SNES Classic on a CRT

[mrwasi]

Thanks again to everyone here in helping me get a CRT and relive my childhood all over again.

Is it possible to connect an SNES Classic to my Sony Trinitron that has component inputs via HDMI to Component converter? Would this potentially cause any input lag? Just wondering if anyone has tried this before I drop $25CDN on a converter.

[Fudoh]

I don't think that the SNES classic does output in 480i, so you don't just need a simple HDMI to component converter, but one that down converts the signal for you. Would - in the end - certainly be as expensive as just getting a SNES along component cables.

[Konsolkongen]

720p only, so you would also have to deal with widescreen to 4:3 conversion somehow.

[SavagePencil]

An Extron VSC 700 or 900 would do it, after you convert from HDMI to VGA.

[mikejmoffitt]

No matter what you do, it is going to look at lot worse than an original SNES. Not because of accuracy issues, but because the HDMI output resolution from the unit isn't an integer multiple of a native 15Khz resolution. There will be some lossy downscaling here.

[mrwasi]

That's what I was afraid of.
I may look into an Extron VSC as @SavagePencil mentioned.
On second thought maybe not since they're pretty pricey. I guess I can always hook up the Wii to the CRT.

[BazookaBen]

On second thought maybe not since they're pretty pricey. I guess I can always hook up the Wii to the CRT.

Or a PC running an emulator, or a retropie.

Or maybe even a SNES, if you're feeling brave.

[SuperSpongo]

Wii should indeed be a good solution for you: You already have the controllers from the SNES Mini, they are compatible with Wiimotes. Then all you need to do is install Retroarch or SNES9xGX and use the original resolution feature. Pretty good way of playing SNES on your CRT!
I don't know any specific numbers on input lag of that solution though...

[mikejmoffitt]

On second thought maybe not since they're pretty pricey. I guess I can always hook up the Wii to the CRT.

Or a PC running an emulator, or a retropie.

Or maybe even a SNES, if you're feeling brave.

Using the SNES would be an unprecedented and creative solution to the problem. Op, have you considered using an SNES to play SNES games?

[mrwasi]

On second thought maybe not since they're pretty pricey. I guess I can always hook up the Wii to the CRT.

Or a PC running an emulator, or a retropie.

Or maybe even a SNES, if you're feeling brave.

Using the SNES would be an unprecedented and creative solution to the problem. Op, have you considered using an SNES to play SNES games?

I sold my snes a long time ago and don't want to spend a fortune trying to recoup the system/games. I bought a CRT (2 actually, Commodore 1702 and Trinitron FS100) for the purpose of playing my N64/Saturn. I never realized how much I missed playing on a crt so I was looking for an inexpensive way to play my past systems on a CRT. And since I have an NES/SNES/PS Classic I thought there might be a solution

[mikejmoffitt]

I sold my snes a long time ago and don't want to spend a fortune trying to recoup the system/games. I bought a CRT (2 actually, Commodore 1702 and Trinitron FS100) for the purpose of playing my N64/Saturn. I never realized how much I missed playing on a crt so I was looking for an inexpensive way to play my past systems on a CRT. And since I have an NES/SNES/PS Classic I thought there might be a solution

Sure - the answer was a little tongue in cheek. However, these days, there are a number of solutions for playing games off an SD card on SNES hardware. It may be worth at least researching options to use the hardware that's well suited to the monitor you prefer, even if you find the costs are outside what you'd like to spend.

I can't speak for where you live, but getting an SNES is relatively easy to do and cheap here still.

[mrwasi]

I sold my snes a long time ago and don't want to spend a fortune trying to recoup the system/games. I bought a CRT (2 actually, Commodore 1702 and Trinitron FS100) for the purpose of playing my N64/Saturn. I never realized how much I missed playing on a crt so I was looking for an inexpensive way to play my past systems on a CRT. And since I have an NES/SNES/PS Classic I thought there might be a solution

Sure - the answer was a little tongue in cheek. However, these days, there are a number of solutions for playing games off an SD card on SNES hardware. It may be worth at least researching options to use the hardware that's well suited to the monitor you prefer, even if you find the costs are outside what you'd like to spend.

I can't speak for where you live, but getting an SNES is relatively easy to do and cheap here still.

I agree. I'm in Canada so I can get an SNES for $60-80CDN. But then to get an everdrive or individual games will definitely break my bank. Is there maybe a PC solution I should try? I see that the pi can output 240p. Or am I best to stick with a Wii if it comes down to it?

[mikejmoffitt]

Between a Wii or a Pi, I'd choose the Wii for this purpose.

