Sharp 27SC260

June 2006, the end of the road for CRTs. This is what CRT looked like right before people stopped caring.

Not a Trinitron.
Not a PVM.
No aperture grille.
No prestige.

Just a regular 27-inch Sharp that some family bought, used, and forgot. I swear to GOD this exact TV was in my grandma's basement....just black plastic. Everyone who shopped at Wall-mart and wanted a solid tube purchased this thing.

AND BY GOD IS THIS A FANTASTIC TV

Listen, there is a weird stigma that in this niche community of CRT enthusiasts like myself that we all need to hunt for the.......TRINITRON. Why? Some Youtube bro told you to? In terms of a CONSUMER NTSC shadowmask tube this has to be placed in S tier for a Retro Gamer. This was never supposed to be special. It wasn’t marketed that way. It wasn’t priced that way.
Nobody hunted for these.

And yet:

It does everything right!

So let's talk about her.


I brought this girl home after work and I was blown away at how light and easy to carry she was. I figured I had landed a run of the mill beater from someone's living room. I was surprised with how clean and well taken care of this tube was, almost a barn find.

From the moment I powered it on this TV did NOT cease to amaze me. It gave my Trinitrons a run for their money, so much so I considered moving it into the game room. Also, super cool note: This set has an ATSC tuner built in, so it can still receive modern digital OTA broadcasting! This tube was SHARP… litterally with 240p Zelda looked INSANE coming from my SNES. I tested this TV thoroughly with 

RGB SCART SNES → RetroTink RGB2COMP → Component
Modded Wii → 240p Test Suite over component (real 240p)

PERFECT just perfect. This is the final boss of shadowmask tubes. My Verdict? Grab one if you can. I had to rehome this girl for space but I know I should have kept her. If you see one for a good price and your wife is willing to let you bring this in the house…DO NOT HESITATE. If it’s clean like this one was, you are NOT missing out on anything a consumer Trinitron brings to the table… unless you are absolutely obsessed with perfection.
And even then, you’re splitting hairs.
PLEASE look at the gallery photos and you will see what I mean. 

I rate this tube a 7.8/10

I might be underselling this tube with that rating but I have to leave room for my future finds!