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.

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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

[@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?

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@TotalCodeMonkey]

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

[@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

[@tsartomato]

how young are you? i saw comments about it but never heard it in last 15 years i watch ootoob

[@beanmasterz]

​@@tsartomatoyou sound 12yo lil bro

[@tsartomato]

@@beanmasterz now try again this time in a human language

[@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

[@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!

[@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

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@damian_11_]

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

[@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.

[@jameswalt1]

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

[@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.

[@DctrGizmo]

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

[@jckorn9148]

I'm getting mine soon and I am a man of culture. I will be running my Switch, among other modern systems, through it to simulate running them on an HD CRT. Along with all my retro consoles of course.

[@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

[@jordanm2984]

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

[@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.

[@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!

[@0xTJ]

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

[@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.

[@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 ♥

[@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

[@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?

[@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!

[@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 😂

[@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.

[@EposVox]

Ayyyyyy

[@Avenzic]

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

[@CatharinaVanDerKop]

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!

[@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.

[@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.

[@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

[@Arsonist00]

I still have my OG Retrotink-2x, they have come a long way!

[@calypsoraz4318]

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

[@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!

[@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'

[@troyus111]

Now try a lightgun game with your OLED :)

[@ravagingwolverine666]

This was interesting to see. I wouldn't mind having the opportunity to compare emulation and upscaled setups on an LCD with a good CRT, just to see how far apart they are, but I'm also content with my setups and think they look good. I've moved on from CRT and don't really care about looking back. That's mostly because I had a handful of CRTs that just didn't last very long(and some that just wouldn't die). I had two Toshiba TVs similar to the one in this video and both developed picture problems. I had a pretty nice CRT monitor in the mid 2000s and it only lasted several years. I know there were issues with many electronics during that time period, so it could just be bad luck and timing. I also had a very early 4:3 1080i Sony CRT HDTV which was the last CRT I had. It was still working when we got rid of it, but was underwhelming as a CRT. It was also nearly 200 pounds and just really bulky. I did manage to find some info on it and it apparently wasn't really good with older systems hooked up to it directly as it still did a lot of processing for that, so I don't really feel like I'm missing out now that it's gone. I had heard before that 4K would bring some benefits for artificial scanlines and CRT effects for retro games, along with better scaling, and that's about the best use case for 4K for me. I've been resistant to 4K because it doesn't really offer me any benefit that I care about otherwise. And I'm happy with my retro gaming setups at lower resolutions, so I'm just not in a hurry. But it is cool to hear how this device works and how 4K provides nice benefits to achieving a good final image.

[@Piele]

Liked the enthusiasm, but i would have loved Emily's 2 cents to! Let's be real, she's the one that should have been in the vid to.

[@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.

[@itsatank5476]

Rest In Peace headphone Juice company sponsorships 2024-2024 🫡

[@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.

[@imaginaryangle]

I think tube displays had the advantage that artifacts were not very complicated and every form of loss of fidelity was analog. So it was possible for the brain to get adjusted to it perfectly, and it was also possible to produce experiences that made art out of the limitations. Modern displays have less fidelity issues by far, but the ones they still do are convoluted and feel very alien. This is the first tech I saw since the dawn of digital displays that feels like it satisfyingly closes that gap.

[@yupimrandy]

Linus channeled Eric Cartman with this title

[@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.

[@SomeNerd361]

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

[@nomadicdragon7157]

I’d love to know what David’s setup for this is. It looks great!!!

[@AlejandroCornelio-p6o]

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

[@CaptainRex332]

I miss the old CRTS’s with VHS players in them

[@johnmichaelgavin3617]

Im ready for the return of CRT, OLED Shmoled

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@Pickelhaube808]

As someone who uses CRTs daily... the OLED may look good but did not fool.

[@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 :)

[@Skunktail]

wish i could afford one, it looks so good

[@HonestAuntyElle]

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

[@tsartomato]

@@yangashi one of the writers. big size long hair

[@jaredcanton8293]

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

[@baremetaltechtv]

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

[@danimal7544]

Already approaching 1 million views…. I would have preferred it if you waited to put out this video until there is regular stock available. There is already more than enough demand at this point! Fantastic device and wizardry by Mike Chi though. I’m so tempted by this even though I haven’t put that many hours into gaming with my 5x Retrotink yet.

[@agentcrm]

I'm pretty sure RetroTink is only 1 or 2 people. Either way, what they do and the products they're making are great.

[@Bodom4ever5322]

So happy that this is getting more attention. So sad that I'll probably never find one in stock now lol

[@Geometry_Wins]

I work in Theatre/Live entertainment and a lot of performing arts centres will still use CRT's backstage for their program video because of the zero latency. It's really important for productions that need precision visual cue timing such as dance production.

[@graxxor]

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

[@Rise7]

watchin this on one of my Viewsonic pro CRTs, retrotink is definitely beloved by enthusiasts, but the charm of a big CRT is just too cool to try and do with anything besides it.

[@phil_matic]

9:30 every time Linus got one level correct, my jaw began to drop lower and lower until he managed to do a complete clean sweep without failing any of the levels and getting all of the 1-UPs

[@User0815-OG]

its way too expensive, but really cool.

[@jackg_]

Yeah it's awesome, but the crt I bought for my retro consoles was $5 so...

[@heatherfryling4868]

Need to get your CRT recapped and professionally serviced to have a fair comparison. ;)

[@Pcaddictt]

is it me or has LTT videos got so much better since Linus got freedom from running the company...

