I think I might be insane. A few months ago I found a 27" Sony Trinitron at a thrift store w/ a matching stand and remote in A1 condition, from 2003. Of course, I couldn't resist at the amazing low price of $24.99. It's now the TV I use in my gameroom and it works perfectly since the stand has glass cabinets where I house several consoles. The picture is AMAZING too.

A few weeks ago I was at some thrift stores and found a 32" Sony Trinitron, this time a WEGA. It was in very good condition but not perfect and it was missing the remote. But it was a WEGA manufactured in 2006-2007 (I can't remember exact date). Regardless of that, I still picked it up for $50.00. It also works perfectly and after getting some help on this one, I got it home and it's now in my family room (my wife is pissed). But the picture on older consoles, especially Dreamcast/Xbox is just amazing. Genesis, NES, Sega CD all looks awessssome.

So then yesterday happened. I thought I had the 2 perfect TV's for retro gaming and would never need to buy another CRT again (unless the ones I had broke). Well, I was at the thrift store and now this time I come across a Sony Trinitron WEGA 36" (KV-36FS100). This bitch was in A1 shape. And it weighs somewhere over 200 pounds. I spent quite a while thinking it over at the thrift store on the lovely couch right in front of it. After testing the picture and thinking of the implications of buying this thing, I finally said fuck it and bought it for $60.00. I got a 35% coupon for my purchase which was nice. The employees (2) who had to help load it into my car weren't too thrilled, especially since one was crippled and couldn't lift it, so then it was me and one older guy who did the move. I knew it would never work at my house since my gameroom is already tight and couldn't accommodate a TV that big. So right before the decision to buy it I decided it would be for my office at work. My office is on a second floor with no elevator. Me and 3 other guys managed to unload it from my car and now it's sitting at the bottom of the stairwell until we can figure the best way to get it up 20 steps. Once I get it to my office, I will be able to sometimes unplug to some retro games on my downtime.

Anyways, I finally found the greatest CRT out there as far as I'm concerned. For the real CRT diehards, there is a 40" Trinitron out there that weighs more than 300 pounds. However, I have never seen one in my life and I am certain that if I did, I wouldn't be able to get anyone to help me move that thing, plus they're very uncommon. Not to mention the 40" doesn't have 480i.

Anyone else have interesting stories of finding a big CRT for their gaming needs???



Dusty but otherwise looks awesome!

That thing is a beast! I've been trying to find one between 19"-25" (or 27" if that's the closest) with a ton of hookups like that. Do you know what the max channel yours goes to? I got a famicom I want to hookup but you have to set it on channel 93, 97, or something which is the equivalent of Japan's channel 3-4.

That one is nice and you're right; the picture doesn't get much better than that. I got lucky and got a Trinitron and stand free from a friend of mine and I love it. Even though it's from 1998 the picture is still better than my newer CRTs. 

Moving TVs like that is a lot easier with a mover's dolly. For stairs I suggest a hand truck with a pillow and some ratchet straps.

My perfect TV does everything. It is one of those WEGAs but it is widescreen! That means I can play old or new games in correct aspect ratio, big picture, and all the awesome contrasty goodness of CRT. According to the manual it weighs 197 pounds. 34". For SD games, it's about the same as a 20" screen. The only thing it can't do (besides be carried by one person) is receive digital broadcast. But I have a converter, and TV looks good enough. If I must have HD, I can just turn on the computer next to it, which has a tuner card, and use Windows Media Center. This makes a good DVR as well.

The TV has three composite, two S-video, 1 component, and one DVI (which is good for HDMI [picture only] with the right cable.) More sources would be nice, but compromise is necessary and this is by far the best for me. Oh, almost forgot another thing I like about it, the GUI. When changing volume/source/channel, it shows giant chunky letters that I can always actually see from the couch without squinting. Unlike the LCD TVs they make now.

Yikes! That last one is a beast!

Back when I was limping along with whatever cheap CRTs I could find, I had a 28" (I think it was Samsung) and that thing was a real b*tch to move. It also wasn't the best in terms of image quality.

