Arcade Monitor 800x600 questions

[Toadie]

Hey there,

I'm hoping someone can help me with expectations on an arcade monitor.  Yesterday I got a 27" MakvisionWeiya Arcade Monitor 800x600 and I have it set up and running.  Resolution is 800 x 600 at 60HZ.  The picture quality though is really kind of poor especially around the edges.  I was told this was comparable to the Wells Gardner but I've never worked with one before so I don't know what to expect.

[wp34]

I had a similar question about my D9800 last year.  Some good explanations here as to why you are seeing that here -

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,122534.msg1300838.html#msg1300838

[mamenewb100]

That's normal because all crt monitors are coarser around the edge. Also the higher the resolution you use, the more it magnifies the blurry edges. Plus being that the Makvision is a flattube, it tends to look blurrier in the corners than a curved tube because the beam has a hard time hitting those extreme angles.

[Toadie]

Thanks I'll take a look at that thread.

How does one define what is normal in terms of blurriness?  I can barely read the start bar in win xp... normal?

[MonMotha]

In addition to the corners normally being blurrier than the center due to tube and deflection properties, also bear in mind that the tubes used in arcade monitors are more similar to TV tubes than computer monitor tubes.  As such, they have fairly coarse dot pitch overall and are not intended to resolve particularly fine detail like single pixel wide lines at 800x600.  They do, however, make graphics designed with their constraints in mind look gorgeous, whereas they'd tend to look jaggy or "coarse" on PC monitor tubes.

That said, bring up a grid pattern and take a GOOD picture of it (do NOT use your cell phone, and make sure the focus on the picture is right).  A picture is worth 1000 words when diagnosing things like this.  There are some adjustments that can be tweaked, but it's probably not worth it.  In particular, convergence in the corners tends to be suspect on any CRT monitor.  This is very obviously different from other forms of "blurriness" to a trained eye, but most people can't describe it unless they know what to look for.

[Toadie]

ah... good thread.  I must love the real arcade feel more than the money it took to buy that monitor 


Thanks MonMontha I'll try that.  I'm out of town for the next week but I'll give it a shot.  Is there an easy way to call up a grid pattern that you know of?

[wesbrown18]

Thanks MonMontha I'll try that.  I'm out of town for the next week but I'll give it a shot.  Is there an easy way to call up a grid pattern that you know of?

Load a Capcom game such as Street Fighter 2, and throw the dip switch for the TEST/DEBUG mode.

[Gray_Area]

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