What monitor should I choose for a new arcade project?

[riciah23]

Hello everyone:
I am new is this world of Arcade  and I want to build my own arcade machine but I do not know what monitor to use, I have read about it but Everytime I do it I get more confuse I know that arcade monitors are the best but I check they are expensive and difficult to set up so I have 3 options CTR TV , LED TV  and PC monitor
My questions:
Which is better??
If CTR is better  what is better with S vid input or RGA ? And how can I plug in from my PC with VGA output? And I have to install a ArcadeVga video board?
If LED is better I can just plug in VGA to VGA ? or I need the arcade VGA video ?
 If pc monitor is better  should I do the same as LED TV

My Samsung TV  has RGA plug in is there any convertor from VGA to RGA??
I have to play no just Mame games I want to play N64 play station 1

thanks

[rackoon]

12 years ago I used crt but man led flatscreens make life sooooo easy

there are programs that can give you scan  lines on lcds if you are looking for true to life

[markc74]

Where are you based? If you're in Europe then you can probably get a tb with scart input that is the next best thing to an arcade monitor (like you remember it!). That's your best option but if you're ok with an LCD then look for a 4:3 (or likely 5:4) monitor. Most arcades in the day used 19" monitor so if you're sticking with classics then that will do ya.

If u wanna play modern games then others can chip in. I'm crt all the way

[Mike A]

Classic arcade games look like garbage on an LCD.

[lisowskikevin]

Such a good question......simply put LCD is the easier route. BUT....that being said I used an old flat screen Sony trinitron tv that although is a lot heavier and not as easy to connect as an LCD screen, displays games in the way that I remember them.

LCD screens look too weird and I find when I play games on them that they just look too crisp and not authentic. I know that a tv isn't authentic but it does the job a lot better than LCD. My cab had to be built a lot more heavy duty to support the size and weight of the tv.

Basically it's your arcade machine and if you don't mind he look of games on an LCD screen then go for it. Your video card will be your method of connecting your display to your pc and there are a tonne of options. I used an s-video, video card connected directly to my tv and bam I love it.

If you don't need a large screen than an easy solution would be to just use an old CRT computer monitor. Again just connect to pc and you are good. I just wanted to avoid adapters and other a/v decoders.

[Ian]

I use arcade monitors CRTs... but they are a ---smurfette--- to find these days. I usually scope out Craigslist for a sorry looking/terrible arcade games that are broken. I got my arcade monitor out of a broken down Fishing arcade game... you know the one with the fishing pole for a joystick? Yeah that thing was in shambles but the screen had no burn and a great picture. Sold $40.

[Ian]

And they are not hard to install.... don't let them fool you. Just a connector to the computer and power. That's it (some older ones need a iso).

[Laythe]

Classic arcade games look like garbage on an LCD.

I'm going to disagree with Mike A here.

Some LCD panels make everything look like smeary garbage.  Upscaling a classic arcade game into big bilinear-filtered pixels looks bad.

Scanlines help a lot.  I'm happy with how I've gotten things to look with a PC driving a good LCD panel with tweaked layout files. 

It's not the same as a CRT, but it's not the mess that plugging a 60-in-1 straight into an LCD gives you.


The odds are overwhelmingly high that you are probably reading this forum on an LCD panel right now.  See if this looks like garbage on it:
Example Image

(Make sure you aren't scaling it.  View it at 100% zoom, pixel for pixel, not blown up to full screen or scaled down to fit.)

If you hate it, then yeah, you should hunt down a CRT.   If you like it, then I posit that an LCD can be made to look pretty good...  just, not without effort.

[Mike A]

That image looks like garbage when compared to a CRT. On its own it looks fine. If you end up using an LCD at least get a 4:3 panel. I understand that LCDs are easier to deal with. This is a hobby. Go the extra mile.

[harry.gloth]

I'm just not a LCD guy, but they can look really nice...

The thing with me is I remember them looking a certain way from the arcades when I was a kid. So for me it looses something.


This is an electrohome GO7 cbo in my zoo keeper, which is FPGA. Its a conversion, its not the real the deal but it would be hard to tell. Your not going to get the authenticity of a CRT monitor if this is the look your looking for.

