CRT Revival?

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

The answer is no.

[MachineCode | 159]

My main thing is not only the lag, but the way the picture is drawn. No solution has given me that lit glass look with pixels that look like oblong pellets vs hard squares that works like the world's greatest anti aliasing filter. It sounds like a contradiction but it's vibrant and sharp while also being soft.

Edited December 6, 2019 by MachineCode

[Sega Genesis Sage | 15]

6 hours ago, Sumez said:

By this logic (which is correct), playing on a CRT would eliminate lag. At least the manner of lag you're talking about here.

EDIT: Unless of course you meant a CRT rendering a digital video output via HDMI etc.? Yes, that would still lag just as bad. I think it's implied here that one of the primary ideas behind using a CRT, is to display analog video.

I guess a better point here is that nowadays lag also comes from a lot of other sources. Game engine bloat and managed code, controller drivers and wireless protocols, operating systems, etc. etc. Hell, even game logic. There are so many factors outside of just the video output. But the video output is definitely still a big one in today's world.

CRTs are only "lag free" afaik if you're going analog to analog. If you have a digital signal (which is most devices these days) coming into a CRT, it has to be converted to analog, which introduces some lag.

And some late model CRTs, even when displaying analog video, had lag because they had some amount of digital processing of analog signals as well.

[Sega Genesis Sage | 15]

Also, instead of a CRT revival, what I see as more likely is better and better and increasingly popular "CRT filters" in emulators and other similar devices.

[Jono1874 | 144]

I have been learning to repair CRTs at work specifically because I am all but certain that there will never be a revival. The main boards tend to die a lot sooner than the tubes themselves, thankfully.

I think current consumer level CRTs will mostly be okay for the forseable future though. I have a model from the 80's that works just fine. It was apparently one of the cheaper ones known for being garbage at the time.

I only ever have to repair the ones at work because they've been left on for years straight and the caps go bad. There's apparently nothing that can be done about phosphor burn in though.

 

[Teh_Lurv | 254]

 

Edited December 7, 2019 by Teh_Lurv

[Windows9xSeriesFan | 1]

I also want CRT TV sets and computer monitors to come back but that seems unlikely to happen!

[Estil | 1,264]

I don't know who else would want CRT's besides retro gamers who want to avoid controller input lag though.  I mean is there any other use they could have?

[MachineCode | 159]

7 hours ago, Estil said:

I don't know who else would want CRT's besides retro gamers who want to avoid controller input lag though.  I mean is there any other use they could have?

Not just about the input lag but also the look of the image itself and the lack of a fixed resolution. I'm not sure if this is still the case but at a few years ago TV and Film studios would still keep some PVMs around just for the purpose of gauging the color so that's another one for ya. Although I wouldn't be surprised if they'd moved to OLED for that by now.

[Windows9xSeriesFan | 1]

On 12/20/2019 at 1:12 AM, Windows9xSeriesFan said:

I also want CRT TV sets and computer monitors to come back but that seems unlikely to happen!

Why the so-called CRT revival seems unlikely to happen? Well, CRT TV sets and computer monitors contained leaded glass (a hazardous substance)... but without it, they would emit lotsa ionizing radiation (and harmful)!

[peg | 370]

CRTs still look light years better than anything else for low res stuff.  They will never come back because the market is so niche, but I do believe they will last a long, long time to come.  Aren't there still TV's from the 60s working now?  Certainly plenty from the 80s on are still out there going strong.

[MachineCode | 159]

The only niche solution that could be remotely feasible would be custom low res LPDs because it wouldn't require the facilities to make giant vacuum tubes, nor lead, nor require super high voltages. CRTs relied on volume to justify the expensive manufacturing process that it took to produce them. Made far more sense when they as a technology were more or less the only game in town for most applications. Plus, as stated earlier, an integral part of the process is environmentally harmful so it would be a hard sell.

As far as used stuff, most of the problems that occur are chassis problems as those tubes were generally super durable and needed to be physically damaged for most things that would render them useless. The issue is less the durability and longevity and repairability, although parts stock will inevitably dry up some day, but rather the fact that so many TVs that could have been salvaged, or were easily able to be restored to proper working condition, were instead thrown away and then destroyed, thus ensuring that the supply of working monitors runs out faster. And you can't really blame the average TV watcher for it. They are generally going to want to watch current broadcasts and stream video and play modern consoles, all of which require a modern TV to do correctly. On top of that, the HD or even 4K TV at this point that ends up replacing it is cheaper and larger than most CRTs were during their era, without most of the drawbacks.

Edited December 22, 2019 by MachineCode

[Windows9xSeriesFan | 1]

Unless the industry starts manufacturing CRT TV sets and computer monitors again, all games will be plagued with display lag!

[Windows9xSeriesFan | 1]

In order for CRT TV sets and computer monitors to come back, we must start petitions on Change.org!