Mortal Kombat LCD Monitor

[tomcoleman]

I'm building a replica mortal kombat 2 arcade machine which will based off Mame so i can use all the MK roms.

I did purchase a Dell 2007fp which holding in the gap where the screen with go is WAY to small.

I know the orginal MK used to have a 25" screen but a 25" screen in 4:3 LCD doesnt exsit these days.

So my question is what screen do i purchase my head is about to explode ive had so many recommendations and different issues (g-sync,freesync,widescreen, vision pro 26" etc)

I'm TOTALLY confused on what screen would be best for my setup, i saw the video online of the guy running the Vision Pro 26" on his MK mame cabinet and it looks sweet, problem is im in the UK and cant find this anywhere also i think it used PIN outs etc as opposed to standard VGA connectors/HDMI etc.

Please help me with simple answers as to which is the best screen to get!!

I have also been recommened the xb270hu

I know CRT is the holy grail but these are like GOLD dust also i would need one with a VGA adaptor i guess then there is CGA which just blows my mind.

[Titchgamer]

Well there are a few options available to you.

1) use a slightly smaller monitor like a 22/24" and put a bezel around it.

2) find a old CRT the right size (or do as above) which you have the room to do in that cabinet.

3) use a bigger screen and cut the hole to suit or adjust the settings so it shows as a 25" 4:3 screen on a larger monitor.

Also look for local IT recyleing places, you will be amazed what some of them have!!

[DeLuSioNal29]

CRT or GTFO.     Especially if you are building a "replica". 
Personally, I'd go with a 25" TV over an LCD any day of the week.   

However, if you are still stuck on the LCD idea, people have converted Midway cabinets to widescreen LCD machines.  But those were "specialty machines" which catered to the MK9, MKX and Injustice widescreen games.

Here's some more info on how user "YourMKArcadeSource" first built his MKX machine with a CRT and then converted it to a widescreen LCD.
http://forums.shoryuken.com/discussion/196220/mortal-kombat-x-arcade-machine

DeL

[Mike A]

CRT TVs in that size are still plentiful. My mom had two about that size in her basement. I took both of them. I use one for my NES, Intellivision, and Pong consoles. The other is going to get thrown in a scratch built arcade cabinet. One of my friends has 3 good CRTs of varying sizes. They are all over Craigslist for cheap or free.

[SuperGojira2001]

I agree with the guys above, get a CRT TV if you can't find an arcade monitor.

[paigeoliver]

I would actually go with a 27" CRT it seems like they are a little easier to find loose. Every time an operator smashes an old Golden Tee a 27" monitor falls out of it.

Even with no contacts you can be into a rebuilt 25" for around $200. Buffett sells rebuilt K7000 chassis for $165. Finding the tube and frame to go with it is trivial, I have trashed at least 30 monitors with no chassis over the past 5 years because I usually can't even give them away.

[Oddfeld]

Since you're in the UK, definitely go with an old CRT TV, since over here they all had RGB SCART connectors, so if you hook the pins up the right way you basically have an arcade monitor that can do 15kHz CGA and everything.

[lilshawn]

be warned in advance that some of the first couple versions of mortal kombat used a weird resolution (400x254@53.2hz refresh) that may not fit your chosen screen properly. normally not an issue with arcade monitors because it simply just gets the vertical size tweaked... not so much with LCD and frame convertors which requires a full frame buffered into memory before displaying it. be sure to test and possibly account for this if you plan to mask off a widescreen or run at native resolution on a TV type CRT screen with a convertor or cable mod.

[lettuce]

I would suggest getting a 42" LCD (i think that will fit inside you cab) and mounting it vertically in the cab, that way you can get the full 25" screen display without having to mod the cab to fit the screen

A bigger issue is the movement of the game, load it up on your PC now and watch the character avatars scroll on the sides of the 'insert coin' screen, due to the arcade game running 54hz (i think) and an all non Quick/Free sync monitors running at set refresh rates (50,60,1200,144hz etc) the game will run slightly faster and not as smoothly as original hardware

[voltz]

I was watching one of the guys I subscribe to on YT about using G-sync monitors and that they're able to run exactly 1:1 to the refresh rate that's being output by the graphics card.  This would perfect for specific games that run on oddball timings without causing issues.

[SuperGojira2001]

I was watching one of the guys I subscribe to on YT about using G-sync monitors and that they're able to run exactly 1:1 to the refresh rate that's being output by the graphics card.  This would perfect for specific games that run on oddball timings without causing issues.

G-Sync monitors are super expensive though, probably more expensive than an arcade monitor!

[Mike A]

CRT TV. They are free.

[voltz]

I was watching one of the guys I subscribe to on YT about using G-sync monitors and that they're able to run exactly 1:1 to the refresh rate that's being output by the graphics card.  This would perfect for specific games that run on oddball timings without causing issues.

G-Sync monitors are super expensive though, probably more expensive than an arcade monitor!

Well then on second thought that isn't such a great idea.

Since keeping the speed up without stutter is a big issue, the one other solution I used to try was setting up custom resolutions with different refresh timings.  On panels I don't know if you have much leeway, but it's certainly worth keeping in mind and you'll want to do testing to get it as close to the original's speed as possible.