PS1 and CRT TV

Pretty much anything pre-Dreamcast will look best on a CRT. Obviously, stuff from that time period wasn't in widescreen, so ideally, you'd want a 4:3 CRT monitor as well. The best possible video signal from an original playstation is an analog RGB signal. This means that if you got a 4:3 CRT that could somehow handle a native RGB signal, that would be the most ideal thing you can get. I would suggest something like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAND-NEW-Sony-PVM-20M2U-20-CRT-Monitor-Medical-Professional-NOT-REFURBS-/290784906330?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item43b4218c5a


That Sony PVM-20M2U is actually a monitor that was designed to be used for endoscopy procedures. The doctors would view the live endoscopy video on this montior. I have one of these myself, and if you get one in good shape, they are pretty hard to beat. According to this Ebay auction, these are supposed to be brand new, never used. If that is actually the case, then getting one for $150 is a STEAL. These things would retail for about 2 grand when they were available originally. They are compatible with RGB signals. You can hook all your old school consoles up to it in native RGB, and get the best picture quality available for those systems. You will never see original PS1 games look better. You will need to get a Euro PS1 Scart cable for your PS1, so that you can get the true analog RGB video output. You'll also need a Euro Scart to BNC adapter to connect it to the Sony PVM. You can find the regular Euro Scart cables for various systems on Ebay, but finding the Euro Scart to BNC adapter might be a bit harder. Somebody on the neo-geo.com forums can make you such an adapter for about $25 or $30 I would guess.

Once you see your old school gaming systems in RGB on a high-end Sony monitor that can display the RGB signal properly, you'll wonder how you ever survived without it. It's like seeing your old console games in high definitition. The color, clarity, crispness and detail are off the charts. You're basically seeing every little detail the programmers programmed into the game, as it was originally intended.

Ask around with friends, family, neighbors and co-workers. People have to pay to recycle CRTs nowadays and there's probably lots just sitting in basement storage. Someone will be happy to give one away for free.

Yeah the lower resolution on non-HD CRT monitors made the early polygon era games look better. As for sprite based games I think my plasma does a damn good job even on lower resolution games. I always play OAR too.

Black bars, or grey bars on the side would really iritate me. It's too bad they don't make 4:3 plasmas.

Play or watch something that's pillarboxed or letterboxed for two minutes and you wouldn't even notice them.

not me. It would always be in the back of my mind. I might forget about it for a minute or two, but...