PlayStation 5 + Xbox Series X Tested on CRT: Is Image Quality Really Better Than Any Modern Screen?

[@leatherhidegaming]

The prices of CRT monitors increase by 1% for every second DF talks about them.

[@gamerxt333]

*checks Ebay*..... more like 3%.

[@TheXlen]

FW190 has risen to 3k rn

[@oror3751]

CRT Headaches

[@VAULT-TEC_INC.]

$3,000 on eBay

[@magyararon6918]

@@oror3751 Modern LCD can cause VERY BAD headaches too, they have inversion flicker and many other problems(like slow response times which can give you a headache playing games). I think the eyestrain stuff with the CRTs were VERY overblown, and probably come from dumb people who were running it at 60 Hz.

[@fuzzycuffs]

John singlehandedly keeping the FW900 price out of my range.

[@producerevan88]

yep 🤦‍♂️ guess I'll stick with my good old ge crt for retro consoles

[@Zeegoku1007]

@@producerevan88 Peter : "Ok"...

[@charlesanderson1855]

They'll be dead soon.

[@StreetfighterTips]

At least I have a pvm for my retro stuff, fw900 prices stupid

[@almendraman]

There's gotta be other good widescreen CRT options right?

[@danb7601]

Its crazy looking at a crt for the first time in years. The magic effects in games seem so much more tangible, like they are actually glowing in a space, even the text glows and looks more solid

[@MANiACmiget925]

This is reminding me of when HDTV's were starting to become mainstream and people were upset that their standard definition DVD's looked worse on their new flat panel HDTV.

[@RobNomad]

DVD is really made for crt

[@alexanderulv3886]

DVD looks awful on 4k TV 😪

[@le4-677]

lol dvds are ass

[@dantasticmania8728]

Actually I remembered ironically enough more people hating on Blu ray feeling it was a completely useless format that really didn't change the game too much. Meaning ether most shund it for not being radically innovative enough or the idea that people were making the outrageous claims that they hardly saw a huge difference between Blu-ray over DVD. Then there were the complaints that it was Sony's excuse to sell the PS3 at a $600 price tag or an excuse to stop pirating of movies. In fact to this day DVD still ironically enough has out sold Blu-rays even to this day.

[@teacherfromthejungles6671]

all southeast Asia still watches DVD

[@speedyink]

The lack of blur is absolutely huge and cannot be understated. When I got back into CRT's after being on flat panels for so long the motion clarity was noticeable right away. Really is a night and day difference

[@wakaflockaproject]

Same with plasma

[@speedyink]

@@wakaflockaproject Plasma's were so under rated. I think the death knell was the initial lower resolutions compared to LCD televisions, and people bought based on resolution. I was even guilty of this. I remember scoffing at the 480p and 720p panels of Plasmas, and the burn in issues. Now when I see older Plasmas it's clear as day they were better then the LCDs of the time

[@wakaflockaproject]

@@speedyink I still use plasma. Better than any led today even

[@speedyink]

@@wakaflockaproject I won't argue with you there. I would own a plasma if I didn't get an oled instead.

[@speedyink]

@@wakaflockaproject I might still get a plasma if one pops up for cheap. I don't know where I'd put it, but..

[@kino_Kk]

New gen games on older crt tv's actually make the games feel like a movie. as good as the resolution is on newer monitors, you can really hide the imperfections from 4k monitors and things like that, which actually work in favor with the games.

[@m8rs558]

I've always felt that gaming wasn't ready for 4K yet. There's no hiding the low-poliness in the distance now

[@onthedre]

I thought it was just me! I always felt games were more immersive on CRT's and playing PS2 games always felt like an experience on them!

[@ydoic1111]

Just buy a n64 and a tube TV and enjoy your retro gaming ...personally I enjoy the fuck out of playing games that run in 60- 100 fps maybe not all can pull it off but high definition looks sharper more crips more fluid and if a lil blur is making you want to play on old tech buy a better TV or dont

[@Hadouken9000]

For movies and video games, it can definitely get to a point where everything's oversaturated, everything's too "sharp" and the frame rate is so high that it feels like it's sped up. Modern televisions and monitors can make things "look fake," especially to Millenials and Gen X people who grew up with CRTs and watching movies that are 24 frames per second.

[@kino_Kk]

@@Bonks332 That's not what this is about man lol, CRT's lack things newer monitors have, gameplay wise it's always better to have better monitors, but this is about asthetically, because CRT's blend a lot of the pixels together, it can blend out imperfections in designs. it's why a lot of older pixel games look a lot different on newer monitors compared to playing them on old CRT's for example, something like the old castlevania games. The limits of the CRT's just made things pop a different way, and the artists of games knew how to use that to create better looking games. Because of that, playing newer games on an old CRT makes the games look more griddy and phase out a lot of the imperfections in Anti aliasing and such by blending them into each other, which gives off a less sharp picture, but a more rounded texture, If you played newer games on an older monitor or TV you'd see what I mean. It's not a market driver technique, it's just giving people a different experience that people might enjoy for fun. Not every game has to be played competitively on a high hertz refresh rate monitor to have a great experience. To each their own, I'm not saying you're wrong for wanting the best and greatest thing, but getting upset because a guy has a different opinion than you, whether it be that they like vinyl or old CRT analogs is crazy to rant about. Everyone has a preference and he's just giving his side of an argument on why he thinks it's better.

[@BennygProductionz]

I just looked up that tv on eBay, they want $3000 lmfao

[@Kabodanki]

+800$ shipping, already 6 bids, end in 24h, people are crazy

[@NikoofDeath]

Was like $1000 when I wanted one back in like 2012

[@jamesb7205]

At that point just buy a massive OLED 😂

[@xTHETRAINx]

people are on that r-word juice

[@mosthated8848]

I found one at my local pawn for $100 bucks and, with adapter few months back. Use it with my Xbox series X and, PS5 Guilty Gear looks awesome on it.

[@krankymann]

CRT's are a funny thing, they are actually quite fun to collect as different ones have strengths and use cases. I currently have a few and use each one differently. They are by far the most authentic and pleasurable way to enjoy retro content and I hope that seeing these videos saves a few more from the dumpster, after all once they are gone, they're gone no-one is making them anymore.

[@Valrax]

I started collecting CRTs and noticed between different models they stand out for different systems and uses, some are good for VHS I have, some are good genesis gaming and others pop more with stuff like the GameCube and ps2

[@ArmandQ.]

@@Valrax I had a Sony Trinitron up until the mid 2000's and it was great for GC games because it supported 480p. I couple of years ago I acquired and older NOKIA CRT TV to play my Wii VC games at 240p, and it looks just amazing, plus it's a 32" TV, can be played from quite a distance. However I was slightly disappointed as native Wii/GC games look a little blurry ( especially the text ) and flickers too much for my eyes pleasure since it's only capable of 480i. Now I know that I need a second CRT TV just for that. It never occurred to me to collect more then one ..😮

[@davidseleznova3199]

Some Chinese factories do make them, so the potential is certainly there.

[@agentorange8530]

I have a few and they're fun to collect but they take up so much space

[@davidseleznova3199]

Where do you store them? I have them in nice container full of bins.

[@anthonyortiz4254]

I miss CRTs for games. The phosphor glow, crispness, and the almost perfect black levels. *sigh

[@tamegaming1768]

honestly. for some types of content there's nothing like analogue video on a crt

[@Wobble2007]

@@tamegaming1768 I'm now realizing that everything looks so much better and is more enjoyable to play on CRT, it's a combination of near perfect motion clarity and CRT being able to retain 99% of resolution when motion is fast and things get busy on the screen, which is incredible for games, LCD/OLED drops to less that 20% of the intended resolution with just modest motion on screen, that's terrible for gaming on, not to mention CRT has zero response times, incredible vibrant colours, perfect natural blacks that manages to retain detail even in the darkest of scenes, then there's the awsome image depth CRT can have that looks so awsome in some games, FPS games with targets in the distance look so much more realistic because the depth is there, it's such a cool aspect of CRTs. Watch movies on CRT is amazing too, especial Anime content, CRT is the defacto gaming display tech no doubt.

