Built a new TV stand

[Titan]

As you all recall, I lost my job during the pandemic. Trying to keep my mind occupied during this, I've been growing my video game collection. And with the growing collection of games and consoles (and a CRT), I decided it was time to make a new TV stand. With my new console acquisitions and my game collection growing, it was time to set up my own gaming setup in my living room. I bought some MDF, some paint and grabbed my tools and designed and built this modular stand. Out of all the woodworking projects I've done, I think this is my favorite. And once I figure out the wiring, I'm planning to add some LED lights to really give it some pizzaz

[Jumpman]

Good on you for having a CRT.

Way better than hdtvs for old school games.

[Titan]

No doubt. Games of that era were developed for CRT technology so it's the only way to go. The tipping point for me to get one was when I was playing TimeSplitters on my LCD and it looked absolutely atrocious. The graphics were so pixelated and it was too distracting for me to enjoy playing. And one day in April or May I was helping my mom clean out my grandmas house and I saw that there. Had component inputs and everything. My mom and uncle were gonna trash it so I grabbed it. I got my PS2 slim hooked up to that with the NES and the Genesis too if it worked (board is fucked on the Genesis but the cables are hooked up ready to go). The Atari has no cables. System only so I'm boxing it up soon and putting it in storage until I have an appetite to get what I need. The Xbox is on the LCD and it looks fine but may hook it up to the CRT. I haven't decided fully yet. The Dreamcast is on the LCD but is using VGA to HDMI conversion and it looks so amazing on it. Frankly, that's the way to go with Dreamcast. The fat PS2 is now fully functional so I'm eventually gonna get the conversion cables to make it HDMI, put in a hard drive and run FreeHDBoot which apparently upscales to 720 I think? Maybe 1080? It'll probably still look like shit compared to the CRT but it gives me options So yeah, I ain't fucking around with this lol.

[Paul2]

nice tv stand.  how long did it take you to build it?  just for curiosity, what year model is your crt tv?  just curious if you did look into the back of the crt tv when you take it out of the old tv stand and when you put it on the new tv stand that you built.

[Kurt Angle]

Very nice job. It’s always nice to see retro consoles on display and usable. 

[Titan]

nice tv stand.  how long did it take you to build it?  just for curiosity, what year model is your crt tv?  just curious if you did look into the back of the crt tv when you take it out of the old tv stand and when you put it on the new tv stand that you built.

Thanks Paul. Technically a couple months but most of that time was trying to figure out a failed TV lift. I originally was gonna have the CRT be on an electric lift hidden in the stand, but it didn't work. It all worked out. I can display more consoles this way. Just can't get as big of a 4k TV as I wanted with the CRT up there but not the end of the world. Sorry Paul. I didn't get the tag and it's up against the wall. It's too much of a pain to move this late in the night. But it's 21 inches, Sony Tinitron built sometime like 15 years ago.

Very nice job. It’s always nice to see retro consoles on display and usable. 

Thanks Kurt! All except the Genesis work. The Atari may or may not work. I dunno. Someone gave it to me like 7-8 years ago and never bought cables or anything for it. I'm probably replacing the Atari with an N64 a friend of mine gave me yesterday. The N64 is apart right now. It's a wreck. It was gross with dust caked all over and in it and full of pine needles (not kidding). And the board was oily. Gets power but no video. I'm still hunting the issue. May be a bad cap based on the residue on the board and a cap not testing with normal values. Gotta do some digging and maybe consult the Nintendo community But I bought two games at a thrift store I buy most of my collection now so I'm committed to getting it running lol.

[Paul2]

speaking about buying a new tv.  titan, what type of tv are you planning on upgrading to and what size is it if you don't mind me asking?

[Titan]

speaking about buying a new tv.  titan, what type of tv are you planning on upgrading to and what size is it if you don't mind me asking?

