Hot take: old CRT monitors are better for retro gaming than modern LCDs

I had a long talk with a guy at the swap meet last Saturday who builds custom arcade cabinets. He said I was crazy for using a 21 inch Sony Trinitron for my SNES setup because it weighs 80 pounds. But he admitted the colors look way more natural than my friend's 4K monitor with scanline filters. The timing just feels right, like the pixels were meant to glow on this glass. Has anyone else stuck with CRTs after trying the fancy modern alternatives?

2 comments

2 Comments

johnson.lee1mo ago

You ever read about how some old video game soundtracks were literally composed with CRT timing in mind? I was reading some engineer's blog last year where he broke down the lag difference between CRT and LCD. Said some SNES games have audio cues that are synced to the electron beam refresh rate, so on a modern screen you're basically playing with the timing slightly off. I've got a 27 inch Trinitron in my garage that I hauled home from an office building clearance sale. Weighed a ton but the light gun games actually work, and Final Fight feels like it did in the arcade. Your mileage may vary on the tube quality though, some of those old Sony models have geometry issues that can drive you nuts.

wells.morgan1mo ago

That bit about audio cues synced to the electron beam refresh rate is wild. @johnson.lee, do you remember if the blog mentioned any specific SNES games where the timing is noticeably off on an LCD? I'd be curious to know which ones might be messing with my muscle memory without me even realizing it.