I have found the IDEAL Gaming TV!!!

[artphotodude]

After a few years of research, and trying a number of sets it basically all comes back to the same problems. The older consoles look REALLY bad on modern flat panels.

BUT what about PS2 and XBOX (and Gamecube) with their 480p? These really look pretty bad too on new sets, but even the best SD set (like a component video, Panasonic Tau CRT) kinda makes you wish you had progressive. Also, with modern consoles you obviously would like to be able to play in HD too. So the challenge is to find the perfect do-all tv!!

Well Kiddies, I found what has to be the BEST option in existence: the Sony Wega KV-34HS420.

It is a Widescreen CRT (34") that supports 480p, 720p & 1080i (GREAT for those nasty PS3 scaling problems). It has a SUPERB picture, sound and a ton of inputs (4 AVs, 3 S-Video, 2 Component and even an HDMI).

Is it as sharp as a 46" Samsung? Well no, but the effect is actually better! The natural CRT anti-aliasing effect is superb and delivers sharp, dynamic color range that has to be seen to be believed. It truly makes the most of HD gaming. Also, with HDMI the XBox 360 upscales all DVDs to 1080i and looks so good, you might really want to put off getting blu-ray.

What about your older machines? Well it is how it handles old-school signals that really makes it shine. Unlike modern sets, that de-interlace all 480i signals (this basically means throwing away one 'field' of the data: or every-other line of the picture and then doubling the remaining lines - thus loosing half the resolution and detail of the original), this set actually doubles both vertical and horizontal resolution and gives you the option of leaving it interlaced - THAT MEANS 960i !!!!!!!!!!! Gone are all traces of the usual raster lines - even in really old-school signals. Also the unit has an awesome 3D comb filter, so no more dot-crawl and jaggies from composite video (this makes consoles like the original Playstation and Saturn look amazing because it allows for the anti-aliasing effect of composite video but with non of the down-side. This is very important for older machines because the PSX relied very heavily on dithering for color reproduction and the Saturn used pixel-transparency screens and both of these effects are naturally smoothed by composite video) - in short, your older machines will look the best they have ever looked! Also the power-consumption is right in league with modern sets, and because it is a CRT, there is virtually no worry about screen-burn if you watch 4:3 signals.

Best of all, because so many people are selling these off to make room for lower-priced flat panels you can find them on ebay or craigslist all the time for a song - bought mine for $112!!!!!

It is very heavy though (200+ lbs), and you should make sure to bring at least two strong men to lift it. There have been a few discussions online about some common technical issues, but there are enough of them out in the world that have worked flawlessly, that you can easily find one of the good ones in a month or so if you look.

Lastly, if you find one that needs some picture alignment, you can get it even cheaper, and most of the alignment controls are available through the remote and you can get the service manual online for about $5 (this is a no-brainer if you are technically inclined).

[GamerMON]

Yes but can you play light gun games on it?

[artphotodude]

Yes but can you play light gun games on it?

I don't know. That is a really good question. Would be worth seeing if it does.

[GamerMON]

If if does, I will definitely sing its praises.

[MrPopo]

Two important things I'm looking for in a future CRT for when I have space for another TV is light-gun compatilibility and picture. It sounds like this has the picture, though it's a bit on the small side. My XRGB-3 does a great job of making my old consoles look good on my 50" plasma (deinterlaces by combining successive frames, so 1 frame delay but no info loss) but it doesn't let me use light guns, so my SMS and NES stay on my old CRT from college.

[GamerMON]

Do you have pics of your tv artphotodude? I found this on quick craigslist search.
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/ele/1524942098.html

[artphotodude]

Do you have pics of your tv artphotodude? I found this on quick craigslist search.
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/ele/1524942098.html

The one I have is this one:

http://www.pricescan.com/ItemImages/ImagesL/520044.jpg

Some of the 4:3 ratio ones are nice too, but one of the best features of this one is how little the dot-pitch chances from center to edge. Most others are very corse by the time you get to the edge. Also, there are a lot of Wega's out there that are only SD. Have to make sure.

[artphotodude]

Two important things I'm looking for in a future CRT for when I have space for another TV is light-gun compatilibility and picture. It sounds like this has the picture, though it's a bit on the small side. My XRGB-3 does a great job of making my old consoles look good on my 50" plasma (deinterlaces by combining successive frames, so 1 frame delay but no info loss) but it doesn't let me use light guns, so my SMS and NES stay on my old CRT from college.

I would be happy to check it out if I had any light-gun games, but sadly I don't (have not looked back since playing "Typing of the Dead").

Anyway, since it is still a fully-interlaced picture, I would be shocked if it didn't work. You could always ask the person selling if you could try it. The lady I bought this one from was happy to let me bring my 360 to try out the set.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

CRT's are amazing, but I find I just don't have the space for a decent sized one. My LCD does a decent job with older consoles for the most part. Just not older 3D games.

[brjoce]

I have a similar tv, Sony wega 34 kd 34xbr970. I agree that the tv is nearly flawless, however as for lightgun games, I have tried my dreamcast lightgun and have yet to get it to work and calibrate on the tv. Since I have ditched my old college crt tvs, I'm kind of stuck since I have upgraded the den and bedroom to LCDs. I may end up convincing my parents to give me an old CRT of theirs, though like others, I don't want the extra clutter to play House of the Dead on the DC.