Im deciding between a tube tv and lcd tv for my dorm room next year. it would be pretty small (around 15-20"). im leaning towards lcd so i can watch clearer tv on it but i also want to play my nes on it.

my question is: will gameplay lag or be affected in any way. i remember playing on one a few years ago and the controls lagged a bit (about half a second). does anyone who have an lcd tv experience this with their nes?

Just go to cnet.com, gdgt.com, etc., and find user reviews of the model you're looking at. If you don't see anything about game lag, you're probably fine. I haven't heard about game lag on LCD's since they first started taking over plasmas. However, if you buy from a store, you should be able to return it pretty easily for a different one. Just check for their return policy.

Personally, I'd go with LCD, unless NES is the number 1 thing you'll use it for, and by far. TV is a thousand times better with even a 720p LCD (if you're going that small, that's probably what you'll get, unless you get a computer monitor with a built-in tuner). NES doesn't look as bad as everyone says on LCD's in my opinion, but it has the same nostalgic multiplier effect while playing on a tube TV vs an LCD.

yea but im not really nostalgic about the nes, i just like games that i can play for 10 or 15 minutes then go do somethin else. with xbox you gotta invest a couple hours to get into it.

thanks for the tips ill check it out

Not if you want to play Tetris.

The lag is noticeable, unless it's a computer monitor with composite input.
The LCD TV's all do some pre-processing to upscale the input signal to their native resolution and it's pretty problematic for older systems.

I've been playing NES on a 20" LCD television for well over a year now, and haven't noticed any sort of lag when playing Tetris or any other game. Granted, it's only 480p rather than high-def, but it's still an improvement over SDTV. If you're looking to play older games on an LCD, I would certainly recommend it. I can give you the model number if you're interested.

How good are you at Tetris, though?  If you can play at Level 19 the lag will kill you.


And no, your 480p set is NOT an improvement over an SDTV when it comes to your NES.
There is nothing that set is doing to make the old 320x240 stuff look any better than it did on a CRT at its native resolution.  I guess if you prefer fuzzy pixels to crisp pixels, it might appeal to you, though.

The resolution looks nice and sharp to me. I have no idea what you're talking about.

Only issue with LCD TVs is that the damned zapper gun games don't work which really sucks.

I'm with you on that. I still have a tube, but I brought a NES to a friend's house because he has a 32" LCD. The colors were bright and sharp, but the background color bleeds to the sides. A CRT is going to be fuzzy because of the (interlacing?). The skipping of lines doesn't look nice to me.

Yeah, no zapper would suck. What're we going to do in 10 years when all the CRTs are dead?

I've played mine on an LCD and tube TV. I don't notice any lag but NES games do look a little better on tube TVs and Zappers not working on LCDs sucks.

I say go for a good computer monitor + tuner and a small tube tv. I'm assuming you are going to use a computer so a monitor is a must, and tube tv are very cheap on craigslist.

well the reason i was going to get a lcd is so i can watch the hockey games in my room as I do homework and stuff but i guess a tube tv works fine. no need for the computer monitor.

plus i forgot the zapper doesnt work on a lcd...i think tube tv it is

A lot of people don't notice lag unless they play competitively. So it might not matter. I know for me though, playing Street Fighter with wireless controllers, usb controllers, or on flat panel tvs the lag is irritating as hell.

I have noticed lag on Super Mario, on flat panel tvs. It will totally throw you off if you have been playing for years and already have the feel down.

If you haven't already played the games a lot, I'm sure the lag won't be much of a problem.

well thats exactly what happened to me. ive been playing smb since i was like 4 so when my grandmother got an lcd tv it threw me off so bad i havent played it since (until i got my own of course).

i think ill just play it safe and get a tuber.

yup, not to mention that people are giving them out like candy (but be weary, some of the tubes out there are very dim or very broken; always test them out before making the effort of hauling it back).
I recommend panasonic; those (at least for me) has the most consistent quality.

^^^ I would imagine that as long as the tube is intact, you could recap a TV just like the arcade guys recap their monitors.

^^yea but i might as well buy another their so cheap rather than start tryin to fix shit, i always just break it more...

I don't know anything about fixing tvs, never bother with it. However, i think its in our interest to start learning about fixing tube tvs.
@zoso471 - still need to subscribe to watch world cup...damn

get on that! T-3 days!!!!


Forza Azzurri!!!!!

^^^btw you're gonna be hearing that phrase a helluva a lot from me over the next month or so