What's the best tv for playing Dreamcast?

[Einhander]

Of course I have both an HD and a good CRT. I currently play Dreamcast on my Sony CRT, however I saw a video that says it's good to play Dreamcast with component on HD. Which one is better in your opinion?

[TDIRunner]

I'm not aware of Dreamcast using component unless it's somehow modded.  To the best of my knowledge, the best video quality for Dreamcast would be RGB into a CRT monitor.  This requires an adapter, but I don't think they are difficult to find as many third party companies produced them.  I don't have a monitor that supports RGB, so I use S-video.

[CMDLineKing]

I'm not aware of Dreamcast using component unless it's somehow modded.  To the best of my knowledge, the best video quality for Dreamcast would be RGB into a CRT monitor.  This requires an adapter, but I don't think they are difficult to find as many third party companies produced them.  I don't have a monitor that supports RGB, so I use S-video.

THIS!

Svideo makes a WORLD of difference when you hook up to an LCD TV.  A lot of people play them on PC Monitors with an VGA adapter.

[Superchop]

I have my dreamcast connected to a vga box that is then connected to a vga to hdmi converter into an hdtv.  I've used composite and also s-video but vga is definitely the best way to go.

Vga boxes can be pricey and vga cables may have compatibility issues with some games though

[Einhander]

I have my dreamcast connected to a vga box that is then connected to a vga to hdmi converter into an hdtv.  I've used composite and also s-video but vga is definitely the best way to go.

Vga boxes can be pricey and vga cables may have compatibility issues with some games though

Is it better to do that or just use my quality CRT?

[Superchop]

It really depends on you.  I personally love my vga box and I think the games look great on my hdtv.  I do have an extra dreamcast and s video cable to hook up to a crt though for the times I want to play light gun games.

But again, vga boxes can be pretty pricey so if it's not something you want to invest in playing on the crt would be my choice.

[Einhander]

It really depends on you.  I personally love my vga box and I think the games look great on my hdtv.  I do have an extra dreamcast and s video cable to hook up to a crt though for the times I want to play light gun games.

But again, vga boxes can be pretty pricey so if it's not something you want to invest in playing on the crt would be my choice.

I see. But which one is technically graphically better?

[TDIRunner]

More information here:

http://retrorgb.com/dreamcast.html

[KalessinDB]

I see. But which one is technically graphically better?

I've went a bit down this particular rabbit hole.  Not with dreamcast in particular, but with video options in general.  My advice?  Stop now before you invest too much time and effort.

Stop worrying about what's "technically superior" and worry about what you think looks best.  In the end, that's all that matters.  Because if you start worrying about getting the best output, you're going to find yourself at the point where you're either trying to track down old medical or broadcast CRTs, or you're buying upscalers that are over $300 (and sometimes you use multiple) and monkeying with settings, cords, homebuilt adapters, SLGs, etc etc.... it's too much.

Stop worrying about what is supposedly better, and go with what you think looks best.  That's my advice at least, take it for what it's worth.

[TDIRunner]

I see. But which one is technically graphically better?

I've went a bit down this particular rabbit hole.  Not with dreamcast in particular, but with video options in general.  My advice?  Stop now before you invest too much time and effort.

Stop worrying about what's "technically superior" and worry about what you think looks best.  In the end, that's all that matters.  Because if you start worrying about getting the best output, you're going to find yourself at the point where you're either trying to track down old medical or broadcast CRTs, or you're buying upscalers that are over $300 (and sometimes you use multiple) and monkeying with settings, cords, homebuilt adapters, SLGs, etc etc.... it's too much.

Stop worrying about what is supposedly better, and go with what you think looks best.  That's my advice at least, take it for what it's worth.

This is good advice.  There are certain things you can do to give you better picture quality that won't cost you much.  Having an older tube TV is a good start.  It's easy to buy one for under $20 off Craigslist.  Other things such as s-video cables are usually pretty cheap, and they look better than composite.  However, if you aren't careful, you might start spending a ton of money for only slight bumps in picture quality.  The money you save could be spend towards the game collection. 

[Einhander]

I see. But which one is technically graphically better?

I've went a bit down this particular rabbit hole.  Not with dreamcast in particular, but with video options in general.  My advice?  Stop now before you invest too much time and effort.

Stop worrying about what's "technically superior" and worry about what you think looks best.  In the end, that's all that matters.  Because if you start worrying about getting the best output, you're going to find yourself at the point where you're either trying to track down old medical or broadcast CRTs, or you're buying upscalers that are over $300 (and sometimes you use multiple) and monkeying with settings, cords, homebuilt adapters, SLGs, etc etc.... it's too much.

