this post was submitted on 28 Oct 2025
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I would not recommend an older flat screen, there is quite literally zero benefit for your described use case. Modern LCD/LED TVs provide much better image and features, and they can still be picked up for cheap.
Regardless, the TV won't matter much for any of the consoles you mentioned that have native HDMI output, with the quality of the panel being the deciding factor and not the console attached to it.
For anything without HDMI just use a scaler such as a RetroTink2x (or the also very capable knockoff Retroscaler2x from Aliexpress) so you can both improve the image quality for a modern TV and get the HDMI output.
Yeah, I already have the hdmi scalers/adapters for the non modded consoles I have. I specifically don't want a modern tv or the features on it.
I doubt you can really buy those TVs anymore without it being a "Smart" TV. The best you can do is disable the Internet Connection on your TV. I have heard couple people suggesting commercial TV but I'm not too sure how great they would be for gaming and more made for well.. staying on most the time, inside at a shop.
Commercial displays aren't great for gaming due to latency and refresh rate. Commercial signage displays don't care about either, so you're not going to get a good result.
I'm on team "get a smart tv and don't give it Internet access". Only complaint I have about my LG C5 ID that switching HDMI inputs is ever so slightly more cumbersome than on my old Samsung.