8 Best Tv For Retro Games That You Should Know Update 04/2024

best tv for retro games

On the best CRT TVs for retro gaming, you can play all of your favourite old games again.

Ok, these things aren’t just needed if you want to play with all the best light guns; they’re pretty much the best way to get the most out of your favourite retro consoles.

The NES wasn’t made to be played on a 55-inch widescreen TV. Back in the day, TVs were about 14 inches and were a plain grey colour.

Some of them didn’t even make colour pictures, which is hard for our younger readers to believe.

So, what are the best CRT TVs for retro gaming, the best monitors for your gaming setups, and the most eye-catching units?

How do we know?

Sony PVM-14M2U

Sony PVM-14M2U

Without a doubt, the Sony PVM-14M2U is the best CRT TV for old video games.

Just look at this thing. It’s built to last and is a real workhorse. It’s also the kind of thing that would look great on Instagram. Ours has never failed us, and the best old games look great on it.

The PVM is 14 inches tall and has a 13-inch screen that can be seen. The resolution of the Trinitron colour screen is a whopping 600 lines, so games look smooth and clear as well as steady.

When TVs first came out, did any of you remember that they had knobs for aperture, chroma, and other things you could change? I wasn’t born yet, but I love playing with this thing to make my favourite games even better.

Seriously, Sony PVM-14M2U is a great choice.

Toshiba AF

The Toshiba AF is a good choice if you need to fill a big space in your game room. It has a huge 20-inch screen.

Even though you don’t need a whole wall to put it on, this TV was the best when TV cases were so big that it took two people to move them!

The AF line has a 4:3 aspect ratio, which is great for all your old games that were never meant to be played in widescreen.

And the sound from the built-in speakers is pretty good, too.

This is a good choice that won’t break the bank. It has a maximum resolution of 480i and a refresh rate of 60Hz.

Philips Discoverer

Philips Discoverer

The Philips Discoverer is a very rare TV that you almost never see on sites that sell used things. But when they do, you can be sure they sell out very quickly.

I mean, just look at it! It’s the perfect piece for a room full of old games.

Philips and NASA worked together to make this unique 14-inch TV to celebrate the first space shuttle launch in 1981. It is often called “The Space Helmet TV.”

The NASA, yes. That’s so cool!

Forty years ago, this TV cost $500. With inflation, that amount would be worth $1,686.58 today.

Wow, that wasn’t a cheap buy, was it?

Sony Hi Scan

The Sony Hi Scan Series is the next best CRT TV for retro gaming on our list.

Yes, it looks way too modern to be on this list, but hear me out. It’s an HD Ready CRT line, so you can play games from the NES to the Wii with great graphics.

This range has both 4:3 and 16:9 models, so you can look around and find the one that works best for your set up.

Again, these things have always had great sound, and the picture quality is what you’d expect from a Sony model.

The Hi Scan series is pretty pricey now, so if you want to add one to your collection, you should be ready to spend a lot of money.

Sony BVM-9045QD

Sony BVM-9045QD

The Sony BVM-9054QD is the fifth best CRT TV for old games on our list. Even though it’s not as popular as the PVM-14M2U, it still has some pretty good stats.

It’s a pretty small screen, with only an 8-inch area that can be seen. It can be turned on and off with a wired remote and has 450 lines of resolution.

As an aside, when I was a kid, my grandma’s TV had a wired remote, which I thought was the coolest thing ever.

This TV is small enough to take to a friend’s house, and it even has a cool handle. It’s the best portable computer for playing games; you can pair it with a NES or a GameCube. Everyone looks good from up here!

JVC D-Series

The JVC D-Series has that classic “first TV set” that many of us had in our bedrooms when we were kids. It’s a cool little unit that still works well.

The most popular screen size on second-hand sites right now is 32 inches, but games like Super Mario 64 still look great on it even with a 4:3 resolution.

And what does “D-Series” mean?

Well, all D-Series TVs came with a Digital 2-Line Comb Filter and a component input for DVD players.

There are a lot of Ds there.

Plus, you can’t really go wrong with 700 lines of horizontal resolution.

JVC Videosphere

JVC Videosphere

The JVC Videosphere looks really cool. It’s clear that both the Discoverer and the Sega Dreamcast TV gave it some ideas, right?

Wrong! This came out in the 1970s, so it’s definitely the other way around. It was the first helmet TV, and since this one is also an alarm clock, it wins by a mile.

This black-and-white TV is the best old-school screen for NES-style games. It has a big dial on top to change the frequency of the waves and a battery pack for playing outside. It looks and feels like something that fell from an alien spaceship…

… Perhaps it did…

If you can find one that works, you will be in for a real treat. It won’t be cheap, and finding replacement parts is even harder than finding the unit itself.

Still, it would feel great to play Super Mario Bros. on this, right?

Samsung Q50 QLED 4K Smart TV – Best Under Budget

Samsung is known for making the best QLED 4K TVs, and this new Q50 model is one of them. It only comes with a 32-inch screen, though. This smart TV is very cheap and has all the features that a fan of old video games would want. This is the best piece for anyone who wants a device with the best HDR, quantum dot technology, compatibility with Alexa and Google Assistant, 120 frames per second, etc. This amazing Alexa integration lets users control its functions with just one click, whether they want to change channels or change the volume.

Also, the company put in features that show the least amount of input lag, so now all gamers can enjoy the best gaming experience with an excellent refresh rate (60 Hz). Overall, the Samsung Q50 is one of the best cheap smart TVs for playing old games.