I was wondering this since our systems are getting so old now.
I have a setup with a Sharp CRT, with my 7800 and ps1 hooked to it. Its in my office so I play it on lunch breaks and after work, usually not for more than 1 hour sessions on weekdays.
My question is (mainly for the crt) is that ok to be powering it off and on like that? I also have everything on a power strip with a switch that I turn off so the wall warts etc aren’t wasting power when not in use.
Yes always turn off CRT’s when idle. They (typically) have no sleep mode like a LCD does, when they are on the tube is firing and all the capacitors are charged regardless of display input.
But is the constant on and off bad?
They will wear faster being on (accumulating capacitor and electron gun power-on hours) than they do turning on and off. They are not like a hard drive where there are mechanical components that wear faster during start and warmup, they are primarily solid state electronics that care only about power on hours.