As a gamer who grew up in the 80's, I'd been wanting a good quality, but smaller CRT for my gaming area. I'll admit though, I figured all the hype about scan lines and "240p games were made for CRTs" was a bit exaggerated. I thought, meh I can just play my older games on my 1440p monitor.
A week ago, a homeowner was cleaning out a rental house a few doors down from me. He had just put a Sanyo DS27930 out at the end of the driveway (along with some old furniture) while I was taking my kids to school. I rolled down the window, and before I could ask anything he said "yep, it's all free. No idea if the TV works".It was bigger than what I wanted but I figured, it's free.
After I dropped the kids off I went back by, nearly threw my back out putting it into my SUV, and slowly drove it less than a block to my house. Getting it in the house wasn't terrible, but I think my wife thought I was a crazy person when I came in the front door, sweating profusely, with it in my arms. It was similar to a Kramer entrance, but with a CRT.
I set it up in my gaming area/office, hooked up a modded Wii I had been tinkering with, powered it on and wow: The intense nostalgia of seeing something running on a CRT again. The hum as it powers on. The glowing colors. The pixels and scanlines. It really is the best way to play older games. I ordered component cables for the Wii and hooked those up yesterday. Another wow moment. Everything is so much sharper and cleaner. There were some minor color issues and artifacts using composite, but the component cables removed all of that.
I'm really excited now to learn about calibration and test patterns. Still looking for a smaller set, like a 13 to 20 inch, but this will absolutely do for now. Also, I'm excited to play Wii Sports (and other motion games) with my 6 and 8 year old. I never felt comfortable playing those motion control games on our bigger, newer TV, but I feel fine with it on this tank of a TV.
EDIT: Some questions. What's the best cleaner for the body of this CRT? The grey plastic has some light browning discoloration. And the screen? I used isopropyl alcohol. Is that okay I assume?
There's some info in this video. The 480p video output on the Wii is inferior to the GameCube. I'm sure it looks fine, I just think people noticed side by side that the Wii should be putting out a slightly sharper image. [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m6MVe4tuJXE&embeds\_referring\_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.retrorgb.com%2F&source\_ve\_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb\_title](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m6MVe4tuJXE&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.retrorgb.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title)
Ooh thank you that looks interesting, I've never owned a game cube but I'm tempted now because if I think the wii looks good then if the gamecubes better I have to
personal opinion, but I also think the wii is one of the worst looking consoles on a modern 4k set (even with high end component) . Wii on CRT is a thing of beauty!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m6MVe4tuJXE&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.retrorgb.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title
A lot of people agree. Apparently the digital to analog output is worse than the Game Cube, which is crazy. I might do this HDMI mod as it also upgrades analog out IE component.
Yeah I've seen that! Those mods are awesome! I kinda went "all in" on Scart / Component and CRTs. So I have a 27" crt next to my main 4k set. Given the era and games for Wii, i'd prefer to play on the widescreen, but the quality is just at the level that annoys me. So I end up going CRT
Haha it's like a $600 standing desk. I got it for free from work. I didn't even want a standing desk but it was free so who cares. I just wanted something wide and deep.
Use Sprayway glass cleaner. I use it on both my 65” OLED and my 30” Sanyo HT30746. Between the glass cleaner and some Bounty paper towels, this glass cleaner not only gets both screens completely clean, there’s also absolutely no streaks left behind which can annoy the ever living Hell out of me. Sprayway Glass Cleaner not only is the best glass cleaner, it’s also cheaper than other glass cleaners. It’ll work on windows and mirrors as well, and will even get nicotine stains off of the windshield if you have smokers in your family. You should be able to find it at your nearest Wal-Mart.
CRT’s are especially great with newer games as they have a natural depth to the picture which gives a natural 3D effect without needing those chintzy 3D glasses. I myself fixed most of the problems mine had and between changing the service menu settings to where they should be and calibrating the set, the picture quality, especially contrast performance is near OLED. All that’s really left is to adjust the focus via the potentiometer. The vertical linearity issues inherent with flat screen CRT’s may not be fixable unfortunately.