[@wg8561]

@wobble2007 yes and no. I've owned a lot of different displays. Now I've never owned a crt monitor as awesome as these guys have but I've owned many crts a plasma,, a high end pioneer elite rear projection tv and currently own 2 of the best qleds ever made. I even own 2 vector monitors. My poineer elite pro 710 was amazing for movies but sucked for games. My Panasonic plasma was great for a couple years till the blacks turned more of a gray and I had image retention. My crts were all great at the time. Had too many standard crts to remember and even had 2 hd crts that I enjoyed. Currently I have 1 trash non led lcd that's in my kids room. Another just barely ok budget 4k led in my other kids room. Samsung q90 55 for my sim rig and 75 q8fn for my series x, ps5 and movies. The q8fn has been calibrated and you would tbink you are looking at oled, but no burn in worries. The blacks on it will match even the best plasmas and crts. For retro gaming I have a 32" jvc D series thats rgb modded. It's great for that, but for movies... lol nope. I also picked up a 27" Sony trinitron a few days ago, but haven't fooled with it yet. I'm going to try and snag a 36" Sony and rgb mod it. If I ever get a chance for a nice pvm/bvm then maybe.

[@unknownwolf4046]

Same I miss CRT I went through so many HD TV sets 😢

[@wg8561]

@@unknownwolf4046 go get one. I'm sure you can find one second hand, as a lot of people want to get rid of them.

[@joshcastro2213]

This reminds me of the day I saw my grandmothers CRT tv and was blown away by the image. I wasn't crazy after all

[@RobotronSage]

Grandma actually knows a thing or two, contrary to popular belief.

[@theripper121]

A properly tuned CRT had the ability to throw an amazing looking image. The real pinnacle of Crt tech was probably around early 2000's with wide screen HD rear projection sets such as the Ponieer Elite series or the Mitsubishi Diamond series sets or front projection Sony G80 or G90 units. They were absolutely incredible when calibrated.

[@ahmedhamm5464]

@@RobotronSage no she just got upsold by the sales rep

[@user-bj1mx2ip1c]

​@@theripper121projection tvs were trash...but early 2000s CRTs that were not the clunky blurry projection tvs were freaking amazing

[@user-bj1mx2ip1c]

When I play house of the dead 3 on my wii on my expensive 2011 samsing lcd and cheap 2006 Pioneer tv the colors are wayyyyy better...I thought my connection was broken for the lcd...I might connect my xbox 360 to the crt and play in 480i just to see if all the games have better color

[@franciscobutte]

DF be like: "We already have a CRT TV so let's talk about how cool it is and let's the scalpers do the rest."

[@Richbroth]

Yep

[@Chance57]

Pump, meet dump. Now they just sell this garbage TV after they've driven demand up.

[@Chance57]

@@shade221 it can't even do HDR lol. Opinions are best when you don't treat them like fact.

[@Chance57]

@@shade221 You're only further convincing me of how little this this TV is worth beyond the arbitrary hype.

[@jeffyp2483]

@@Chance57 pump and dump CRTs? hilarious. you can goto any thrift store, yard sale, online (ebay, fb market, craigslist, etc.) and buy a crt for peanuts. there is no way anyone could 'pump' the price of crt monitirs or tvs. theyre for a niche market at this point. they still do some things well, as pointed out in the video. the same video that says youre not going to want to get rid of your new tv/monitor and replace it with crt, just that a crt to compliment it is a nice place to be especially for retro titles, and possibly newer titles as well.

[@HansensUniverseT-A]

I never thought i would actually go so far as to transition back to CRTs but i did, i have stocked up on units, one of the greatest changes i noticed was i got far far less eye fatigue over any flat screen, motion is so smooth, colors really pop, it's a very pleasant image.

[@frogfarmer3551]

My eyes tear up not more than an hour after playing on my 1440 Acer or Samsung 4k TV. I was just thinking yesterday, how did I ever manage to binge so much world of Warcraft if my eyes do this after moderate gaming. Idk, your comment was insightful and I'm going to look into this more 🌠

[@abraham9301]

@@frogfarmer3551 A proper 1440p monitor with anti glare and other things shouldn't make your eyes tear up. I use low brightness and I can look at my screen for hours. Maybe your eyes are different? Try crt and tell us. My screen is a g27q if that helps.

[@toxicgracie3772]

Plus there's 0ms latency

[@PhantomHarlock78]

If your wifes think PS5 is big, just imagine when they see you entering the house with a CRT.

[@user-xg6tv5hl6s]

wait till your wife's boyfriend finds out you're using his PS5

[@dondraper4438]

@@user-xg6tv5hl6s Might take your Nintendo Switch away.

[@axumitedessalegn3549]

The Arabian peninsula sympathizes with your predicaments.

[@lilquincy6292]

@@user-xg6tv5hl6s wait?

[@Poever]

That’s what she said

[@DenkyManner]

We're one step away from John standing outside a supermarket with a portable speaker proclaiming to disinterested shoppers that "CRTs are the truth, renounce your flat screens!"

[@habadasheryjones]

You mean we aren't already there?

[@firestone1010]

I'll set up a CRT with this video playing in loop, how about that?

[@wurzelbert84wucher5]

I was always hoping, that someone would make use of the niche and create modern CRTs. Sadly nobody did!

[@UNSCPILOT]

Even small ones would be great

[@NIGonzo]

The cost of manufacturing CRTs these days would be mad. They could never be profitable again, sadly.

[@NIGonzo]

@@doltBmB But does anyone even do that any more? At a scale that is profitable, or even could be? I doubt it.

[@RobotronSage]

@@NIGonzo Everyone thinking in terms of ''profit'' is exactly what is wrong with everything in the modern world and society. Remember kids, there is no profit without loss, this is a zero sum game where everyone is bound to lose to an increasing climate of unchecked greed.

[@chairforcegamer3571]

@@RobotronSage good luck finding anybody with the resources to make you your new super crt that has that same attitude.

[@ivyssauro123]

Your videos on CRTs two years ago made me buy two CRTs, and I couldn't be happier with it, never get tired of using them.

[@floydland3509]

I love the fact that old technology can still have relevance. Sometimes the old ways are best.

[@jayhovah5621]

Viable yes The best... Not even close

[@floydland3509]

@@jayhovah5621 Hence the “sometimes”

[@UNSCPILOT]

Been messing with a nice old Yamaha dual cassette deck, don't let anyone fool you, cassettes still sound great even pit against my fancy modern Fiio M9 hifi digital music player. But it's a monster peice of hardware so not nearly as portable but still cool, kinda want at least a small CRT to go with my PC and ol' 360

[@AugustoV8Cesar]

@@jayhovah5621 A CRT TV or Monitor has ZERO Input lag and response time and the TRUE COLORS, its NATIVE RGB.

[@davidsilverfield835]

Agreed

[@ds90seph]

I picked up an old Sony CRT TV a few weeks ago on a whim that was just put out on the street as trash. I'd been wanting one for a while. Didn't think it would work, but I took the chance and busted my ass picking it up by myself lol and what do you know - it worked perfectly! I even have an old remote that works for it too, so I immediately plugged in my PS1 to run some old school Resident Evil. I can't begin to explain the satisfaction and the excitement that it gave me seeing the old startup screen the way it was intended. For those who miss these displays, I can't recommend them enough. The nostalgia is palpable.

[@dotmatrixmoe]

I haven't seen anyone mention it, but have you considered RGB modding yours? I'm actually modding mine this weekend, universal to the chassis BA-4D.

[@ericstaples7220]

​@@dotmatrixmoeI have a PS3 hooked up to a CRT. In my tests, I found PS1 games look better with AV cables than Component (RGB). Images just seem more tangible and dithering works the way it was intended to.

[@dotmatrixmoe]

@@ericstaples7220Thanks for replying, but since my comment I actually already RGB modded my set :P dithering became a lot more noticeable on PS1, but honestly the pros outweighed the cons for me

[@ericstaples7220]

@@dotmatrixmoe Sorry, didn't see the date. But everyone does have their personal preferences and that's what's great about retro gaming.

[@EposVox]

Can confirm they're still great on a BVM D24 too!

[@PieStudios]

How’s your Dragon Ball Z 30th anniversary Blu-Rays treating you?

