Gloves | 11,800 Administrator · Posted May 31, 2020 Share Posted May 31, 2020 I've been working slowly on making a little retro game corner in my bedroom, with a little (tiny - 8") JVC monitor and all of my consoles from PS2 back plugged into it. I've got it all hooked up nice with a switch that lets me have everything plugged in at once which is nice, and I have some speakers coming in (the monitor itself only has mono output). I was wondering - is there anything ELSE that I might be missing which could make the whole setup EVEN BETTER? I'm not sure off the top of my head what I'm even looking for here, so I'm putting the question out to you all. Beyond the basic setup of TV/monitor, speakers, and a switch to plug it all in at once - is there anything else that could make a retro gaming setup just that much more enjoyable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPX | 1,370 Posted May 31, 2020 Share Posted May 31, 2020 Hard to add suggestions when it’s hard to visualise your current setup. So I’m going to chuck in generic answers: - Mini consoles - Arcade sticks - retro posters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nesmaster14 | 436 Posted May 31, 2020 Share Posted May 31, 2020 A capture device is kinda cool to have. I picked one up a few years ago and it's been great being able to stream old games with a buddy or record footage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloves | 11,800 Administrator · Posted May 31, 2020 Author Share Posted May 31, 2020 5 hours ago, GPX said: Hard to add suggestions when it’s hard to visualise your current setup. So I’m going to chuck in generic answers: - Mini consoles - Arcade sticks - retro posters Here's a photo of the current setup: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPX | 1,370 Posted May 31, 2020 Share Posted May 31, 2020 To make things more enjoyable, I’d suggest creating a truly nostalgic environment - old posters and extra merchandises of your favorite games/characters. Basically add stuff to make you feel pumped even before pressing the “on” button! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloves | 11,800 Administrator · Posted May 31, 2020 Author Share Posted May 31, 2020 6 minutes ago, GPX said: To make things more enjoyable, I’d suggest creating a truly nostalgic environment - old posters and extra merchandises of your favorite games/characters. Basically add stuff to make you feel pumped even before pressing the “on” button! That's a really good point/idea. I should hang some stuff up! Right now yeah it's feeling a little bit all function no flare. God I wish I had a neon Nintendo sign or something. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulpa | 3,518 Posted June 1, 2020 Share Posted June 1, 2020 Have you looked into non-conventional controllers/peripherals? I see you have a Zapper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a3quit4s | 4,107 Posted June 1, 2020 Share Posted June 1, 2020 I like working on the ambience of my game room. Merchandise, posters, LED lights, and generally cool gaming related stuff. My family knows I collect games so I have a bunch of stuff they have given me which is cool as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumez | 2,968 Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 On 5/31/2020 at 6:04 AM, Gloves said: is there anything ELSE that I might be missing which could make the whole setup EVEN BETTER? I'd hate to state the obvious - but something a little bigger than 8" might be pleasant. Also, with all the consoles hooked up, are they running on the best output they can? Of the ones pictured I wouldn't accept composite video from anything outside of the NES (and even for that, an RGB mod is so much worth it). As far as I recall from your posts in the Discord chat, your JVC monitor only accepts composite input, which is unfortunate, considering what a great series of monitors that is. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ifightdragons | 234 Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 Lots of great suggestions here, posters and alike. I'll also go with Sumez' call on trying to upgrade your output signals through mods and perhaps a TV with at least S-Video. Even a PVM if possible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumez | 2,968 Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 (edited) Yeah, though RGB is of course "the ideal", I know Gloves is in the US where that isn't necessarily as viable without another broadcast monitor. S-Video and component video are both completely adequate, and a huge step up from composite mush. Personally, I'm not a video perfectionist at all, I just enjoy games that don't look like a complete mess. Edited June 2, 2020 by Sumez Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulpa | 3,518 Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 12 minutes ago, Sumez said: Yeah, though RGB is of course "the ideal", I know Gloves is in Canada where that isn't necessarily as viable without another broadcast monitor. Fixed it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostLevel83 | 86 Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 I’m going to throw headphones out there. With that tight setup, I’m not sure where your speakers are going to go. If they are on the ground, that might make for a awkward sound situation if you are scooted up close to the monitor. A nice set of vintage or retro styled headphones