I have an interesting Monitor question I hope you guys can help me with.

[paulwgraber]

So here is the situation. I am designing a game room which will include dolby atmos with a Sony 70" OLED for my modern systems,  an arcade retro Cab which I am currently building, and an old MAC G4 and C64 and a space for my classic systems such as atari.  Space is somewhat limited. I currently Have a Toshiba 36" tube TV which I am planning to use for my Classic stuff. However, I would much rather ditch the toshiba and use the Makivision 29" CRT in the arcade cab. I know I can emulate the classic stuff but I would rather hook my classic systems up to a plug in of sorts in the cab using the original system and there controllers. This would save a ton of space and kill two birds at once. Is this doable?

[buttersoft]

My advice would be don't throw out the Toshiba, the Makvision probably has a life expectancy of three years.

It could be done as you suggest. But. If the Makvision is 15kHz or 15kHz-multisync, it will take RGBS or perhaps VGA. A lot of 4th to 6th gen consoles output RGBS, but some don't, and older ones like the Atari don't, and neither does the C64. You'll need ways to get them to ouput RGB (mod boards like viletim does) or to convert whatever they do output into RGBS. You'll need to sit down and work out what the best way to do these conversions is, then how functional a complete setup is going to be.

If the Makvision isn't 15kHz you'd need to upscale to 480p on top of all the above, and there's probably some extron unit you can add to the chain to do that along with the signal conversion.

[paulwgraber]

You mean I paid $400 for a brand new Makivision that is going to die in 3 years? Thats good to know.

[buttersoft]

You mean I paid $400 for a brand new Makivision that is going to die in 3 years? Thats good to know.

3 years might be a bit alarmist, but they're not meant to be very reliable. Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings.

[paulwgraber]

So should I just sell the Makivision then and just say the hell with and go LCD? I was really trying to keep it authentic.

Any other options in your opinion?

[buttersoft]

Well, the makvision isn't dead until it's dead, it might last for years, but i wouldn't throw away the Toshiba.  But if you want to stick with CRT, as i personally would go to a lot of effort to, you might think about:

1. Getting a decent 1:1 SCART-to-component converter to feed the toshiba, and move the toshiba into the cabinet. If it has component inputs. If not, think about getting a TV with SCART or compoent inputs, that way you get the best quality image. And anything that takes component will take S-Video for the C64 and composite or RF for whatever else.
2. Hacking RGB into the Toshiba, then using S-Video and composite and RF as above. There's a good thread on RGB hacking on the Shmups forums, i'd recommend reading the first page, then going to the end of the thread and working backwards until you understand enough to start you looking for the information you need.
3. Hunting down a 20" PVM.
4. Getting a decent used arcade monitor, preferably a Nanao, though this still leaves the problem of getting any signal other than RGBS into it.