Video: How Does Switch 2 Look On A CRT TV? Glorious

Everything looks glorious on a CRT.

This is the gamer equivalent of listening to records because the hisses and pops give it a "warm" sound.

I have 2 CRTs. Only way to play the 8 and 16 bit generations properly.

Afaik, these HD CRTs have digital processing (so, modern-TV input lag) and output at 540p or 900p, so it’s not ideal.
Though Switch 2 can hardly do better, at least with TVs, because it cannot output 480p anymore. So it’s probably better to look for a CRT PC monitor and grab an HDMI-VGA converter (the Rankie one has been confirmed no input lag).

I'm not exaggerating when I say I haven't seen a single widescreen CRT TV in my entire life, at least not here in Mexico. That alone kind of defeats the purpose of even trying to use HD systems on a CRT TV.

Still cool that HD on a CRT is a thing, though.

This is actually really interesting. I'll make sure to watch the video later when I have free time!

I remember the game that made us get a HDTV. It was Tales of Vesperia on the Xbox 360. I just couldn't read some of the small text (enemy HP numbers mainly), and the lighting of the darker environments made things blurry as heck on the CRT. I remember loading the game first thing after getting the HDTV and being completely overwhlemed with just how much better it looked in HD on the flat screen.

And that's still the same TV I use now too. Since it's old enough to have Scart and Component inputs, it's great for my retro stuff and my HDMI stuff alike.

@Pak-Man I mostly agree with the analogy, although I think you're being a bit too dismissive of the appeal of older formats. Some songs and games are genuinely better with a softer presentation where the different elements blend together more. Even with things that weren't designed for them, it's still a pretty fun novelty if nothing else.

@brakeman90 That was the glorious Sony FW-900. A 93 lb monster for your desk.

Grew up on CRTs during the 80s and 90s.

Everyone loves them. I don't. I loved when hi-def made everything sharp and not blurry.

BUT good for folks who want to use their Switch 2 on older sets.

@axelhander The main problem with CRTs was the blur when working with Windows applications like Word and Excel. And this permanent flicker, refresh rates below 85 Hz were a physical pain for me. That plus the humongous size, weight and heat. So back then we were all happy to get horrible LCDs for office stuff!

This reminded me of when Bioshock came out.

We had the CRT in the front room and the tiniest flatscreen known to man in my room. I felt Bioshock merited big screen heft so I took the Xbox downstairs. The game’s art direction popped even more, with the soft edges of the CRT image bringing out the retro tech flavors and giving world and character textures a painterly vibe.

It was totally transformative and I couldn’t go back to playing it on my A4 size flatty. Then we got the red ring of death right after meeting Andrew Ryan.

Well thats no surprise. I've been wanting one, a Disney princess one(they're crazy expensive). I wanted it for my future gamecube and wabt to test it out with a wii

This is what I use to play most games anyways. CRT TV = flavor

@Duncanballs see I lived through the 8 and 16 bit gen and I don’t see it, crts are obsolete for a reason.

@axelhander I agree with you wholeheartedly. I was a teen in the 90s and you couldn’t pay me to go back to CRT for anything.

Having grown up with crt, including old knobbed black and white tvs, I can say 100% that I do not miss them nor have any nostalgia towards them.

Happy some still like them, but those 800lb blurry death boxes belong in a museum.

I'm also an avid CRT gamer. I have a few really good ones too (Sony Trinitrons, TV broadcast monitors) but sadly I've never been able to get my hands on a 16:9 CRT. lucky you. Anyway you seem like a good dude, I'm glad a real gamer got this and put it to use.

Ugh I still need to buy a nice crt. I told myself I didn’t need once since I have the mini systems (and am not that invested in their libraries) but I may have to revisit this idea. Need to look at upscaling my saturn and dreamcast.

It's honestly crazy to think kids nowadays won't even know what a CRT TV even is. Some of my best gaming memories were playing games on the big chunky televisions we had in the early 2000s

i play legacy consoles on a crt regularly and I can say that theres a responsiveness or something that I don't get playing "retro" games on switch on a flat panel. if that can be 100% attributed to the CRT idk.

Played many hours of Splatoon 2 on my 16:9 480i CRT. Also played all of BotW for Wii U on it as well. I have run the Switch 2 on it recently but it’s not my Switch 2 so not a permanent setup yet. Yes small text gets chewed up but it’s great to see modern games display with that phosphorus glow

CRTs are good, but NS2 ToTK hits much different on a 77'' OLED.

I use a crt for my non HD consoles. Playing the OG Super Mario Bros just looks right on one.

@DaGoldenBoo How could you connect it, at what resolution?

Cyberpunk (game) on a CRT is one of the most cyberpunk (aesthetic) things.

@PtM I have a hdmi - 720p/1080p to YPbPr converter going to a JVC i’Art SD Widescreen set

I remember only having a crt when I got my PS3, bought a hdtv because I couldn't read the text in Metal Gear solid 4

I have a 26 inch widescreen CRT, with a flat screen that I use for anything up to the Wii. Looks excellent. Furthermore DVDs look glorious through it, connected through RGB SCART.

I use a little CRT for my SNES. Sure CRT filters on an emulator is cool and all, but nothing quite beats the look and motion smoothness of the real deal.

I have a burning question.

Why.

I have one in my garage and is used only for my n64. Just doesn’t look right no matter what use to play it on a 65” flatscreen, looks terrible. but on a 27” crt, looks amazing. I force the family into retro gaming every couple months by unhooking the other consoles and only having nes/snes/genesis/n64/atari 2600/or our arcade cabinets to be used, instead of the switch’s. Sadly the wii/u has become retro to us as well the last few years. Switch killed it in our family. But we rather play Wii sports over switch sport for some reason…
Btw, next week is retro week, and I think the n64 and snes will be the console of choice, going on vacation and it’s easy to only have other things hooked up instead.