[@AugustoV8Cesar]

make a warzone gameplay on a CRT please.

[@TechWizard28]

-_-

[@Ichibuns]

I would love to see the kind of ridiculous CRT monitor that could be made with todays technology. I'd bet it's capability would easily surpass any method of video output we currently have.

[@PaperBanjo64]

I would also...we ditched those beautiful analog TVs and monitors for saving space and because of the slim factor, but unless you're in the military and have to move a lot you ain't gonna need to move the TV much anyway.

[@LennyQUMFIF]

BUT I WANT MY RCA AND COMPONENTS INPUTS BACK DAMMIT.

[@dropdeadaf975]

We have OLED today, nothing can beat this

[@LennyQUMFIF]

@@dropdeadaf975 there's Micro LED, while expensive as sh*t, it has all the OLED Advantages, AND NO BURN IN

[@dropdeadaf975]

@@LennyQUMFIF no, the blacks aren’t deeper as the OLED, the response time isn’t as good as OLED, Micro-LED is a scam

[@AndyGilleand]

There is no loss of detail on an OLED with "sample and hold". LCD has this because the pixels take too long to update, so they blend into each other. OLED doesn't have this issue. Pixels update instantaneously, without the need to flicker to black first, resulting in a cleaner image. Rtings test is not a good one, as the camera is moving at a constant speed, while frames update once every 16ms. The camera moves while the frame stays in place until the next refresh, so the 1/15th shutter speed would display blur even on your CRT example, even though the CRT is perfectly crisp. Just like an OLED. The difference is the black flicker will halve the camera's blur as the object is only present half the time, but the object is just as crisp on an OLED. It's just present for longer, for a cleaner transition from one frame to another. Keeping the camera still and using a shutter of maybe 1/75th of a second would give a more accurate depiction of how clean motion is. And really the biggest factor for CRTs in this video is resolution, and nearly every current gen game is going to be running at or very near native 4K. Downscaling that to 1080p will look worse, even if that 1080p is crisp. (although even then, not perfectly crisp, because pixels won't align perfectly either, which IS a problem) I know John has a fetish for CRTs, and I'm glad he can enjoy this, but I really don't agree with all of his claims in these videos.

[@Name_cannot_be_blank]

HE HAS USED AN OLED PANNEL FOR COMPARISON, READ

[@Name_cannot_be_blank]

AND HE SHOWED THE TECHNIKEUSIAD, i thonkh

[@Name_cannot_be_blank]

and there is "HDR" on a crt for each pixel because you dont need a backlight

[@Name_cannot_be_blank]

had caps and didnt notice and then i didnt care

[@AndyGilleand]

@@Name_cannot_be_blank I was specifically responding to that. I disagree with what he says about OLEDs.

[@websurfer945]

The CRT just naturally makes games more like games - as 90s player

[@RemoWilliams1227]

Agreed

[@blazemkds]

Yeah sums it up perfectly. The CRT just gives the games a much more colorful and vibrant atmosphere.

[@jmtrad1906]

One of my regrets is throwing away my old CRT monitor after buying a new one. That was in 2010.

[@ivyssauro123]

BRO RIP, do you remember the model??

[@clayton2500]

My dad had one in perfect condition we threw away a year ago

[@pz106r]

Same. Had a Sony G400, moved to a new house, thought aahhh it’s too heavy to handle and gave it to a friend for free. Then , first LCD TN 60hz and OMG that was a BIG disappointment for FPS games……

[@ivyssauro123]

@@pz106r FUck, can't G400s make 1800 x 1440 / 70 Hz? That thing is an underapreciated beast! what a loss

[@RosskoPeeko]

I loved playing my Dreamcast on the CRT monitor. The resolution bump alone was incredible at the time over TV sets.

[@lilcashapp6832]

woohoo Analog Foundry returns!

[@greenchoice1810]

I don't miss CRT monitors but I am shocked at how good it still looks.

[@Skylancer727]

I don't miss CRT TVs as they lacked support for higher refresh rates, I do miss CRT monitors. Like he said, being able to run a 1440p 120hz video on it today basically makes it good enough for modern consoles, if they recognized it.

[@prltqdf9]

I am not, since I still remember how big of a quality drop it was when I had to get an LCD monitor after my Samsung CRT died.

[@retrosoul8770]

@@prltqdf9 exactly, major regression

[@GENKI_INU]

@@Skylancer727 The problem is, in order to use a CRT these days, you would need to use an active, powered HDMI to VGA converter. This conversion process does add some delay, meaning any potential latency benefits you would've gained are lost or at least minimised anyway, compared to a decent modern LCD. So you're still better off using a high-refresh TN LCD panel, if all a person cares about is latency.

[@GENKI_INU]

@@prltqdf9 Earlier generations of LCDs were absolutely terrible, yes. But luckily we're not living in the past anymore. Any higher-end LCD or OLED panel these days far surpases the capabilities and image quality of even the best CRT's. I think too many people are looking at the past with rose-tinted goggles, and are taking for LCDs for granted, completely forgetting all the good reasons we switched over to begin with.

[@evil1st]

Imagine a modern 21:9 widescreen 4k 120HZ CRT. Gaming on something like that would be insane.

[@gianmendez1921]

would suck as much power as your rig plus the weight

[@deadwejght5357]

@@gianmendez1921 that is absolutely true. It would also be amazing lol

[@gianmendez1921]

@Røyål Læg3nd a car is different from a monitor, does your screen go 0 to 60 in 4 seconds?

[@luckysours8397]

@Røyål Læg3nd um false lmao way more power directly to the wheels than fossil fuels

[@luckysours8397]

@Røyål Læg3nd you have major dunning Kruger buddy

[@pacsbatera]

Can't help but feel the overall 90s vibe of this whole video. I just love it!

[@joesaiditstrue]

a lot of "ridge racer type 4 intro" vibes

[@RetroTechUSA]

I love when DF covers CRTs! Thanks guys!

[@MrNapkino]

based retrotech

[@oneMurilognt]

Retro Tech, master of pro CRT's.

[@jayc2469]

For the first time I can see a resurgence of the old (and heavy!) CRT's of the day. Running anything high resolution through a Composite or RGB Display is not limited to physical pixels (Triplets) so its like having built in High Quality Antialiasing! I made CRT's for Philips from 1986 up until 2000 and recall their demise under LCD/Flat

[@barryschalkwijk9388]

Oh man the old Phillips large size crt's with the built in speakers. Those things were barely unliftable for 1 person. I could lift it but forget about moving it more than 5 meters.

[@arandominternetuser9099]

@@barryschalkwijk9388 we got this old 32 inch JVC CRT TV on the curb not too far down the road where I am, and it is so heavy. Built in speakers, and the fact that it's a *32 inch display* We used to move it to the basement during the winter and garage during the summer but we realized we're just going to leave it outside to be our outside TV. It still works like a charm, even with the radical temp swings from single digit temps in winter to the 80 to 90 degree heat we get during summer. I love using that thing though. I have another one that's more moderately sized but with a busted speaker, Zenith brand, and much older too with the only port being the RF coaxial port, but I do use an old VCR with it and "broadcast to channel 3" but with mere millimeters in range, and I tune an old radio to channel 3 to get audio for it. I love using that too. I have an old 10 inch CRT in my room with an antenna too. I feel like an 80s kid deep down, even though I was born in 2002.

[@salmon_wine]

@@barryschalkwijk9388 the trick is to keep the screen against your belly!

[@barryschalkwijk9388]

@@salmon_wine i know but still :-)

[@JesseRitchey]

“I use a professional broadcast monitor, of course.” 😂

[@phant0mdummy]

Not a shocking sentence from the guy who shoehorns "bespoke" into every sentence, and ends all his sentences with the word "then" He got some snoot on him.

[@LIANG14]

It’s a little ripe for sure, where is the editor? Delete the - ‘of course’, ‘obviously’, ‘makes sense’, ‘mind you’, ‘basically’s from the script..

[@mathias2277]

@Jenny Melo KZbin made, but I guess it is a profession nonetheless

[@mash2481]

@Violett Fem agreed.

