LED Displays will never match CRTs

I fixed up an old Sony Trinitron that can resolve 1600x1200 at 85 Hertz. I am not completely sure if WinDAS actually worked completely but it seems fine now. It goes by "Ultrascan P991" as the model if you want to look it up. It is pretty much there but could still use sharpness adjustment in the corners...

The colors are astonishing! They jump right out at you. Too bad the Canon sucked at the job despite Manual mode being used.

A great deal of character has been lost in modern computer displays. Here are some high res photos that you can expand to look at closely.

 

Good luck man! I mean it!

It goes without saying that you probably shouldnt buy them online. You can easily spend anywhere between 500 to 6000 dollars on a nice late model Trinitron. However, most people will never know of their value and will let you have them for free or nearly nothing! I got mine for free by being persistent and rather a nuisance.

I recommend you comb yard sales and Craigslist (if thats even possible where you live). If its an old model, you simply turn little dials in the yoke (tiny end inside) until everything looks good.

If it is a nice late model. You will have to use a TTL EEPROM flasher to fix a lot of the internal settings. This is not as bad as it seems and I will be happy to work you through the process in the future.

If a monitor owner complains about it being "too bright" or "liney", dont let it dissuade you. This can be fixed through a program called Sony New Window DAS. It is a very common and almost inevitable problem with these late model Trinitrons. I will also be happy to assist you someday with this problem if you ever aquire one.

 

You must make space...

The monitors desire Lebensraum, a welded steel desk and a herniated disk in return for their legendary picture. Surely you are able to pay such a small price for this magnificent privilege.

Edit: I am such a hypocrite. I have mine on a flimsy wooden slat table :d

 

I would save it. People pay big money for these things nowadays provided they are functional. Even if it was broken I would like to have it as I have some electronics skills and could probably bring it back from the dead.

 

(Typed on my phone)
Okay, for starters, avoid using ebay for crts at all cost. They are marked up to rediculous prices to cover very expensive shipping and profit for the seller. Unless you are truly desperate, dont buy from ebay.

If there are any electronic recycling centers around. I dont think they would mind if you asked them to poke through a pile of "junk". My brother used to volunteer at such a place and they let him have a full computer set with crt for free.

Most people think that crts are worthless junk. Use this to your advantage.

Many crts were not sold as "sony" even though they had a sony tube in them. For example, my Dell P991 is a red blooded Trinitron at heart although it looks like a knockoff for offices:

As you can see, there is a badge, usually on the top left corner of a crt, that denotes it as a Trinitron.

The 16:9 aspect ratio crts are nigh legendary. I shit you not those babies can go for upwards of 5000 usd if in great condition.

Any Trinitron will display all resolutions below it's "native" with staggering clarity and fidelity.

Therefore it is of your benefit to secure a later model that is capable of resolving resolutions like 1024-768 or 1600-1200 at at least 85 hertz.

Not only would you be able to play 320-200 Doom, you would be able to enjoy later titles like Half Life 2 or Bioshock at great resolutions.

(The thought of running Bioshock on mine makes me excited. I should try that later!)

Remember, it must be able to resolve your desired max res at 85 hertz. No less! Unless you wish to have a headache every time you play Half Life at that sweet high resolution.

I hope this helps. I am willing to assist you further as always if you need it.

 

I realized I didnt comment on your ebay pictures.

All of those crts are far too old. The most promising one to me was the second from the top, and even it seems woefully underpowered. The specs say it can only maintain 85 hertz at 800-600 which is a rather bad performance resolution for AAA games for the 2000s era. But eh, its still serviceable.

However, this depends on your needs. That monitor would serve you well as a Fallout only monitor. It would also work very well for large resolution DOS games such as Duke Nukem 3d. Windows 95 and 98 era games would start to show that monitor's age.

 

Yeah this looks okay... This tube can perform 1280-1024 at 75 Hertz according to online specs. But I am almost certain it can be boosted to 85 Hertz. My P991 was supposed to do 1600-1200 at 75 hertz but it resolves 85 hertz at that res just fine. I assume this is the same case with this Ebay listing. All in all, provided its not secretly broken in some way, it can be a good potential choice in my opinion.

 

One other thing. You may already know this but...

Any movement whatsoever is going to mess things up. Flat screen aperture grilles like the Trinitron are prone to convergence issues and require maintenance intervals which your monitor may not have ever received. If it is going to be shipped to you, expect it to be absolutely fucked when you first turn it on. You WILL most likely have to take measures such as disassembly or WINDAS to fix it or tune it up. Its just par for the course though and it is a straightforward process. Just keep in mind you are probably going to have to get your hands dirty and work with dangerous voltages and stuff like that.