I review whatever I want now - Retrotink 4K Video Upscaler

[@josephhewitt1867]

I was the lead artist on Disney's The Lion King on SNES and Sega Genesis. I've seen my artwork on many TVs and converters and it NEVER looks good to me compared to a NTSC TV. The ability to blend colors by cross hatching or stripping was key do doing artwork back then and it's hard to fake the effect of the TV's raster in modern TVs. I should say that I do have the redone version on the Switch, but I've been afraid to play it. I might have to give this device a try.

[@Kaiesis]

You did the art only? You didn't have anything to do with the programming of the DIFFICULTY of that F'N game??? :)

[@DokterRoetker]

I loved that game

[@thereturnticket]

You're partially responsible for some of my best childhood memories. Got the Megadrive 2 bundle with Lion King for Christmas in 1994! Best Christmas present EVER!

[@GuitarManiacZePedro]

This is amazing, I've always wanted to ask a question to someone who had actually worked on games made for this generation! I live in Europe, so I have access to better forms of analog video for older consoles (namely RGB SCART), which is not only higher quality, but also makes it easier to play NTSC games on my PAL TVs, as long as they support PAL60, by bypassing color encoding entirely and using native RGB output. However, this added clarity sometimes comes under criticism, since techniques like dithering might not work, even with a CRT, since individual pixels are more exposed. The waterfall in Sonic the Hedgehog's Green Hill Zone is a popular example, since it looks like multiple streams of water instead of one blended, and thus translucent, waterfall. This makes some people say that RF or composite are the best ways to play these games, even if quality may take a hit. Some advocate for S-Video as a middle ground between those and YPbPr/RGB. So, did you, as an artist, expect RF or composite's horizontal blending and work accordingly? Or would you say "yeah, use a CRT, but YPbPr component or full-on RGB for added clarity"?

[@__unaffiliated]

Thanks for working on a game that I played for hours during my childhood.

[@xFearGodx]

This video felt very genuine, like you actually did it for fun. I didnt think id sit through the whole thing and I did, its good to see you doing things because you truly enjoy them again man

[@IDKHowTo]

echoed that sentiment during my watch

[@AlexChama]

100% my impression as well. It's also nice to see a bit more balance of Linus speaking his mind and his findings rather than reacting merely to the findings of someone whose job it was to work on a project for a week or two. Whilst I enjoy everyone else getting their screen time as well and this video is by far no exception, I was REALLY craving the... dare I say it... old Linus Tech Tips times where you felt where the L in LTT comes from and Linus talking about HIS interests and projects. Yes this was clearly worked on by more than just Linus, which gave the video more perspectives and depth, it was in some way... Old Linus 2.0. Or Old Linus Plus Edition. Oh and it's a project that whilst not cheap, has a lot of value to those intereted, is affordable enough and won't be outdated in half a year, because these sorts of devices generally give you a great idea of where they excel and where you may feel hesitant for something it's missing. This is, by the looks of it, not missing anything crucial that I could think of that would otherwise boost the experience on a competitor where you feel buyer's remorse. And the video portraits it. Probably been my favorite LTT video in a long time besides WAN shows, those are kinda their own thing and never started feeling different or such. Truly a genuine result of LTT's restructuring phase it feels like. Long story short, banger video.

[@jaxondabac8808]

We need more gamer Linus and less video-maker Linus.

[@spraynardkruger6426]

Being back more linus diy home improvement project videos said no one ever

[@jaxondabac8808]

haha true though @@spraynardkruger6426

[@stevethepocket]

HDR is such an important factor in scanline emulation, and you did a great job of explaining why.

[@YouTubetail]

Linustech bro 😊

[@guygalaxy420]

I would love to see something like this applied to TV Shows/Movies from the early 2000s. Alot of the "upscaled" versions that are on streaming services and kicking around torrent sites look terrible on modern TVs

[@sonnikdoh2510]

HDR has been a thorn in my side. When it is working on all aspects it's great, but mostly a pain.

[@Saturn2888]

Holy crap! This is 30 minutes and contains a lot of useful info! The normal LTT format doesn't work for this type of video (in my opinion), so it's good to see you extended the time out to really go in-depth with the product. I'm watching it all the way through for sure :).

[@FuckedUpGenius]

I feel like it focussed a lot on the "What?" and not as much on the "How?". Some people just want to know what something does in nearly every scenario, but I'm more into how it's done, what the inside looks like and stuff like that. For a 30 minute video, I expected to see a lot more of how it works.

[@ChristopherAndersonPirate]

I don’t get why people are surprised considering this is how LTT videos used to be. I guess now it’s more about feeding the algorithm with as many videos as possible

[@OldClassTreky]

CRTs are still such a wild concept to me. I mean: an electronbeam, steared by magnetic fields, hitting the perfect pixels, line by line and all that multiple times per second.... Thats just sounds so wild

[@Stratos1988]

AND it's been projected into our faces.

[@OfLastingThunder]

And with less latency than modern anythings.

[@colinstu]

And it was figured out a looooooong time ago.

[@RowanHawkins]

There was actually a metal screen of pixels inside the tube behind the glass that stripped off any Splatter from the electron gun making the pixel elements Sharp That mask is what helped the clarity of the image. Trinitron claim to fame was it they only had two wires holding up that mask. And if you look closely on a Trinitron Screen you can find them about a third of the way from the top and the third of the way from the bottom on the left and right sides.