[@lucass3485]

@@mathias2277 digital foundry is part of eurogamer, so not really "youtube made"

[@matthewnichols6687]

Love my Sony trinitron and bang and olufsen crt with high quality scart on the sega mega drive. Would also recommend not skipping on the audio as it's just as important. Tried many set ups and settled on a Sony hi fi system of all things. Pulling stereo from headfone jack on Megadrive to music center is a joy to be had.

[@obe22099]

I remember when i upgraded from my 1 ton CRT to one of the first gen 720p panels. I was disappointed with the colors, the viewing angles limitations. Going into a store and seeing a screen never made me excited to buy a new one. I expected incremental improvements to continue until high end 4k HDR displays. Seeing 4k HDR clips with perfectly tuned to the panel specs that seemed to come out of nowhere. It only took two decades to get to the point that I'm blown away. Although most content isn't optimized for HDR and each display manufacturer seems to have a different HDR format that isn't fully compatible across displays from the same generation of tech.

[@Jose951Sanchez]

You're right about that 🤣😂 I barely could pick up that 32 I gave away for $10 ; now I deeply regret 😭

[@jamiepogue6024]

The first time I remember realizing how awful LCD's were for motion was playing Super Metroid and watching Samus' world SMEAR across the screen when you change rooms. On a CRT (or even a half decent plasma), you could really track just about every pixel in smooth, glass like motion across the screen.

[@brando4526]

Old LCD panels were horrible for motion but have significantly improved.

[@lowpolycrt]

would love to see a video detailing the process of fine-tuning display settings in order to get the most out of a CRT. I've heard that it can be a bit of an ordeal, in some cases

[@stephenharris5532]

I'm visually impaired (meaning bad vision regardless of glasses/contacts), but the transition from CRT to LCD in the early 2000s was a big deal for me and I thought it was absolutely crazy that no one saw how badly they looked. I have to sit pretty close to the screen and all the issues I had with LCDs which I was never able to explain to anyone are explained here! I thought I was taking crazy pills because of how badly LCDs looked when anything was moving on screen and it's so jarring to me I still can't believe that sighted people on average tell me they perceive no quality issues. I used a professional CRT into the late 2000s because of it. It's pretty awesome seeing it finally addressed, though 20 years later.

[@mr.jamster8414]

What I've seen of CRT's is that the blues are far brighter and deeper... My dad reckons that LCD's were a massive brightness increase. I told him about Daytona USA and how much more shit, low-resolution and dark it looked compared to the arcades watching someone play it on an emulator on KZbin. He told me "it was a special kind of screen in the arcades, then"

[@cevu5kol060]

I feel like I need to say a prayer for all the CRT sets we've lost. Lmao

[@hopepeho]

Keep up the good work, John. I love every CRT video that you make regardless of the envy that I have for your monitor. Some of us still appreciate these things and genuinely want to see them go back into production. Slim chance and all but if there's a market for it then you're the person driving it.

[@miraakthuri]

i don't regret replacing my 1080p 16:9 flat pannel with my "new" CRT 4:3 monitor that can max up at 1920x1440 60hz (mostly using 1600x1200 at 75hz) for playing modern games on my PC weight and space is a small price to pay for that superior quality and i love the 4:3 ratio for gaming (16:9 was too wide for my tastes)

[@robertt9342]

And some us 32:9

[@mdog86]

Holy shit, that exact model sony crt is going for 3 fucking grand on ebay lol. Good god that's insane.

[@XGALAXYDRIFT3RX]

its over 4 grand now lol

[@randybradley4151]

Half the proceeds go to John for hyping the display.

[@glenmcl]

John's alt ebay account 🤣

[@vgnvideogameninja2930]

That's incredibly cheap though. Have you seen the pricing for Samsung's Micro LED TV? You could buy at least 50 of these for the price of 1 MLED TV.

[@sneekz07]

Makes sense. High end CRT's have always been expensive, now it's about availability. Every year that passes the number of CRT's available drops.

[@existentialselkath1264]

On pc, integer resolution scaling is amazing. It basically makes up for the resolution advantage of a crt, assuming your using a multiple of the monitors resolution

[@glenmcl]

Charlie Sheen is not a fan of IRS

[@RobotronSage]

lmfao ''integer resoluton scaling'' does not really stack up to CRT-capable resolutions. Also i am wasting way too much time of my life arguing resolution semantics on the internet.

[@thosediamonddreams]

I'm late watching this video but damn this is one of the finest vids on DF. I loved that i feel like I was here from the start, when John just plugged his CRT into Control a year or two ago just to see what it looked like and was blown away by it and now this is like video #3 about CRT gaming lol. Love the passion!

[@Daniel189HLL]

I haven't even started watching yet but this has to be done by John!

[@megan_alnico]

I think most of this 'CRTs are awesome' stuff has got to be due to how amazing these particular high end monitors are. As someone who lived through the transition I can tell you that your average, or below average CRTs warped images (especially around the corners), had brightness issues when running in higher resolutions, and pretty much just were not as good for your average computing tasks as LCD. LCD was crisper at native resolutions, brighter and probably most important of all, didn't give you a headache due to refresh rate mismatches with the overhead lights in office buildings. Refresh and response times, and ghosting were a big issue in the beginning for gaming but once we got past most of that it was such an upgrade I can't even begin to describe it. That all said, if I had had a CRT that did 1080p I'd still own it. This thing looks incredible.

[@nerdstrangler4804]

I feel like I am taking crazy pills watching these vids, because I have zero fond memories of CRTs. I just remember them looking washed out and gross. Maybe you are right in that these professional monitors are why. Because none of the CRTs I ever used had picture quality that I would consider good, let alone even remotely comparable to a modern day tv/monitor.

[@megan_alnico]

@@nerdstrangler4804 Yeah and this "can display any resolution" BS is so tiring. While you can't call it a "native" resolution, you can say that a CRT is BEST at a particular resolution. I had monitors that were "800x600" on the box but had unfixable geometry problems if you ran it above 640x480. Brightness was absolutely effected by resolution. I have an old first gen iMac and an old PPC quadra-something and the monitors on both stretch the picture on the edges like crazy. 16x9 monitors were incredibly rare and I bet this has a flatter screen then then 12 inch class balls us plebs had to use.

[@frankie5821]

@@megan_alnico change your pfp... it’s disturbing.

[@RobotronSage]

@@frankie5821 Exactly what do you find disturbing about Megan's profile picture? Did she change it already? Because currently her profile picture is a picture of what i assume is her human face. And if human faces disgust you, then you really should consider getting some therapy for that, because that's not a very sociable response to have to seeing images of other human beings. Stop isolating yourself from the rest of the world to a point where you have alienated yourself from other human beings.

[@zshadows]

@@RobotronSage I think it's her run through one of those "Pixar me" filters. I don't consider it disturbing, but could see why someone would get some uncanny valley feelings from it. Just as bad is why he's peeping her profile in the first place.

[@RationalMorality]

Great video I've been preaching the benefits of crt's for years. They just cannot be beat when it comes to games. You should have a look at the white balance on that Sony monitor though, the blue could be turned down a touch.

[@ICEMANZIDANE]

There are a few Sony CRT models which are ridiculously good. They are still very expensive and hard to get. 80% of the PC gamers are still on 1080p setups and almost all of them on 60hz. Cant imagine how these TVs were above that 20 years ago + all of the CRTs advantages... they were/are years ahead. There is a saying like i never got fired for buying a Sony. So true

[@Lasse3]

I had a huge extremely heavy industry grade EIZO CRT my dad were allowed to bring home from his work place.. Monitors like these is very deep in its dimensions, requiring much more space, it can't get close to the wall, so there is downsides! but yea, I would always run that monitor at some 800x600 240hz.. The image were carved in stone, no matter how fast you would pan the camara in Half-Life it would be dead stable and Rock solid, I've owned expensive 144hz Gsync LCD's, but CRT monitors are simply vastly superior, even that old CRT I played around with some 25 years ago..!

[@vooveks]

Used to have a Sony Profeel monitor that got thrown out of the place I worked. Amazing CRT, but Jesus, what a lump it was. Like, two people needed to lift it, huge footprint and power consumption, compared to a modern LCD. After a while, it was just too much of a liability to own and I got rid of it. Kind of regret it now, but not really because I’d literally have nowhere to put it now.

