Displays

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Revision as of 23:43, 31 July 2013 by ColamanZero57 (talk)
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There are several displays you can use for emulation. Some are better than others at displaying older standard definition games.

This FAQ is very work in progress. Please expand upon it.

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CRT TVs

Main article: CRT TVs

They come in several forms:

  1. Shadow Mask
  2. Aperture grille
  3. HD CRTs

Sony's PV series are considered god-tier. Sony Trinitrons are pretty easy to find, and they're on the high-end of consumer grade CRTs. Sharp, Toshiba, and Phillips higher-end CRTs are pretty close in quality, so don't be afraid to pick one of those up. Test before you buy. Also, check the back and see what ports it has. If you're in North America, coax and composite (red white yellow) are the most common, but you'll get the best picture quality running your system through S-video or component ports.

Features:

  • Can display a wide range of resolutions up to 480i on SDTVs and 1080i on HDTVs
    • May actually force and scale to a resolution non-native to the input. HDTVs that scale EVERYTHING to 1080i aren't rare. That defeats the purpose of avoiding scaling, but you still get the other benefits.
  • True black levels
  • Wide viewing angles
  • 4:3 Aspect ratio (with a few exceptions)

How to connect to a CRT TV:

  • Wii would be the easiest method. Can output to 240p[citation needed]
  • VGA to RCA and S-Video converter box.
  • Most CRT HDTVs have either DVI or HDMI ports which can accept as low as 30kHz (480p at 60Hz) from a PC
    • They do not support 120Hz to force 240p resolutions while doing this[citation needed]

CRT monitors

  • All the benefits of a CRT TV besides native inputs for actual hardware
  • Generally 30kHz (480p at 60Hz) minimum.
    • You can force 240p resolutions with 120Hz refresh rates.
    • There are also hacks, both software and hardware, to allow 15kHz output. But the monitor must also support it, and most of them aren't written for modern OSs. Careful there.
  • Larger resolutions available, often massive
  • Easy to connect to a computer
  • Not as large as many TVs, rarely larger than 19" or 21"
  • 4:3 Aspect ratio (with a few exceptions, notably the FW900)

LCD

(TN) displays

  • Native resolution which all output must scale to


IPS displays

  • Native resolution which all output must scale to
  • Vivid colors and contrast
  • Good viewing angles
  • Massive resolutions available.
  • No 120Hz for motion (unless that's changed, who knows)

Upscalers

http://scanlines.hazard-city.de/