could add both nostalgia and increased game playing enjoyment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloves | 11,800 Administrator · Posted June 2, 2020 Author Share Posted June 2, 2020 41 minutes ago, LostLevel83 said: I’m going to throw headphones out there. With that tight setup, I’m not sure where your speakers are going to go. If they are on the ground, that might make for a awkward sound situation if you are scooted up close to the monitor. A nice set of vintage or retro styled headphones could add both nostalgia and increased game playing enjoyment. For reference: (the computer monitor has been removed) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostLevel83 | 86 Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 Oh nice. That’s similar to my setup, except I’ve got a turntable where the switch box is. Looking good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloves | 11,800 Administrator · Posted June 2, 2020 Author Share Posted June 2, 2020 26 minutes ago, LostLevel83 said: Oh nice. That’s similar to my setup, except I’ve got a turntable where the switch box is. Looking good! I'm still considering getting a turntable but man I am so lost on that shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Rothchild | 9,550 Editorials Team · Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloves | 11,800 Administrator · Posted June 2, 2020 Author Share Posted June 2, 2020 2 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said: Goddamn homeowners... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Rothchild | 9,550 Editorials Team · Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 I'm sure your $8,000/month highrise Toronto studio can squeeze that in somewhere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloves | 11,800 Administrator · Posted June 2, 2020 Author Share Posted June 2, 2020 36 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said: I'm sure your $8,000/month highrise Toronto studio can squeeze that in somewhere Lmao I live in a $1400/month basement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Rothchild | 9,550 Editorials Team · Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 9 minutes ago, Gloves said: Lmao I live in a $1400/month basement. Must be saving a quadrillion dollars then. I look forward to hearing about retiring at 40 and buying land out in Saskatchewan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloves | 11,800 Administrator · Posted June 2, 2020 Author Share Posted June 2, 2020 3 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said: Must be saving a quadrillion dollars then. I look forward to hearing about retiring at 40 and buying land out in Saskatchewan. xD Yes I look forward to doing just that lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumez | 2,968 Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 14 hours ago, Tulpa said: Fixed it for you. I coulda sworn... My apologies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloves | 11,800 Administrator · Posted June 2, 2020 Author Share Posted June 2, 2020 To be clear, I'm not against "upgrading" the television, but to be honest I do actually like it as-is quite a bit. 8" is a nice little size for the corner of my room, and I do sit pretty darn close to it. I'm not dedicating a whole room to this, it's literally my bedroom which I share with my wife. I'm just video-game-ifying my own little corner of the room. Biggest I might go is like 14" TOPS, and even that I don't think would quite fit, I'd have to do measurements. It has to be able to fit nicely on top of my half-sized Billy Bookshelf (from IKEA). I might consider a PVM if the RGB etc. is really THAT big a difference, but it's SUPER rough getting one out here for under $500, if any are ever available at all. And the whole covid thing has me not really all that capable of doing pickups. So could be quite some time before I can get another TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeppelin03 | 314 Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 (edited) 4 minutes ago, Gloves said: To be clear, I'm not against "upgrading" the television, but to be honest I do actually like it as-is quite a bit. 8" is a nice little size for the corner of my room, and I do sit pretty darn close to it. I'm not dedicating a whole room to this, it's literally my bedroom which I share with my wife. I'm just video-game-ifying my own little corner of the room. Biggest I might go is like 14" TOPS, and even that I don't think would quite fit, I'd have to do measurements. It has to be able to fit nicely on top of my half-sized Billy Bookshelf (from IKEA). I might consider a PVM if the RGB etc. is really THAT big a difference, but it's SUPER rough getting one out here for under $500, if any are ever available at all. And the whole covid thing has me not really all that capable of doing pickups. So could be quite some time before I can get another TV. I had an 8" PVM and a 20" for a short while. The 20 failed after a week and I shipped it back through eBay. After that I just went back to trinitrons and other CRTs. Sure PVMs are the best for CRTs but it felt like I was getting 80-90% of the experience for 10% of the price with quality consumer TV's. This was with RGB modded consoles or HDRetrovision cables. Edited June 2, 2020 by zeppelin03 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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