Do you use CRT filters when you play retro games?

[Leo]

I recently got a Switch and am currently playing the Megaman collections. My standard practice has always been to play games without any kind of post process interference whatsoever, I use the original screen ration, I don't even like to play with those side frames. I'm very conservative about these things.

I couldn't help but notice though that the CRT filters for these games are actually great. They make the game look better, I think, but I can't get over feeling guilty for using them because I know they really aren't very accurate to what a CRT TV would look like (I don't even remember how it looked like tbh, it's been at least 10 years since I looked at one) and thus are detracting from the original experience.

Megaman 1-6 in particular have a filter that not only has the scanlines, but it also adds a ghosting effect to the sprites, and that made go like "OMG yeah, that's how it used to look like". It looks nostalgic as fuck, but at the same time I can't help but feeling it's fake. Unfortunately they didn't add this one to either the second classic collection or the X collection.

What do you guys think of these filters? Do you usually have them on when playing retro games? Do they do a good job of emulating CRT displays or not? Do you think games look better with them?

 

[nsilvias]

i use scanlines yes.

 

[RockmanBN]

Most of the time yeah. I'm not too picky when it comes to that stuff.

 

[Zolbrod]

I never use them.
That's how I used to play them, so now I want to see what they look like on modern TVs ;)

 

[Roubjon]

Yeah, often times it makes pixel art games easier on my eyes.

 

[JustJavi]

Aye, I like using scanlines.

 

[Tohsaka]

Nope.

 

[Serif]

I'm a fan of filters that replicate the look of a PVM:

It's why I wish the SNES Online app had a pure 'scanlines' filter instead of just the CRT one, which adds additional noise.

 

[MrNelson]

Nope.

I tried using them on my OSSC, but I never was satisfied with how they looked. I've really grown to like the image without them though at 4x scaling.

 

[Deleted member 679]

Yeah, don't really mind when they're not super accurate, the games still look better.

 

[Clowns]

I use a CRT :^)

 

[JaseMath]

Nope

 

[Nabs]

If I have control over them and can lower the scanlines, sure.

 

[ZeroX]

Nah, really don't like them.

 

[Heretic Kazuma]

Depends on the game's implementation, but if they generally support it, hell yes. Give me scanlines. Give me CRT curvature. Give me phosphor effects. Options are great things.

 

[Dark Ninja]

Nope it's never done right it's always too intrusive just ruins the art now.

 

[Quinton]

Almost always to the hells to the yes to the C-R-T, baby.

 

[Ocean Bones]

I use a crt when I play retro games.

 

[zombiejames]

I prefer to play retro games in the way they were designed to be shown, so yeah, 100%.

 

[GhostofWar]

I use scanlines and overlays, helps set the mood a bit better on big screens.

https://imgur.com/QoAtPsY

 

[NESpowerhouse]

Yes, it's a requirement. The pixel art looks more like actual art with them on.

Get this shader all set up in retroarch, and you're good to go:
https://github.com/libretro/common-shaders/blob/master/cgp/crt-royale-kurozumi.cgp

 

[sn00zer]

Real talk I would love if PS1 and PS2 emulation on the newest console allowed you to play at the original resolution without blurring. I am thinking along the lines of Devil Daggers

 

[Altered]

Of course.

 

[Piggychan]

have an ossc

mostly stuck with default settings and 2x scanlines and a Panny Plasma TV

 

[Prophet Five]

No. I can't stand them.

 

[low-G]

CRT filters and more

 

[Oneself]

I never use them.
That's how I used to play them, so now I want to see what they look like on modern TVs ;)

Click to shrink...

This. I want my games to look like Die Hard GameFan screenshots.

 

[DanceToTheRadio]

I use a CRT monitor with my PC for emulation. On my Switch and other consoles I leave it as it is. I generally don't like the look of CRT filters on LCD displays, but I'd like to see how it looks on a 4K OLED display.

 

[lake]

I find them crucial for any old console/TV games. Shaders are a nice fallback, but I got a CRT working with RetroArch a while back so now it's the real thing. Lovely.

 

[TacoSupreme]

Scanlines and other CRT filters never even remotely remind me of what it was like to game on even the old-ass 1970s TV my parents still had when I was growing up. It's awesome for people who find them nostalgic somehow, but I can't for the life of me see how anyone would find the CRT filters on the majority of games to be in any way representative of a real CRT experience.

I keep an old CRT around for my NES and SNES though.

 

[BubbaMc]

Only scanlines, which are essential imo.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

More importantly I scale the screen size to multiples of 2 because I hate inconsistent pixel sizes when going full screen on an LCD monitor that isn't multiple of 2

 

[PaulloDEC]

Depends on where and how I'm playing, but I love me some CRT-easymode in Retroarch.

 

[Giga Man]

No. It looks dumb. Better to just play them on a CRT instead.

 

[Deleted member 8468]

Usually, as long as they aren't offensively distracting. I like the subtle versions some emulators and Analog offers on their consoles. It's more about evoking the feeling of playing on my childhood 13" TV than it is accuracy.

 

[III-V]

have an ossc

mostly stuck with default settings and 2x scanlines and a Panny Plasma TV

Click to shrink...

*thats hot*

 

[Jaded Alyx]

I usually play fighting games with scanlines but it seems I turn them off after a while.

 

[Android Sophia]

A good CRT filter/scanlines are essential to a retro experience, I believe.

That being said, the implementation varies widely among retro collections in regards to quality, and few are as good as the options available in say... RetroArch.

I love being able to take all the NeoGEO/SEGA games I've purchased and use them with crt-royale-kurozumi tho. The end results is just beautiful.

Click to shrink...

 

[Augemitbutter]

They look good without filters on my plasma. Sometimes i use scanline filters when they're done well. Most games are being played on CRTs/PVMs these days whenever possible.

 

[Strangelove_77]

Nah. I find it distracting.

 

[Flygon]

I'm not a fan of them. CRT scanlines really weren't that much of a thing.

 

[Weary Bones]

have an ossc

mostly stuck with default settings and 2x scanlines and a Panny Plasma TV

Click to shrink...

I don't know how this technology works exactly, but do they have something like this for HDMI IN and OUT?

I want an external scanline filter device for my Mini consoles but I don't know if they exist for HMDI inputs

 

[Deleted member 3815]

Nope, I just change them to 16:9 ratio.

 

[Beer Monkey]

Absolutely!

 

[Sheng Long]

I do. I love scanlines /CRT filters.

 

[Deleted member 51539]

I like PVM looking ones like royale kurozumi. Though easymode looks good on pretty much anything so I keep it on hand as a second option.

 

[Teenage Fansub]

I'm not a fan of them. CRT scanlines really weren't that much of a thing.

Click to shrink...

They were in literally every TV set showing 240P content. Those games only used half of the vertical scans.

 

[Richietto]

Yeah I use some sort of scanline effect when I can.

 

[andymcc]

Nope, I just change them to 16:9 ratio.

Click to shrink...

Barf.

 

[Geode]

Nope, I like sharp, clear pixels.