[@Knaeckebrotsaege]

Wild to think most people had an electronic particle accelerator at home. Some even had multiple. And some people still use them for niche applications cause they don't want to spend hundreds of eurodollars on the devices shown in this ad video

[@LilBoyHexley]

One of the things I find interesting about a theoretical future "endgame" 8/16K 1000hz+ self-emissive display, is how easily such a display could emulate all past display technologies. With enough pixels and frames, any quirks of older technology could be recreated almost entirely faithfully. Scanlines, noise, soft pixels, color fringing, even stuff like LCD motion blur and backlight bleed could all be realistically simulated. So hypothetically the visual quality of any older display wouldn't ever truly be lost.

[@IgnacyG1998]

You'd need a 15 625 Hz refresh rate to emulate the order of drawing lines on an NTSC CRT. I don't think we're ever going to get that, unless the panel could use different timings for each row of pixels to delay each consecutive one by 64 microseconds. Big technological challenge just to emulate the "flickery mess" aspect of a CRT. And it still won't work with light pens, that'd need basically zero input lag and similar but much, much faster delay for the columns.

[@GoldenSW]

​​​@@IgnacyG1998Technology will advance so much in 50 years we won't even be probably using conventional displays anymore so don't say never

[@LilBoyHexley]

@IgnacyG1998 I don't necessarily mean with 100% physics perfect accuracy. Just that it can be realistically simulated to the human eye. I know that true noise and flicker can happen at stupid-short time-intervals, and pixel by pixel scanlines, of course, but 1000+ frames per second is still a lot to work with to achieve an effect that one could really be fooled by.

[@saricubra2867]

@@GoldenSW A CRT takes nanoseconds to draw each pixel in a scanline. Sample&hold panels can't match that speed because of physics and electronics. It doesn't matter if you have a 300KHz digital audio file, you can't replicate an analog audio waveform from a Reel-to-reel tape because analog by definition is an infinite range of values and no latency.

[@saricubra2867]

@@LilBoyHexley A CRT takes nanoseconds to draw each pixel, 1000Hz is still 1000Hz, not fast enough. You take a Plasma TV and it has better motion clarity than an OLED since it draws each frame with an impulse, not holding a frame for long persistance of vision. The numbers speak for themselves, CRTs are lightyears faster than modern displays, this is why the frequency is measured in KHz for how fast can the electron gun can draw a pixel in a line combined with the vertical refresh rate.

[@andystandys]

12:03 This statement is kind of ironic. We need 4K to finally correctly emulate the picture we were getting on display from 30 years ago.

[@HorizzonCS]

I have a CRT in my room as the couch TV that I was lucky enough to get from my grandfather. It's unbelievable and I can't recommend it enough. But man it's completely impractical for anyone that doesn't wanna have a massive brick in their room, and the noise really upsets some of my friends. This looks like a cool solution from the few minutes I've seen!

[@dontmatter4423]

don't crts also consume a lot of power?

[@Nuttty]

@@dontmatter4423 i love my crt :) who cares what amount of power it uses

[@CerealKiIIer]

Don't worry about the noise. It goes away once you reach about 30yo.

[@IamYuto]

Not much different than a record player, isn't it (beside the size)? A nice thing to have if you appreciate some old tech and quality!

[@dasboom7133]

Its not about the resolution, its about the soft hum and flowing radiation into your eye holes

[@potatopotatopotatopotatopo8746]

It's crazy how good of a host David is, he is a great camera guy that always joining convos which makes videos feel more personal and funnier. I wish he was a host too more often.

[@nvelsen1975]

He sure makes up for the lack of quality in the tests and the lies Linus puts up. Good showman that. Great entertainer.

[@Mark-xk3hh]

@@nvelsen1975whats with these bots lately

[@marcusborderlands6177]

​@@nvelsen1975lmao. Keep coping.

[@4RILDIGITAL]

I'm thoroughly impressed by the comprehensive comparison of the CRT tube TVs and Retro tank. It's truly an eye-opener how technology has evolved yet some old tech still holds its ground. It's surprising how the Retro tank has managed to emulate the look of a CRT so closely. Good to know we're not completely losing the charm and quality of classic technology!

[@OnlyDadsOG]

I didn't see a single tank in the entire video, bud

[@johnnyfoxx9379]

Nothing can match the motion clarity of a CRT though, no matter how good it looks, its still blurry when you scroll the screen.

[@clouds-rb9xt]

@@johnnyfoxx9379Depends. High end displays are pretty fine at motion and I've heard "black frame insertion" helps a lot. Plus the SNES never had perfectly smooth scrolling anyway. The CRT just hid it a bit better.

[@MasterF18]

I know it's not within the scope or intended use case of the RT4K, but I'm curious to see what it could do with a VCR player or other retro video media formats. Perhaps it could be a means to take old home recordings and run it through the RT4K with some scaling, filtering, and color grading to then capture the output for digital safekeeping? I really have no idea how practical that idea is, but it crossed my mind while watching this video.

[@quinnocent]

This exact thing has been covered by retro gaming youtubers. I think retrorgb did a video about this

[@MasterF18]

@@quinnocent Oh cool I had no idea. I'll definitely check that out.

[@TheMasterofComment]

​@@quinnocentdo U know the title of the vide?

[@yunekoVT]

now thats a use case that i would actually buy one of these for

[@allenellisdewitt]

That's a great idea, honestly!! I still have movies on VHS that have never been put out on DVD/Blueray/Streaming!

[@crystallakedood]

Fun fact: You can still technically get brand new, freshly manufactured CRT screens. You just have to put in an order with one of two manufacturers who still make them. Problem is, you have to wait until they have enough orders to spin up the factories, and then wait until the orders ship out. I've heard of some people waiting 8 years for theirs.

[@Patrikstar24]

Who are the manufacturers?

[@crystallakedood]

@@Patrikstar24 Off the top of my head, I don't recall. But I can ask the guy at my company who knows. He restores arcade machines for a hobby, so he's pretty familiar with that whole process. Worst case, I'm sure there's some forums one can dig through to find out.

