There was brief period when if you looked at the rear of some mid-range and high-end TV, there was an overwhelming number of ports available. HDMI was joined by component, optical, and/or composite connections, all there because the industry was transitioning from an analog world to a fully digital one. TV makers didn’t necessarily know which side of the fence you were on, yet — as late as 2006, you could still buy new movies on VHS.
Now that the digital transition is complete, companies have been able to ditch legacy ports and add more of the ones that are useful with modern tech. That’s not necessarily a good thing, naturally. It means that you might not be able to reuse tech that isn’t top-shelf, but still has some value.
I should note that there are often ways to bridge old equipment to new TVs by way of specialized adapters and other add-ons. The point, however, is that a lot of equipment can’t be plugged in directly anymore.
VCRs, LaserDisc players, and older DVD players
It’s not just about matching inputs
This is a sad case for a lot of people. Although many movies and TV shows have made the transition to current formats, not everything has, and some families — including my wife’s — have important memories recorded on VHS. Even if you do have a digital copy of something, there’s still a novelty or nostalgia in playing it back in its original form. A podcaster I like recently installed a small VCR-equipped TV in her kitchen so she could pop in old tapes while she cooks.
The problem is that towards the end of the original VCR and LaserDisc eras, the best models were still limited to outputs like component or S-Video. You may, if you’re really lucky, own a TV that still has component inputs — but hardware makers have largely transitioned to HDMI. The component format tops out at 1080p resolution, and just isn’t equipped for technologies like HDR (high dynamic range) or spatial audio.
There are ways around these hurdles, as you may know. There are options like HDMI adapters, combo DVD/Blu-ray players, and even some updated VCRs. But with pre-DVD formats, you may need a specialized converter/upscaler if you want video to look as clean as possible. There’s only so much your TV’s own upscaling tech can do to improve a 480i analog source intended for 4:3 CRT TVs, making it look correct on a 4K, 16:9 QLED set.
If you do have home recordings on VHS, I strongly recommend finding some way of digitzing them to your computer, making it possible to copy them ad infinitum. All VHS tapes have a finite lifespan, and that degradation will only be accelerated by factors like heat, humidity, or repeated playback.
Analog antennas
Well and truly dead
Whereas there’s some incentive to connect an old VCR or LaserDisc player to a smart TV, there’s truly no point in hooking up an analog antenna, no matter what ports you have available. North America and Europe have almost fully transitioned to digital TV, and globally, the number of analog broadcasters keeps shrinking. The US government cut off full-power analog broadcasts way back in 2009, and Canada was done by the end of 2012. If you did try connecting an analog antenna in those countries, all you’d get is static.
Over-the-air broadcasts still exist, it’s just that they’re digitally encoded. The latest standard is something called NextGen TV, also known as ATSC 3.0. This is advanced enough to handle features like 4K, HDR, and 8K, although many stations still broadcast at lower resolutions like 720p or 1080p. It’s doubtful that you’ll ever run into an 8K station — compatible TVs have failed to catch on, since major streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ don’t have anything to watch at that resolution. There’s little practical difference versus 4K for a screen that can fit in your living room, anyway.
Long-term, even ATSC broadcasts might disappear. Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite networks like Starlink have made it possible for the most isolated regions to get internet access. That does come with a fee, however, unlike the towers pumping out ATSC signals.
Pre-2002 game consoles
Conversion tech to the rescue
When I was a kid, video games were still pigeonholed as something for kids, teens, and adult nerds. Now, though, entire generations have grown up on PCs and game consoles. Us older types sometimes want to hook up retro consoles for the sake of nostalgia; younger people, meanwhile, get a kick out of playing exploring games the way they used to be.
Many old consoles remain functional, but predate HDMI, which debuted in 2002. That means that even something like a Nintendo GameCube or Sony PlayStation 2 is going to need an adapter at least.
I say “at least” because realistically, a basic HDMI adapter is going to produce terrible results. Graphics will be muddy, if they appear at all, and that’s just the beginning of the visual obstacles you can run into. Console and game makers alike could only design for the hardware they had available, and sometimes resorted to strange tricks to push the limits.
If you’re serious about retro gaming, you’ll want to pick up a specialized converter that can not only upscale old games with minimal lag, but clean them up for those higher resolutions. The gold standard in this arena is RetroTINK — but if that company’s prices are eye-watering, there are cheaper alternatives out there. Just be sure you’re picking up something that’s specifically compatible with a console’s video format, and can upscale to a sharpness you find acceptable.
Analog speaker systems
Not worth the hassle
Strictly speaking, there’s a good chance you can connect your analog speakers directly to a new TV. 3.5mm ports continue to hang around, despite the fact that most TV speakers are now designed for HDMI or optical. The real question is whether it’s worth the effort.
There are a variety of issues at play. If you’ve been blessed with an old surround-sound system based on tech like Dolby Pro Logic, you’re going to need a compatible receiver if you don’t already have one. Should there be no 3.5mm jack on your TV, you’re going to need a digital-to-analog converter that can bridge optical or HDMI ARC with RCA. Even a dead-simple 3.5mm stereo setup can have problems, including control. Your TV’s main remote won’t be enough — you’ll need to do some occasional knob twisting or grab a dedicated remote.
You can make an analog system work, but if it involves buying extra gear, it might be worth putting the money towards a Dolby Atmos soundbar instead.
The overriding concerns are fidelity and formats. Most movies and shows are mixed for newer all-digital standards. With analog speakers, you’ll never hear these digital mixes the way they were intended, particularly when it comes to clarity. There’s also the risk of quality being made worse by noise, distortion, and interference that digital speakers don’t suffer from. You can make an analog system work, to be sure — but if it involves buying extra gear, it might be worth putting the money towards a Dolby Atmos soundbar instead.
