Every time I see advertisements and videos about new computer monitors, I have to chuckle.
The past 3-4 years have seen high refresh rate and higher than 1080p resolution monitors
flood the markets - 75hz, 120hz, 144hz, 1440p, 4K.
As a pixel junkie, I’m certainly not going to complain about more frames or pixels - but
most of these monitors are so boring.
We spent 10 to 15 years with flat panel LCD monitors being far inferior to their CRT ancestors,
that I find it hard to be exciting for this modern technology to catch up.
I’m EposVox, and welcome back to Vox Talks Tech.
I’m a huge tech head, but I still prefer those “old tube monitors” that most people
think are garbage or ancient relics.
In this video we’ll be deep diving into why you should, or shouldn’t, buy an old
CRT PC monitor in 2018.
Get those cathodes warming up.
This video is going to go deep and there will be a little technical details - but the important
part is the fun.
Exploring old technology, high refresh and frame rates, crazy resolutions, awesome looking
screens - the early 2000s was a much cooler time for tech than today in some ways, and
hopefully that shows here.
Before we get too technical or complicated, I want to mention that PC CRT monitors are
not the same as CRT TVs that you might have played your old Nintendo or Playstation on
- without specialized signal conversion, which we will cover later in the video, most PC
CRT monitors cannot view signals from composite or the old RCA cables and your old video game
consoles.
If you’re just looking to get a more authentic retro games fix, you likely want to pick up
an old CRT TV - I posted a full video about that experience last year, which you can check
out in the link in the video description.
Let’s get vocab and history out of the way first.
CRT means “Cathode Ray Tube” and the displays work by shooting electrons from a cathode
in the back of the box to the front.
This is very different than how modern LCD and LED screens work.
CRT technology was also widely used for old TVs, as well, as we mentioned and have a dedicated
video on already.
CRT monitors are big, bulky, heavy, and don’t support modern video connections - so they’re
useless, right?
Well, that common perception is only partially true.
They do take up more room than flat-screens, but they aren’t always huge.
CRT monitors DO have to fit on a desk - or at least desks from the 90s and early 2000s,
after all.
CRTs are available in a plethora of sizes, colors and even shapes!
There’s a lot more personality to CRTs than the flat black design of just about every
modern screen.
And not all CRTs have the bubbled-out screen that’s so prone to glares.
There are a variety of flat-screened models out there - CRT monitors with a flat Trinitron
screen are highly sought after by enthusiasts.
Unlike their TV counterparts, PC CRTs haven’t had anywhere near as much of a resurgence
in popularity for retro gaming.
Mainly because people consider retro gaming to just be about old consoles - and a lot
of progress has been made to keep old PC games playable, such as all of the efforts made
by GOG.com.
A site that sells new games, but also does a ton of legwork to make old games playable
on modern hardware and even includes digital versions of the original goodies included
with the games.I’d also recommend NoClip’s documentary on their work, linked in the description.
But PC CRTs still have redeeming qualities that make them fun for enthusiasts and just
for those of us who prefer CRTs to LCDs in general, it naturally makes sense to extend
that to computer use, as well.
There’s a few generalized reasons that people prefer CRT monitors over LCDs: Nostalgia,
proper compatibility with older PCs and games, input latency, refresh rate and resolution
flexibility, and perceived color “depth” or dynamic range.
Technically, normal LCD or LED monitors and CRT monitors have the same “dynamic range”.
This is referred to as “Standard Dynamic Range” or “SDR” - a light variance measurement,
or “maximum luminance,” of 100 nits.
This has been the standard for a very long time, as it was based on the limits of CRT
technology.
Only recently are we seeing a change to this with HDR technology for new screens.
The issue, here, is in how different types of screens actually display light.
Despite having the same measured dynamic range, CRTs and Plasma TVs actually appear to the
eye to be better in this regard.
Some often refer to this as the CRT’s image having “more color depth.”
Blacks are deeper, whites are brighter, colors pop more.
LCDs more often look flat due to the backlighting’s inability to vary brightness enough, or on
a per-pixel basis like OLED, and just not being able to go to pure black in the first
place.