Stop worrying about what is supposedly better, and go with what you think looks best.  That's my advice at least, take it for what it's worth.

This is good advice.  There are certain things you can do to give you better picture quality that won't cost you much.  Having an older tube TV is a good start.  It's easy to buy one for under $20 off Craigslist.  Other things such as s-video cables are usually pretty cheap, and they look better than composite.  However, if you aren't careful, you might start spending a ton of money for only slight bumps in picture quality.  The money you save could be spend towards the game collection. 

Oh totally. I understand that. But I already have an HDTV and was just thinking that if it really is so much better to play on it, it might be worth it. I don't know if it really is so much better on an HDTV with a special cable or if it's just that some people don't have a CRT and prefer to play on a bigger tv.

[OhhNoYouNintenDidnt]

Depends on your region I guess, as I think US CRT's typically do not have RGB support right?

If they do, or you are in Europe/Aus/Japan, then in terms of not paying the crazy prices for VGA boxes (which is the best connection apparently) I would go with a simple RGB lead into a fine CRT.

I have a Bang & Olufsen CRT (amazing TV) and a 3rd party RGB I bought from Ebay for £7.99...........and it still stuns me every time I play it, its like a HD picture!! scan lines for complete original look, no lag of any kind (as is often the case with hooking old consoles up to newer TV's) and I just freakin love it.

[Thom Grayson]

I see. But which one is technically graphically better?

I've went a bit down this particular rabbit hole.  Not with dreamcast in particular, but with video options in general.  My advice?  Stop now before you invest too much time and effort.

Stop worrying about what's "technically superior" and worry about what you think looks best.  In the end, that's all that matters.  Because if you start worrying about getting the best output, you're going to find yourself at the point where you're either trying to track down old medical or broadcast CRTs, or you're buying upscalers that are over $300 (and sometimes you use multiple) and monkeying with settings, cords, homebuilt adapters, SLGs, etc etc.... it's too much.

Stop worrying about what is supposedly better, and go with what you think looks best.  That's my advice at least, take it for what it's worth.

Seconding this... it's the same with audio equipment. It never stops, it gets more expensive, and in the end, you are the only person who thinks the thousands of dollars spent 'optimizing' was anything close to worth it.

Personally, I just use the cables I have for that system, and if that's composite, well, it's composite. Not saying there's no improvement to be found in using other connections, but cable quality isn't going to magically upgrade the underlying graphics.

[OhhNoYouNintenDidnt]

I see. But which one is technically graphically better?

I've went a bit down this particular rabbit hole.  Not with dreamcast in particular, but with video options in general.  My advice?  Stop now before you invest too much time and effort.

Stop worrying about what's "technically superior" and worry about what you think looks best.  In the end, that's all that matters.  Because if you start worrying about getting the best output, you're going to find yourself at the point where you're either trying to track down old medical or broadcast CRTs, or you're buying upscalers that are over $300 (and sometimes you use multiple) and monkeying with settings, cords, homebuilt adapters, SLGs, etc etc.... it's too much.

Stop worrying about what is supposedly better, and go with what you think looks best.  That's my advice at least, take it for what it's worth.

Seconding this... it's the same with audio equipment. It never stops, it gets more expensive, and in the end, you are the only person who thinks the thousands of dollars spent 'optimizing' was anything close to worth it.

Personally, I just use the cables I have for that system, and if that's composite, well, it's composite. Not saying there's no improvement to be found in using other connections, but cable quality isn't going to magically upgrade the underlying graphics.

Sure but man is there happy medium to this.

I mean christ, if you can go from RF or standard AV to RGB with £6-9............then my god is it worth that!! I agree, spending £50+ on a VGA adapter is going way too far but I have RGB for ALL my systems, and have probably spent £40 total on all of them looking absolutely stunning..........completely worth it and did in no way break the bank.

[KalessinDB]

I suppose my advice was a bit US-centric, as RGB options here are few and far between.  The 10 bucks you'd spend on an SCART lead are nothing compared to what you would spend for the (high quality) converters to turn RGB into something usable on this side of the pond without introducing a ton of lag.  And that's saying nothing of those systems (NES, TG16, Atari) that don't natively output RGB and the mod work required on those.  But yeah, in Europe I suppose it's a bit different.

And trust me, I'm speaking from experience here.  My personal quest has been to eliminate proprietary cords, so you'd be surprised how many systems I've had modded.