[@Wafflecombo54]

Yeah I still game on 1080p 60hz 😅

[@LastProtagonist]

Me, watching this on an LCD panel display: Interesting.

[@Countless_Relics]

Does it look good on your LCD or is the LCD incapable of showing it? 🤔

[@LastProtagonist]

@@Countless_Relics ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@Jv19979]

What kind of screens do phones use

[@ivyssauro123]

@@colbyboucher6391 Yeah, We know it sounds like a weird religious cult but you REALLY have to see it to understand, all these small things add up and you get this much more true to life image.

[@GENKI_INU]

@@colbyboucher6391 It's not your display that's the bottleneck. It's the way the video was recorded, the camera (its capabilities and settings), and the compression (and color compression) used that mainly limits how true-to-life a recording looks. Your display only acts as a kind of filter to this that's significantly less impactful than ALL the latter. It's why standards such as SRGB was developed; to make everything look decent and consistent across all screens, regardless of hardware capability.

[@NotScrubNotGood]

I still use a CRT to this day, in fact its set up right next to my 4k TV. Current and last gen games are played on the 4k display. For everything else its CRT all the way.

[@ghosty3034]

i still use crt on modern games, notably Doom Eternal, the game genuinely looks AMAZING on crt.

[@coyley72]

I remember getting rid of my old 32" CRT and needing two of us to painfully carry it. It was so massive and heavy. Back breaking work moving those things.

[@growingup15]

but at the end of the day it was all worth it though.

[@TheSpatzmann]

I don't miss CRT's. The size and permanent HF tone (I can hear that s*t) are reason enough.

[@Crlarl]

While you hear that on (non-HD) CRT TVs, you won't hear it on PC CRTs. TVs horizontal refresh rate was around 15.7 kHz but PC (at VGA or higher) is above 31.5 kHz, outside of human hearing. You can often run many PC CRTs above 100 kHz.

[@SinkingSage]

@@Crlarl My PC CRT definitely produces an audible hum.

[@Crlarl]

@@SinkingSage Low or high pitch?

[@wurzelbert84wucher5]

Not every CRT did that though!

[@jnvqc]

The funniest thing is that only young people can hear it, the ear loses sensitivity to higher frequencies with age. So the engineers probably never knew it was a problem.

[@kylespevak6781]

7:45 In my opinion, 720p has always looked decent, and i hardly notice the difference between it and 1080. I used to play games in 720p to maximize performance and frame rate

[@pixelslaughter3492]

I love videos like this that explore pros and cons of different technology. That being said, I love my oled with hdr and would never give it up lol

[@wingedhussar1453]

Oled is nothing special a plasma with hdr would be the perfect TV since it would have amazing motion like crt

[@TheXlen]

I'm just wondering have you tried a Sony Trinitron CRT?

[@romxxii]

I wish I could transition to OLED, but I pretty much know I'll get the screen burned in. Already got burn in on my phone's OLED display from playing too much Duel Links.

[@alexanderulv3886]

@@romxxii I bought my OLED CX with 5 years panel warranty, which covers Burn in and dead pixels. Can totally recommend!

[@inceptional]

I assume you've never seen a CRT equivalent (as in same screen size, resolution, and refresh rate).

[@renereiche]

I love your coverage about this issue. DF spearheading the discussion and raising awareness. Thank you for your hard work!

[@andreygrellert2027]

It's sad that not all of us can have an amazing CRT monitor like yours.

[@krakentoast]

I don't want to spend 300$ for an old monitor

[@cliffturbo2146]

​@@krakentoastOoohh, but why not😆

[@sonyx5332]

@@krakentoast No worries, many of US would surely spend it on a 24" and plus CRT monitor that did 1080p/4K, no lag and no motion blur for that price.

[@woodrowjang]

not to mention how perfect this generation has been for the FW900, finally we're getting 1080p60 games with ray tracing!

[@METR0lD]

Unfortunately, the flickering effect from the black frame insertion on my LG CX is just way too noticeable. I do love that it eliminates the motion issues, but it just creates a new issue with the flickering that bothers me so much. I just wish that more retro style games supported 120fps on the new consoles, because the few games that I've played that do support it, reduce the motion blur tremendously. Playing Ori and Nioh at 120fps looks so good, and the additional frames really reduce the motion blur that I always see with 60fps.

[@MrVoland44]

same for 30-60fps

[@Skylancer727]

Yeah it's one of the major reasons I can never go back to a 60hz display. PC spoiled me. God did I want to throw up trying to play Spiderman at 30fps on PS4 when it came out. Once you know what you're missing you can't go back...

[@elon2159]

In fact it'll take 1,000fps to fully eliminate the motion blur on LCDs/OLEDs. So we're going to need screens with 1,000Hz refresh rates.

[@retrosoul8770]

@@elon2159 and graphics cards that are 100x stronger to render that many frames. That's why crt is best, you get silky smooth gameplay at just 60fps w/o tricks like black frame insertion or strobing. And it still gets better from there, like on my 85 hertz crt monitor.

[@meissnerflux]

Black frame insertion is distracting to me on any monitor I've tried it. I think it's just a gimmick, a mediocre stopgap.

[@GilletteSkater]

I know it will never happen, but i wish people made CRT monitors still with even better technology. Imagine what the image would look like. Consumer sets could be like this FW900.. Thank you for making this type of content John, its what im here for :)

[@richard-davies]

I was born in 1985 so I got to use CRTs for quite a long time, whether it was gaming on a TV CRT or PC CRT. I'm 100% glad they are gone, power hungry, hurts your eyes after hours of use and weighed an absolute ton. Made the switch to PC LCDs back in 2004 and never looked back, sharpness on the LCD was night and day, I could use it all day and night without headaches or eyestrain, used sod all power and it was light as a feather in comparison to a CRT. You had to make sacrifices by using native resolution and motion blur especially in 2004 was worse than a CRT but that was definitely worth the trade off.

[@francescoberta]

Same. All I got was eye strain and endless migraines. As soon as I got my first 15'' LCD display I threw my two monitors out of the window (not literally) and never looked back. Out of curiosity I played Jedi Outcast on a CRT at a friend's house last week and after an hour => headache. Maybe things are different for high-end CRTs, but the cheap/consumer ones were very heavy and picture quality was mostly trash.

[@ManOfAttitudeLP1998]

Lol on PC CRt Monitors I never had eye problems and I was born in 1998 and my country isn't that technologically fast and my first PC and of course TVs were all CRTs up to like 2010 or later. Never had eyestrain issues at 75hz or more

[@joeynessily]

This CRT game footage looks great in this youtube video playing back on an LCD monitor... 🙄

[@P1EX]

Everyone was invited to his house to check it out in person but your invitation must have gotten lost In the mail…

[@CaveyMoth]

I wanna go!

[@gamerxt333]

@@P1EX lmao

[@stealthmaster6472]

@@P1EX he was not invited....

[@cho4d]

well lucky for you their camera also records motion blur so you get to at least see a difference. i can see it anyway.

[@rsmith8113]

So when I play a PS2 game on PS4-PS5 and think to myself “this looked much better back in the days for sure” I’m not wrong 😄

[@jamiepoirier1444]

I recently played the final duel of Ghost of Tsushima on a 34" Toshiba HD CRT and it really added to the atmosphere. Thanks for the video John, it was entirely my shit

[@AugustoV8Cesar]

😥😥buy me one plz

[@matrix9452]

"If you're interested to buy I can't recommend it enough" Goes to look on eBay: 3.000 U$ Me: I think I'm good, thanks.

[@theprophet2444]

I wouldn't buy a CRT used anyway, they don't have a long life span compared to LCDS or even Oleds, they are 10 or more years old, it's likely they already heavily, degraded in Image quality at this point. Sadly.

[@matrix9452]

@@theprophet2444 yeah I think for Retro consoles they are good, retro consoles like PS1 or PS2 on an modern TV looks very bad. But if you have an PS5 OLED HDR is the way to go.

[@jcfilms3437]

3000? In my country it cost 20 or 50 dollars.