So, I went Trinitron hunting, hearing so many people speak well of them for retro gaming. After much research and consideration, I decided I wanted a smaller screen. Sadly, most of the Trinitrons I found in my area were either larger than I wanted to deal with or were priced higher than I was willing to pay. Then, after having it recommended to me by a retro gamer, I found a 20" Toshiba flat-screen CRT for $25 and jumped on it. Glad I did. It was small enough to fit neatly on my gaming stand and light enough that I could move it around by myself, as-needed. It also has some really fantastic picture quality and all the connections I needed. Edit: Oh, also...I was initially concerned about light gun games working on it, as I've heard some folks that have had issues with flat-screens. But my fears were unfounded. Every light gun game I've tried works perfectly on my Toshiba.

With that experience, I've found that I personally prefer screen sizes between 20" - 26" for retro gaming. Larger CRTs are not only heavier and harder to make room for but also tend to inflate the pixels more than I care for. I'd still like to get my hands on a Trinitron at some point to compare the image quality to my Toshiba, as I've never seen retro games played on a Trinitron first-hand. But I have to say, as good as the Toshiba looks, I wonder how closely the Sony can compete.

I still need a replacement CRT, the one I have is non-adjustable with overscan to beat hell. Screw small CRTs though, I want a 33-36" My LCD I got at goodwill though, it's an LCD projection, doesn't seem to have any noticeable lag vs some of the other ones I've messed with over the years. The bulbs go bad in them every few years though, but mine was a 55 inch for $80, so no issues there. I have one inch clearance between it and the ceiling where I paced it.

I've got a 24-inch Trinitron in my den that I paid $60 for a couple of years ago. Technically kind of expensive given that people are trying to give them away but I'd been looking for a specific model and it had all the features I wanted save for the ability to switch back and forth between 4:3 and 16:9, which kind of sucks when watching TV. No idea what the model # is and I'm sure as hell not going to move it just to find out. Also have a KV-20FS120 Wega as my workshop TV. Recently learned that this one actually can change aspect ratios and now I'm almost tempted to move it into the den, though A: I'd have nowhere to put the bigger one and, B: It's smaller.

If I could ever find a cheap 24-inch set that could actually switch aspect ratios I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. Trouble is that they all seem to be 30+ and there's no way I can fit anything bigger than what I currently have. Oh well, first world problems.

I'm satisfied with my 20" Toshiba CRT and 14" Sony PVM. I may look for a larger size when we purchase our next house (with a necessary finished basement)

Congrats on grabbing this one! I know you had been searching for quite some time. 

Jeeze, I have a 32' Sony Trinitron just sitting in my garage. Perfect condition and everything. Think it was from 2001? No thrift stores take these where I live (Southwest Colorado).

I loved my old TV, but to watch new shows and such I had to get a Sony 40" flat screen with HDMI capabilities.

And yes these Trinitrons are ungodly heavy with little gripping area making them super difficult to carry. But now I might have to rethink using it for retro gaming systems.

That's awesome, congrats on the find! I got my 24" WEGA for $10 from a church rummage sale last year. They're totally worth all the hassle considering how good retro systems look on them.

I just picked up a 32' Sony Trinitron off craigslist a couple weeks back for $40. My god was it annoying to load in and out of my car.

Its def worth it though.

 

Probably the exact opposite of a Big CRT TV but I'm a HUGE fan of the Commodore 64's 1702 monitor. I grew up playing on my buddy's 1702. From NES to SNES we played everything on it, one night after a house party he was carrying it down the stairs, dropped it, and it was toast after it slammed down every stair. It still turned on, but no picture appeared.

About 3 years ago now I was thinking how I really wanted to find one and hit up the local Craigslist. Some guy was selling one up in Green Bay, WI, I'm in Milwaukee. I was heading the next weekend to visit the same friend I grew up with who owned the 1702 to visit him and his kids, 4 boys. He lives 15min away from Green Bay and his boys just started playing NES and totally dug the system, they thought of it no differently than their Wii or ipads.

