h a l f b a k e r yFaster than a stationary bullet.
add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random
news, help, about, links, report a problem
browse anonymously,
or get an account
and write.
register,
login
|
|
|
There are people who stick modern displays into CRT cases to give the look of an old monitor. This does not fool people because the properties of modern displays are not very CRT-like.
People think CRTs have nice, inky deep blacks. A new CRT may manage a contrast ratio of about 2000:1 but there hasn't
been a new CRT in many years. Old CRTs develop 'tube glow' which reduces the contrast to less than 1000:1. The viewer sees no detail in the black because the tube glow is uniform, and mistakes it for true dark. When they look at projected film, the contrast ratio may be 4000:1 but the viewer can see the noise from the film grains. I worked on matching different media, and my solution was to have a variable stretch to the contrast in the shadow tones so you could match the sensation of 'blackness' without visibly altering anything else.
If you really want to match the appearance of the CRT, you could introduce extra layers of clear material and diffuser to blur the pixels to link like a CRT dot. If you had a thick piece of glass on the front, any surface dust is clearly at a different focal depth, and you do not see it as part of the image.
I think making your monitor look like a CRT is a mad idea. But being mad is no excuse for not doing the job properly.
Retro CRT monitors
https://boingboing....ors-questioned.html
This article inspired my post. [Richard K, Sep 03 2026]
|
| |
I've been looking for the word that expresses this act: when you make current tech look or function like retro stuff. An example is the app that puts a functional rotary dial on your smartphone screen. |
|
| |
I was trying to remember 'skeuomorphism'. That is not quite it - skeuomorphism is doing things like adding a shutter sound when taking a picture to make a tech gadget behave like some real world counterpart. I guess this ends up looking backward as most real world gadgets get old, but the intent is to be understood. |
|
| |
I did a quick search on 'retrotech' - that is widely used for old gadgets, and new gadgets that look like old ones. Not quite it, either. |
|
| |
To coin a word: "Y2Kpunk" |
|
| |
Would the rotary dial on the smartphone qualify as a skeuomorshism? I think there may me another word that indicates function as well as appearance. The flame-shaped bulbs in a chandelier are one definitely, but they don't function like a candle flame. I know it's out there... |
|
| |
Would an electric buzzer in the back office that goes off when a client bonks the shiny bell on the reception desk be one? |
|
| |
To qualify as — the word I can't find — a holograph of the desk call bell would have to be virtually bonked with your finger, and a ding would sound. |
|
| |
//skeuomorphism is doing things like adding a shutter sound when taking a picture to make a tech gadget behave like some real world counterpart// |
|
| |
The sounds used were never remotely realistic, I wonder what was going on when they were created? A real shutter is just a double-click (although there might be more going on with moving mirrors etc.) and then maybe a motor film advance. The elecrtonic noises are a thing all of their own. |
|
| |
We're generations deep on people who have never taken a picture with a real shutter - what does the sound even mean to these people? |
|
| |
//We're generations deep on people who have never taken a picture with a real shutter - what does the sound even mean to these people?// |
|
| |
It works in the short term. A double-click represents a reflex or a Kodak box camera to old people because both went 'ka-chunk'. It gets passed by a committee because it can be recognised without explanation as 'being like a camera'. It then works in the long term because it becomes a recognised thing in itself. I have heard young people think a 3.5" floppy disc is a 3D printed novelty that looks like the Memory icon on Windows. |
|
| |
Really good user interfaces work without having to be explained. |
|
| |
Add a degaussing button with the correct noise and screen artefacts. |
|
| |