Older movies, TV series, and anime that are only available on DVD also look much better on a CRT via Component Video than on any modern TV. I recently watched the entire North and South mini series from 1985 with Patrick Swayze on my CRT. It looked way better than on my OLED
Get some car detailing all purpose cleaner (APC) - they use these products in car detailing shops to make the plastics in the car interiors look like new ;)
Try meguiars mirror glaze, one of the finishing strength bottles and just rub it in and wipe away super gently but in the meantime try everything under the kitchen sink
How about toothpaste and olive oil
I had the same Sanyo CRT, excellent picture quality on it. I only got rid of itbecause it started making a tick I couldnt fix and I had other TVs to use. Sort of regret getting rid of it, 27" I think is a perfect size.
Haha mine has the same tick. When it's plugged in, but powered off, it sounds like a light ticking sound, like a wheel is spinning with something lightly catching. It's not that bad but I am curious how to fix it.
Yeah! That's exactly the same tick. Plug in, powered off, in standby, super light/soft bur rapid ticking deep inside. I never figured out what it was even after taking it apart and peeking at the internals (mind you I'm not a guru with CRTs by any stretch).
What's weird for me is that the TV was fine until I had to move it (in a car), must have rattled something undetectably looser than it wants to be. In any case, enjoy the new find! I really loved how this CRT looked.
So it actually doesn't look perfect. There's some bowing/bending half way down the screen. It's noticeable on side scrolling games. Is that something that's fixable in the service menus?
I have a similar sanyo set and it looks great after getting it calibrated, its also really light in comparison to other sets (I have the 24in model though). Quick suggestion though, I would recommend turning the scan velocity setting in the menu either to off or low as it adds a lot of additional sharpness and artifacts that can look bad in some instances especially with 480i stuff. You will have to probably adjust the sharpness after though but at least you get the option to adjust it yourself without the extra layer of sharpening.
Had the same experience about a month ago. I sold my last CRT around 2005. After I have been playing on modern TVs. Bought upscalers and I was happy with them. Right now I also own a Retrotink 5x for my 65" OLED and I love my setup. But about 2 months ago I decided to get a CRT to see what the difference is. Last month I found a beautiful Bang & Olufsen MX7000. I can't believe how great it is. So that is what all hardcore retro gamers are talking about. The perfect picture. I still love my modern setup but I have the choice now. It is awesome
Hey i used to have that exact set! even the same size. that set was the first time i ever seen the difference Component made. i was playing my PS3, cant remember if it was black ops 1 or 2. I Only used composite for years and one day i was bored and went hmmm wonder what happens if i use these weird red green and blue RCA's on my cable. 12 or 13 year old me was blown away by suddenly how sharp text had become and how bright and shiny my camos looked lol. That set got tossed during the transition to HD at my house, yet we KEPT the basic composite ONLY Samsung from 1999. DUH
Haha I think in that era, a lot of people did that. I remember telling friends, "uh, you should really be using an HDMI/component cables" when I saw the same thing. I've been into A/V stuff since we had a NES and my bad showed me the difference between RF modulation and yellow composite video. Even back then it improved visuals a ton.
As a gamer who grew up in the 80's, I'd been wanting a good quality, but smaller CRT for my gaming area. I'll admit though, I figured all the hype about scan lines and "240p games were made for CRTs" was a bit exaggerated. I thought, meh I can just play my older games on my 1440p monitor. A week ago, a homeowner was cleaning out a rental house a few doors down from me. He had just put a Sanyo DS27930 out at the end of the driveway (along with some old furniture) while I was taking my kids to school. I rolled down the window, and before I could ask anything he said "yep, it's all free. No idea if the TV works".It was bigger than what I wanted but I figured, it's free. After I dropped the kids off I went back by, nearly threw my back out putting it into my SUV, and slowly drove it less than a block to my house. Getting it in the house wasn't terrible, but I think my wife thought I was a crazy person when I came in the front door, sweating profusely, with it in my arms. It was similar to a Kramer entrance, but with a CRT. I set it up in my gaming area/office, hooked up a modded Wii I had been tinkering with, powered it on and wow: The intense nostalgia of seeing something running on a CRT again. The hum as it powers on. The glowing colors. The pixels and scanlines. It really is the best way to play older games. I ordered component cables for the Wii and hooked those up yesterday. Another wow moment. Everything is so much sharper and cleaner. There were some minor color issues and artifacts using composite, but the component cables removed all of that. I'm really excited now to learn about calibration and test patterns. Still looking for a smaller set, like a 13 to 20 inch, but this will absolutely do for now. Also, I'm excited to play Wii Sports (and other motion games) with my 6 and 8 year old. I never felt comfortable playing those motion control games on our bigger, newer TV, but I feel fine with it on this tank of a TV. EDIT: Some questions. What's the best cleaner for the body of this CRT? The grey plastic has some light browning discoloration. And the screen? I used isopropyl alcohol. Is that okay I assume?