[@prototype795]

I'd like to know as well

[@flintfrommother3gaming]

A single google search shows me the last CRT was made in 2015, note that I said it's a single google search and you probably know your stuff much better than me so if possible please elaborate. I've been thinking about getting one and if not I will just get a second hand one.

[@crystallakedood]

@@flintfrommother3gaming The person I'm referring to at my job used to work at Midway, so I like to think they know what they're talking about. That being said, I'm sure that if such a thing still exists, the wait time is absurd. You might as well get a used one.

[@zaxbit]

YEEEEES I’m so glad Linus is covering RetroTINK. There NEEEDS to be more competition in the scaler space and that only happens with awareness of these tools. Love to see it.

[@gavinharris4170]

Honestly, and with competition hopefully more affordable options arise, because even factoring in the high cost of shipping with CRTs I could buy 3 of them for the current price of the RetroTINK lol

[@lvl5monk297]

@@gavinharris4170 its sold out rn, how much does it cost?

[@alexatkin]

@@gavinharris4170 I can't see it getting cheaper though, its still a small niche of a niche and using FPGA is necessary to do this in such small quantities, but keeps that cost sky high. For me personally for example, I'm perfectly happy with the MiSTer HDMI output alone, I simply don't play retro games enough to warrant the cost of a dedicated scaler. In fact, I only got MiSTer for Amiga games due to its refresh rate scaling over WinUAE.

[@Bewefau]

why? Why do you spend as much on a new tv for a thing to USE on your tv that makes no fuc#ing sense. I think that's your problem you have more money than sense.

[@gavinharris4170]

@Bewefau it's a calm discussion here so I'm not sure why you're getting hostile, but I'll break it down for you to hopefully understand at least as how my setup goes. I primarily use my computer and monitors for TV, KZbin, etc.. I also occasionally play retro consoles like NES, SNES, and so on, but use a CRT for these systems. In terms of affordablity it makes way more sense to spend $150-200 on a small used CRT than $750 on something that can emulate a CRT, albeit with much more setup involved than just plugging up a TV and console. Again, it's great that tech like this is reaching a renaissance and gaining attention so that hopefully competition arises and more affordable options become available in the future, but as it currently stands it makes way more sense to purchase a used CRT for 1/4-1/3 of the price of this device.

[@michalko.b]

getting all 5 of those 1UPs in the bonus level at 9:50 is legit one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.

[@GriffithJones]

Yeah, my jaw was DROPPED

[@Succer]

@@michalko.b Bro that was INSANE

[@N3rdDak]

I have REALLY loved the content lately. I love the changes made after what happened. I feel like the “Old Linus” is back. It feels like I’m watching the show I grew up watching, and I love it! Keep up the good work and content. This stuff if FUN!

[@regentoforigin]

The two best uses I've had for the RetroTINK-4K so far have been for the N64 and the PS3. Personally I think it really does a miraculous job with 5th through 7th gen consoles! A couple things to note are that: - You can combine scanlines and 4K resolution and HDR out of the scaler at 60Hz and use your TV's BFI implementation too. This way there's no compromise. - MiSTeR Direct Video output into the RetroTINK, after some collaboration between Mike and the MiSTeR devs, works fairly seamlessly! Thanks for this awesome video! So proud every time I see coverage of this awesome product.

[@Postman00]

Yeah, David and/or Tanner did write about using the TV's native BFI in the video, that's why Linus was talking about the different BFI algorithm in modern OLEDs, and why they used the CX & C1. The BFI duration for 60Hz on the CX is measured to be around just under 13ms, with about 4ms of light output adding up to the 16.67ms of 60fps. The C3 on the other hand is lit and dark for about half the time, which improves perceived brightness while using BFI, but is exactly half as effective in improving motion clarity. Interestingly, C1's BFI ratio is about 7:8, which isn't really that much quicker than other OLEDs with BFI at about 1:1. In fact, the only OLEDs with BFI that's as quick as 4: 13 are LG's entire 2020 lineup: BX, CX, GX.

[@twoeggcups]

The PS3? The PS3 has HDMI FFS.

[@Wobble2007]

@@twoeggcups What has that to do with the price of fish?

[@D3nn1s]

​@@twoeggcups yeah? So what? Did you even watch the video?

[@MeowHoots]

Why the ps3?

[@Toise_Online]

Been following the Tink4K development, and I would love one, but the price tag is prohibitive. It's understandable though due to niche application, low volume, and FPGA cost, plus letting Mike Chi earn a packet for his great work

[@HowieDune]

Yeah it costs more than all my retro consoles combined lmao I wish I could afford one

[@Izanagi747]

@@HowieDune One guy makes this thing and sources the parts. It is not cheap to make and its a full time business so he needs to earn something from selling it.

[@crazybeatrice4555]

@@Izanagi747 the price makes sense, but its still a prohibitive price

[@Izanagi747]

@@crazybeatrice4555 Yeah wasnt disputing that as it is a very high price. Was mostly saying that for why it is that much and combat the "I could get something like this for less". The previous model that isn't 4k is a more affordable cost.

[@Leurak]

If it would support FPGA emulation, it might be a good deal

[@alicia9290]

Any time one of these videos comes out -- meaning pretty much any subject the writer is very personally enthusiastic about -- it's a great watch.

[@AgailSanchez]

OH MY GOD! First ball Thank you very much guys for allowing me to consume your content in my mother language, this opens a huge world of consume your excellent content for my compatriots. I hope that content creators in my country can also share with you our culture and content that only we produce in the near future. And the second ball, retrotink 4k is the best! I am a young man aged 40, with a small collection of old video games and for reasons of space I prefer to play on modern TVs, I already have an OSSC and now I NEED an RT4k!!! Fantastic video, very explanatory and complete, THANK YOU again!

