I have used many CRTs - Commodore 1084S's of various models, Philips CM 8833 mk 1 & 2,
Today I am using a Amiga M1438S - for many at one point the holy grail of Amiga monitors along with its 17" bigger brother ( cannot remember the model number but would still love one)/
It is multisync but to my disappointment it is not anti-flicker, so for the nice interlaced modes I guess I will need to get a flickerfixer for it.
With regards to the high pitched sound - I think I know what you mean.
I would not really describe it as a squeal though, it is unfortunately the noise CRT displays make. Your family have probably forgotten but 20-25 years ago their TV's would have made exactly the same noise.
It is quiet and you do get used to it.
Out of all of the displays I have used - the top one for gaming hands down has to be the Philips CM 8833 mark 1.
The mark 2 is fine if you cannot get hold of a mark 1.
But the mark 1 - boy oh boy - the games look sure fantastic. The colours POP and look really vibrant. Amiga games really shine on this kind of display.
An advantage of the mark 1 over the mark 2 is you have SCART connectivity in the back - so if you like you can get a splitter and use it for several retro devices. I used a PlayStation and a Dreamcast with one for a while and it worked great. Do look out for common problems with them though - power switch failure is very common and the speakers tend to go on them.
If you are doing serious stuff with your Amiga then probably not the best choice - you would be better off with a 1438 or one of the higher specced Microvitec/Amiga badged monitors if you can find one, they are pretty rare now.
The Commodore monitors are okay - but not a patch on the Philips.I suspect the main reason a lot of people get them is for the name "COMMODORE" on it. Which makes sense I guess.
If you can find a multisync Commodore monitor that may be good, but I have never used one.
I agree with Brian Hoskins about getting a proper monitor.
You will see an increase in sharpness and image quality comparable to RF lead > Scart.
Games suck on LCD screens. I had one for a while with the Indivision flickerfixer.
Sure, Workbench looked nice with the non-flicker interlace modes, but the horrible artifacts, jagged edges on the games looked terrible which becomes more apparent if you have a CRT available and compare the difference.
The old games wer designed and programmed on CRT's and thus look best on them.
There is the problem of them getting old now - which is a shame, but I will keep using mine for as long as I can.
A good Amiga compatible CRT monitor thankfully does come up on sites like eBay from time to time, at least in the UK.
And Amibay may be worth a shot too. I managed to get a good deal on a 1084S a couple of years back which was cheaper than eBay and that included shipping from the Netherlands.
Anyway I will stop rambling. I hope you enjoy your new TV, but do consider a dedicated monitor if it goes kaput.
Spud
