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Why Old CRT TVs Are Having A Comeback
By CHRIS LITTLECHILD
With the rise of retro gaming came a renewed desire to own CRT TVs. However, these old sets serve as more than just nostalgia, as some games actually need these TVs to function.
One NES classic, “Duck Hunt,” uses a peripheral known as the Zapper that marks where players have shot through the use of a photodiode.
Unlike CRT TVs, Modern HD TVs lack the infrared light that allows the Zapper’s photodiode to determine the player shot, making the game unplayable without hacks or modifications.
CRT TVs were designed to make the pixelated titles easier on the eye through scanlines and the shape of the display itself, which gave them a unique look.
Linus Tech Tips on YouTube noted more benefits of CRT TVs: “They have next to no input lag. Their pixel response times are ... instantaneous, and they have high contrast ratio.”