Is it possible? I still like retro gaming on my PSX/PS2 when I have time, but all TVs are HD now and the AVI looks like a mess, and even output from the 480p component cables look really grainy and not as smooth as they used to. Is there such thing as a device out there which will smooth out the quality and make it look at least as good on an HDTV as it did on the old tube TVs of the past?
Upconverting older consoles’ output for HDTVs
hardwareps2
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Best Answer
At the center of my heart I am an avid retro-gamer. About 6 months ago I decided that I wanted to work on a game that had a real "8-bit" feel to it and I wanted it to look more than being just a blocky-looking game. It had to feel like you were playing on an old, gaming system and playing on an CRT television.
In short, what you want to see are the effects of the scanlines that show up on your television. I'll spare all of the technical details but the bottom line is that old, analog televisions display information on old TV screens in a much different manner than current Plasmas, LCD, LEDs and anything else that will ever come along.
Not to worry, though! There is hardware out there (called a scan converter) that takes these old channels, converts them to digital and then applies appropriate filters to the HDMI output so that it looks and feels a much like ye olde skool, CRT output of yore.
I really want one of these devices but they are pretty intense. You might be able to find a cheap box for under $100 but the really top-notch converters can cost more than $500.
Scanlines Demistified is the original source that I found when looking for a converter. I've not looked much further than this source because, all though I want a converter for all of my systems, I need to save up to get one of the nicer $300+ units.