I think you might be a bit crazy, haha. I do have some nostalgia for CRT, but OLED is far better in every single way.
Larger available size, Higher available resolution and better clarity, Higher available refresh rate, Wider color gamut and more accurate colors, Higher contrast ratio, etc.
Not to mention how flickery CRT is.
I 100% get the appeal of old tech, but it’s a bit silly to say it’s equivalent to modern stuff.
You’re describing a typical budget CRT, and like typical budget flat screen panels today, they did suck. BUT…
CRT is a superior display technology and high end tubes have only recently been maybe matched in quality by specifically OLED. Manufacturers did not switch to flat panels because of superior quality, they did it because they are much cheaper to manufacture, handle, transport, and are more appealing to consumers due to energy use, weight, size/aspect ratio, and less configuration.
I have a Trinitron tube, which runs at 1600x1200@85Hz native (nearly the same number of pixels as full HD) and can be run at significantly higher resolutions, or lower resolutions at significantly higher Hz.
You mention flicker, which is a problem for typical budget low Hz CRTs, but is not a problem for better, high Hz tubes.
wider color gamut, more accurate colors, higher contrast ratio
Plainly incorrect. OLED is the first flat panel technology to basically match a CRT in image quality. CRT shows true black and near perfect color, they also can display any resolution without interpolation because they do not have pixels (a 720p image/video will look absolutely terrible displayed on a 1080p flat screen, but perfect on a CRT), and CRTs partially activate posphors for a more accurate image detail than the equivalent discrete pixel resolution. My Trinitron tube’s detail is only limited by the spacing of the aperature grille, not the number of posphors. So comparing resolution is kind of apples to oranges. And this is why old low res games did actually look better on a CRT than they do now when played on modern flat screens. Example (this example uses a slot mask, not aperature grille, but still shows the effect of partially activated posphors):
There are real benefits to OLED (weight, size, wide aspect ratios [wide aspet ratios are only better for watching movies or TV though, worse for playing games or productivity/web browsing], energy use, gimmick refresh rates, gimmick resolutions like 4K and beyond), but picture quality is not one of them.
The biggest benefit to a CRT for me, besides true blacks, is input latency for competitive gaming. I don’t understand how people can play games on flat screens with the cursor lagging behind the mouse’s true position/movement. I guess you just get used to it and your brain adjusts for it, but having only really gamed on CRT, it is horrible any time I sit down at a friend’s computer to play something.
I’ll agree that early LCD screens were really bad. TN looks terrible. I think a modern IPS or VA is a better experience than CRT in some ways, (often better color, better resolution, display size, etc.) but still has major issues like poor response time and motion clarity.
CRT does have some advantages– it is good for retro games, as a lot of pixel art was designed for the slight blur that CRTs have (waterfalls in some games, for example). And they do have good motion clarity compared to sample and hold displays, but it’s because they are flickery. 85Hz flicker isn’t as bad as 60hz, but it’s still really uncomfortable for many people. It’s one reason why almost nobody uses backlight strobing on LCD monitors. Not worth the tradeoff for most.
OLED really is pretty close to perfect, though. Vibrant accurate colors with excellent motion clarity and high refresh smoothness, virtually infinity contrast…
Trinitron really was ahead of its time, but a 32" 4k 240fps P3 OLED doesn’t match it, it far exceeds it.
You might want to reread my comment because you’re just making false claims that are already addressed about color and resolution (my CRT can display 2560x1920), or you’re only acknowledging low quality CRTs. I’ll give you 4K resolution as a flat panel win over tubes, and obviously size and aspect ratio, but I personally don’t see any value in it, as 4K resolution, ultra-wide aspect ratio, and extremely high framerates are simply marketing gimmicks. Obviously, others do see value in these and that’s fine.
Perceiving flicker at 85Hz rate is literally far beyond human capability. 72Hz is an ultimate upper limit on where any flicker is perceptible to a human… and I run my monitor at 120Hz for competitive games lol. It is not physically possible that a human could see flicker at 85Hz. Backlight strobing of an LCD is not related to refresh rate, so would likely by 60Hz matching AC wall power.
Anyway, there are some reasons that OLED is better, just unrelated to display quality. You can probably fit more on your desk than just a keyboard and don’t risk your back when moving your monitor.
You might want to reread my comment because you’re just making false claims that are already addressed about color and resolution
No I’m not. OLED has better contrast and a wider color gamut than the best CRT. And it can have high refresh rate without dropping the resolution below the already low native resolution.
4K resolution, ultra-wide aspect ratio, and extremely high framerates are simply marketing gimmicks
So anything that your current hardware can’t do is a “marketing gimmick”? Okay… But at a minimum that would mean that OLED is just “unnecessarily” better. I’m not saying it has to matter to you, but the benefits of high framerate don’t abruptly stop at 120fps, and 4k isn’t even reaching the point of diminishing returns if you’re not using a tiny 17" display.
It is not physically possible that a human could see flicker at 85Hz.
This is just not true. You may not notice it, but many people can. There’s an issue with LED lightbulbs flickering at 120hz, for example.
Anyway I’m not saying you shouldn’t enjoy your CRT, I think it’s cool! I just don’t think it’s better than OLED in any tangible way.
Well this is getting silly if you’re just going to keep repeating objectively wrong things and also misrepresent what I’ve said (‘anything your current hardware can’t do is a “marketing gimmick”’ 🙄🙄🙄)
Since we’ve left good faith diacussion and entered the realm of silly, fine! You’ve activated my trap card! Can your OLED do this??? presses degauss button You can see 85 Hz flicker, but I can bench press 1200 lbs and run a 60 second mile 🤪
Enjoy your OLED and I’m glad you’re finally getting to enjoy perfect color, true blacks, and high contrast again after all these years!
