How many of you still game on a crt?

[emailking]

I know CRT is more responsive but I don't understand why it would look better.

[Akibiyori]

Originally Posted by emailking

I know CRT is more responsive but I don't understand why it would look better.

It’s because of how resolution scaling works and how the different technologies handle processes like progressive and interlaced video as well as color and contrast. A N64 game will look dull, muddy, and blurry on an HDTV but on a CRT it looks pretty crisp and vibrant. Real CRT scan lines blend the rough edges in a way that doesn’t happen on an HDTV (and I don’t think fake scan lines ever really look completely convincing, not to mention how they typically seem to dull the color and contrast on top of things.)

The best way to see the difference is to take a game like Final Fantasy IX and show it three different ways - on an HDTV via PS3 backwards compatibility, on a CRT via PS3 (PS3 doesn’t display PS1 games at native 240p, so this is a notable comparison point,) and finally on a CRT via a PS1 or PS2 (which do display content at the correct resolution as intended.) You’ll see a striking shift in the backgrounds from pixelation on the former two options to a totally fluid, defined image on the latter.

I recommend YouTube channel My Life in Gaming’s videos on CRTs as well as different output methods for various consoles for a good explanation about this topic. They offer some off-screen captures in their comparisons but unfortunately you can’t truly see the difference unless you’re looking at it in person (they’re also heavily geared towards RGB output, which is certainly the highest quality but I would stress it’s not actually necessary to get a fine image on a CRT.)