[@stageselectca]

I am currently surrounded by CRT monitors that we use in the film industry haha.. so videos like this are very amusing to me. however I am surprised no one talks about the eye strain everyone would complain about back when everyone was staring at a CRT monitor all day. switching to LCD monitors, this was the most highly touted feature I think.

[@misterwu7233]

Eye strain is still a huge issue of CRT display, but we now want to pretend they’re easy on the eyes when the flickering was and still is an issue. I guess we now have a lot of rose tinted glasses and also a bit of overcriticism toward sample and hold due to those blur tests. Improved motion clarity at the expense of strained eyes is not a deal I’m interested to make, to be honest.

[@joemamr710]

@@misterwu7233 CRTs don't flicker at all. There is no on/off cycle at all, no PWM. Nothing flickers. Now you may be talking about interlacing of 480i content, but that was pretty much only TV broadcasts and 6th gen consoles. One of the absolute worst qualities of an LCD is that content has to be deinterlaced before being displayed, which greatly reduces quality, adds blurriness, breaks many effects(such as rapid flashing transparencies), and adds a ton of input lag.

[@misterwu7233]

@@joemamr710 CRT displays work by having a single line being gradually lit (“scanned”) and then proceeding to the next, until the last line is reached. Every time the phosphor are hit, their luminosity quickly decay so the line doesn’t stay lit for long, and if you look at high speed cameras you can clearly see how basically at any time only a bunch of lines are lit. You usually don’t notice this thanks to retina persistence and brain processing, but CRT display flicker a lot, this becomes very noticeable if you look with peripheral vision. Deinterlacing is only applied on interlaced content, progressive content is displayed as is, once the frame has been fully received, with the lag only due to additional processing, most of which can be disabled in the displays that offer low latency modes like ALLM. The modern consoles are able to output progressive content so there are no longer the issues introduced by deinterlacing.

[@joemamr710]

@@misterwu7233 One thing to note, almost every single LCD/OLED panel deinterlaces 240p non-interlaced content too. This is why you see things like the flashing chaos emeralds in sonic either be absent, solid, or have combing artifacts.

[@TylerJaneBronson]

My 27" CRT TV and 21" CRT Monitor are my two favorite pieces of tech in my house. So glad I picked them up before the market went totally bonkers!

[@chronology556]

Any market with finite supply will go bonkers… life sucks I love old tech.

[@Calibretto9]

I miss my old CRTs for the motion clarity, but boy do those colors looked washed out compared to OLED HDR.

[@LNCRFT]

The fact that it needs HDR though makes it worse though

[@3DGECASE]

I've found from personal experience (with a good but not great phone camera) that it can be very hard to properly capture the vibrancy of the image of a CRT on camera. Most recently, I tried recording footage of a black and white TV a few weeks ago, and I was shocked at how dull it looked compared to in-person. Cameras and eyes work differently.

[@Dave_the_Dave]

What did you watch the video on, was it a crt?

[@LNCRFT]

@@Dave_the_Dave probably not

[@matrix9452]

You can't properly judge just from a video, unfortunately, you only get an impression. Only in person you can truly appreciate it.

[@saladspinner3200]

My personal view on it; I'm glad that I started my career in 2013, an age where all CRT-monitors had been gone from the workplaces for a few years (It's crazy to realize they were still very much a thing in 2005 when I was in middle school). I can't imagine having had to spend days in front of a humming glass edifice, with a jittery image and average-at-most resolutions. Basking the glare of the incredible brightness these things were capable off, all the while being slowly ionized by the electron canons these things really were. On the other hand, all the other CRT's I've ever known in my life, brought nothing but joy. From the little 23" Philips in my bedroom which had seen 3 generations of consoles hooked up to it, to the big 16:9 Loewe set of my parents with built in speakers that made the windows rattle. The technology defined much of the 20th century, and I'm glad to see it still has an audience.

[@ClaytonCLF]

I've ditched LCD monitors for CRTs about 5 years ago and I never wish to go back. Absolutely everything I throw at my 17" LG looks stunning, from low, *low* resolutions of 320x200 (DOOM, Quake, etc.) to 1080p content, either from modern games and videos to older, remastered media.

[@Zastrutzki]

My 4K Oled made that one hair sticking out on your left ear extremely sharp! Take that, CRT's!

[@TheKayliedGamerChannel-YouTube]

... shame 4k would probably make most retro games look like dirt nowadays lol (not knocking OLED - it would be my personal choice for modern display tech)

[@Zastrutzki]

@@TheKayliedGamerChannel-KZbin I just switched from a 1440p ultrawide to an LG C1 48" for my productivity and gaming. For someone who's been around to see CRT monitors go from 2 colors to completely gone again, I can tell you, we're back on track display wise!

[@Arcona]

Lol I noticed that watching on my 1080p tv

[@GENKI_INU]

Too bad OLED monitors (not TV's) literally don't exist.

[@Zastrutzki]

@@GENKI_INU Meh. I'm using an LG C1 48" as a monitor since a couple of weeks and I won't be going back. 4k120, g-sync and primo HDR. This has been an all-round great upgrade from my IPS 34" ultrawide. I was a bit hesitant at first, but 48" is perfectly doable.

[@siriansight]

I love this so much Thx DF for putting this all together, so interesting I used to play NFSU2 on a CRT while listening to uni lectures, and loved it! that game had notoriously glossy streets and quite a vibrant aesthetic and i wonder how much the CRT contributed to the overall experience

[@bobocpe]

If you ever wondered, why your old games looked a lot better back then than now, this video is the answer.

[@wildechap]

not really

[@catethps]

@@wildechap yea really, try playing a ps1 game on a stock standard 720/1080 lcd tv and then a crt the difference is night and day

[@TexelGuy]

@@wildechap It really is. CRTs are objectively better at some things (like displaying lower resolution images and motion clarity) than even the greatest OLED HDR TV/Monitor. It's actually a lot more than that once you get specifically into retro gaming, like how 2D (And maybe some early 3D) games way back when were designed from the ground up to look best on a CRT, and look much worse on an LCD. If you want examples of this, look up "CRT Pixels" on Twitter, they post images of what old games actually look like on a real CRT display and compare it side by side to the raw pixels that you'd see on an LCD.

[@wildechap]

@@TexelGuy don't worry i understand that, but i don't think that is the reason why games looked beautiful back then. They were nkt beautiful back then, it's just our frame of reference that changed. Im talking about those 3d games not 2d. And his sentence is also based off of some internet meme , like how GTA SA looked really beautiful back then.

[@blackmetal4546]

@@wildechap Part of what you said is true but no games really did look better back then because of the displays we had back then vs now. There is a significant difference.

[@Teromi]

back in the launch of the 360 I bought my first HD flat screen (1080p) and liked the detail but plugged the console to my CRT and noticed how clean and crisp it really looked. he is right on how just you perceive the image there was just a crispness unmatched by flat panels.

[@MotoguyX5]

I noticed that same thing. I had a CRT in my bedroom and my mom had purchased a new HD flat panel. I remember putting my 360 on it when she was at work one day and thinking, man this looks kinda bad compared to my tv. Also the motion blur and input lag made the game feel slow and unresponsive, though I didn’t understand why at the time

[@ThePonDePon]

Brand new stuff on a crt looks so good, it's like listening to modern music on vinyl

[@Dr.D00p]

Ffs, every time you guys do a video on CRT image quality, eBay prices jump another 10%....

[@DarrenHoussein]

Lol unlucky lad

[@sneekz07]

Be faster.

[@vrixmorr]

Crazy how much software engineering is required just to match crt tech from 20 yrs ago.

[@sMv-Afjal]

CRT are amazing, I still use mine till this days. Perfect for old nes games.

[@GENKI_INU]

It's also crazy how we take LCDs for granted now and forgot about all the good reasons we switched to LCDs to begin with. Sure, the first few generations of LCDs to replace CRTs were absolutely terrible panels, but these days, on a high-end IPS with local dimming HDR and high refresh, or HDR OLEDs, going back to CRTs would be insanity, fueled by nostalgia and nothing else. Even if you want to play at lower-than-native resolutions on a bigger screen, there's now perfect pixel scaling settings in your GPU driver panel that bypasses blurring when blowing up smaller resolutions. And failing that, you could just use a projector instead.