I think you might be a bit crazy, haha. I do have some nostalgia for CRT, but OLED is far better in every single way.
Larger available size, Higher available resolution and better clarity, Higher available refresh rate, Wider color gamut and more accurate colors, Higher contrast ratio, etc.
Not to mention how flickery CRT is.
I 100% get the appeal of old tech, but it’s a bit silly to say it’s equivalent to modern stuff.
You’re describing a typical budget CRT, and like typical budget flat screen panels today, they did suck. BUT…
CRT is a superior display technology and high end tubes have only recently been maybe matched in quality by specifically OLED. Manufacturers did not switch to flat panels because of superior quality, they did it because they are much cheaper to manufacture, handle, transport, and are more appealing to consumers due to energy use, weight, size/aspect ratio, and less configuration.
I have a Trinitron tube, which runs at 1600x1200@85Hz native (nearly the same number of pixels as full HD) and can be run at significantly higher resolutions, or lower resolutions at significantly higher Hz.
You mention flicker, which is a problem for typical budget low Hz CRTs, but is not a problem for better, high Hz tubes.
Plainly incorrect. OLED is the first flat panel technology to basically match a CRT in image quality. CRT shows true black and near perfect color, they also can display any resolution without interpolation because they do not have pixels (a 720p image/video will look absolutely terrible displayed on a 1080p flat screen, but perfect on a CRT), and CRTs partially activate posphors for a more accurate image detail than the equivalent discrete pixel resolution. My Trinitron tube’s detail is only limited by the spacing of the aperature grille, not the number of posphors. So comparing resolution is kind of apples to oranges. And this is why old low res games did actually look better on a CRT than they do now when played on modern flat screens. Example (this example uses a slot mask, not aperature grille, but still shows the effect of partially activated posphors):
There are real benefits to OLED (weight, size, wide aspect ratios [wide aspet ratios are only better for watching movies or TV though, worse for playing games or productivity/web browsing], energy use, gimmick refresh rates, gimmick resolutions like 4K and beyond), but picture quality is not one of them.
The biggest benefit to a CRT for me, besides true blacks, is input latency for competitive gaming. I don’t understand how people can play games on flat screens with the cursor lagging behind the mouse’s true position/movement. I guess you just get used to it and your brain adjusts for it, but having only really gamed on CRT, it is horrible any time I sit down at a friend’s computer to play something.
What specific Trinitron do you have?
Dell P991
Thanks
I’ll agree that early LCD screens were really bad. TN looks terrible. I think a modern IPS or VA is a better experience than CRT in some ways, (often better color, better resolution, display size, etc.) but still has major issues like poor response time and motion clarity.
CRT does have some advantages– it is good for retro games, as a lot of pixel art was designed for the slight blur that CRTs have (waterfalls in some games, for example). And they do have good motion clarity compared to sample and hold displays, but it’s because they are flickery. 85Hz flicker isn’t as bad as 60hz, but it’s still really uncomfortable for many people. It’s one reason why almost nobody uses backlight strobing on LCD monitors. Not worth the tradeoff for most.
OLED really is pretty close to perfect, though. Vibrant accurate colors with excellent motion clarity and high refresh smoothness, virtually infinity contrast…
Trinitron really was ahead of its time, but a 32" 4k 240fps P3 OLED doesn’t match it, it far exceeds it.
You might want to reread my comment because you’re just making false claims that are already addressed about color and resolution (my CRT can display 2560x1920), or you’re only acknowledging low quality CRTs. I’ll give you 4K resolution as a flat panel win over tubes, and obviously size and aspect ratio, but I personally don’t see any value in it, as 4K resolution, ultra-wide aspect ratio, and extremely high framerates are simply marketing gimmicks. Obviously, others do see value in these and that’s fine.
Perceiving flicker at 85Hz rate is literally far beyond human capability. 72Hz is an ultimate upper limit on where any flicker is perceptible to a human… and I run my monitor at 120Hz for competitive games lol. It is not physically possible that a human could see flicker at 85Hz. Backlight strobing of an LCD is not related to refresh rate, so would likely by 60Hz matching AC wall power.
Anyway, there are some reasons that OLED is better, just unrelated to display quality. You can probably fit more on your desk than just a keyboard and don’t risk your back when moving your monitor.
No I’m not. OLED has better contrast and a wider color gamut than the best CRT. And it can have high refresh rate without dropping the resolution below the already low native resolution.
So anything that your current hardware can’t do is a “marketing gimmick”? Okay… But at a minimum that would mean that OLED is just “unnecessarily” better. I’m not saying it has to matter to you, but the benefits of high framerate don’t abruptly stop at 120fps, and 4k isn’t even reaching the point of diminishing returns if you’re not using a tiny 17" display.
This is just not true. You may not notice it, but many people can. There’s an issue with LED lightbulbs flickering at 120hz, for example.
Anyway I’m not saying you shouldn’t enjoy your CRT, I think it’s cool! I just don’t think it’s better than OLED in any tangible way.
Well this is getting silly if you’re just going to keep repeating objectively wrong things and also misrepresent what I’ve said (‘anything your current hardware can’t do is a “marketing gimmick”’ 🙄🙄🙄)
Since we’ve left good faith diacussion and entered the realm of silly, fine! You’ve activated my trap card! Can your OLED do this??? presses degauss button You can see 85 Hz flicker, but I can bench press 1200 lbs and run a 60 second mile 🤪
Enjoy your OLED and I’m glad you’re finally getting to enjoy perfect color, true blacks, and high contrast again after all these years!