This is even better when combined with how CRT monitors handle sharpness.
Unlike CRT TVs that have a small number of vertical lines and can usually only accept
up to 240p or 480i signals via noisy analog connections, CRT monitors are PURE RGB via
the HD-15 or DE-15 connector, also known as the VGA connector by most normal people.
On rare occasion a CRT monitor will have a different connector - such as the direct BNC
RGBHV connections on this Impression 200VX monitor I have, but it’s all meant for the
same signals.
Some of the more exotic older 3D and CAD workstations had bigger connectors like this weird 13W3
here, but these aren’t common finds from consumer sets.
This expensive Gateway I have, has TWO VGA inputs, and a USB hub.
Crazy stuff - but this thing was 1000 bucks in the year 2000.
Too bad it’s dying and won’t be usable.
This means the monitor has a much cleaner image connection than your old TVs hooked
up to your old game systems.
Plus, CRTs don’t have a fixed “resolution” in the first place.
Depending on the maximum horizontal refresh rate and the video bandwidth, or “pixel
clock,” of the monitor, a CRT monitor can display resolutions from 640x480 up to a phenomenal
2048x1536.
My main CRT monitors with 96kHz max horizontal rates can go up to 1600x1200 resolution, but
this broken Gateway monitor with a 121kHz max rate can do 1800x1440 at 80hz.
That’s essentially the 4:3 aspect ratio version of 1440p at 80hz from the year 2000!
This is starting to show why newer screen tech hasn’t impressed me much - we were
doing all of this 20 years ago.
Hell, a commonly-shared article when people first get into PC CRTs is this one showing
that John Carmack was developing Quake on a 28 inch 1080p CRT monitor way back in 1995.
Unlike LCDs, however, CRTs generally remain sharp at non-native resolutions.
LCDs need to use the monitor’s scaler to scale up a lower-resolution signal to the
monitor’s actual display resolution, which results in the image looking a lot softer
than it should, and potentially adding input lag.
It usually just looks plain bad - especially if you’re not using proper integer-scaled
resolutions.
CRTs, however, are pretty sharp through most resolutions.
Sometimes some of the higher resolutions aren’t as sharp as lower resolutions due to how some
of the tubes work - but for most usable resolutions, generally they’re sharp no matter what you’re
throwing at them.
This era of PC gaming was so much better because of this.
You could run 60fps slower detailed games at crazy high resolutions, then drop down
to 1024x768 or 1280x960 at a higher refresh rate for some stuff, and down to 640x480 to
run older DOS games.
And your image will look amazing through and through.
On a LCD… it’s generally safer to crank down your in-game detail than to lower the
display resolution - though some newer games are finally releasing with separate render
resolution functionality to help combat this.
And all of this is delivered with no inherent added input latency.
No perceivable lag.
This is still mostly analog, versus digital-only on LCDs and LEDs.
Digital equals processing time equals input delay.
It’s always there, even if it’s low enough that you can’t detect it.
However, generally speaking analog means no input lag.
It’s not quite that simple, I know, but it’s a good rule to keep in mind.
Granted, if you’re using a PC CRT with a video converter of some kind, there might
technically be some added delay from that process - though good ones would add a max
of 1 frame’s worth of delay.
Just like with CRT TVs, PC CRT monitors have no latency, which is hugely important for
many gaming enthusiasts.
Heck, for a long time, Counter-Strike competitive players still preferred using CRTs for the
high refresh rates and no latency up until very recently.
While old games themselves are being adapted by their various communities to run on modern
versions of Windows, if you want to use your old childhood Windows 98 machine, or build
a dedicated Windows XP machine - generally that’s only going to output VGA.
You can get conversions to up-convert that to HDMI, and in many cases that’s fine,
but the same games on a CRT don’t always look so hot on a LCD.
Some people just want the pure authentic experience.
Alternatively, some people want to use their CRTs on modern machines.
Basic DisplayPort or HDMI to VGA adapters are alright for a basic setup - but they will
add a tiny bit of input lag in some cases, and they are very limited in terms of what
resolution and refresh rate combinations they can support.