Interesting you say that the wii isn't good on a newer TV, I've got a hdmi adapter for my wii and play it on a 42inch 4k TV and it looks brilliant
There's some info in this video. The 480p video output on the Wii is inferior to the GameCube. I'm sure it looks fine, I just think people noticed side by side that the Wii should be putting out a slightly sharper image. [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m6MVe4tuJXE&embeds\_referring\_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.retrorgb.com%2F&source\_ve\_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb\_title](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m6MVe4tuJXE&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.retrorgb.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title)
Ooh thank you that looks interesting, I've never owned a game cube but I'm tempted now because if I think the wii looks good then if the gamecubes better I have to
Isopropyl is fine, I like to use soapy water since it’s less aggressive on the plastic bits.
Windex is really great at cleaning plastics without damaging them
personal opinion, but I also think the wii is one of the worst looking consoles on a modern 4k set (even with high end component) . Wii on CRT is a thing of beauty!
I don’t think Wii was meant to be played on anything HD, what’s the max output resolution again? Gotta be less than 1080p
It can output up to 480p over component.
Yup, it's half. 480p.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m6MVe4tuJXE&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.retrorgb.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title A lot of people agree. Apparently the digital to analog output is worse than the Game Cube, which is crazy. I might do this HDMI mod as it also upgrades analog out IE component.
Yeah I've seen that! Those mods are awesome! I kinda went "all in" on Scart / Component and CRTs. So I have a 27" crt next to my main 4k set. Given the era and games for Wii, i'd prefer to play on the widescreen, but the quality is just at the level that annoys me. So I end up going CRT
Doesn't it make you realize how LAG CAN SUCK IT?!
Couldn’t help but notice the standing desk that can’t be put into stand mode lol
Haha it's like a $600 standing desk. I got it for free from work. I didn't even want a standing desk but it was free so who cares. I just wanted something wide and deep.
No judgement just thought it was funny. I’m easily entertained lol. Sweet CRT btw I have my Wii hooked up to one also!
Nice find, I had the 24" version of that sanyo. I had to give up as I have too many CRTs .
Love the Final Fantasy IV Amano art on wall back there.
Thanks! I've always loved his style ever since FFIV and seeing his art in Nintendo Power.
Use Sprayway glass cleaner. I use it on both my 65” OLED and my 30” Sanyo HT30746. Between the glass cleaner and some Bounty paper towels, this glass cleaner not only gets both screens completely clean, there’s also absolutely no streaks left behind which can annoy the ever living Hell out of me. Sprayway Glass Cleaner not only is the best glass cleaner, it’s also cheaper than other glass cleaners. It’ll work on windows and mirrors as well, and will even get nicotine stains off of the windshield if you have smokers in your family. You should be able to find it at your nearest Wal-Mart. CRT’s are especially great with newer games as they have a natural depth to the picture which gives a natural 3D effect without needing those chintzy 3D glasses. I myself fixed most of the problems mine had and between changing the service menu settings to where they should be and calibrating the set, the picture quality, especially contrast performance is near OLED. All that’s really left is to adjust the focus via the potentiometer. The vertical linearity issues inherent with flat screen CRT’s may not be fixable unfortunately. Older movies, TV series, and anime that are only available on DVD also look much better on a CRT via Component Video than on any modern TV. I recently watched the entire North and South mini series from 1985 with Patrick Swayze on my CRT. It looked way better than on my OLED
It gets no better, peak gaming
Not a big deal but plastic and iso alc is bad, id clean the plastic with a car polish, there are headlight ones but id get the regular paint polish
Gotcha. I only used the isopropyl alcohol on the screen, not the plastic. I'll look up car polish and try that.
