Tips for choosing a CRT monitor and returning to your old computer

You know what you want to do for years and there is a market but you don’t know how to choose, so we help you.

CRT televisions and monitors have enjoyed a modest but steady resurgence in recent years, thanks to waves of retro nostalgia, both in music and video. aesthetic like video gamesbut there is a clear difference between those days when you played. apocalypse at 320×200 and now, and before it was your parents who chose the monitor, and now it is you who must unravel the secrets, advantages and disadvantages of each model.

A few days ago we were talking about what a good time to consider buying a new monitor as the technologies are already mature and prices are set. What would you tell us if we told you something similar happened with CRTs? receipt, technologies are still the samebut the good thing is that we now have more perspectives that make us wise people and aware of what we can demand from these parts. they deserve to be usedand not collected.

Tips for choosing a good CRT monitor

Who buys a CRT in 2022?

Let’s start with some respect that we’re talking about a lot of people’s golden past. To continue, read carefully because while these screens won’t make you nostalgic, they have a lot of reasons to. a gap between the current. As if it was with him the advent of vinyl and CDs and digital music, but in this case switched to LCD panels. However, when it comes to CRTs the advantages are:

They tell me Sony is good, right?

Try not to get obsessed with a particular model, not even with a brandbecause although the market is still rich in quantity and variety, we are still talking about it. discontinued products, then it can be difficult to get exactly what you are looking for or spend more. Now you can familiarize yourself with some of the best brands to get started. mix the results up a bit appearing on sales pages

effectively, Sony and Trinitron are the best of these screens, and on top of that they’re built in good quantities, they’re durable, and they’re easy to recognize and find (both displays and spares, beware). Moreover You may be interested in Mitsubishi, Hitachi, LaCie, NEC, Iiyama and Eizo. Of course, do not exclude complete equipment assemblers (Dell, HP or Compaq), because they were not manufacturers, but they used what we talked about and put their own brand on them. In this case you will have to investigate, or even Start yourself to buy following your intuition.

Is an old monitor really worth it?

Let’s refine a little. Like any electronic device in evolution, regardless of conservation status CRT TVs have gotten better over time. That way, even if you find one in perfect condition from 30 years ago, you certainly won’t be convinced by the size, resolution, or refresh rate of the screen. So you should try to narrow down your search fork with these. Screens manufactured in the 2000s (highest since the late 1990s).

this is the way to be sure you keep the user experience intactat the same time adding the advantages accumulated over the years in terms of image quality and definition, as well as extras such as the presence of on-screen menus to fine-tune the image. You can trust what the vendors say, but this class of peripherals, year of manufacture on visible labels.

I’m looking for a 27 inch one, right?

for car unless you want the table to be split in half. Cathode ray monitors are very heavy peripherals. Think separately from internal components and structure, the screen itself is glass. In this way, we can stay comfortably. between 15 and 21 inches. Sony even made a 24-inch monitor (and even a 16:9 aspect ratio), but for reference, a 21-inch monitor might already weigh in almost 30 kilos.

Obviously you’ll have to do a regression exercise and make do with what was before, but you won’t. Go down to 15 inches Unless you want a totally retro experience that feels like the 80s. ideal point 19 inches, apart from all the variables we mentioned, because they are so easy to find. Of course, if you see it complicated, it certainly will. It’s even easier to get a 17-inch CRT.

And resolution? I think 640×480…

Do not you believe! The concept of resolution works very differently from LCDs. While today’s panels have physical pixels, what we see in cathode ray images is an analog projection. Therefore, they can technically increase or decrease these metrics at any time. But we can talk about one.recommended resolution” by the manufacturer. For example, when searching for the Mitsubishi Diamond Plus 73, the last model we have at home, we find these resolutions:

The highest resolution obviously tends to be the best without losing image fidelity, but the most important thing is the usage you give the screen. If you are dedicated play 90’s games on windows 95most likely 1024×768 will suffice, but if you jump to XP you might be interested in as high resolutions as possible. find on newer modelsLike 1600×1200. You can load more, but always within the dot range of the monitor (we’re talking about this concept in two paragraphs).

Are there CRTs with better refresh rates?

As we have just seen, this type of monitor is wide range of resolutions and refresh rates, but always balances these two dimensions. That is, the higher the resolution, the better the Hz and vice versa. Yes, we can talk about 75 Hz in the most modern models. max 200Hz if we minimize the resolution, but the interesting thing is that they more or less go hand in hand.

You shouldn’t be obsessed with these numbers anyway, because the way images are displayed on these screens, what you see always seems much more fluid. On the other hand, it is very easy to find wide resolutions with a minimum of 75 Hz in the latest models.

What is this point range?

point spacing or pixel pitch shows “distance between phosphor points or between the LCD eyebrows of adjacent pixels of the same color”. This feature is important because actually determines the sharpness of the image (this is what makes a 640×480 projection look as good as a 1280×1024 projection) and measured in millimeters. with screens dot spacing 0.28mm or less, Sweet spot between 0.24 and 0.21 mm. Yes, there are even shorter range ones, but they are more scarce peripherals.

CRT Technologies: Shadow Mask or Aperture Grid?

You will start reading about screens as soon as you inform yourself about such screens. shadow masks and aperture gridsand you will ask yourself which one is better. There are two methods to make the electrons stay where they need to be, but the second came later and often has very attractive advantages.

Duration shadow mask is a metal sheet with small, regularly spaced holes, the aperture grille is presented in the form of vertical teeth It was a technology that took up the entire screen. Patented by Sony for Trinitronand although the patent expired almost 20 years ago, there are other brands that have gone to great lengths to make up for the shortcomings of their shadow masks.

To get to the spec, the best thing about aperture grilles is that they block less light. much more colorful and bright. Especially speaking of CRT monitors, this second option is much more suitable for flat screens. Now if you can find more advanced versions of shadow masksYou’ll get very good image quality, like those found in the Hitachi ErgoFlat or NEC ChromaClear, but it’s best to focus on the more popular models, but with a grid.

Are curved or flat screens better?

When you think of a CRT, definitely Can you imagine a convex glass pantallot?. This feature was necessary to overcome some of the cathode ray problems, but in the mid-1990s, manufacturers found methods to make straight versions. They dominated the market in the 2000s. In this case, we will not talk about an absolute truth to decide what is better: if you prefer the feeling of looking at a curved CRTgo for it, but don’t hesitate if your job is flat screen or if you are going to use more modern software.

How do I connect?

do you remember VGA connectors? Exactly, most CRT monitors connect to these analog inputs. So, if you want to connect your modern equipment, a HDMI or DisplayPort to VGA converter. These are adapters that are powered on the one hand and maximum resolution/Hz on the other. In other words, make sure you research which monitor you have well and spare no expense as the cheapest ones can get you in trouble.

Other connectors visible are DVI or even composite video cables (In the case of older monitors like the Comodore 1701 or 1702), but the idea is that you should still get a digital-to-analog converter.

Where can I buy them?

Obviously, You won’t go to PcComponentes to look for CRT monitors. Your area of ​​action should be second-hand stores, and you should open your horizons a little and learn to search first of all. On the one hand, you have online options to cover more local ads like Wallapop (especially) or Milanuncios; eBay or Etsy, if you want to open up to international sellers; and then others to go in person and scan the stock from time to time Cash Converters can. Obviously, this alternative will require good luck and a lot of nose to know what you’re seeing.

Of course, we give you some advice when searching:

images | Lorenzo Herrera, JD X, Moritz Mentges (on Unsplash)