[@davidbenson5794]

@@GENKI_INU I don't think you understand that image clarity is not why people play old consoles on CRTs.

[@magyararon6918]

​@@GENKI_INU High end IPS LCDs come with 750-1000:1 contrast ratio, which is a joke. Pixel response times are still around 3-10 ms even on top end "1ms" gaming panels. There is still no monitor in the market that does rolling shutter blur reduction. OLEDs are close to CRT quality, but it still have worse motion quality and you cant buy it in monitor sizes.

[@GENKI_INU]

​@@magyararon6918 Actual high-end IPS monitors with HDR 10 support have Full Array Backlight Dimming (available for everything, not just HDR enabled content). While not as precise as OLEDs, they are a match for CRT's near-infinite contrast ratios in a completely dark room, due to effect of CRT glow. In typical scenarios with moderate or brighter ambient lighting however, CRT's actually have contrast ratios that are similar, or worse than IPS/TN LCDs, due to the glare from the thick CRT glass screen and gray coating on the inside. Typical antiglare coats on LCD's handle ambient lighting much better, and give off deeper blacks under ambient lighting conditions. As for contrast ratios without Backlight Dimming Arrays or OLEDs, VA LCD panels have been around for ages in the TV and PC space, providing easy 3000:1- 5000:1 contrast ratios. These days, you can buy very affordable high-refresh VA LCD monitors with pixel response times that match faster IPS monitors at 144hz+. Also, many mid to higher-end LCD monitors (especially ones with FreeSync) have a backlight strobing feature you can enable, simulating exactly what CRT's do by rapidly flickering the backlight between frames. They are extremely effective at getting rid of any sample-and-hold blurring mentioned in the video. My 4-year-old $200 1080p 144hz VA FreeSync monitor has this feature, and it works well. If you're still comparing response times with CRT's, the bad news is if you wanted to use a CRT these days, you would need to use an active, powered HDMI to VGA converter, which inevitably adds a couple ms of latency, nullifying any real advantage you would've had to begin with on a CRT, compared to using a fast TN or IPS panel. And that's not even accounting for the much higher refresh rates on LCD's.

[@MistyKathrine]

The FW900 is undoubtedly one of the best gaming monitors ever made, however one of the biggest strikes against it is the fact that it costs like $4000+ used. In a world when you can literally buy a 48'' LG CX or C1 for around $1000 new, it doesn't make much sense to acquire one these days, unfortunately.

[@whitesparrow3000]

It's not cost effective for most people to search out and buy a rare FW900. It's like buying a LaFerrari. Benefits are obvious. Cost is significant. Buy the Prius or even a Tesla equivalent of screens b/c the availability, profile, energy and cost savings. It's more practical. The Fw900, like a LaFerrari is a unique experience.

[@kaisyaya8492]

watching this on my old DELL 19" the one with Trinitron tubes, ten years ago i was about to give it for free but the guy didn't pick it up because it was so heavy, a year ago (when i saw the first video) i rushed to my parents house and i found it in the garage all dusty but still working, it has some cable issues though

[@spacemanjupiter]

I still remember how different the image and motion was on my old CRT monitors from back in the day. I used to tell younger people that my old CRT's somehow had better motion and image than the more modern flat panels but they never believed me. The motion is just different. 60 hz on those old CRT's looks smoother than 60 hz on today's panels. It looked more like today's 120, and if you had a monitor and hardware that could push 120 back then it was a sight to behold, more so than today. This video absolutely doesn't serve justice to the CRT unfortunately. It doesn't look that great in this video, but in person you'll change your mind. It's almost mind boggling that so many younger people have never even seen one in motion. Some of the things we had were better 20 years ago, oddly enough.

[@winterwolfryan]

Agreed. I love the giant hq flat panels, but a crt had special qualities to the image that cannot be replicated. Older games are a must on crt televisions, there is simply no comparison. Even video shot on SD camcorders had a certain look when paired with crt televisions. Happily, I bought a fair number of them when people were basically giving them away, so I’m set for life unless I have to move…some of those TV’s are just not movable lol

[@Ryan-qn1wr]

I remembered most CRT's looking like shit.

[@AzamisBox]

seeing this reminds me of how i used to see games when growing up and now revisiting them I always tell myself i never thought it could get any better.

[@T00muchF00Dchannel]

I still play on CRT to this day. Quality is incredible 🤙 Wii + Super Mario Galaxy is 🔥

[@BonusCrook]

I wouldn't mind being trapped in 2007 if i had to pick a year.

[@ASSASSYN]

Mentions quality. Plays Nintendo graphics. Lmao

[@ZackSNetwork]

@@ASSASSYN Nintendo exclusive games look incredible still tell this day on all generations. Stop being like that its toxic.

[@xKingReyx]

@@ASSASSYN You clearly dont know what quality is then.

[@WhirlingMusic]

@@ZackSNetwork Calling people toxic? Must be a S I S S Y

[@maskasmr4791]

I was a Sony FW900 CRT Display owner 15 years ago. I still remember how good the image quality is by using this huge hi-end display. The truth is when you see the screen solely it is superb, but when you see it in the contrast between a hi-class LCD is another story. Guys, let the good old memory deep in my mind that is a good cheaper choice. I sold my FW900 in 2009 to a documentary director who said this is a cheaper choice instead of buying a pro filming monitor.

[@NicheAsQuiche]

The contrast on a CRT is definitely a finicky thing yeah. In a dark room and with the right content, no LCD without mini leds can beat it, but CRTs suck at contrast otherwise. Show a full black screen and it's nearly OLED, but a mix of bright white and black will show a LOT of blooming because of light bouncing around the huge amount of glass in a CRT and go back to hit some other phosphors on the other side of the screen. If the content your watching is dark you won't notice it, and it's surprisingly not that visible in actual content, but if you look for it you'll find it. I've never had an LCD with dimming zones but I'm betting you'd get a similar effect on one with few dimming zones. But I mean the shots in this video show it's not crippling. I think I'm exaggerating in order to describe it better And if you use a CRT in a bright sun lit room a pure black image turns grey. You can mostly get past this with some dark tinted overlay but it makes the image much darker, which will make reflections stand out more. And turning up screen brightness causes more bloom.. That said, yes CRTs are a lot of work, but in specific cases they're just so far last LCDs in certain aspects that I don't think mine will ever leave my desk until a glossy-screen Blur Busters approved OLED below 32" that costs less than 500 bucks is out. Which I'm guessing is going to take another decade

[@tschickriegel]

I just discovered your channel and now I'm sure the rest of my january is gone. You sir, are an absolute expert! It's great that people like you exist.

[@terryh.9238]

I really hope CRTs make a comeback I love them.

[@Lasse3]

They're too expensive to produce, too large to store, and too big and heavy to ship. It's much easier to profit from flat panels, hence why forces in the industry was so eager to go in that direction without ever looking back. This was never a question about "what gives the customer the best quality"

[@lilpp4791]

@@Lasse3 cant they produce crt image on a flat screen?

[@Lasse3]

@@lilpp4791 haha no 😂

[@lilpp4791]

@@Lasse3 why

[@Lasse3]

@@lilpp4791 cathode-ray tube (CRT) is a vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns, the beams of which are manipulated to display images on a phosphorescent screen. This principle simply requires a gigantic heavy box. The tech is huge and weighty, it can't be downsized. Your question is absurd, it's almost like if you asked, why a car couldn't be made as flat as a flat screen TV..

[@TreesOnTheMoon]

Wasn't "SED" displays supposed to have the advantages of CRT's but in modern form?

[@MultiMarvelGeek]

Hi! Yes and no. It still had a fixed pixel grid but every subpixel is a CRT. The whole display is made up of millions of tiny CRTs. It would've been what plasma TVs wanted to be.

[@alpzerlaken]

I want Laser Phosphor Display right now! They are CRT but it's laser.

[@Lovely_Toast]

Great video, i had never heard of a CRT monitor before but have been following tech closely this last 5 years.

[@rhysholdaway]

Still using my P2 with its trusty old Diamondtron monitor. 😁

[@Radhaugo108]

Kid: Dad I want a CRT! Dad: Buys a CRT. Kid: Attempts to pick up a CRT. Dad: Smiles - Son, let talk to you about the olden days.

