
Most CRTs were designed to output 240 lines of horizontal resolution (called 240p) on the screen at a time. "Many would argue that CRTs are the absolute best way-some would go so far as to say the only way-to play retro video games the way the developers intended,” said Carlson's colleague at My Life in Gaming, Marc Duddleson. This is a dying technology, we should be doing our best to preserve it wherever we can." "There are subreddits, Facebook groups, and YouTube channels that can be great resources," said Starkweather, "but they can also overwhelm you with information and conflicting opinions.
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A single listing for the same monitor on eBay at the time of this writing? An eye-blistering Buy-It-Now price of $3,900. In 2019, a coveted Sony GDM-FW900 sold for a dramatic $999 on eBay. Started in 2016, r/CRTGaming on Reddit has nearly doubled its subscriber base in the past year. Even just five years ago, only the most ardent retro gamers were interested in gaming on CRTs, but the audience has grown tremendously over the past few years, and demand has risen accordingly. While CRTs quickly disappeared from store shelves, they hung around in basements and grandparents' living rooms, slowly dwindling in supply as owners hauled them to recycling depots or left them curbside. Since launching in February 2021, Starkweather has built an audience of thousands of CRT believers. Starkweather is a podcaster, designer, and creator of a Twitter account that posts comparisons of retro video game visuals on modern displays and CRTs. Not only were CRTs expensive and dangerous to manufacture, they were incredibly bulky." "If you've tried lifting a CRT in recent years," Starkweather continued, "the answer becomes pretty obvious. At the time, the SNES or N64 weren't "retro" yet, so many were happy to leave them behind for an Xbox 360 or PS3.Įxcitement for new tech was a big part of the shift toward LCDs, Jordan Starkweather told me when I spoke to him for this piece, but that wasn't the whole answer.
#CATHODE RAY TELEVISION UPGRADE#
This meant gamers with older consoles had to either hang onto their old TVs or upgrade to the latest consoles. Now, you just need to add a filter, light, bubbler, decorations, and fish and you've got the perfect desktop fish tank to keep you company while you work.CRTs (which stands for Cathode Ray Tube, the technology that gives the TVs their distinctive look and unique silhouette) quickly disappeared in the West after the popularization of LCD flatscreens in the mid- to late aughts. Cut your glass to fit the monitor interior, seal it, give it a test fill, and mount it inside with expanding foam to hold it in place, (via Instructables). You're going to need plexiglass for the sides and bottom of your tank, as well as silicone or aquarium sealant so that it holds water. Removing the access screws from the exterior will grant you entry to the inside of the CRT and you'll want to remove everything before adding your fish tank. This applies to every entry on this list, but especially going forward. Do your due diligence, wear safety gear, and be careful when dismantling. CRTs also have heavy metals, and the capacitor can hold a charge for a long time, so there's a risk of electrocution even when it's unplugged. The cathode-ray tube inside is under vacuum and there is a possibility of explosion if you're not careful. You may need to daisy chain some adapters to get from HDMI to VGA, but that's all that stands in the way of watching Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube as if they'd come out in the '90s, (via Hackaday).īefore we go any further, it's important to note that the insides of a CRT monitor are potentially dangerous.
#CATHODE RAY TELEVISION TV#
Using a smart TV hub like the Chromecast, Fire Stick, or Roku, can get streaming signals to your old monitor. If you want to bring your old CRT a little closer to the modern-day, you can even turn it into an antique-looking smart TV. Now you're ready to watch all the infomercials you can stomach. The tuner will convert signals into something your old CRT can display.

Though, take a moment to look at your monitor and review its connections before you start ordering adapters. That will be your first hurdle.Īs explained by Techwalla, an analog TV tuner box compatible with your monitor's VGA input is likely your best solution. Of course, while your monitor is perfectly capable of displaying analog TV signals, it doesn't have any hardware for picking up those signals. With a little patience and a few dozen dollars, you can turn your CRT monitor into a working analog television capable of picking up channels over the air.