Most are using old HDMI and DisplayPort specifications, and raw VGA to VGA analog actually supported
a lot more bandwidth than early HDMI and DisplayPort.
If you want something truly capable of this kind of conversion, look to the HD Fury devices.
They produce HDMI devices that can do virtually anything, including low lag, high bandwidth
signal conversion.
This isn’t a problem if you have a graphics card with the analog pins still in the DVI
connector - these are the 4 pins in a square around the horizontal big pin.
This is referred to as a DVI-I connector, with both analog and digital pins, and the
last GPUs to be produced with the analog pins still included were the Nvidia GTX 980ti and
AMD Radeon R9 380X.
Then you can use a native analog DVI to VGA adapter and have access to your monitor’s
full capabilities.
Maybe try out the Custom Resolution Utility software, too, if needed.
Side note, the Xbox 360 actually had a specific VGA cable kit sold with it, to allow users
who only had access to VGA and CRT monitors to play the system, which can make for an
interesting experience.
Most CRT monitors are 4:3 aspect ratio.
Wider aspect ratios didn’t become mainstream until a while after LCDs took over.
But there are a couple options.
You could try to hunt down the SiliconGraphics widescreen models of the late 90s like what
Carmack used - though, good luck, they’re incredibly rare.
Or there’s the holy grail Sony FW900 and W900 16:10 widescreen CRT.
It’s 24 inches, probably weighs as much as I do, and is highly sought after by many
enthusiasts - myself included.
Been hunting for one for two years now, and no real leads.
And they’re expensive.
A lot of the more exotic monitors like the 1995 1080p one are old CAD 3D design monitors
from the 90s, which have no OSD or on-screen display controls and have to be adjusted by
specialized software, which can be quite the hassle.
Later ones are fine to work with, however.
Most of the CRTs I have can even run 720p, 1280x720 at 120hz, which is awesome.
And if you use custom resolution tools to run interlaced modes - which it’s still
a CRT so you won’t see interlace lines - you can frequently double the refresh rate, making
it feel a bit snappier.
But choose wisely, as things are not all sunshine and rainbows on the CRT front.
Unfortunately, without the original manual, it can be hard to find the specs of specific
CRT models.
I’ve been lucky that a lot of the ones I have looked at have some specs listed on CNET
- I hope someone has archived their CRT pages, I’ll be sad when they go down.
There you can sometimes find the max bandwidth and horizontal rate to see what resolutions
and refresh rates are supported.
They’re not always 100% accurate, but good for getting a glance’s info at the monitor,
if you can’t find anything else.
Other times, like with this Impression 200VX I have, there’s not an ounce of information
available by Googling.
The size and weight can be a big deal.
It may not sound like it at first, but it really is.
Once you start getting to the 20+ inch size range, these things can weigh up to 80-ish
pounds in some cases.
And it’s by no means an evenly-distributed weight, it’s all in the front.
This 21” Impression monitor is almost 70 pounds, as is this big Gateway.
While CRTs were built to last, the components do die eventually, and there’s not many
repair shops left that will touch them - and it’s VERY dangerous to open them up and
work on yourself.
The voltages running through there would put more than a little sizzle in your step.
(I haven’t found ANYWHERE local to me that will touch them.)
A lot of these monitors were the ugly beige or white, which can yellow over time.
Some retro-brite can take care of this, but it is extra work.
This Gateway VX1120 that I got for free is a very high end monitor with a maximum horizontal
refresh rate of 121kHz, but it’s very worn and dying - the screen is incredibly dark
and almost unusable.
I can try to open it up and adjust a dial to brighten it more, but that may not fix
the issue.
And now it’s up to me to safely dispose of this 72 pound beast.
And burn-in IS an issue.
If you find some that were in offices or healthcare spaces where the same screen had been pulled
up for years on end - you’ll have burn-in such as on this screen here, which isn’t
really fixable.
If it’s light such as on this screen here, you won’t notice it much in-game, but it
can be obvious on scenes of pure dark or a solid color background, or something.
Thankfully, most PC CRT monitors do degauss themselves upon starting up, but you have
a built-in degauss tool in the OSD menus, so no need for a degauss wand or coil if you
do somehow develop issues which require that specific fix.
