SDTV Get! Finally, an old, used CRT with a better picture than a modern HDTV

Thanks to Leo I am cheerily typing this whilst listening to some Kirby's Epic Yarn music, I suggest you do the same. :)

Damn, it's been about year since I went HDTV only, my new/old SDTV came via courier, it's a beast. Only 16 inches but ruggedly manly - a CRT with an ass the size of a tow truck. 4:3 too :)

I tested out about 10 games or so yesterday. It's crazy, literally crazy. All the little blemishes and jaggies, pixellation. All that ugly stuff you see when playing an SD console on an HDTV, all of that is gone. My cylindrical scuba tank on endless ocean is now jaggie free.

It's only when you see the difference that you finally understand all of the little crappy artifacts the scaler of your HDTV creates. Metroid Prime 3 looks stunning, the art, the attention to detail is incredible. It comes to life on an SDTV, the picture just seems to simmer with a vitality not shown on an HDTV. Even a normal corridor is laden with the sort of intricate attention to detail only Retro know how to do.

Mario Galaxy 2 is rounded, you know, rounded like the characters in toy story. Silent Hill Shattered Memories looks more like the Dolphin 1080p screens. Even virtual console classics now look the way I remember them. I am very happy.

I know it seems like an inconvenience to keep a chunky old set around amid all this slim screen splendour, but it's the best and strangely also the cheapest way of acheiving the best visuals with SD consoles.

I'm happy.

Posted by gamingeek Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:41:56 (comments: 5)

SteelAttack

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 16:19:45

That's why I have the PS2 hooked to a 21" CRT SDTV. Some of those games haven't aged gracefully, and blowing their native resolution up with an HDTV can make your retinas bleed.

gamingeek

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 15:05:07

Some games actually look better on an HDTV. The scaling makes soft look games look sharper on an HDTV like No More Heroes 2 or Little Kings Story for instance. But sharpening the picture duplicates and enhances any flaws in the picture too.

SteelAttack

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 21:35:29

Yeah, but those are Wii games, which benefit from the system's significant increase in horsepower. PS2 games look like utter ASS blown up like that. That's why I have my Wii in the living room hooked to the HDTV set.

Ravenprose

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 21:43:33

I know people from the Atariage forums that have their Atari 2600/7800 consoles hooked up to 40" HDTVs via RF, and they claim it still looks good. That's the power of Atari!

gamingeek

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 10:35:24

The power of Atari fuels the center of the earth.

Damn, Darkside Chronciles in SD looks fantastic. The combination of shaders, detail and lighting make it look like the HL2 engine on PC - yet in SD of course.

Say what you will about Cavia, but they really pushed the boat out visually here.

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