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

[ThirteeTooBeets]

Not required, but seeing games how they intended to be looked at adds a bit to the experience. Still it's merely cosmetic and it only matters if it matters to you

 

[Natsuyasumi]

No. And don’t let anyone guilt you about how you enjoy any form of media, especially video games.
I grew up playing original hardware on CRT tvs, even emulation on CRT monitors. I don’t play with any filters. They give me a headache. I still have a little CRT, but I only play it for nostalgia. I’d much rather play on a crisp, pice perfect HD display. Not everyone has that same preference. Who cares? Enjoy what you enjoy and play how you play.

 

[neromero]

Hardware aside, I use filters because it looks nice, especially those ones that can make me see every individual pixel
It looks pleasing

 

[_oBSOLEte_]

What is certainly REQUIRED before giving your opinion about something, IF you want to stay credible, is to have it properly tested and set up.

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

No. And don’t let anyone guilt you about how you enjoy any form of media, especially video games.
I grew up playing original hardware on CRT tvs, even emulation on CRT monitors. I don’t play with any filters. They give me a headache. I still have a little CRT, but I only play it for nostalgia. I’d much rather play on a crisp, pice perfect HD display. Not everyone has that same preference. Who cares? Enjoy what you enjoy and play how you play.

Exactly, I mean emulation could never 100% replicate the original aspect ever anyway.

If someone wants the "authentic experience" they'll need to actually have a real CRT and the hardware.


PS: I'd still say that stretched widescreen and xBRZ filters are objectively awful as the first is like watching a 4:3 show in wide-screen and the other is not a great filter to lower the "crispiness" of the pixels. These would work much better for 3D games (especially the older ones that may hurt a bit to look at). Widescreen hacks for pre-widescreen 3D games are still a blessing (like F-zero on BSNES HD and that one WS patch I used on F-zero X).

 

[Xdqwerty Xdqwerty]

PS: I'd still say that stretched widescreen and xBRZ filters are objectively awful as the first is like watching a 4:3 show in wide-screen and the other is not a great filter to lower the "crispiness" of the pixels. These would work much better for 3D games (especially the older ones that may hurt a bit to look at). Widescreen hacks for pre-widescreen 3D games are still a blessing (like F-zero on BSNES HD and that one WS patch I used on F-zero X).

2xsai > xbrz, also where can I download that F Zero X patch?

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

2xsai > xbrz, also where can I download that F Zero X patch?

What's 2XSAI?

I honestly forgot where I got it sorry...

 

[Antilocal123]

No lmao

 

[peskeyplumber]

the filters dont really come close to how it actually looks on an old crt. youd have to get an old crt with proper hdmi adapters to get the effect. i keep meaning to build a set up for this but life gets in the way. i have 2 giant sony trinitrons in my basement but they weigh maybe 500 lbs

 

[ATenderLad]

What's 2XSAI?

I honestly forgot where I got it sorry...

It's a pixel-scaling filter, a pretty old one actually!

 

[Xdqwerty Xdqwerty]

What's 2XSAI?

2xSaI - Sega Retro

segaretro.org

 

[Mr. SyS]

Hot take: I'm playing unfiltered.

 

[_oBSOLEte_]

Real hot take : This thread is just validation seeking for people who never bothered to use shaders, yet they fear they miss out something... XD

I bet half of the opinions here were just inherited from some cringe Youtube influencer who spent a fortune on a real CRT and felt compelled to take a dump on the work of those awesome programmers who share their CRT-shader projects for free.

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

2xSaI - Sega Retro

segaretro.org

Interesting, looks better than xBRZ but ultimately I won't play with any.

On the other hand if somebody manages to create a perfect scanline effect without darkening the screen, a CRT curve that looks fine and managing to do dithering normally I'd be really thankful.

 

[_oBSOLEte_]

xBRZx4 + Lanczos looks quite fine and it's free. It certainly looks better than the official remaster. If you've got a better way to show how you're supposed to play HoMM3 on a 4K display, share it.

 

[Sheepy765]

I know a bunch of other people have already said it but I would like to reaffirm no, you do not need to play retro games with a filter and it does not make you less of a gamer for it.

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

Completely random question:

Why scan-lines are darkening the screen? I know they're black lines but this is really getting annoying imo.

I am fine with them on an actual CRT or arcade machine but on an emulator it kinda ruins the game for me...