[@matthewglover322]

Using composite is really missing a trick here. A SCART cable into either the CRT or the Retrotink would have provided a significantly superior picture in both instances (noting North Americans did not have CRTs with SCART). It makes a huge difference! RGB is awesome!

[@werpu12]

but then you also would get a ton of hidden ugliness aka the tricks applied back then composite hides, aka, dithering, which was used to produce extra colors really pop out on an rgb scart connection, you would gain sharpness which means more visible blocking!

[@sinetwo]

@@matthewglover322 agreed. I've got several CRTs (including Pvms).they're all euro based with RGB and they look absolutely incredible. I hope retrotink with a 4:3 oled would compete, cause CRTs is a dying hobby.

[@wobblingpixels3921]

Great video. Love the comparison with CRT TV. Despite having profiles provided by the community I would still recommend to read the wiki, watch video tutorials and tinker with the settings. 🙂

[@Finakechi]

Thought the video was pretty great as well. Some tiny little criticisms about CRT info they missed, but nothing worth getting particularly upset about. Overall I think the advice here is pretty spot on.

[@BMathiesen]

9:22 pure focus and at 9:30 hes proud of himself haha! Love you Linus!

[@antivanti]

I have a VHS/DVD combo unit with HDMI output... which doesn't give better quality but is pretty convenient. But using the Retrotink 4K to do CRT Emulation actual interlaced video and the scanline and mask options really helps with VHS. And I bet people who are into LaserDisc would appreciate it

[@Maurime2]

The minute I stopped paying attention to the explanation: 9:43 And that is why we will pay full price, to relive or show our kids moments like this.

[@HindsightWithHustle]

When Linus says “I dont think I care if it gets views” The Views 1.6 million lol 😅 Great video y’all. I just got my RT4K yesterday and it is as good as advertised. I love the Analouge Super NT settings it’s perfect to me.

[@r.j.bedore9884]

This video makes me wonder what happened to those SED and FED TVs that were supposed to give us all the benefits of a CRT in a slim flat panel format. Maybe you guys can do an episode on that sometime? I know Canon had a 36 inch prototype they showed at CES in the late 2000s that appeared to be essentially ready for commercial production, but for some reason it never made it to market. I think one of those released today could really give OLED a run for its money.

[@kruks]

I would love to see how they stack up, but I don't see how they'd be competitive with WOLED or QLED. They don't have the bandwidth to handle higher resolutions and larger sizes would get expensive to manufacture. Micro-LED is really the modern equivalent of those ideas, if the price ever comes down to something a mere mortal can afford.

[@Easelgames]

The reason is resolution’s couldn’t dream of 4k. Not even close

[@r.j.bedore9884]

@@Easelgames Considering they had production ready 1080p SED TVs in 2006 and the first 4k TV didn't release until 2012, you are simply wrong. Not even close. When 4k TVs came out they were much more expensive than other TVs and it took years for all of the different manufacturers to migrate their LCD production. LG didn't release the first 4K OLED TV until late 2014 at a cost of $7,000 for the 65 inch model. I imagine had Canon and Toshiba brought their SED TVs to market, they probably would've had a similar timeline. Also, their are still plenty of 1080p and 720p TVs in 43 inch and smaller sizes, with very few 4K TVs that size because they are more difficult to produce since you have to pack the pixels closer together. I really don't think 4K was an obstacle the SED manufacturers wouldn't have been able to overcome.

[@werpu12]

@@Easelgames Thats also the main reason why PlasmaTVs were phased out, they sucked too much energy with high resolutions by that time Oled already was on the horizon as possible replacement.

[@chaosfenix]

I love watching content like this because enjoying older games isn't just plug an play anymore. In some ways it is a lot harder due to needing filters and things like this. In other ways it is a lot better due to the addition of things like save states. I love watching how we can bring older content back to life and enjoy it just the same. One of my favorite videos was when you both upgraded your game gear and psp.

[@Wobble2007]

Nothing beats a monitor grade CRT and a MiSTer for image quality and simplicity, took me 30 mins to put the MiSTer together, copy the firmware to the SD card, nothing comes close to the 1000 TVL CRT and the MiSTer as far as image quality goes, perfect motion clarity, zero input latency, very simple menus, everything is pretty much done for you when you copy over the plug & play firmware to the SD card, just got to choose your console and game, no overlays or shaders needed when using a CRT, it's all native to the hardware, @ 240p those scanlines are jaw dropingly beautiful, that said, the MiSTer would be great to use with a nice OLED monitor too, just toggle on the scanlines and BFI, OLED has video lag and input latency, and obviously lower motion clarity than a CRT, but the BFI really helps with that on an OLED monitor.

[@Wobble2007]

@@infernaldaedra Just one console though, the MiSTer has everything up to the PS1/N64/Saturn, N64 games look better than real hardware by quite a decent margin, plus it has tones of computer systems like the Amiga, Sharp X6800, 90's PC games, and then there are all the sweet sweet arcade games it plays beautifully, everything is 0 latency and 0 lag thanks to bare metal FPGA, the MiSTer is crem'da'la'crem, a work of art, well worth the 30 minutes it took me to setup for years of playing dozen's of consoles, computers and arcade system's, my retro computers can take ages to setup, sometimes hours, and if there is a fault somewhere I may not even get it working.