[FinalBaton]

The Wii certainly seem like a fantastic option for this. But I haven't checked into rigging one since the days of VC where you could just buy games, which was hassle-free. Today do the emulators you need to install on it need lots of tweaking? and is modding the Wii itself a breeze? How about input lag from those emulators? How many frames/ms are we talking here? I might still grab a Wii to play PCEngine games on my CRT

[mrwasi]

I'll see if I can hook up my Wii this weekend to the crt. It's already modded and I have both composite and component cables. I experience no lag with emulators on Wii via component on my Samsung LED. Hopefully I get the same results with the CRTs

[BazookaBen]

I agree. I'm in Canada so I can get an SNES for $60-80CDN. But then to get an everdrive or individual games will definitely break my bank. Is there maybe a PC solution I should try? I see that the pi can output 240p. Or am I best to stick with a Wii if it comes down to it?

The best SD cart is the SD2SNES and it will run you $170. Everdrives are a little less compatible but run closer to $100.

Otherwise you can scrap together an old-ish PC with parts from Goodwill or Ebay and run Higan on it. That would run you $30-50 bucks. As long as your CPU is like a mid-gen Intel i5 you'll be good to go

Those are the only two acceptable answers as far as I'm concered. You were already talking about buying some crappy converter box for $30 so a Goodwill PC won't run you much more than that.

[mrwasi]

I agree. I'm in Canada so I can get an SNES for $60-80CDN. But then to get an everdrive or individual games will definitely break my bank. Is there maybe a PC solution I should try? I see that the pi can output 240p. Or am I best to stick with a Wii if it comes down to it?

The best SD cart is the SD2SNES and it will run you $170. Everdrives are a little less compatible but run closer to $100.

Otherwise you can scrap together an old-ish PC with parts from Goodwill or Ebay and run Higan on it. That would run you $30-50 bucks. As long as your CPU is like a mid-gen Intel i5 you'll be good to go

Those are the only two acceptable answers as far as I'm concered. You were already talking about buying some crappy converter box for $30 so a Goodwill PC won't run you much more than that.

I see they have dedicated video cards for tv connectivity that come with s-video. Building a PC rig for retro gaming on a CRT sound like fun!

[BazookaBen]

graphics cards with s-video usually only output at 480i.

CRT Emudriver allows you to output 240p over VGA, and then you can run it through a component converter to go to a normal TV.

[mrwasi]

graphics cards with s-video usually only output at 480i.

CRT Emudriver allows you to output 240p over VGA, and then you can run it through a component converter to go to a normal TV.

Ok. That's good to know. I'll need to search for an 1804s then to be able to hook up PC and consoles. Any other monitors out there that have Chroma/Luma/s-video inputs along with VGA?

[bigbadboaz]

There are a couple Classic users who have posted CRT setups in the Classic subreddits. Not sure how good the results were but you should research over there if this is still what you want to do.

[mrwasi]

There are a couple Classic users who have posted CRT setups in the Classic subreddits. Not sure how good the results were but you should research over there if this is still what you want to do.

Thanks will check it out!
I found a PC for sale, cheap, with an i5-2400 3.10 GHz and found this site https://www.aussiearcade.com/showthread ... de-Monitor
To help out with getting a PC set up on a CRT

[Einzelherz]

I played a butt ton of super Nintendo on my Wii on a CRT over component and it was spectacular. Easily the easiest option, especially with the classic's controllers. I wanted to build a CRT dedicated pc but that's been an idle project for like three years.

[mrwasi]

I played a butt ton of super Nintendo on my Wii on a CRT over component and it was spectacular. Easily the easiest option, especially with the classic's controllers. I wanted to build a CRT dedicated pc but that's been an idle project for like three years.

Now I know what you mean. Was researching the process of connecting a PC to a CRT and I seriously don't think I have the time to do it. I think I may have to go the wii route.

[vol.2]

I played a butt ton of super Nintendo on my Wii on a CRT over component and it was spectacular. Easily the easiest option, especially with the classic's controllers. I wanted to build a CRT dedicated pc but that's been an idle project for like three years.

