Great Non Sony and Non PVM CRTs

[Brellik]

I see lots of posts on Trinitrons and PVMs and the model numbers to look out for whens searching for the best CRTs, but also see people mention Panasonic Taus, JVC Iarts and some Toshibas. What I don't ever see or can't find are the models to look out to for these other brands. I ask as my 32" Trinitron FS320 case broke as when I moved it recently (technically still works, but so heavy I don't want to deal with it anymore). I am seeing lots of 24" and 27" (weight is much more manageable) non Sony TVs in my area, but what models should I be looking out for?

Thanks

[mvsfan]

JVC AV-36S33. One of the best looking Non-Sonys ive seen. 36" 800TVL, component input, 240p/480i weighs a LOT less than a sony. 2 people have no trouble carrying it. only bad is its not flat.

[Dochartaigh]

Whole list (consumer TV's are near the bottom - and don't believe the JVC TVLine numbers BTW) here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/crtgaming/wiki/speclist

[mvsfan]

why not?

[Dochartaigh]

why not?

It's because JVC used a non-industry-standard formula to calculate the 'lines' of this set, which they call "lines horizontal resolution", then they count on a consumer not knowing the difference. JVC's measurement is the TOTAL lines left-to-right, where the rest of the industry (like Sony), when calculating the "TV Lines", counts only the lines equal to the height of the set. So on a 4:3 CRT, JVC's numbers are exaggerated by 25% right off the bat.

People also think (from reading the reviews back in the day, to physically counting how many lines there are) that even when you take away that ~25% JVC's numbers are still majorly exaggerated.

It's actually funny that when JVC advertises their PVM-type monitors (where the end-user hopefully knows a little something about TV Lines), they at least use the correct 'TV Line' formula (and furthermore if you were to believe their consumer numbers were using that same measurement system, those cheap consumer TV's would absolutely wreck their entire pricy professional line-up from a 'TV Line' standpoint! ...hell, they would nearly beat the $32,000 Sony BVM-D32!)

[SCARTicus]

I love CRTs. Everything but the size. Ive had a hard time finding sets with good geometry. Especially with late model Sony CRT televisions (which where I am are probably the most available CRTs on Craigslist etc), the colors look great and they have nice looking scanlines in 240p, but the distortion in image shape is just too much for me to tolerate. When things start a scrollin’, my belly starts a churnin’.

I do have recommendations, but Sony televisions I cannot recommend. Their PC monitors were god-tier however.

Mitsubishi was always a solid choice and they made fat round tube sets up to 40 inches. In the 90’s they started making their own Trinitron sets under the name ‘Diamondtron’. Diamondtrons kick butt and are awesome in every way. Both TVs and PC monitors are solid choices and their flat-faced models do not in my experience distort anywhere near as badly as Sonys.

JVC was a great brand and a major rival for Sony. They made all sorts of great televisions and also PVM style monitors. I would stay away from the I’Art line and anything with a flat face. I do not know if they offered anything with an aperture-grill, but they did use slot-masks sometimes which is still nice.

Philips/Magnavox made some high-quality consumer stuff, but if you want the very best, I would go with one of the above companies. Still they made good televisions with good pictures and often offered component video inputs.

Personally, I am convinced that a PC monitor is the way to go. They support high resolutions usually up to 1600x1200 and can be had cheaply. They tend to have higher quality tubes and have much better picture geometry. Pair one of these with an OSSC or a RetroTink x2 and you are looking mighty fine. Dell and HP didn’t make their own tubes. Monitor s carrying those brands are often Sonys and Mitsubishis in disguise. Sometimes they will even have the word ‘Trinitron’ or ‘Diamondtron’ printed on the face. Apple monitors are like this, too.

I use a 21 inch Diamontron Natural Flat with my OSSC running at 1690x1200 with scanlines (usually) and it looks amazing and of course zero lag. I also keep a Philips TV hooked up that I had the good fortune to get for free on Craigslist. It is a British market model and has an RGB scart input. It also accepts NTSC which makes it very convenient for Duck Hunt and Area 51. You need a TV set dor lightguns.

[Syntax]

I do have recommendations, but Sony televisions I cannot recommend. Their PC monitors were god-tier however.

Once you've seen the shadows from the aperture grill retention wires you can never unsee it.
The PC Crt they made are far worse at hiding it as the scanlines are half the size but the wire remains the same thickness...

[SCARTicus]

Thats’s true, but everything else is great. Usually the wire is not visible at 640x480, though, and the true scanlines visible at that resolution look great on SNK titles. I also like to watch progressive DVDs at that res on a CRT.

My Diamondtron is much better at hiding the wire, which is vertical for some reason. It is only visible on a white background.

[Syntax]

I feel the Sony monitors colours tend to be washed out. ive got contrast at full and brightness at 50 in most cases, with Tvs i turn down the sub contrast so blacks are black.

[Brellik]

JVC was a great brand and a major rival for Sony. They made all sorts of great televisions and also PVM style monitors. I would stay away from the I’Art line and anything with a flat face. I do not know if they offered anything with an aperture-grill, but they did use slot-masks sometimes which is still nice.

For consumer sets would you recommend D Series JVCs over the I'Art? There are quite a few of both available in my area. I really like the look of the flat CRT and I am waiting to hear back from a seller on the model # for an I'Art as it may be a high end model. Though I am concerned about flat screen distortion as my FS320 had some that I could not fix in the service menu and it seems like many Sonys have issues with it, not sure if JVC would be just as bad.

[SCARTicus]

I do not have a huge sample set. I’m just sharing my experiences.

I would definitely go with a D series even if it only has SVideo. The geometry issues my I Art had were really bad, worse than my old Sony KVs. The whole image had an inconsistent horizontal stretch.

What I’m reading about the D series right now makes me think it would be a highly desiresble TV. The tube is not flat and that’s a big one. If I saw one going for a good price locally, I would be tempted to buy it (too many already, apartment...)

Part of buying a tube TV is luck because of the geometry issue and the issue of if it was left on all the time or otherwise worn out. It can be hard to test for that stuff unless you are willing to bring a bit of kit along with you.

If you’re looking for as big as you can go, you may have to just take what you can get. Mitsubishi was basically the king of big tubes. Although, I did see a recently discarded 40 ish inch Toshiba sitting by a dumpster today. It was face down, what a waste.

Are you located in North America?

[FinalBaton]

JVC churned out incredible sets for the home market. They've got no complex over Sony.

Their earlier stuff is also great, but their D-Series have some models that have 800 lines of horizontal resolution over 32" and 700 TVL over 27"(for those whom that interest) and have component inputs, so North American gamers can get great colours via a transcoder.

Those models are :
AV-XXD200
AV-XXD201
AV-XXD500
AV-XXD501

But really, any older rounder tube from JVC is worth checking out if you come across one. One should not get too hung up on TVL count. I've seen a 32" JVC consumer set that had 600 TVL and looked incredible. I think it was the same model number that member Shoryukev had, and he liked his a ton too. If I was looking for a huge crt, you can bet I'd be looking at one of their offerings.

JVC also manufactured the famous Commodore monitors! let's not forget that! 1084, 1072 and all that. Those are lovely gaming monitors.


I personally love Sony sets but change is good, and I like to game on shadowmask monitors sometimes. I had a viewsonic PC CRT for 10 years or so, that had such fantastic colors. Loved playing emulators on that one. I trashed it and I really regret it.



But really, try out everything you come across, whatever the brand. There are lots of diamonds in the rough out there.