[@Wobble2007]

@@infernaldaedra The Dreamcast is where the MiSTer FPGA draws the line, but the new MARS FPGA is going to have a DC FPGA core, which is awesome, when the MARS is mature and refined as the MiSTer, ill probably get one. Yes I love the Mega Drive, Terminator VS Robocop is one of my faves, as is Castle of Illusion, Robocod, Truxton, so many masterpieces on the SMD, one of the reasons why SMD on the MiSTer is so good, is FPGA gets the audio pretty much 100% accurate, especially now there is the nuked Mega Drive core on MiSTer, based of the x-rayed de-lidded Mega Drive chips, the MiSTer with a HQ DAC and a quad stereo amp sounds incredible, I never thought it would be possible to get 100% accurate audio, as even the best software emulation falls so short of real Sega Mega Drive audio quality, there is also the MiSTer MT-32 MIDI & FM Synth sound add-on, so good for Amiga and 90s PC and DOS games.

[@jameswalt1]

First video I watched from you in at least 5 years. You covered this in a really thorough and entertaining way. Thank you!

[@Nostalgia_Realm]

I personally am more interested in emulation, and what filters you'd have to chose then to get an very close to authentic experience. I hope that video would also be made at some point!

[@damian_11_]

I love David's energy and how passionate he is about this. I'm looking forward to seeing him in more videos!

[@Daedje]

I really enjoyed this video. It was funny and informative. Nice to see LTT can still make good content without a unnecessarily jank project for added engagement.

[@Artholos]

Too bad their title and thumbnails have never been more useless

[@iansavage1265]

Note to the mixer. CRT TV's and some lights produce high-end noise. You can hear allot of it popping in and out during the video. Check for frequencies above 9k or so and EQ accordingly

[@beanmasterz]

​@@tsartomatoyou sound 12yo lil bro

[@iansavage1265]

@@tsartomato I'm in my late 20's. It's pretty common for people to not be able to hear frequencies that high. Especially as you get older. Also depends if the headphones/ speakers your listening on can reproduce high end well

[@jimfoon]

Bro they can't even record/mix Linus' voice to not sound over modulated and dull (tough considering he's miced under a thick hoodie) and you can see David's mic horrendously taped to his shirt. They obviously have no clue how to audio professionally

[@CrimsonBlade104]

David's done a great job of writing! IIRC he did another video recently that was also incredible, awesome job changing positions so far!

[@ccelik97]

The dude's good.

[@NecroGamingZA]

I have been watching Linus Tech Tips for so long that it seems like these guys are a part of my family. I subscribed back in the day on Nov 26, 2010, thats 13 years! Just wanted to say thanks for all the amazing memories and amazing content you guys work so hard to produce for all of us.

[@bumflufftornado]

The VGA and line in should make this the new easiest way to stream/capture footage from DOS computers. Looking forward to getting one in the future.

[@FB-qp8eo]

This was a fun awesome video...THIS is what I like to see people doing...what they really want to do. I think it would be cool to have one staff member a month (or two, whatever's possible) do a review like this...on something they just WANT to talk about.

[@0xTJ]

I absolutely love the retro gaming videos, so I'm a big fan of this one!

[@CallumAnthony-r9o]

"I review whatever I want now" - You own the channel. You always did.

[@DrakeMem]

Always review whatever You want mate

[@jordanm2984]

Hell yeah, David & CRT content... I'm always down for it!

[@DctrGizmo]

I really enjoyed this format of reviewing a product! It felt more genuine and everyone in the video was excited about it!

[@crazysdk]

My mother pulled out the last CRT left in the house while my nieces and nephew were over during Christmas. She showed them what it was like to watch a VHS on a CRT. They instantly started freaking out and complaining about a terrible high pitch noise that only they could hear when the CRT was turned on. It made me feel old.

[@nickwallette6201]

Just listen to your headphones louder for a couple years, and that CRT whine will go away. :-D

[@mastropieros]

True passion and love for video games is printed on every inch of this video. It was a joy to watch, thanks for making it :)

[@AlejandroCornelio-p6o]

So clear and crisp, those retro pixels have never looked better.

[@Mampersand]

My CRTs get plenty bright. Age is an issue, but I can recap bad electrolytics as necessary. The image on my KV-27S42 is awesome, though it’s not without its little quirks. That being said, I’m excited to grab an RT4K after having missed out on the first batch. It’s an awesome time to play retro games in general, and the advancements we’ve made in less than a decade are pretty amazing.

[@saricubra2867]

I just use my high end Samsung VGA PC CRT monitor, the image quality is lightyears better than a CRT TV, even Sony's very expensive BVM's for TV broadcasting can't compete, 1080i is worse than 1080p. I reach 1080p (4:3 1080p) on my monitor, i can almost reach 1800 x 1400 as well.

[@swungsolid]

@@saricubra2867is it a monitor that’s 31khz only?

[@TheBackyardChemist]

Tubes age sadly, both the phosphors and the hot cathode has a finite lifespan.

[@Mampersand]

@@TheBackyardChemist I mean, display aging is true of oled as well. But I have no problem finding CRTs for cheap or free in my area, and since I’m only using them for retro gaming, I’m only putting maybe a couple hundred hours on even my used one per year. At that rate, it’ll probably take me another decade or two to put a significant amount of time on the tube. I’m more likely to have experience a failure on the chassis. Inevitably there will come a day when crts are no longer an option, but I’m not too worried about it. Who knows what amazing scaler+panel will be available to the mainstream in another decade.

[@lassenlautta]

I'm just happy i found a SCART capable flatscreen for my amiga, it looks GREAT. Also usually not really interested in highend TV videos but this was an exception for obvious reasons.

[@matthewjalovick]

I would love this… outside of the $750 price tag. Holy jeez louise. I thought maybe $250 but I cannot ever justify its price.

