Sony Trinitron KV-27FV310

A Link to the Past, muthafackas

When I first started my gaming collection a few months back, I had to hook up my SNES to an HDTV. Needless to say, I had a bad time. It looked plain awful. So I went on the web and did some searching, and found out that the best way to play retro games is through a CRT TV. But not just any CRT will cut it. Apparently, the best CRT's were made by Sony and Mitsubishi, with Sony's "Trinitron" product line being much more common. Thus, I made it my mission to find the perfect Sony Trinitron TV.

The KV-27FS100 and KV-27FV16

What followed was a series of awkward, back-breaking journeys to random people's houses. I had to scour Craigslist, which is basically the place to look for old furniture, and call up strangers to set up risky appointments. I also had to find a friend willing to carry 100 lbs up some stairs with me each time I got a new TV (I have 3 in total). It was brutal, but it was well worth it.

My first TV, and the TV I used for the longest time, was the KV-27FS100. It's one of the most common Trinitron's out there, and it actually gets the job done quite well. The FS100, and the slightly newer FS120, are the models to get if you can't find the rarer (and better) models. I also grabbed the KV-27FV16 on my second journey. This was mostly the result of me not knowing what I was looking for, since the FV16 is a much older model.

My crown jewel, the KV-27FV310

I was going to stick with the FS100, but there was a convergence issue at the bottom of the screen that just wouldn't leave my OCD alone, so I found myself scouring Craigslist once again. That's when I found it; the TV many gamers consider the best CRT ever made: the FV310. The FV310 is one of the last Trinitron models that Sony made before switching over to HD TV's, so naturally it's a combination of the best features. It has more s-video and component ports than the FS100, and it has ridiculously good speakers. The bloody thing has subwoofers!

I grew to love this thing, and consider it the most important part of my gaming collection. A classic gaming console is useless without a proper TV to display its graphics, after all. My Trinitron journey ended here, as I've been using it ever since, so here's to hoping that my TV lasts me a long time. God knows I can't fit any more CRT's in my storage closet.