Honestly, I'm not sure yet. I know I'm limited to a 43" TV max based on the space it needs to fit. Definitely 4k. The issue I'm running into is finding a 4K tv of that size with component. I need component to hook up my fat PS2 and/or original Xbox. I also need at least 4 HDMI ports, and I'm already going to be using splitters lol. A lot of TVs now are coming with less, like 2 ports. Anything to save a penny in manufacturing I guess. But with having such a small 4K tv, my options are definitely limited.

[Paul2]

how about build another seperate tv stand for the 21" tv if space isn't an issue while buying a 4k tv as big as 55" for your current tv stand.  not sure if you can see a difference watching 4k on a 43" though.  how far away are you sitting from the tv screen?

are you planning on getting an oled tv?  i just notice you don't have a snes console.  are you planning on collecting it in the future or something?

[Titan]

how about build another seperate tv stand for the 21" tv if space isn't an issue while buying a 4k tv as big as 55" for your current tv stand.  not sure if you can see a difference watching 4k on a 43" though.  how far away are you sitting from the tv screen?

are you planning on getting an oled tv?  i just notice you don't have a snes console.  are you planning on collecting it in the future or something?

I live in a small one bedroom condo. Space is an issue. Always has been, always will be. I have to think creatively when bringing stuff in. That's the solution I came up with to have both TVs. And trust me, I looked at this at all possible angles. It's either a big flat screen and no CRT for my old consoles or sacrifice flat screen size to have both. 43" is the max size I can have to fit that space until my girlfriend and I get married and buy a place where we can set up space for my game stuff (and her own yoga space. That's the deal lol). As far as how far I sit? Probably 10 feet max. My living room is not that big. I have a 32" now and it's a good size for the space.

OLED? I dunno. It all comes down to cost. Trying to keep the TV under 500 since I'll be getting a PS5 at the same time. SNES? Probably eventually. But it's not a priority for me right now. But I hacked a PSP Go a friend of mine gave me last week and dumped some SNES games on it. Works fine for me for now, which works for me. Emulation is about the only thing that console is good for in 2020, since Sony shut down the store for it.

[Paul2]

sounds cool.

i don't think you can see a different between 4k and 1080p sitting about 10 ft away from a future 43" screen but at least you can notice a difference between sdr and hdr effects and wide color gamut benefits that some 4k tvs have beside resolution over 1080p or 720p hdtv screen.

i think some 43" 4k tvs have more than 2 hdmi ports for $500 or less, like 3 hdmi ports i believe.  speaking about hdmis, are you planning on getting tv with 4k/120 hz hdmis supported tv or are you settling for 4k/60 hz hdmis supported tv?

[Titan]

Probably 4k/60Hz. Next gen is still only maxing at 60 frames per second, so 120Hz is kinda useless for me since gaming is the only consideration for me buying one. IIRC, my current TV can do 120Hz or 240Hz. I shut that feature off because it didn't work well with my PS3. So even though my HDTV can do a high Hz rate, I have it doing 60Hz.

Oh, before I forget Paul. I needed the model number for the CRT so I can find the repair manual (it's starting to do some weird shit. Plus the geometry is very off and need to get into the service interface). It's KV-20FS100.

[Paul2]

i see.  maybe your current hdtv can do 120 hz or 240 hz but it can't accept a 120 or 240 hz signal.  probably the highest it can accept is 60 hz signal and upconvert it to 120 or 240 hz frame rate.  either that or its interpolate 60 fps to 120 fps or 240 fps.  i agree with you on turning this feature off as it gives 60fps or less this soap opera effect as its interpolates it to 120 fps or 240 fps.

i just googled your crt's tv model number and its show a pic and model number of this tv on ebay and its a april 2003 model.  probably its a 2002 model but manufactured in 2003.  its also shows links to service manual of this model and i am not sure if there is a service repair manual of it though.  i know a code to get into service menu to adjust stuffs but i am not sure if that is going to fix your tv's geometry problems.