[@wobblingpixels3921]

Retrotink 5x might be your choice :)

[@SomethingSimpler]

I can confirm that the 5X is pretty great. Especially with SCART out of some consoles like the Genesis or PS1.

[@Smartacus420]

Sucks to be poor

[@MyNameIsPetch]

@@Smartacus420 you definitely live with your parents

[@Syddy_]

@@Smartacus420you do AI art, you'll forever be poor

[@joeyvillanueva7158]

I think it’s nice that you guys have been putting in the extra work on translating your content to different languages in order to reach a bigger audience and being more inclusive in that sense, thumbs up for that 👌🏻 That being said, does any of you guys know why am I getting the translated tracks by default? I live in the US and I’m lucky/blessed to be bilingual, all of my app and account settings are set to English so I can’t really think of any reason why I’m getting translated tracks instead of the original ones on your videos other that probably racial/ethnic profiling (Mexican here 🙋🏻‍♂️) (most definitely not on your end but rather KZbin's) I really do applaud your commitment to be more inclusive and to make your content more easily accessible but personally I’d very much rather have the original track play by default so that I don’t have to change it every time I click one of your videos which I’m a big fan of. Talk about first world problems, right? 😅

[@theypsilon]

Pretty good review, we are definitely much closer to get over CRT's in all aspects. And is always nice to see some MiSTer in the channel ♥

[@jomeyqmalone]

Fun tip: use a video wall processor/scaler, and you can take any 4 player split screen game, and send it out to 4 separate screens

[@heroofnone]

I'm happy to see any sponsor where I don't have to hear about ear water.

[@Antimonyish]

Most out of touch ad ever. Hemorrhoid cushions would be less. In case they reading this, if you release and LTT Hemotips pillow I'm suing.

[@Rocky712_]

I'm glad LTT covers this niche. It's crazy what the Retrotink4k does. If I had enough retro systems to use it with, I'd get it. Despite the price.

[@NoobNoob1986]

The memes coming from this thumbnail are gold 😂😂😂😂

[@simpleserpent1337]

Awesome video Linus and team! Please continue making those fun out of script videos! We can feel that you guys having fun, and this vibe is getting trhough the screen!

[@TheGeekySalsa]

I would love to see these compared with CRT Shaders like MegaBezel or CRT-Royale on Retroarch. I use MegaBezel with HDR on my LG C9 and it looks amazing. I'm very curious to see how it compares to the real thing or the fancy expensive scaler. Especially on the C1 with BFI 4K@120hz support.

[@saricubra2867]

The C1 with BFI has good motion clarity, CRT Royale well tuned looks excelent. The problems is brightness when you use BFI.

[@saricubra2867]

I saved $750 USD and i'm using a high end PC CRT monitor that i got for free. It's ridiculously sharp as well, 1440p-like for the max res.

[@TheGeekySalsa]

@@saricubra2867 Does using HDR with BFI on the C1 help with the brightness?

[@ninjabagel01]

So much cool stuff in this, Linus getting all 5 1-up shrooms in the minigame was the best part though, I've never gotten that myself 😂

[@SomeNerd361]

"CRT Tube" is like saying "Cathode Ray Tube Tube"! Linus just pulled a "Chai Tea"!

[@locked01]

I loved every minute of this video. Thanks for going back to your origins, Linus.

[@Daeys2411]

I LOVE support videos because it makes me smile and happy

[@RinVindor101]

RetroTink systems are what I recommend to the majority of people at our retro store. I have several in my collection from the 2X, 5X and I plan on trying to afford the 4K. Only reason CRTs are going to be relevant still is for lightgun games for most folks.

[@lovemadeinjapan]

Price and aesthetics? I've yet to find a nice looking OLED.

[@retropursuit992]

Biggest problem with CRTs is the size, it's hard to fit into a smaller game room and for some people like myself living in the UK - 50HZ just kills it with the flicker, doesn't look great and makes my eyes feel like they are bleeding after 30 minutes use.

[@NintenPizza]

The biggest problem is that even the best of the best consumer CRT's like the Sony WEGA Trinitron's from 2005 have all aged with image quality, due to the internal guts being nearly 15 years old, and based on how many hours have been poured into the set itself. Finding a low hour set is key. But it's becoming harder, and they're still getting older, with more hours thrown in. They're just going to get worse and worse as time goes on. Plus, i don't like the idea of throwing an old 2005 Silver boxy Bezeld' TV in my apartment in 2024 on the side for retro gaming. I loved my brand new 32" WEGA back in 2005 - 2012 during the tail-end of the GameCube generation, and especially for the Wii + Virtual Console, but that was then and this is now. It's never the same! :P It doesn't feel right, it's a 15 year old TV, and due to age it will most likely have lighter black levels, worse colour, brightness loss and potential softening of the picture, and whatever else. :P And I don't think TINK4's black frame insertion will be ideal if your HDTV is pushing 10ms of latency. Tink4K + Frame lock is 2.5ms lag(unless I'm mistaken), combined with Tink4K's BFI which is 8.3ms and then your OLED TV is most likely about 10ms. That's over 20ms of latency....Not good enough imo. The trick is to find a QD-OLED using 'boost mode' which should have very minimal latency(2.5ms of lag on something like an LG C1 for ex) if your dead set on using BFI to cut down 50% of OLED motion blur. Plus BFI will have screen flicker, another downside to that feature. Sorry for the sea of text! :P

[@lovemadeinjapan]

@@NintenPizza I find the modern screen to be a size problem. No more cute 14" models.