I got to Green Bay and this guy pulls up in a huge white van, pops open the back door and has 6 1702 monitors. He said he was a Commodore collector and was looking to offload some monitors and I could take my pick. I snagged one for my buddy to replace that long ago broken 1702 that fell down the stairs and.......3 for me for $20 each. I keep one on my desk at work for playing on breaks, one at home hooked up as my main retro monitor, and one in storage for the day they all start dying. Love my 1702(s)!

Don't some flat CRT's tend to create a rolling effect which is noticeable on older games? How many curved CRT's out there support Component? This would be an ideal TV for me but they seem to be scarce.

I've only owned 2 flat-screen CRTs, so I can hardly answer definitively, but I've not experienced any issues like that thus far, and my Toshiba is currently hooked up to: NES, SNES, N64, TG-16, GEN and PS1. I've had no performance problems. I've noticed that a few random NES games (Gauntlet II is one I specifically recall) do seem to be vertically scrolled upward about half an inch sometimes, but it's related to the game, not console, as other NES games don't have that problem. Then again, I'm using a top loader that is currently RF-only, so I'll be curious to see if that problem changes once I finally have it modded for RCA.

I have owned convex CRTs with component connections before, so I know they do exist. Probably harder to find though.

Great story!

Oh, the feeling of watching something heavy and delicate bounce down a staircase. I can totally picture that terrible moment. I bet it felt like it was happening in slow motion.

 

I used to own several CRT's, a 40" JVC, 36" Trinitron, and 26" Wega, all looked beautiful.
It all seems fine and dandy until it comes time to move....argh. I had friends helping me and they were not very happy after that move.

Also, think of your wife. It's not a good idea to make them pissed off.
I'd rather go with a 55" HDTV (25lbs) and SCART/RGB + Framemeister Mini. The older stuff will look incredible and your wife will be happy.

I did end up keeping my 26" Wega CRT. I can't give up on CRT altogether, but I don't keep it in the living room.

I need to find the right CRT still. The only thing that fits my retro needs is my Retron 5 which scales games beautifully on my flat screen. For stolen software and cheap plastic, it does one hell of a job.

Is anyone else amazed that Goodwill still charges $50+ for these things? CRTs seem to pop up quite frequently in the free section of craigslist around here. I picked up a WEGA 26-27"? for free at a flea market this summer.

Some flat CRT's are actually regular curved CRT's with an flat pane of glass covering it, like a Toshiba CRT I have. It definitely has a rolling effect on the left and right ends on all of my NES games. Getting a true flat screen CRT does not have this effect. I was fortunately to purchase a 27" Sony Triniton Wega KV-27HS420 from Craigslist which is actually HD and has component as well as HDMI. It does not have scan lines, but otherwise it looks perfect for all of my consoles, even the modern ones, although I prefer those widescreen on my regular HDTV.

Large (27"+) higher-end CRT TVs manufactured in the 90s had component input. Component inputs became ubiquitous on TVs in the 2000s once DVD players became cheap commodities. I bought a 13" curved CRT at a Savers with component input. The TV has a manufacture date of September 2007.
 

I'd like to get the best brand possible though. Everyone claims that Sony Trinitrons are the best but I'm not finding any curved that support component. Toshiba and JVC are supposedly good brands as well.

Also I hear that some of the early component tv's don't support 480p which is a bit odd.

That's right. Essentially, the best thing for retro games available to mainstream America.
You get light gun support, and 240p without upscaling, in a format of comparable sharpness potential to RGB.

Component also doesn't use the ancient color systems. Should be able to view PAL60 or PAL-M content in color (but I haven't tested that myself).

Best CRT is the NEC XM29 Monitor hands down.

I gave up looking for Sony CRT.
I searched on Facebook groups, no one knew what the heck were they selling..., "I asked is it really 32" ??, and they answered yes! and such
Once there the TVs weren't the actual size, some of them even said stupid things like "this TV set(furniture) is for a 32" TV..." facepalm.
NONE were of the size mentioned and ALL the TVs I went to check had image issues

I said enough!, any brand will do, as long as I like it

So I got a nice "sexy" 28" Samsung Flat Screen CRT, it looks and sounds great.

 



 

So Jealous, that samsung is beatiful