 

[The_Real_Thing]

After using RF adapters and other jank on very old consoles as a kid (coax connection or those awful U-shaped ones you tightened screws on), and then using composite 3-wire on later ones, playing through an actual monitor with VGA or better was kind of mind-blowing. No snow, no ghosting bs. The only reason I have a very cheap, non-Sony CRT now is for lightgun games (yes, there are newer guns for modern sets, don't have one yet).

I honestly find swearing by CRT shaders or actual CRTs to be cringey in equal measure. Couldn't care less about the iNTenDeD ExPErieNcE or any of that crap. I get that games back then were made to cater to shitty consumer grade TV sets, and the technical arguments for this weird retro-fetish. I was there in the flesh, and I can tell you it was not all it is cracked up to be. Perhaps this is why nowadays I use xBRZ filters with IMPUNITY, and if such is unavailable and somehow HQ4X isn't either, I smear vaseline on the screen until I see as few pixels as possible.

In short, no.

 

[Azuris]

Completely random question:

Why scan-lines are darkening the screen? I know they're black lines but this is really getting annoying imo.

I am fine with them on an actual CRT or arcade machine but on an emulator it kinda ruins the game for me...

On a real CRT the Scanlines are actually the Picture, not the black lines.
Good CRTs had barely visible black Lines.
It is pure Light in different Colors that get shoot in Lines super fast, that is why CRTs are so uncredible bright.

On a LCD Screen, the cheap Filters simulate this by puting in black Lines, those are just Pixels that are dark and so you lose Brightness.
It is just a whole different Technology.
Good Filters do more than just black Lines, they cause Pixels to merge and have more something you could call Anti Alias, as it would do on a CRT and it can mimik the black Lines or other Patterns the CRT had (but must not).

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

On a real CRT the Scanlines are actually the Picture, not the black lines.
Good CRTs had barely visible black Lines.

Oh thanks! I thought it was my memory being faulty there.

I still remember playing on the PC Engine, Genesis and Dreamcast on one and the screen was absolutely not dark.

 

[_oBSOLEte_]

Scanlines were visible on old VGA, EGA and CGA monitors, not so much on later SVGA monitors. On Old TVs aperture grilles or slotmasks were also distinctively visible.

 

[Retro Doomer]

Well it is preferable but I use my Flatscreen Tv instead of my Old Tv because of HDMI Port wich i need for my Ps4,and i don't have enough space to keep my old TV around so its currently in the Basement.Sadly i would like to keep it with me for my WII and Ps2 and PS1 Games but at last space is not in my favor.

 

[Adrastia]

I just use nearest neighbor. I prefer the pixels to be smoothed out.

On Old TVs aperture grilles or slotmasks were also distinctively visible.

I remember looking really close at a TV (You'll ruin your eyes!) and it almost looked like a window screen with colors popping through it. It fascinated me so I did it a lot. I don't think it's why I ended up with bad eyes though.

 

[secreto7]

For 2d games I really like Prescale with 2x or 3x, or Sharp-Bilinear, or Scale2x, or Quilez.

For 3D I simply up the resolution on the emulator to 2x or 3x, or use Sharp-Bilinear, or FSR (CAS).

Post automatically merged: May 11, 2025

Prescale is so good, I think it combines Nearest Neighbour with Bilinear, or that was Sharp-Bilinear?

If someone wants to try it, it can be found on "jgenesis" emulator, new and really good by the way, it's accurate and emulate Sega Genesis, Master System, Game Gear, Sega CD, 32x, NES, SNES, GB, GBC, and it's also STANDALONE !
Also on the emulators for Android by Robert Broglia (MD.emu, GBA.emu, NES.emu, etc.)

Sharp-Bilinear can be found on Duckstation and PCSX2, and FSR1 (FidelityFX Super Resolution 1, I think it's also called CAS "Contrast Adaptive Sharpening") I think I saw it sometime there too. Also was implemented on Yuzu first and later Ryujinx.
It could be found too like a shader I think.

Quilez I used it in Drastic.

 

[_oBSOLEte_]

I just use nearest neighbor. I prefer the pixels to be smoothed out.



I remember looking really close at a TV (You'll ruin your eyes!) and it almost looked like a window screen with colors popping through it. It fascinated me so I did it a lot. I don't think it's why I ended up with bad eyes though.

Yeah same here I remember as a kid staring closely to the old TV and seeing the beehive grille and wondering how it all worked.