Monitor purchasing advice (For classic "mini" consoles like SNES mini, TG16 Mini, etc...)

[Zan]

So, it happened. My retro 1980's TV broke in a big way and we had to put it down. Instead of fiddling about with local garage sales and whatever, i've decided to use all the "Classic Mini" consoles I have and get a monitor to make a "no Fuss" retro room.

Except... I dunno the first thing about them. Essentially what i'm looking for is a few things:

-Multiple HDMI ports. I know I can use a splitter to add more, and I will.
-Built in speakers
-Avaviable in Canada at a repuitable "Big Box" retailer.
-Less than 30" wide.


Any more info or reccomendations are welcome.

 

[Faceless_Caesar]

If you are only hooking these types of devices up to it then you should try to get a 720p native display since none of those mini consoles output anything higher than that. This will result in a sharper image since it's not being scaled which TVs are really bad at in terms of scaling video games.

 

[oddjobs]

I just bought the LG Dual Up for productivity (and dumb shit like retro gaming)
It's not great by any measure (no VRR, 60hz, no real HDR) but I absolutely fucking love playing old games on it because you can get them to fill a big part of the screen

edit: I'm using it with a MiSTer and PC so scaling is probably quite a bit nicer than with retro mini consoles

 

[Like the hat?]

Id just get a cheap 720p tv, they're like less than $100 new.

 

[Zan]

If you are only hooking these types of devices up to it then you should try to get a 720p native display since none of those mini consoles output anything higher than that. This will result in a sharper image since it's not being scaled which TVs are really bad at in terms of scaling video games.

Click to shrink...

Good to know. I figure it may be a bit hard to get as stores are looking toward 4K, so I guess my choices are a bit limited?

 

[Faceless_Caesar]

Good to know. I figure it may be a bit hard to get as stores are looking toward 4K, so I guess my choices are a bit limited?

Click to shrink...

If you don't care about getting something used I'd check your local thrift stores or Facebook Marketplace. If you have to get something new then a 1440p computer monitor is 4x the resolution of a 720p display and should give you somewhat better scaling results versus a 1080p display. 1440p displays are readily available new or maybe even used as well.