I have yet to find the deep black, with Color intensity and purity unless it came from a CRT

I worked really really hard to get the monitors of my games to look nice. And you i just haven't been able to match that with an LCD.

This is just my humble opinion.
I will say this, you have to work to get results from the CRT, there is no plug and play, and there's hours of investment and I think that's why some people just don't have the time don't have the knowledge and just don't want to fiddle with it

these are all monitors that I've built some that I've built from scratch from my own personal collection

My zoo keeper




Electrohome CBO Go7

My robotron oddly enough

Sanyo 20 ez




And my Qbert

wells Gardner 4900



I totally think that LCDs have there place, I hope that the technology comes along for us classic arcade guys, but i dont think anybody cares but us...

Heres a play threw on my zoo keeper I did after I built it, I talk about some of the mods that I did to it.. but check out the strobes levels in this video, I just don't know if you can imitate that with LCD... Id like to see if it can be done thou!

[paigeoliver]

The go to budget monitor choice it to find a 21" CRT PC monitor. These still pop up all the time for 25 to 50.

[SuperGojira2001]

Unless if this going to be a small cabinet or bartop, always go for a CRT! They definitely look much better, using a LCD just isn't the same. Using an arcade monitor would be the best choice, but they are a lot work and might be expensive. If you don't want to bother working on a CRT or don't have the money for one, I would use a TV or PC CRT which you can easily find for free.

[lisowskikevin]

Also depends how large of a screen you are looking for, I went with a 27" TV because I couldn't find a CRT computer monitor that big. I didn't want to tinker with an actual arcade monitor although I know that would be authentic. I didn't even have to decase my TV, I just built my cabinet around it. I think I paid $25 for the TV as well.

So bottom line there are many options and I personally found that LCD's weren't right for me.

[DrakeTungsten]

The go to budget monitor choice it to find a 21" CRT PC monitor. These still pop up all the time for 25 to 50.

Do 21" CRT PC monitors require high-end, for lack of a better term, VGA cables? I bought a used 21" (I think, it was definitely larger than 19") years ago, and my research on them at the time suggested that a heavy duty VGA cable was needed for that size monitor, which I dutifully picked up. I never tried it without the cable I bought for it, and it's not hooked up now for me to test, but that might be a consideration for folks considering large PC CRTs.

[paigeoliver]

The go to budget monitor choice it to find a 21" CRT PC monitor. These still pop up all the time for 25 to 50.

Do 21" CRT PC monitors require high-end, for lack of a better term, VGA cables? I bought a used 21" (I think, it was definitely larger than 19") years ago, and my research on them at the time suggested that a heavy duty VGA cable was needed for that size monitor, which I dutifully picked up. I never tried it without the cable I bought for it, and it's not hooked up now for me to test, but that might be a consideration for folks considering large PC CRTs.

That is simply not the case at all, sounds like something someone at Best Buy would tell you to get you to buy an expensive cable. 9 times out of 10 the monitor is going to come with the cable, or it will be integrated anyway.

There could possibly be an issue with super old cables from before 1993 or so, but that issue wouldn't actually be related to monitor size so much as it would be to resolution and refresh rates. In any case you would be running 640x480 locked to 60hz anyway so even that wouldn't be an issue.

[n3wt0n]

The go to budget monitor choice it to find a 21" CRT PC monitor. These still pop up all the time for 25 to 50.

Do 21" CRT PC monitors require high-end, for lack of a better term, VGA cables? I bought a used 21" (I think, it was definitely larger than 19") years ago, and my research on them at the time suggested that a heavy duty VGA cable was needed for that size monitor, which I dutifully picked up. I never tried it without the cable I bought for it, and it's not hooked up now for me to test, but that might be a consideration for folks considering large PC CRTs.

Paige is right, I am using a viewsonic 21" CRT in my mame cab and it isn't a special cable or even heavy duty. It appears to be just a regular VGA cable.

[pbj]

This PC CRT crap needs to stop.  They're bulky, heavy, and not good for anything besides attaching to a PC.  The dot pitch looks weird and the dim image is nothing like a CGA monitor.  I've got two cabinets running them and I'm praying they die so I can put something else in there.