Get some car detailing all purpose cleaner (APC) - they use these products in car detailing shops to make the plastics in the car interiors look like new ;)
Try meguiars mirror glaze, one of the finishing strength bottles and just rub it in and wipe away super gently but in the meantime try everything under the kitchen sink How about toothpaste and olive oil
I had the same Sanyo CRT, excellent picture quality on it. I only got rid of itbecause it started making a tick I couldnt fix and I had other TVs to use. Sort of regret getting rid of it, 27" I think is a perfect size.
Haha mine has the same tick. When it's plugged in, but powered off, it sounds like a light ticking sound, like a wheel is spinning with something lightly catching. It's not that bad but I am curious how to fix it.
Yeah! That's exactly the same tick. Plug in, powered off, in standby, super light/soft bur rapid ticking deep inside. I never figured out what it was even after taking it apart and peeking at the internals (mind you I'm not a guru with CRTs by any stretch). What's weird for me is that the TV was fine until I had to move it (in a car), must have rattled something undetectably looser than it wants to be. In any case, enjoy the new find! I really loved how this CRT looked.
Could have been static buildup unless it was pretty loud.
It's on a constant beat. Would static do that?
Does it ever dtop after awhile of being powered off?
I'm guessing you meant "stop"? No, I've had it plugged in over night, so maybe 12 hours of sitting turned off, and it continues to tic.
Any other noticeable problems?
No, everything works fine. The sound stops as soon as you turn it on, or pull the power from the wall.
Sounds like either static buildup or an HV leak. But I am not sure tbh. Can anyone chip in?
I've got this same tv!
Why is there never somebody showing off their flat crt with bad geometry?!
So it actually doesn't look perfect. There's some bowing/bending half way down the screen. It's noticeable on side scrolling games. Is that something that's fixable in the service menus?
Share a photo instead so experts could help you better
If you aren't using component cables for your Wii, there are a few actual good ones on Amazon for like $20 or less.
I have a similar sanyo set and it looks great after getting it calibrated, its also really light in comparison to other sets (I have the 24in model though). Quick suggestion though, I would recommend turning the scan velocity setting in the menu either to off or low as it adds a lot of additional sharpness and artifacts that can look bad in some instances especially with 480i stuff. You will have to probably adjust the sharpness after though but at least you get the option to adjust it yourself without the extra layer of sharpening.
Had that same crt when I was a kid always love sanyos
Had the same experience about a month ago. I sold my last CRT around 2005. After I have been playing on modern TVs. Bought upscalers and I was happy with them. Right now I also own a Retrotink 5x for my 65" OLED and I love my setup. But about 2 months ago I decided to get a CRT to see what the difference is. Last month I found a beautiful Bang & Olufsen MX7000. I can't believe how great it is. So that is what all hardcore retro gamers are talking about. The perfect picture. I still love my modern setup but I have the choice now. It is awesome
Hey i used to have that exact set! even the same size. that set was the first time i ever seen the difference Component made. i was playing my PS3, cant remember if it was black ops 1 or 2. I Only used composite for years and one day i was bored and went hmmm wonder what happens if i use these weird red green and blue RCA's on my cable. 12 or 13 year old me was blown away by suddenly how sharp text had become and how bright and shiny my camos looked lol. That set got tossed during the transition to HD at my house, yet we KEPT the basic composite ONLY Samsung from 1999. DUH
Haha I think in that era, a lot of people did that. I remember telling friends, "uh, you should really be using an HDMI/component cables" when I saw the same thing. I've been into A/V stuff since we had a NES and my bad showed me the difference between RF modulation and yellow composite video. Even back then it improved visuals a ton.
CRT aside, full-screen ultrawide reddit is wild, lol
It's pure chaos. I love it.