinkVision C220p IBM CRT giant. I tested this out after picking it up for $15. It works perfectly and has the sharpest image of any of my CRT's so far. I love having the dual VGA and Analog DVI inputs and being able to switch between 2 sources with a press of one button.

I have 3 of these SUN Microsystems CRT's (with Sony trinitron tubes). These actually are some of the largest computer CRT monitors I have ever seen.
Specs (source: http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=355673):
21" FD Trinitron (True Flat Screen) Tube, 19.8" Viewable
0.24mm Dot Pitch
2048 x 1536 @ 75Hz Maximum Resolution (1600x1200 @ 100Hz looks GREAT)
Timing Data Table (TDT) - 28 modes, User-Adjustable - 15 settings
Dual VGA Video inputs (Or remove the cable adapter to connect to a Sun/SGI workstation with 13w3)
Dimensions (WxHxD): 19.72x 20 x 19.88

My lovely SyncMaster shape.

Stull wrote:

The one on the right makes me very nervous! 😉

that brown/rusty bit is solid steel.

Man i'd really like to get a GDM-FW900.

@133MHz i'd give it a new coat of black paint for plastic after sanding it smooth or maybe try that plastic dye stuff.

This is my CRT; NEC Multisync FE2111SB-BK. 22" of wonderful 4:3 goodness. Unfortunately, I don't have a pic of it in my setup; plan on taking lots of pics once I get my office set back up; had to remodel for nursery! 😀

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?It … N82E16824002040

Hudson187 wrote:

This is my CRT; NEC Multisync FE2111SB-BK. 22" of wonderful 4:3 goodness. Unfortunately, I don't have a pic of it in my setup; plan on taking lots of pics once I get my office set back up; had to remodel for nursery! 😀

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?It … N82E16824002040

WOAH! is that a rebranded FW900?

cdoublejj wrote:

Hudson187 wrote:

This is my CRT; NEC Multisync FE2111SB-BK. 22" of wonderful 4:3 goodness. Unfortunately, I don't have a pic of it in my setup; plan on taking lots of pics once I get my office set back up; had to remodel for nursery! 😀

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?It … N82E16824002040

WOAH! is that a rebranded FW900?

no.

cdoublejj wrote:

WOAH! is that a rebranded FW900?

check out maximus's post on the first page of this topic. A FW900 is a widescreet CRT, not 4:3.

Makes me wonder if there were any repackaged/rebranded FW900's? I know there were a lot of rebranded 20"-22" trinitrons like many of my CRT's I have, but I've never seen widescreen trinitrons other than Sony. Anyone ever heard of something like that?

Well there's the SGI InterView 28hd96 used by John Carmack. It's a 16:9, 28" flat shadow mask tube, with a maximum resolution of 2042x1152 at 80 Hz. Horizontal dot pitch is only 0.278mm though, but still very impressive for a 1995 tube.

jwt27 wrote:

Well there's the SGI InterView 28hd96 used by John Carmack. It's a 16:9, 28" flat shadow mask tube, with a maximum resolution of 2042x1152 at 80 Hz. Horizontal dot pitch is only 0.278mm though, but still very impressive for a 1995 tube.

That's a beautiful monitor...I just saw the youtube vid of John with it...very cool (well as cool as us retro computer guys/girls can get)

the good news is that I finally managed to find a decent monitor that I could get shipped to me , a 17inch Mitsubishi diamond 750SB.

bad news is that I suspect its been damaged during shipping (Thanks UPS, Im hoping the football game this was used for was fun), due to the small cracks in the shell , and the thing looking as though its magnetized, I think

not quite sure how to fix it (degaussing doesn't do the trick) , and turning the monitor on its side simply shifts the green hue from one part of the screen to another

and yes I need a new camera.