[n3wt0n]

You're right that they are bulky and heavy but mine is plenty bright. I actually think that in my next build I may try using a LCD TV so that I can have an honest try at making it look good and then decide for myself which I prefer. I can say that despite the weight and size I do like seeing the old monitor in the cab when I play and when it's just sitting there. Call it nostalgia or whatever you want but it just feels right. Take what you will from that but it's my opinion on the CRT or GTFO debate. 

[keilmillerjr]

I will never use an LCD for anything other than computing. All my tv's and arcade is CRT. Mame looks pretty good with crt-geom shader, but still can't replicate what a crt looks like. The two nicest features of crt is the actual glass and the fact that it has amazing view angle without the picture fading. I love my living room tv. I switched back to crt so I can be in kitchen cooking and still see the tv. It has built in surround sound that is amazing. I just need to fix the component jacks and previous and first owner broke them being ruff with cables I assume.

[Smoke-Inator]

Love the diverse responses here...
My thoughts, get what you can find and afford and don't let it slow you down from enjoying the hobby. You can always change it up afterwards.

I have both, an arcade monitor and an LCD.

The arcade monitor is the best choice for the classic stuff from the 80's.
It takes a while to dial in the picture and can be a headache when it comes to long term maintenance with cap kits etc.

I've looked at TV's and computer monitors and didn't want the weight and hassle of adding adapter after adapter to get the picture i wanted.

My LCD is a Dell 20" 4:3, its light easily hooked up to anything and its cheep...Add a scan line generator and you have the feel of an arcade monitor.
LCD + scan line generator and I'm still under $100.
The viewing angle is great so it can go into a tabletop easily and its small enough to go into a bar top.
I forget the site to get old LCD's from with a discount code but its here easily searched.
When i chose my dell (2001FP i think was the model number) it was the best choice at the time for the $$.

I put them side by side yesterday and you can tell the difference but in the end its your baby.

I keep the LCD and SLG connected to a raspberry pi and a control panel box made from scrap sitting on my desk at home.
Very handy for dorking around, tweaking settings, and focusing on the software side of the build.

[05SRT4]

Curved 4k, nothing less

[05SRT4]

Just Kidding,

I have some with CRT TV's, I have some with LCD's. The LCD's were easier to deal with and install. Not once has anyone at my place ever said, "Hey, this doesn't look the same as the original."

[keilmillerjr]

Just Kidding,

I have some with CRT TV's, I have some with LCD's. The LCD's were easier to deal with and install. Not once has anyone at my place ever said, "Hey, this doesn't look the same as the original."

With certain games they will notice it. I fall in pits every time playing Super MARIO on LCD. Your zapper won't work as well.

[lettuce]

Well LCD displays have a lot more pros going for it than CRT (lighter, narrower, perfect alignment etc) but CRT gives that perfect authentic arcade look and movement. Next years LCD screen will add another feather in its cap with the new HDMI standard that will bring the Free Sync/G-Sync technology to all LCD displays supporting the new HDMI standard so this will eradicate one flaw of using an LCD over a CRT, smooth movement.

What with the improvements of scanline crt shaders and the use of HDR, 4K resolutions and Free Sync technology the LCD standard is becoming more and more appealing as the years go on, if you have access to a CRT and are not worried about the size and weight that this will bring to your protect then go with CRT but i guess your only delaying the inevitable and one day that CRT will die and you'll have no choice but to go with LCD.

On a side note, the best way to get around the incorrect aspect rations that LCD screen bring (4:3 v 16:9) is to make sure you get an LCD that has good viewing angles 172° or higher and install the screen vertically in your cab, that way you get to keep the the correct form factor of your cab without having to have it super wide to house the LCD screen, i think a 32" lcd screen when installed vertically will give you a 24" display screen size so ideal for a arcade cab

[yotsuya]

CRT or GTFO. PBJ is FOS.

[eds1275]

I used a 32" lcd tv. It looks good enough (I just want to play the damn games) and built in speakers saved me the trouble of messing around with some aftermarket lo fi garbage trying to recreate the perfect mono bleeps and blips.