Now I know what you mean. Was researching the process of connecting a PC to a CRT and I seriously don't think I have the time to do it. I think I may have to go the wii route.

it's not too hard if you have an extron vsc 700. i got a second one for $40 on ebay like a week ago. it's mostly a matter of waiting for a reasonable price to come up. just igonre anything over $50.

if your PC does VGA out, the VSC should spit it out in 480i or 240p. i believe it also does component, but I've never used it for that.
also, the VSC is just a super useful tool to have if you're going to be doing this stuff.

one caveat is that it needs BNC cable to go in, so you'll want to find the proper VGA female to BNC male cable if you're getting one. there should be extron branded cables on ebay you can get for not too much. if you're using composite in for your crt, you'll just need a simple bnc to RCA adapter for the output. they are super cheap

[mrwasi]

I played a butt ton of super Nintendo on my Wii on a CRT over component and it was spectacular. Easily the easiest option, especially with the classic's controllers. I wanted to build a CRT dedicated pc but that's been an idle project for like three years.

Now I know what you mean. Was researching the process of connecting a PC to a CRT and I seriously don't think I have the time to do it. I think I may have to go the wii route.

it's not too hard if you have an extron vsc 700. i got a second one for $40 on ebay like a week ago. it's mostly a matter of waiting for a reasonable price to come up. just igonre anything over $50.

if your PC does VGA out, the VSC should spit it out in 480i or 240p. i believe it also does component, but I've never used it for that.
also, the VSC is just a super useful tool to have if you're going to be doing this stuff.

one caveat is that it needs BNC cable to go in, so you'll want to find the proper VGA female to BNC male cable if you're getting one. there should be extron branded cables on ebay you can get for not too much. if you're using composite in for your crt, you'll just need a simple bnc to RCA adapter for the output. they are super cheap

This is up for auction
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Extron-VSC-700- ... SwBKBc0FF2

Cheapest I could find. Should I get it?

Theres also an Extron DVS 304 for $60 around the corner from me. Whould that model do the same as the VSC?

[vol.2]

Now I know what you mean. Was researching the process of connecting a PC to a CRT and I seriously don't think I have the time to do it. I think I may have to go the wii route.

it's not too hard if you have an extron vsc 700. i got a second one for $40 on ebay like a week ago. it's mostly a matter of waiting for a reasonable price to come up. just igonre anything over $50.

if your PC does VGA out, the VSC should spit it out in 480i or 240p. i believe it also does component, but I've never used it for that.
also, the VSC is just a super useful tool to have if you're going to be doing this stuff.

one caveat is that it needs BNC cable to go in, so you'll want to find the proper VGA female to BNC male cable if you're getting one. there should be extron branded cables on ebay you can get for not too much. if you're using composite in for your crt, you'll just need a simple bnc to RCA adapter for the output. they are super cheap

This is up for auction
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Extron-VSC-700- ... SwBKBc0FF2

Cheapest I could find. Should I get it?

Theres also an Extron DVS 304 for $60 around the corner from me. Whould that model do the same as the VSC?

I don't think you have to be in a rush, VSC 700s are pretty plentiful.

I've never used a DVS 304 before. According to it's page: https://www.extron.com/product/dvs304 it appears to be capable of taking the PC resolution and outputting it correctly. Based on the design and the dates on the available literature, I would say the DVS series is the older version of the VSC line.
Perhaps someone else could comment, but it's nice that the DVS seems to have a VGA input, that would eliminate the need for a special BNC to VGA cable and probably make the cost to you similar. (asssuming you have a simple VGA cable lying around)

In any case, I recommend exploring your options before pulling the trigger. The wii option is also totally valid. It comes down to what you think would be most comfortable for you. Personally, I'm already pretty well acquainted with using a PC for retro gaming; I have emulators and games already. There are going to be some learning curve for figuring it out, and if you already have a modded wii, perhaps that would be a better way to go. I mainly wanted to point out the extron option because it's a quick/simple way to take care of the hardware connection between a PC and CRT that isn't too $$. The software side of things could be a completely different story, and I have no way to know where you are on that personally.

[mycophobia]

installing homebrew and some emulators on the Wii is a trivial process, and with 8- and 16-bit era systems you get a product that is nearly indistinguishable visually from the real things. if you just want a quick and easy solution to play emulated old games on a CRT then that's about as quick and easy as it gets

[vol.2]

installing homebrew and some emulators on the Wii is a trivial process, and with 8- and 16-bit era systems you get a product that is nearly indistinguishable visually from the real things. if you just want a quick and easy solution to play emulated old games on a CRT then that's about as quick and easy as it gets

agreed. my thinking with the extron was: maybe he's already got PC emu stuff, and he just needs a connection?

[Bratwurst]

Hey does that VSC 700 put out decent/sharp s-video too? I'm still looking for a nice VGA RGB to S-Vid solution for my CRT Emudriver setup- but I won't poach the listing that mrwasi linked to, I can certainly wait.

[BazookaBen]

Are Wii homebrew emulators anywhere near as accurate as Higan. I also wonder about input lag