Mame64 resolutions

[nexus446]

Hi, Im hoping someone can help? I currently have mame 64Ui  running on XP64 with ArcadeVGA3000 on a 29" Sony (TV) via RGB scart and it displays windows and mame ok using the ArcadeVGA XP64 drivers, I have set MAME up as per instruction with the DirectDraw, etc as per Ultimarc set up.  I am using rom set .137 and my problem is with the resolution and Refresh setting set to AUTO when starting a game I just get a black screen as if the monitor is going out of range? if I run the game in a window and note the resolution on start up screen, then manually select a resolution close or the same as the native game resolution and run in full screen all is ok, my question is do I have to manually select a resolution for all 8000+ games or is there a simple method or am I overlooking something simple here??

I also note that if I select the auto reolution setting I can not then manually select a refresh rate other than AUTO, Im unsure if my monitor can display all the options in the refresh setting so it might be a refresh issue too? I have heard of resolution tools but I cannot find one that is compatible with MAME64Ui?

any ideas? 

[ahofle]

Do you have switchres set to 1?  Auto should work fine as long as you have all the low resolutions listed in windows.

[nexus446]

Yes, I have the switch resolution box checked, I have a huge list of resolutions if I click on the galaga icon so I'm guessing it's ok there? It is ok if I manually select a resolution though and this is throwing me?

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

To help isolate where the issue is, have you tried going through all those resolutions manually via quickres (the galaga icon) and ensure that windows will display properly in them? No use digging through MAME if the problem is the monitor itself.

[nexus446]

Ill give it a try, are there any which I should stay away from such as higher than the TV will display? I dont know the max resolution but guess its CGA resolution? I remember when I first installed the ArcadeVGA and selected a resolution just to see if it would change I got the same Black screen...hmmm, thanks for reminding me, but I remember I did not also recall the resolution I selected so it may have been too high anyway? (I was too exited about actually getting my homemade scart-VGA cable working!)    I had to reinstall the drivers for the Arcade VGA and CAT control to get the screen back as I thought maybe it would be like windows and revert back in 15 secs if not confirmed....alas it didnt! is there any way to recover from a non supported resolution? Im guessing it will be the windows enviroment that changes when selecting a different resolution via the Galaga icon? can I disable any unsupported resolutions?
Many thanks and sorry for all the questions.

[nexus446]

Ok I have tried the resolutions in windows from the galaga utility and basically the only ones that work are the supported ones as listed on the ultimarc site such as 800x600, 640x480, 640x288 NON INTERLACED does not work, 1024x768 Pan does work. 
In mame64Ui version .137 I think all settings are correct and I have tried them in the default game options and the actual Game properties, the problem seems to be with the auto setting in the resolution select because if I leave it on auto as soon as the game starts to load the screen goes black, if I manually select the correct resolution for the game, or close if the correct one is not listed then it loads up great and looks fantastic! I have started trying my favorite games to see how they look but its a right pain having to go into each game properties and manually select the correct resolution! Has anyone else had this issue?

Also I note that with manual resolution selected there is only 59hz refresh available  in refresh option box,(Im guessing my TV refresh rate) with auto resolution selected I note there is 59,57,53 (and another I cant remember) but as soon as I select one to try it defaults back to auto refresh before i can apply it, Im thinking possibly maybe that MAME is selecting the wrong refresh rate for my TV when auto resolution is applied? if I could force 59hz in auto I think it would solve my problems but I dont know how I can test this theory? 

The things I thought would be simple with this build are proving to be the most difficult Before when I was playing around with MAME on the normal PC on a LCD it seemed so simple to put the guts in a cabinet and play, but when you factor in the arcade VGA 15khz, VGA-scart hook up, TV resolutions, overscan and correct pixel ratios and resolutions,front ends etc it becomes much much MUCH more complex for a newbie like me LOL.  Im getting there but its a journey! 

[LeedsFan]

I don't know if this will help but you could try making a .ini file for each game with the correct resolution. In fact I think there is a utility that scans through all your Mame games and creates a resolution .ini file for each game

[nexus446]

I don't know if this will help but you could try making a .ini file for each game with the correct resolution. In fact I think there is a utility that scans through all your Mame games and creates a resolution .ini file for each game

Cheers leedsfan, I know there are a few utilitys out there (AVres etc)but I cant find one that is compatible with 64bit XP? Im sure it can be modded but thats more work and I would prefer one that runs straight from box so to speak 

I could create an ini file I guess but that is more work that setting each resolution manually as there are 8000+ roms (I know I will only play a handfull of them) but it would be nice to just open a rom and play as it was on the 32bit system i had running on normal PC LCD, (didnt look as good as 15khz Arcade VGA on low res CGA monitor though! hence the cabinet project!)

Your not too far from me also as Im in Rotherham so maybe one day we could meet up and share ideas etc as there isnt too many MAME fans in this area ive found?

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

In what way are the res tools not running? 32bit apps run just fine on xp64.

[nexus446]

To be honest I have not tried any resolution apps simply because I assumed they would be for 32 bit builds only of mame? Can any one suggest one and a link to it?
Thanks

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

They just generate ini files. Those are the same across all versions.

[LeedsFan]

To be honest I have not tried any resolution apps simply because I assumed they would be for 32 bit builds only of mame? Can any one suggest one and a link to it?
Thanks

I used one by Gavin Benson. You can download it from Ultimarc's website here....
http://www.ultimarc.com/avgainst.html

Just scroll down the page to "Auto Resolution Utilities"