GE CRT TV, but have some concerns

[pixelss]

Guys,

I'm building a full size cabinet ( first cabinet ever ) with a PIE4 ( retropie ) and a digital marquee ( using another PIE ) and i was set on using a 32" lcd tv , but i found a GE 27" CRT TV for cheap and i went for it. i

I tested the TV with my Nintendo 64, but the colors look very DULL to me compare to other sets i seen in YouTube. is that just me ?



Brand: GE
Model: 25GH350

Also, there is no menu to adjust the  display. when i hit the "menu" button on the TV, just options for alarm and timer comes up.

current state of my cabinet build.:

[bobbyb13]

That TV has color problems that hopefully may just need to be sorted out in the menu and maybe with a good degaussing.

My guess is you will have problems fitting it into that cabinet.
It only looks deep enough for an LCD at a few critical points.

The GOOD news would be that you have a reason to build a second cabinet
 

[Zebidee]

There are a bunch of reasons why an old CRTs colours are a bit dull. First thing to look at is signal input, anything less than s-video from a console can look "washed-out". RGB or component give better results.

Washed-out colours could also be just the brightness/contrast/color settings accessible via your TVs menus.

If your colours are looking too purple/greenish, you can try using a degaussing wand to realign the phosphors behind the screen. However this probably won't do much to improve brightness.

Next stage of things to try, it could be worth pulling the back off your TV and tweaking the screen voltage pot on the flyback slightly. This will improve brightness and contrast, but don't tweak the flyback so high that you can see faint diagonal retrace ("flyback") lines near the top of the screen. After tweaking the screen voltage pot, you'll probably want to tweak the screen focus pot.

Finally, sometimes old CRTs have been used a lot and the cathodes in the RGB guns get worn out. This is a good time to find someone with a CRT rejuvenator, it might give your tube a few more years of good service. This is really the "Hail Mary" option, do it when you've tried everything else.

Also, as Bobby has already noted, your cab is unlikely to have enough depth to accommodate the CRT neck. So maybe stick with your LCD plan for the arcade cab and keep the CRT for console gaming from the sofa. Or build a second cab! Heh, once you start you can't stop.

[Ropi Jo]

Your crt uses 3 primary colours...Red, Green and Blue, hence RGB

You've got R and B, but I see no G.

It could be the video source (if your consul/cable is RGB), it could be the video processing, it could be the video drivers/outputs, or it could be the G cathode in the tube.

I'm sure youtube will be full of videos of how to investigate this type of fault.

[Zebidee]

You've got R and B, but I see no G.

Good point.

Check for any "cold solder", or anything else obvious, in the video feed signal lines in case there is a crack or something not soldered down correctly. Focus your effort on the neckboard as this is the most likely area to have these problems. Use your multimeter to check for connectivity and expected voltages. Focus your attention on the green color drive circuit. Sometimes the colour drive transistors can fail. You can check them be removing them and using a multimeter, or even just swapping transistors for two colours and seeing if the problem transfers to the other colour.