[@TheVitaltundra]

The blur buster example showing off what CRT's can do better is some wild shit i love it.

[@JonesBrothersProductionsiac]

Now Ratchet and Clank really looks like a Pixar Film. Especially the ones from the mid to late 2000s. The aliasing is virtually gone.

[@JonesBrothersProductionsiac]

CRTs usually look more blurrier than jagged.

[@HugoStiglitz88]

There is no aliasing lol

[@FutureNaught]

@@JonesBrothersProductionsiac Yeah, the sample shots of the 720p text looked worse on the CRT.

[@V1CT1MIZED]

@@FutureNaught I thought that, not sure what he was talking about

[@CaveyMoth]

Or as Alex would say, "Ayliyaysing."

[@Actualchristianity]

I remember being a kid and playing the original half-life on my HP PC and it’s tiny monitor. The image was so sharp relative to modern games for the resolution. And now I know why that’s the case. John makes me want to go out here and risk it all finding a big CRT television 😂

[@MultiMarvelGeek]

Dude, it's worth it.

[@retrosoul8770]

@@MultiMarvelGeek I second. It is esp if you find one with component video or at least s -video. Anyone with ANY interest in retro gaming or even modern gaming on a crt PC monitor, should get one while they still work and exist.

[@GENKI_INU]

Try not to be fooled by all the hype. This is only true for resolutions below an LCD's native. For native resolutions, LCDs actually produce a sharper and more crisp image than CRT's, and without the soft light bleed known as 'CRT glow'.

[@retrosoul8770]

@@GENKI_INU they also produce a much blurrier image at 60fps with any kind of motion on screen lol. Blur busters is a great resource to highlight motion blur as John pointed out I recommend it. Still applicable to 99% of lcds/leds today. And as far as picture quality goes, similar to oleds crts produce their own color and light, giving a more natural and at times clearer image compared to lcds. So I disagree, my 2004 Crt monitor looks clearer than my 2013 led monitor and every lcd tv in my family's home. Granted today's led monitors are probably better than mine from 2013 but the eye test stands in some cases. Have also never heard of "light bleed", sounds like something an lcd would have with its backlit screen lol.

[@MultiMarvelGeek]

@@GENKI_INU My dude, look at my profile name. I own 12 CRTs. XD

[@smaariseth]

The last crt TVs that were sold were absolute beasts. The image was blistering clear.

[@Nakafoto]

"Wow this monitor looks great, maybe I should buy one." Looks at prices online. "Nope."

[@GaneshMKarhale]

The CRT looks truly beautiful

[@manygatos885]

Man my Xbox 360 on my CRT monitor as a kid was incredible still nothing has matched the experience I had back in 2007-2011

[@DrBernon]

I think your view is a bit tinted with these professional CRTs. I remember one CRT I sued to play the PS2 on. It had green horizontal lines + black was gray and the glass was so curved the image actually looked weird on the edges, more like a fishbowl than a window.

[@DrBernon]

@Rory Yes. The consumer TVs were very poor in quality. PC monitors were way better, but also crazy expensive and small. This CRT he shows, truly is the 1% of the 1%.

[@xXYannuschXx]

@Rory Absolutely, but the high end CRTs were really really really good for their time.

[@ryukoprop]

I love CRTs. One day I will upgrade from my triniton to a PVM.

[@Garbagehead5]

PVMs are overrated, and wildly overpriced nowadays. You can still get an amazing picture with consumer sets and component output - I say this as someone who formerly had a PVM 20M4U. Not everyone needs a Lamborghini just to get to work.

[@josephboysuk686]

@@Garbagehead5 they aren’t overrated but they are over priced as fuck. Please show me a consumer CRT that looks as good as PVM. The 20m4 that you have would blow away if it’s not a POS any sort of 20” consumer set. I know because I have 20” consumer sets they just don’t have the same look as that 800 line tube.

[@MultiMarvelGeek]

PVMs are awesome. Keep watching OfferUp, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace. :D

[@konga382]

Depending on your tastes (and I'll admit it's different for everyone), it might not even be a clear upgrade. Retro console games were designed for blurrier consumer CRT sets, and the limitations those sets came with were incorporated into the games' aesthetics. See, for instance, Dracula's red eyes in Symphony of the Night. The artists designed his eyes so they have exactly one bright red pixel in each eye. Over a composite signal, that red pixel expands across multiple adjacent lighter pixels, filling his eyes. Over a clean RGB signal, you for the most part just see his eyes as having strange red dots in them. For the most part, your Triniton is in the sweet spot where it still has a great image quality for a consumer set while not eliminating many of the factors that the art designers of the 80s and 90s were banking on existing. The PVM is still great because it gives you a plethora of options, but I'd find it hard to justify the cost over a regular Triniton if you're just gonna do retro gaming on it.

[@dylanjastle]

I like gaming on my 32in jvc via component/svideo just as much or more than my 20m4u and 1354q. They definitely look awesome, but kicking back on the couch and playing on a big screen with the boys is where it’s at. High line count monitors also exaggerate 480i flicker. The 13” is really nice for bringing places though. Keep an eye out for a pvm or equivalent if you want one, but I wouldn’t obsess over it having used them now. A good consumer set with component input gets you almost all the way there, and I’d say it’s even better in some cases.

[@Boss80gb]

Awesome informative vid about old CRT'S!!I feel bad now because my mother threw away my dads(He passed away last year sadly)HUGE Toshiba 36" monstrosity of a TV a few months ago &He had a 27" also.I forgot what brand,BUT both were very nice& hardly USED!I kinda wanted to keep the big 36" but it was over 200 POUNDS!?😵‍💫Probably closer to 250-275 ish 😂I regret not grabbing one after watching your video!My Dad was a gamer to the end man.I wish he could've watched your channel with me,He'd love the info like I do.....Stay creative friend!

[@ZizoMass]

It will be awesome to see a new approach to CRT with the technologies from today. I'll definitely buy it

[@SparkerR1987]

That would be an OLED sadly. The truth is, There isn't much they can change about CRT without changing what makes a CRT a CRT. That is why we have crappy LCD, Plasma, OLED, and now QD. Every step is "Modern approach" to achieve what the CRT did years ago. The main problem is no matter what they do, there is compromises.

[@ZizoMass]

@@SparkerR1987 Oled is the closest to a crt, but it still doesn't have the same quality. Brightness is weaker, durability is lower, and latency is higher. The only downside I can think of when talking about CRT compared to current TVs is the issue of size, exorbitant weight and energy consumption. But I wonder if these problems wouldn't be solved with today's technology, since they were CRT problems from years ago. For example, with current technology we would certainly be able to make much smaller and efficient electron gums. And with the fiber optic technology we have, we could guide the electrons to different zones of the TV without necessarily requiring the electron gum to sit behind the TV in a gigantic vacuum tube. In other words, I'm sure it would be possible to use the same concept of CRT TVs today in a much more efficient way than in the past and achieve a better picture than any current television technology.

[@crestofhonor2349]

I love playing modern games on a CRT, just finished cyberpunk 2077 on a CRT

[@alucard0712]

lol, like for real. you can't get more Cyberpunk than this

[@HumanManufactured]

i played through cyberpunk on my crt also but it was mostly out of necessity, my pc did not like that game

[@jankmedia1985]

I do the same for the most part. At least with my PS3 via S-Video. Some games don't look too great but for others it gives it a fantastic look.

[@crestofhonor2349]

@@HumanManufactured I also did it because I got better performance running on there. I could do lower resolutions like 1280x960 and the game still looked spectacular and ran leagues better. Plus I love how the game natively supports 4:3 resolutions with now added tweaking or modding

[@khmerghost]

When my lcd monitor broke . I had a backup crt monitor i had been keeping . Blows my mind at how great the images was and how smooth the transitioning of each frames.

[@onyxosprey]

Been looking for a way to play my SNES and PS1 minis on my CRT, just feels like the right way to experience them.

[@swagar]

@Rev If we're talking monitors, you can absolutely convert HDMI to VGA without lag, especially if you're not doing any scaling