Is it actually REQUIRED to play retro games with some scanline or crt filter/on a crt tv?

[SkunkyBeaumont]

I grew up on a steady diet of NES, master system, and SNES. Playing them with a filter to me just makes the colors dull. It doesn't make it more nostalgic for me personally. I really remember the glow from an old CRT. Not necessarily the scanlines, etc.

Maybe I'm just using the wrong filters.

I had to fuck with my settings on both the emulators, and the TV to find a sweet spot, but I think the footage looks good on the laptop screen when I play it back. If anything, this thread has proven that it's really up to the end user's preference, i.e. there is no right, just right for you.

 

[Azuris]

No.

I play with them sometimes because they make some games look nicer (e.g., Donkey Kong Country).

Exactly, it depends on the Game and Donkey Kong Country does look way better with Filters.
Without DK has some weird Color Stripes, as the Pixels don*t "merge".

It is really hard to find a nice Filter, as most are just too much and don't really resemble how it looks on a CRT.
On the Mister i found one named "gaussian" something and i use that often.

Overall, play it how you like the Look.

 

[laughingoctopus]

A lot of the filters flat out suck tbh. It's very hard to recreate the look of a real CRT TV or monitor. Play how you wanna play, my man.

 

[CaptainJupiter]

I first played video games on CRTs (it was the 90s), but I have no nostalgia for scan lines or filters in emulation, game collections, etc. I want a game to look as sharp as possible, I can't stand filters that try to artifically make them look like they're on a worse screen.

 

[MajesticSiN]

Yes it is required by law.

 

[Tonberry]

Nah, it's just a novelty, especially considering it's sort of an emulation of a CRT screen in and of itself, so people who claim you have to use CRT filters to get the "real" experience are kidding themselves already.

The only CRT filter I've used more than ten seconds is the one that was built-in for the SNES Classic Mini because I like the way it made the games look right away and I didn't have to fiddle around with it.

 

[Xdqwerty]

I think the worst filters are the bilinear ones and the xbrz ones since the former make the game look like you need glasses and the later just distorts stuff beyond recognition

 

[Potapota]

A light filter/shader can be nice imho depending on the game and device but I don't think I've yet to see one that actually looks like a crt. It usually feels more like some overblown caricature of what it would look like on the real thing. Imho the best features of crts just can't really be replicated with software alone.

 

[Lee__Kanker]

Filters aren't the real thing, but even then no it's not; it's a matter of preference

 

[AnonymousCookieMonster]

I noticed as a kid that scanlines (on genesis and snes emulators) dims the picture slightly, but also the way the brain works it softens edges so curves look more like curves. Course that's literally 2x resolution and every other line is black...

Unless it's an especially low resolution game on a high resolution screen (NES/SNES/Genesis being prime candidates, and any 8bit systems too) then i might avoid it.

On the other hand it does make it a bit easier on the eyes if you're somewhat used to it. If you aren't used to it, probably avoid it.

 

[Lee__Kanker]

I grew up on a steady diet of NES, master system, and SNES. Playing them with a filter to me just makes the colors dull. It doesn't make it more nostalgic for me personally. I really remember the glow from an old CRT. Not necessarily the scanlines, etc.

Maybe I'm just using the wrong filters.

I guess tv and cartoons have led gen z to believe crt=scanlines

See every thing on it glows individually, its very noticeable if you play something with a dark backround, they also leave a trail when they pass by

Post automatically merged: Jan 15, 2025

I noticed as a kid that scanlines (on genesis and snes emulators) dims the picture slightly, but also the way the brain works it softens edges so curves look more like curves. Course that's literally 2x resolution and every other line is black...

Unless it's an especially low resolution game on a high resolution screen (NES/SNES/Genesis being prime candidates, and any 8bit systems too) then i might avoid it.

On the other hand it does make it a bit easier on the eyes if you're somewhat used to it. If you aren't used to it, probably avoid it.

View attachment 12886

Thats another thing, 8 bit games look way too bright on modern displays

 

[Jeanfranc]

Just play them with whatever "look" you prefer. I play all my games on a PVM, not because of "muh crt scanlines" but because of the monitor's low latency.

 

[AnonymousCookieMonster]

I guess tv and cartoons have led gen z to believe crt=scanlines

NTSC and bandwidth had resulted in 2 overlapping 640x240 screens to result in a full 640x480 visual display.

Some console game systems, in order to save on speed simply ignored the second screen and used the first, resulting in blank scanlines... Fascinating subject.

 

[Lee__Kanker]

Just play them with whatever "look" you prefer. I play all my games on a PVM, not because of "muh crt scanlines" but because of the monitor's low latency.

Lucky son of a bitch has a pvm, how big?
Also I dont think OP knows; scanlines dont show up on smaller screens, you need something thats 20" or bigger and they're subtle unless you sit close to the tv

Post automatically merged: Jan 15, 2025

NTSC and bandwidth had resulted in 2 overlapping 640x240 screens to result in a full 640x480 visual display.

Some console game systems, in order to save on speed simply ignored the second screen and used the first, resulting in blank scanlines... Fascinating subject.

