Retro games often look better on CRT TV sets and that’s mostly because they were originally designed for those types of screens. For example, response time and resolution were all tuned to CRT (cathode ray tube) tech that originated in the 1920s and 1930s. Developers had to clock their game to shoot the image to the screen in sync with the horizontal and vertical frequency thus they fit their game outputs to suit.
Some factors, however, are inherent advantages that cathode ray technology enjoyed, or continues to enjoy, over LCD and, to a lesser extent, OLED displays. The vibrancy, contrast and incredibly responsive feel are just part of the package.
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It’s worth noting that high-end OLED panels can beat the contrast and colour of a CRT, and that OLED game mode input lag figures now approach the practically instant reactions fostered by CRT. Motion blur is slowly decreasing on high-end OLED units.
CRT TV Floating Resolution Vs. Modern Display Fixed Resolution
CRT displays typically have lower resolutions compared to modern flat-screen displays. Retro games were created with these lower resolutions in mind, which means their graphics and pixel art often look more authentic and less distorted when displayed on a CRT.
On top of this, while CRT TVs generally have lower resolutions than today’s flatscreen sets, they do not have a fixed resolution and any compatible signal will scale perfectly to it. There’s be no aliasing or jaggies on a CRT TV or monitor.
Scanlines and Deadlines
CRT TV tech has a unique appearance due to its method of painting lines from top to bottom and from left to right. This is called a raster pattern and was used to paint the image onto phosphors which glowed according to the intensity of the cathode beam used to excite it.
What people refer to as scanlines are dark horizontal lines that separate each line as drawn in this method. These scanlines can give retro games a distinct look, adding to the nostalgia factor and providing an aesthetic that is difficult to reproduce properly on modern screens.
Technically, these aren’t scanlines but rather the space between the scanlines left as your CRT TV displays a progressive (240p/288p etc.) image rather than an interlaced one (480i/576i etc.). Omitting these interlaced fields leaves a little gap most readily visible on larger cathode ray tube televisions.
Retro Gaming Input Lag and Motion Blur
Generally speaking, CRT PC monitors from the late-90s to mid-2000s have faster refresh rates and as stated above can perfectly display any resolution up to the limit defined by its Kell factor. It’s not difficult to find CRT monitors that can offer 120Hz-144Hz up to resolutions of 1,680 x 1,050.
Perhaps more importantly, CRT TVs and monitors have minimal input lag and incredible response times. The signal sent to a CRT is displayed immediately with no processing involved so there is next to no time between your inputs and the action on screen. As a result, games feel more responsive on a CRT. Modern games are made with this newfound lag in mind – timing windows are much longer and more forgiving.
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The only limiting factor in response time is the decay time of the phospors on the screen. In practical terms, human vision resolves much less information when an object or scene is moving and CRT TV tech displays can, in most cases, resolve more data in a moving scene that your brain and eyes can. Movement on screen, especially full pans, look that bit more detailed on a CRT.
LCD tech especially suffers from blurry movement and this the result of a slow response time. The pixels that make up the matrix simply do not change colour quickly enough to present detail in motion
Colour and Contrast Catching-Up
CRT displays are also known for their vibrant colors and high contrast ratios. The phosphors used in CRTs can be completely unlit leaving a very deep grey that, when viewed against the searing brightness, is functionally black.
CRTs also offer better colour accuracy and vibrancy over LCD panels which can leave games of a certain era looking washed out.
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However, modern OLED panels also have this completely-off pixel ability and can reproduce a larger colour gamut than CRTS. If you have the money, OLED is the very best for contrast and colour.
Up till the sixth generation of console, most games were designed for and were output at a 4:3 aspect ratio. This is the the native aspect ratio of probably 90% of CRT displays out in the wild. Some games from the PS2 and Xbox can be output in widescreen with varying levels of quality.
Widescreen CRTs were sold in substantial quantities in the 1990s till the mid-2000s. Ff your retro taste straddles the widescreen era, then hunting one down might be worth it.
HD CRT and Me
Towards the ends of the CRT era, top manufacturers designed and sold a relatively small number of HD CRTS. These are pseudo-flatscreen in nature but are almost a metre (3ft 3in.) deep. And due to how a flat front was fudged, they may suffer from some geometry issues.
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Side-scrolling games on HD CRTs readily show up background distortions wrought by problem with the geometry. Some of these issues cannot be fully resolved.
Ticking TV Clock
Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) TVs began to wane in commercial relevance in the mid- to late-2000s as flat-screen technologies such as LCD, Plasma, and later LED became increasingly affordable. In addition, the early problems inherent in LCD and LED were overcome to a degree that satisfied the mass market. Plasma, the videophile’s choice in the early days of true flatscreen tech, proved a fascinating dead end.
The transition from CRT to flat-screen TVs was driven by several factors. These included the convenience of larger screen sizes without the significant size or weight of a CRT TV.
The availability of high-definition content, and the decreasing cost of manufacturing flat-screen TVs also drove the migration. Sometime in the mid-2000s, flat-screen TVs began to outsell CRTs in the TV market. CRT TV sets were dropped from the major manufacturers’ line-ups and innovation ceased.
It’s no longer possible to buy a new consumer CRT TV. Even in specialist uses, they are no longer manufactured on a large scale. Some specialty stores, vintage electronics shops, and online marketplaces may still have used or refurbished CRT TVs for sale.