[@Macs]

I appreciate the upscalers improving as CRT will not last forever but you have a shitty CRT get a good one and redo the test.. B&O or a Sony Trinitron with scart input.

[@sucram1993]

its $750 though........

[@Sickoloko24]

@@sucram1993 if you broke say that.

[@ajpanton]

As a competitive player of an old fast paced video game played exclusively on CRT's, with 10+ years of experience with those monstrosities, I can guarantee that CRT TVs rarely have zero latency. The console+game itself adds some latency with its triple buffering etc, but the delta between the best and the worst performing TVs can be 100's of milliseconds of click-to-photon latency. Someone once brought a TV that required a composite-to-antenna adapter, and that had a latency of almost a second. All analog doesn't automatically mean everything is instant. Also, adjusting picture quality settings greatly affect the input delay. Usually having every slider in the middle is the best, and as soon as you deviate from that, the latency jumps really high. edit: As a side note, IIRC, the click-to-photon latency on the best CRT I've measured was somewhere around 50ms (most of that is probably from the console, like controller polling, rendering, triple buffering). Using an emulator with tweaked settings on an OLED TV that goes down to about 20ms. This is more of a console vs emulator comparison though, not TVs.

[@RobotnikPlays]

Id love to see a CRT repair video from LTT on that CRT youre having issues with!

[@ruxxie]

Sony Trinitron all the way :>

[@MoA-Reload...]

Have to admit, I really miss the quirks of old school electronics. When I was a kid one of my uncles gave me an absolute monster of a CRT. No idea what actual size it was but above 32" for sure and it was a beast of a thing. It started failing not long after I got it. I'd get home from school, hit the power button and leave it. By dinner time it'd spring to life and be good to go. Then it went through a phase of shutting off randomly so I'd whack it on the top a few times and it'd be back but that is super inconvenient when you're trying to be quiet and not get caught watching TV at night. Eventually it refused to turn on at all. Cracked it open, may have jury-rigged one of the fuzes inside it(I'm sure it wasn't important and hadn't blown for good reason) and rewired the power switch to one I had hanging out the side of it and was back in business lmao Kinda makes me sad my son will never really have that experience. It's all sealed units and micro circuity built to break even more at even an attempt of some dumb kid tinkering. On the other hand it's nothing short of a miracle I didn't electrocute myself several times over or burn the house down :p

[@gavinpicard3003]

You'd be surprised how many functioning CRT TVs are on Facebook Marketplace and the like. I managed to collect around 4 in a 2 week time span.

[@lukasperuzovic1429]

And Mike Chi just did a Firmware Update to better Support MiSTer's HDMI output. The MiSTer sends it's direct video data to the Retrotink 4k and it scales the image automatically with perfect scaling. This is opposed to having to press a button on the remote to have the Retrotink autoscale when you switch cores in the MiSTer.

[@joseherrera8489]

@9:30 I wasn't paying attention at all to anything he was saying. I was in awe that he was getting them all.

[@mjd3879]

yes we can replace a $50 facebook CRT with a $800 scaler and $500+ oled, for 26x the price. That being said, I am not against this, the price will come down in time, but it is not a financially viable solution for most people from a value perspective.

[@alessandrosurdo2870]

TVS AV ou HDMI ruim porblemo jogos coisas LED HDR UHD LCD SDR feios pior Composite FAIL Ruin só fraco difícil feios viu não gosto 👎 (cego on) TVS RGB PASS Off AV bem verdade rápido ganhar Jogos AV Luz limpar ótimo limpar RGB CRT até gosto bonitos muito Super Nintendo AV 240p👌CRT👌 limpar só Off ganhar 4.3 é 16.9 deixar 👌😘👍 $750 pior roubar Retro Tink 4k🤦‍♂️😡 R$3.500.00 🙎‍♂️🤦‍♂️😡 AV2HDMI bem Ruin composite pior ON cego pablema R$45.00 até Retro Scaler 2x On limpar bem 😂 AV ou HDMI R$100.00 😂Scaler 2x😂

[@nicholasmarty4370]

Yeah, you review whatever you want. Then auction them off right?

[@zapa47]

Used CRTs are sometimes more than the RetroTink 4k.

[@unfinished_basement-vu8dr]

Man, Linus, You in boss mode now.

[@dustindavidson900]

Pretty cool, but $750? 🤡🌎

[@eyeofhelios7830]

Huge gape!

[@femto8402]

It's a fair price for this kind of product. It's not for everyone, but it's the best for what it does

[@Deus_wukong1468]

@@femto8402which is nothing lol

[@femto8402]

@@Deus_wukong1468 It's a device that can completely replace a CRT. It's meant to play old games and watch content made for CRT. It's an amazing device for retrogamer especially, it work with every old consoles even the weirdest ones. It does a lot, you are just not the target of this product.

[@MikkoRantalainen]

I think you should have reviewed old but high quality DVD players with movies, too. If this thing can do proper conversion, it should be really good for video/movie content, too.

[@jamiemarshall4738]

I'm 22 and still used a CRT TV when I first got to NZ when I was 2½. Used to watch VHS tapes on it, and play PS2 games, it caused some mad migraines for me so nowadays I prefer to use a flat screen just because of the flickering of the display on a CRT. So I can appreciate it but I can't use it for long periods

[@Ojisan642]

One comparison I think you missed was running retro NES and SNES games direct to HDMI on the Switch’s own emulator versus the original hardware via the RetroTink.

[@Groglor]

crt for the win