Podcast

Tinting BVMs & the German CRT wizard w/ John Linneman

In this episode Steve and I are joined by John Linneman from Digital Foundry & Eurogamer to discuss CRTs.

A few weeks ago John posted a picture of his project to apply tinting (like a car window) to the screen of his BVM to reduce glare. John tells us the story behind this mission and we find out this latest successful effort has only come after years of trial and error.

We also talk about issues involving European CRTs: just what is an 100hz CRT anyway and how living in the East or West back in the day very much determined what TV you were watching.

I apologize for the bad video of John. Our filming app Riverside screwed up his footage and it was out of sync.… Read the rest

Latest MiSTer S-Video & Composite Update w/ Lu’s Retro Source

Big news this week that the S-Video MiSTer FPGA framework from Mike Simone has been integrated into the main MiSTer core. This means you can access EXCELLENT S-Video and Composite analog output using a fairly inexpensive adapter.

In this video I talk with Lu from Lu’s Retro Source and I have a long form discussion about the framework and explain the ins and outs. Lu is also producing his own short, sharp, only-the-facts video coming very soon if you need to understand quickly.

Topics include

  • Background on the S-Video MiSTer project
  • Do you NEED an adapter at all?
  • Explanation of the new vga_mode setting in the mister.ini
  • Difference between Active and Passive YC adapters
  • Whats up PAL / NTSC?
  • Vendors selling adapters (full list below)

Follow Lu’s weekly MiSTer updates on his channel: https://www.youtube.com/@LusRetroSource… Read the rest

The business case for buying 25 HUGE CRTs – Cathode Ray Podcast #44

Last week a lot of 25 x new old stock 27″ JVC CRTs went up for gov auction in DC. This sounds like a great chance to pickup a rare find, however dealing with TWENTY FIVE VERY BIG screens is more work than it seems.

In this podcast Steve breaks down the total cost of picking up this lot including everything from transport, storage, inspection and buyers fees. The final cost will surprise you!

This is the deal in question: https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=72&acctid=12180&mibextid=S66gvF

We also have a talk about official video cables. Are first party officially licensed original cables always the best? Did any console vendors ever pack in crappy cables? Tell us in the comments!

0:00 Start
1:30 Steve got an MRI
8:30 Shipping CRTs is a nightmare!… Read the rest

LaserDisc primer, many N64 emotions & PVM spare parts – Cathode Ray Podcast #43

Steve is back after his trip to the hospital!

0:00 Start
02:00 Basketball and Jordan were huge when we were kids
06:00 Laserdisc – how does it look?
18:00 Steve weighs in on the N64
29:00 Story of Steve’s first PVM
32:00 A HUGE collection of PVM parts for the shop
42:00 Steve opens up about his health
46:00 Visit to Brooklyn Video Games!
52:00 Quick room tour from Steve
53:00 CRT delivery horror stories
56:00 Louis will rebuild his 14 inch PVM

Follow us on Twitter!

https://twitter.com/zez
https://twitter.com/usa_retro
https://twitter.com/8bitesquire

Please keep in mind that very technical CRT questions are really difficult to diagnose online. If you are interested in Steve’s professional CRT repair services please head over to his patreon page
https://www.patreon.com/retrotechUSA… Read the rest

Webhdx – Creator of the PicoBoot GameCube mod – Cathode Ray Podcast #30

30 episodes!

We are really happy to have Webhdx, creator of the Picoboot Gamcube mod chip. His real name is Maciej Kobus and he comes from Katowice in Poland.

A software guy by day, he fell in love with the GameCube hardware and has come up with some great projects. After Picoboot, we talk about his upcoming M2.Loader, which will allow an M2 SSD to be plugged in under your console. In the episode I ask Maciej “Why an M2? Just because it fits?” and his answers show he has really thought these things out.

He also has created his own aftermarket Wavebird receiver which he is almost ready to manufacture however the global parts storage is still a roadblock.

0:00 Start
01:10 Introduction to Maciej
07:00 Big GameCube fan
17:50 How did development of the PicoBoot start?… Read the rest

Crackhead PVM, Insurance Fraud & Market Manipulation w/ 8-bit Esquire – Cathode Ray Podcast #29

The Cathode Ray Podcast is a series with CRT shaman Steve from Retro Tech and Louis Zezeran from Zez Retro. Together we talk about CRTs, TVs and other retro gaming topics.

In this episode we speak to Twitter funny guy the 8-bit Esquire. An attorney by day and big old retro gaming fan by night, the 8-bit Esquire has a great collection and a bunch of good stories to go along with it.

This podcast starts as a casual chat between friends and gets louder the more beers that Louis drinks.

00:00 Start
01:00 The background of the 8-bit Esquire
07:00 Where did his retro collection start?
12:00 The origin of Steve’s collection
18:00 Is now the right time to sell into the market?… Read the rest

Is a CRT market “price correction” due? Cathode Ray Podcast #28

There are some audio issue with this episode, I apologize for this and hope its not too bad for you to listen to

0:00 Start
1:00 Steve does Yoga with the Diamond Cutter
7:02 Steve selling fully serviced PVMs
14:10 More background on the MiSTer controller lag tester
30:00 Louis wants to lag test projectors now
34:00 Lag test a cinema projector?
43:40 Working on a Sony XBR CRT
52:00 eBay CRT “Market Watch” (with visuals!)
53:00 What does Steve look for in a cheap PVM
58:00 Is the retro market due for a correction? CRTs?

Repairing CRTs w/ Andy King – Cathode Ray Podcast #27

The Cathode Ray Podcast is a series with CRT shaman Steve from Retro Tech and Louis Zezeran from Zez Retro. Together we talk about CRTs, TVs and other retro gaming topics.

In this episode we talk to Andy King. Andy runs https://crtdatabase.com where he documents his work to repair and service CRTs. Andy also has a lot of experience RGB modding consumer sets and his website is one of the best resources available for that.

Andy runs a small CRT repair service based out of Northern California. If you are interested in his services, please reach out to him at https://twitter.com/dorksince93

Tales from the CRT workshop – Cathode Ray Podcast #25

This week Steve and I have a general catch up on what we have been doing this week.

00:00 Start
04:45 Tell Him He’s Dreaming’ recap
11:05 SECAM discussion
15:00 PAL / NTSC / SECAM
28:00 Steve’s video on those big ass CRTs
34:00 Tales from the CRT workshop
53:30 We react to eBay CRT listings (dreamin’!)

Steve and Louis maintain a blog about their projects “The Cathode Ray Blog”
https://www.cathoderayblog.com

You can find the audio on the web or your favourite podcast app
https://anchor.fm/zezretro

Catch us on Twitter
https://twitter.com/zez
https://twitter.com/usa_retro

For all your CRT repair needs, check out Steve’s channel
https://www.youtube.com/c/RetroTechUSA

CRTs in visual art – An art history tour by Steve

Recently CRT repair expert Steve from Retro Tech has been consulting for a museum, helping them preserve their collection of CRTs.

You may not have considered this before but CRTs have played a huge part in visual art in the 20th century. Almost since they were created, artists have been incorporating them into visual installations. In this podcast, Steve gives us a presentation showing a few of the notable artists from last century who used CRTs in their work.

The CRT visual art presentation starts at 36:51

Why are CRTs important to museums?

When museum curators are putting on installations which incorporate CRTs, they have many of the same concerns we retro gamers have:

Is this the same monitor that the artist originally designed this with?

… Read the rest