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Use of CRT TVs now, and best usage?

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Warborg:
Well, I just recently stumbled into a 31" CRT TV (Sanyo DS31590 31") and am considering if it's worth possibly building a project around...  I'm wondering if people still manage to utilize tube TVs much or if they just focus on arcade monitors or flat panels at this point?

It's been a LONG time since I've tried to interface a PC to a TV...  This set as composite and svideo in, would it be best to eBay an old PCIE vid card w/svideo, or buy a scanline converter?  What is the practical viewing distance for a cabinet using a screen of this size?  What is the max res that a CRT TV can handle via svideo?

I guess I'm just trying to gauge if it's actually worth hanging onto until I can use it for another arcade project, or if I should just ecycle it...  :)

Well Fed Games:
Wow, 31" is pretty huge & heavy. FWIW, I was able to find OEM graphics cards with S-video out pretty easily on Ebay for $20-ish within the last couple months.

DaveMMR:
I keep tube TV's around but mainly for my console collection (the NES in particular looks like crap on a modern TV, and forget about using the Zapper...)

As for building an arcade project around a 31" - it's doable but maybe none too practical. I had a 25" in my old project and that's I think as big as I would go (maybe 27") due to the fact you're practically right on top of the screen when playing. Plus I'm imagining having to go wider on the cabinet for that big a display.

If you can build an emulation setup (not a full cabinet) where you can sit across the room a bit, it may be useful. 

RandyT:
This was about the size of a "showcase" cabinet CRT.  If you have the space, this would be the best use for the beast.  The control panel is good distance from the screen, so the size won't be working against you, and the extra distance will make the lower quality video less noticeable.

Just make sure that whatever is responsible for supporting it is strong enough ;)

thatpurplestuff:
I agree with DaveMMR in that when you're talking about anything larger than 30" it's going to be too big for a standard arcade cabient (BUT I'd like to add an exception here, which is if you decide to use your CRT for a mirror cabinet).  The extra distance that the mirror setup gives you allows for the comfortable viewing of even larger screens.  Check out this Operation Wolf to see what I'm talking about:



I'm in the process of designing a very large arcade cabinet that actually uses a mirrored 32" Sony Trinitron... I've always loved the way mirrored cabs like T2 and Omega Race make the cabinet appear to have more depth than it actually has, and since I had a spare 32" CRT lying around I figured it was the perfect opportunity to make my dream cab.  Reversing the yoke to work in a mirrored setup is surprisingly easy since you really just have to swap two wires... after that you just have to find a way to mount the CRT so that it's facing upwards (and possibly demagnetize it) and you are ready to rock!

edit: If you're opening the TV to make any modifications at all MAKE DAMN SURE TO DISCHARGE IT FIRST!  You probably already know this but I figured I would add this just to be safe.

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