Sometimes you’ll find one and someone has chopped off the VGA connector to recycle the
copper.
A lot of CRTs did not have detachable VGA cables, so good luck soldering on a new one
to that mess.
And if you bite off more than you can chew with a giant CRT, it’s not something you
can easily get rid of, either.
There’s the issue of physically moving it, sure, but it’s not something you can just
dispose of.
You should never put electronics in the trash, but rather send them to recycling centers
or send in programs such as through Staples, but it’s actually illegal to put CRT monitors
in the trash.
They’re dangerous to waste employees and to the environment.
Some cities have recycling centers you can drop them off at, but the end locations are
actually nothing but a stockpile of these, as they have been completely unable to keep
up with the disassembly process.
If you do need to get rid of one, I highly request you start with Craigslist, local Facebook
seller groups, LetGo and Offerup.
Don’t expect to get much money for it, but list it for free and someone will take it.
Or put it on the edge of your yard near the street with a “FREE” sign on it and pickers
will likely grab it.
Some people can see the actual image flicker or refresh of the screen on a CRT monitor
at 60hz.
This is usually resolved by going literally any higher than 60hz, it’s something I see
sometimes, but it’s there.
This can lead users to get headaches from CRT usage, which can really suck.
I did mention that they’re not compatible with your old game consoles.
There are some fancy multi-sync monitors that can do both, such as from NEC, but these aren’t
common.
Instead, you would have to use an upscaler or line doubler - such as the Open Source
Scan Converter or Retro TINK to make this happen.
I LOVE doing this - I have this running in my retro game room, running my older consoles
through the OSSC line doubler means I get sharper retro games blown up on my nicer-looking
PC CRT monitor, and still nearly lag-free.
I run the systems into their appropriate switches, either for component, RGB via SCART or VGA
for the Dreamcast, then into the OSSC.
Then I take the OSSC’s HDMI output and run it through the HD Fury Nano GX to fit it to
VGA and we’re good to go.
This monitor can handle all of the full scaling modes of the OSSC - even 5x.
It’s awesome.
GameCube via component cables at 480p 2x mode, is amazing.
BUT this is a complex setup, and gets quite price, so certainly not for everyone.
For systems that already output 480p, but through Component YPbPr cables, you can get
transcoders that just convert the signal type without adding lag.
Just be careful to not get one that tries to scale the signal - you don’t want a scaler,
just a transcoder.
Check out Key Digital for some.
I’ll try to have a couple examples linked in the description.
If you want to buy a CRT monitor - look local.
Facebook Marketplace or local Facebook groups, Craigslist, LetGo, OfferUp, driving around
neighborhoods.
Avoid eBay - everything is price gouged to take advantage of those wanting to get into
retro gaming, and shipping these things is usually a death sentence.
I actually bought TWO of these Impression 200VX to go together, but one got killed in
shipping.
It was sad.
This is incredibly common.
Press F to pay respects.
Keep checking regularly.
I have found the ones I have by creating a custom Craigslist search as a bookmark, and
just checking it weekly.
Sometimes new things pop up.
Most people don’t even want money for these.
I can’t make the choice of picking up a CRT for you.
It can be an easy decision “oh pick up this little old monitor and enjoy peak display
experience,” or it can be a super involved process, depending on how you want to approach
it.
I can’t, in good faith, blindly just say “Yeah go buy one,” but I do think it can
be a good experience for many with an open mind.
I started with the a small IBM with burn-in from a buddy, and now have FIVE CRT monitors,
in my apartment as well as a few CRT TVs.
There are options available to you, factors to consider, use cases to really evaluate,
and risks involved - but a CRT computer monitor can be an amazing gaming and overall experience.
If you want to get serious about CRTs, consider joining a Facebook group that I’m a part
of called “The CRT Collective” linked in the description, and we also have a PC
CRT group branched off of it.
I’m EposVox, and thanks for listening to Vox Talks Tech.
I hope you enjoyed this fun video.
It’s by no means a complete guide, but should be enough to get you started down the rabbit
hole, should you desire.
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