[@nathanswan9243]

I have a tink4k. I've found it's a game changer for 720 consoles (ps360 etc) if you use the "LCD Mono" scanline setting. To quote the wiki "Will place a 1x1 pixel border around every upscaled pixel in the image" - you wouldn't think this would make it look better but yeah it just enhances the image. I was smiling from ear to ear when i first used this function

[@InnuendoXP]

yeah if 4K can be good for anything, it's having the pixel density to do a decent job of presenting lower res content as native. Even using the shaders on PC games injecting through Reshade it's great for 360/ps3-era titles. And sometimes even with newer games, the assets & art style really don't benefit from such pin-sharp fidelity that just lets you easily see all the visual seams & imperfections going on.

[@prich0382]

So 1 pixel has 8 black pixels around it?

[@nathanswan9243]

@@prich0382 its more the other way around, But highly adjustable. Hard to describe but the 360 and ps3 look so great

[@graxxor]

This was pure entertainment! Loved the laid back off the script vibes.... Pure NERD!!! Awesome.

[@Fanof_OSRS]

Thanks!

[@Fyshtako]

This is incredible and you explained it all in a way I can understand. Wonderful video guys!

[@andreasoberg2021]

This is awesome. I would really like to test my Amiga with this. I wasn an artist on the C64 and Amiga and used the softness of TVs to my advantage. You could really make the images more like real paintings because the pixels would bleed together.

[@caodesignworks2407]

I really wish I could afford the retrotink, but $750 keeps this firmly in another realm

[@RKramer105]

Hard same. No shame if that's your Jam but that's easilly my entire GPU budget or more (including selling my current one used).

[@saricubra2867]

I have a high end VGA PC CRT monitor, cheaper than the scalar and lightyears better image quality than a CRT TV (both standard def or HD).

[@CandyManSC]

⁠@@saricubra2867yeah but it only works with like, 2 consoles natively

[@saricubra2867]

@@CandyManSC I have a 2002 32inch WEGA CRT TV for consoles in native res. But i almost don't use it, since the PC CRT is lightyears better for anything, the exception is the Nintendo Wii because of motion controls.

[@lovemadeinjapan]

I think I bought all my CRT's for around 750 bucks combined. And that is 20 CRTs.

[@Avenzic]

Great video. Mike Chi getting the recognition and respect he’s always deserved 👏🏼

[@TampaTec]

2004: CRT 😕 2024: CRT 😮

[@funkysynths]

Rookie mistake plugging in 240p content into a 16:9 HD CRT meant only for 360/PS3/DVDs, and also using an Orion tube Toshiba with washed out brightness settings that are not at all dialed in to be representatives of the CRT experience. Lol come on guys.

[@DaXing]

CRTs are amazing for rhythm games, specifically Beatmania IIDX. The PS2 version along with arcade cabinets still run preferred on them. Newer IIDX machines use 120hz, but nothing beats the feel of a CRT

[@EroticWhale]

I recently experienced this with my ps2 and guitar hero. Using a normal hdmi converter it was basically unplayable because of the latency lmao

[@yupimrandy]

Linus channeled Eric Cartman with this title

[@leftcoastfunk]

10:04 out of the entire video, this few seconds right here was unintentionally the best compliment and advertisement for the RetroTINK you could have made. You were just enjoying yourself so much that you completely bailed on the script for a bit. Got lost in the moment and literally forgot you were filming a video for a minute

[@the5gen]

I recently got the RT4K (replacing my older GBS-C) the difference is night and day with SNES & PS2 games, in particular the upscaling up to 4k on my new Samsung OLED TV.

[@ItalianAsianboi]

Rest In Peace headphone Juice company sponsorships 2024-2024 🫡

[@inkermoy]

I have a RetroTink 2xPro for capturing VHS and LD media. After trying a bunch of those little $20 upscaler boxes, I think it's well worth the price of my RetroTink. No more issues with blown out whites and dodgy contrast.

[@baremetaltechtv]

For 750 dollars I think I'll just buy a CRT monitor off craigs list and pocket 700 dollars.

[@skrich2]

At 5:44 you have the component video inputs in the composite front video input section. You would be running YPBPR through composite video in an RCA audio left and right in that scenario. This isn't advisable. The front ports support either s video or composite with stereo audio.

[@Fusion05]

The reason I haven't went full CRT is the durability question. Even if I got a 100% brand new CRT (almost impossible and absurdly expensive I imagine), it will still break one day. When it does there isn't a store where I can buy a new one, or many people who actually know how to work on them. I had the opportunity to buy a pretty nice CRT display, but I don't want to buy something I cannot buy again. Why get used to a product you cannot buy. This seems like a really good product, and I actually may pick one up now. Thanks guys!

[@bartgrefte]

Now I'm curious how Duck Hunt looks with this setup and if it's playable with an aftermarket LCD-compatible zapper (read somewhere those exist).

[@Bob_Smith19]

You’d need a Sinden Lightgun. I’ve had a lot of growing pains w/ mine. The room has to be completely dark for them to work. And you’re not using it w/ original NES hardware. You’re emulating w/ something like a PI so the Retrotink isn’t necessary.

[@SuperIronDan]

750USD is pretty insane, and that's coming from a mad men with over 10 CRT

[@RAHelllord]

It's high but it's technically a fair price if you consider that the FPGA alone is around $260 of the full price. Add to that R&D, that it's only a single developer handling both hardware and software development, and it's low volume runs and you can't really get that thing any lower and still live off of it. It's definitely high, though. And if the features don't justify the price tag I can highly recommend the cheaper 5X Pro. It's still 300 bucks total but does almost everything the 4k does, just at 1080p and the CRT emulation is more basic. But it's a great device and everything looks great on it.

[@dsouth7754]

Otherwise, folks should look into GBS based upscalers. They're a pretty straightforward soldering project. They don't compare to the RetroTink, but they're essentially really good at making older consoles look decent on modern panels. They're good enough, at least, to help decide if people want to go the route of original hardware, upscalers or emulation.