Hmhm! There's so many types of resolutions and little tricks tube tvs use, the ps1 also can switch from 480i to 240 on the fly for some games (Silent Hill does it for the title screen, menus and map) some games are 480i (Tekken 3) and also some ps2 games are 240p (Alone in the dark a new nightmare, ICO)

 

[videogamemimi]

I've never used scanlines or other filters when emulating. Not having a huge TV and/or sitting far enough away is enough for me.

 

[AnonymousCookieMonster]

I've never used scanlines or other filters when emulating. Not having a huge TV and/or sitting far enough away is enough for me.

When trying to play some games recently on the big smart TV (40"?) i've been finding adding fast CRT effects greatly changes how it looks/feels, even from 4 feet away on the couch.

But each to their own. The natural blur and how the dithering was done for CRT can make a huge difference.

 

[Jeanfranc]

Lucky son of a bitch has a pvm, how big?

It's a 14L2 so 14', I have it on top of my desk. Getting 240p output from a modern pc is hell.
Sadly pictures don't really make it justice.

 

[Lee__Kanker]

It's a 14L2 so 14', I have it on top of my desk. Getting 240p output from a modern pc is hell.
Sadly pictures don't really make it justice.
View attachment 12914View attachment 12916View attachment 12917

I have a very small one, like 8" trinitron I got recently, could you point me to tutorials on how to use it with my pc and ps1\2? Ive never used a pvm

 

[dragonlee]

Second: Scanlines are not the defacto retro standard, just one of them. In PAL territories TVs used dot matrix masks to display images on CRTs, it doesn't look like lines, it is drawn with dots, and it looks completely different on close inspection, while still being retro.

I'm a PAL territory dude here. I own two CRTs still. They've got scanelines. Less notable on the smaller tv, but on my 32inch one, its extremely notable.

From what little I know about CRT TV manufacturers, and I am no expert, is there were multiple style of tubes produced over the decades that CRTs were being manufactured. You seem to be describing Trinitron masks, who were mainly made by Sony but there were either other attempts or the pantent for Trinitrons experied at the right time for other tvs to use similar tech.(And I know that there are models Sony made for other companies which isn't odd, but not standard either)

Or maybe your confusing the fact that PAL sets were higher resolution than the NTSC? This means some games were squeshed looking to remain 240p(as the dimensions of the tvs were simliar even though the PAL signal was higher resolution.) Though some took advantage of the greater height with proper programming.

I've never used scanlines or other filters when emulating. Not having a huge TV and/or sitting far enough away is enough for me.

Yeah, I tried those things myself and it aint for me. Unless we're talking about the Gameboy ones, those are sick. I really like how GBA looks with a proper filter/thing for its og lcd look. But I also played GBA games on the tv as a child in a friend's house far more than the actual GBA. (Something happened to mine as a child, I can't recall and I ended up without one after getting one for a birthday gift)

So even using a Wii playing a emulator on a crt in 240p or ish is a great look at integer scaling to me.

So I guess for me it depends on the game itself.

 

[Jeanfranc]

Could you point me to tutorials on how to use it with my pc and ps1\2? Ive never used a pvm

Sure. check these out.

RetroArch and CRT EmuDriver Setup Guide – C D C R U Z E

cdcruze.com

https://geedorah.com/eiusdemmodi/forum/viewtopic.php?id=295

I have a very small one, like 8" trinitron I got recently. Ive never used a pvm

What's the model number?
PVMs use bnc connectors so you'll need an adapter to make it work (like https://www.retrogamingcables.co.uk/sony-pvm-scart-converter-bnc?search=pvm).
For a pc setup using Retroarch or GroovyMAME, you'll end up with a daisy chain of cables that looks like this: YOUR PC<VGA OUT<VGA2SCART ADAPTER<SCART CABLE<SCART TO BNC ADAPTER<PVM.

 

[RageBurner]

Or maybe your confusing the fact that PAL sets were higher resolution than the NTSC? This means some games were squeshed looking to remain 240p(as the dimensions of the tvs were simliar even though the PAL signal was higher resolution.) Though some took advantage of the greater height with proper programming.

No, not really. I suppose the aperture mesh can vary more than I thought, however.

 

[Xdqwerty]

My mother trashed one of our crts

 

[rexfenix]

I don't miss my CRTs and I think the fake filters on emulators look bad.
I understand the argument that some games might benefit from scanlines etc, they were made for the hardware after all, but in the end it all comes down to what my eyes enjoy looking at.
I like looking at clean pictures.

 

[TheREALBLUEdragon]

Play old games however you want. Don’t let weird scanline obsessives dictate to you how a game should or should not be played. I find most fake scanline filters ugly and distracting so I don’t bother with them.

 

[dragonlee]

No, not really. I suppose the aperture mesh can vary more than I thought, however.

Yeah, I really didn't think it was that second option. But it was a idea over why the mesh would look different that popped in my head.

I don't miss my CRTs and I think the fake filters on emulators look bad.
I understand the argument that some games might benefit from scanlines etc, they were made for the hardware after all, but in the end it all comes down to what my eyes enjoy looking at.
I like looking at clean pictures.

Honestly, clean pictures is why I went and got my current crts. When a tv is showing its native rez, it looks wonderful, especially with proper video cables.

A good video scaler or a good emulator though can be great too. But not the same for me.

But I agree there isn't a wrong way to play retro games, jsut a way that you personally like.