[@Wobble2007]

This is also mainly for people who don't already own a CRT, if you are used to a good quality CRT, then the Tin 4K isn't gonna really do it for you, even at 4K, the mask emulation offers much lower fidelity of a real 600 TVL CRT (it looks something close to around 350-400 TVL at its best), but that is a huge upgrade over the Tink 5x, and a step in the right direction, though I can't personally see myself paying 750 £$ for something that offers less fidelity (especially compared to my 1400 TVL PCM CRTs) than what I already have, but if I didn't have any CRTs, the Tink 4K would be priceless imo.

[@benwu7980]

@@RAHelllord I've long been annoyed about how few make fpga, and how few are made. They are incredibly cool, but still 'niche'

[@SpartanDusk]

Kinda a miss opportunity to have the team who's never seen a CRT and have them also choose which one theyd prefer. But great video as always!

[@NotXboxiie]

People can trash this channel all they want... i always look forward to the next sponsor segment. Shit's hilarious. He doesn't even try. He just naturally funny.

[@davo768]

Will your fancy upscailer "CRT killer" do lightguns? I suspect not, considering that the lightgun is looking for the scan of the electron beam to determine where you are aiming on the screen.

[@retched]

There are light guns that work with LED screens now.

[@Lemonicii]

Love the video; such a cool product! I'm a bit biased but I do wish you'd have compared to MiSTer's native CRT filters (which are different from the more rudimentary scandoubler effects that exist primarily for 480p VGA CRTs). They only hit 1440p in SDR but are probably a decent benchmark for what existed before the RT4K

[@EposVox]

Ayyyyyy

[@Big-Chungus21]

Im only 19, and my very first TV was a CRT with built in VHS player. CRTs persisted for quite a few years into the 2000s, longer in some countries than others.

[@calypsoraz4318]

I always like seeing how different members at LMG have their own areas where they completely nerd out.

[@ev-pc7pc]

You should do a show where you guys are cartoon animated! Maybe even like you're characters in a home brewed video game.

[@ev-pc7pc]

I'd eat some mushrooms to see that!

[@ev-pc7pc]

I know, do a celebrity death match!

[@marxmaiale9981]

I don't see anything about the light gun from the original NES. Thats the deepest test for being able to no longer need a CRT.

[@fh5kskalf]

Hyperkin Hyper Blaster HD is what you're after

[@blarghblargh]

Edit: sorry for the sass. Just reread what I wrote. I make good points, but I clearly need my morning coffee so I can lose the snark. ---- It's an LCD. What makes you think a scanline sensing light gun like the original zapper would work? Also, light gun games are cool and all. But they're a gimmick. They're the Wii bowling of that console generation. Not bad games, but there are way better games on that same console. Dozens, if not hundreds of better games. It would be shelling out extra, sucking up extra space, and having a (subjectively) worse experience with the flagship titles just so you can play the gimmick title. Maybe it's just me, but I only need to play duck hunt for 5 minutes every quarter century. Someone else can go through the hassle to set it up. In the mean time, I'll set up my entertainment center for the other 200-odd NES games that are any fun.

[@Finakechi]

The NES Zapper is one of the few light guns that you can actually get to work in a modern display. It's stuff like the Guncon that has bigger issues.

[@volvo09]

Interesting, that's some fast response to work with a light gun.

[@volvo09]

​@@blarghblarghyeah even back in the day I didn't care for light gun games. I'd play duck hunt 2x a year until I retired my NES.

[@HonestAuntyElle]

Hope Emily is doing well, she'd be all over the retrotink coverage.

[@jaredcanton8293]

​@@yangashi born Anthony, deep voice, cross eyed guy, long hair

[@netronin504]

$750 is why we emulate.

[@HedgehogY2K]

The big news of the RetroTink 4K was gonna hit this channel sooner or later.

[@MatthewJamesMullin]

The only reason I could tell the CRT from the OLED at 23:06 is that I had memorized the mask pattern of the CRT from the previous comparisons. I have a good CRT, but if I could afford it I would get this for streaming so my viewers could see something very close to what I'm seeing.

[@troyus111]

Now try a lightgun game with your OLED :)

[@johnmichaelgavin3617]

Im ready for the return of CRT, OLED Shmoled

[@SwareJonge]

Would've been great if you added the FW900 to the mix with RGB :)

[@saricubra2867]

That monitor of course destroys any CRT TV (and many modern "gaming" monitors).

[@lulkLogan]

@@saricubra2867 not for 240p systems, which they were mostly playing here

[@saricubra2867]

@@lulkLogan You can use interlacing for the VGA CRT and reach 480i. 240p is not realistic, and the effect works well on ridiculously expensive Sony BVM CRTs but part of the charm is composite signals, not RGB.

[@lulkLogan]

@@saricubra2867VGA CRTs are 480p minimum. 480i and 240p are the same horizontal frequency (15kHz) so a VGA CRT can display neither. And 240p looks completely different from 480i anyway. Which is why 80's and 90's game systems used it

[@saricubra2867]

@@lulkLogan You basically skip scanlines when you have the monitor set to 480p, the results are good. I tried this with my Samsung 19inch VGA CRT monitor, it's basically a Sony BVM.

[@MythicFables]

A big reason to keep CRT's is if you want Light Guns to keep working on original hardware. Otherwise, without a CRT, you can only use emulation.

[@jippalippa]

Nothing beats a crt for anything before the PS3. I have a Sony Trinitron from 2001 and, although a little banged up and warped, I love playing on it!

[@XxCrawdadCraigxX]

Wish Antony was explaining this