Anyone ever use a bigger LCD vertically to bump up horizontal screen size?

[Guywiththegun]

I can't believe there still isn't a good solution to get standard horizontal games up above 23" inches or so, without going the arcade monitor route. I toyed with getting a monitor, actually, but it looks like the technology is officially out of production so I don't want to be trapped with something that will eventually be dead altogether, with prices and maintenance skyrocketing.

I've got a Dig Dug/Kangaroo cab which I'm locked into, so I've got no more than 23.5" width to work with.

I'm thinking about replacing my 16:10 26" monitor (which gives me a 23" 4:3 display), with a 43" LCD, mounted vertically. This will give me a 4:3 size of about 27". I believe the overall size would be similar to the glass of the cab, so fitting shouldn't be an issue.

Thoughts? Is this doable or am I insane?

[Arroyo]

Been done plenty of times:

Mimic - by Laythe

Marvel vs Capcom 2.0 - by Maximus

A couple of examples.

[Howard_Casto]

It used to be more difficult than it is now because video cards and operating systems didn't support natively rotated displays that well, but now that any video card will let you rotate at the desktop, it's pretty easy.  You might run into compatibility issues with certain frontends or games/emulators that actually run in windowed mode though.   

[Guywiththegun]

Awesome! Thank you both. Those examples are exactly what I had in mind. Guess I'm in the market for a 46" TV.

[Arroyo]

One thing to note is, I believe most people said you have to have an analog video signal (at least on Nividia cards?) to move the screen position around software wise.  So if you need flexibility in position that’s something to keep in mind.  Someone with more experience can confirm but that’s what I had read.

[Howard_Casto]

Yeah if you want to save yourself a headache the screen needs to be centered vertically, even though you'll lose a lot of screen that could be used for other things, like a marquee, ect. 

[JDFan]

Awesome! Thank you both. Those examples are exactly what I had in mind. Guess I'm in the market for a 46" TV.

BE sure to check the viewing angle from above and below - If mounting sideways many of the cheaper screens have decent left to right viewing angle but not very good top and bottom - so having it mounted sideways tends to result in poor viewing unless you are right in front of the screen.

[Mr. Peabody]

It used to be more difficult than it is now because video cards and operating systems didn't support natively rotated displays that well, but now that any video card will let you rotate at the desktop, it's pretty easy.  You might run into compatibility issues with certain frontends or games/emulators that actually run in windowed mode though.   

I think most cards from 97 or 8 onward allow rotation of standard VESA modes.

[keilmillerjr]

Crt’s value is skyrocketing so much i gave one away for free yesterday.

[Gilrock]

Yeah I followed the idea from Maximus.  I used a 50" Samsung turned sideways and I setup a 1080x1080 custom screen size in the nVidia driver.  It allows plenty of space to display a full size bezel around the games.

[Malenko]

This count?
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,97260.msg1025567.html

[Guywiththegun]

Yeah I followed the idea from Maximus.  I used a 50" Samsung turned sideways and I setup a 1080x1080 custom screen size in the nVidia driver.  It allows plenty of space to display a full size bezel around the games.

Looks sweet! Did you mount it centered vertically or did you mess around with VGA controls to get the visible screen higher up? I'm out of luck with a 43" centered. The cab is just not tall enough in relation to the CP. I'm losing like 4" below the CP. I could go with a 4:3 picture and maaaybe edge it out.

[Gilrock]

I designed the cab around the TV so the picture is centered vertically.

[Laythe]

I also designed my cab around the TV and centered the display portion.

[Mr. Peabody]

Crt’s value is skyrocketing so much i gave one away for free yesterday.

You haven't looked on ebay. And they're selling.

This count?
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,97260.msg1025567.html

Neat.

[Gilrock]

You haven't looked on ebay. And they're selling.

It was just me buying them all.

[keilmillerjr]

Crt’s value is skyrocketing so much i gave one away for free yesterday.

You haven't looked on ebay. And they're selling.

This count?
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,97260.msg1025567.html

Neat.

 

People will list anything for any price on ebay. You havent checked facebook marletplace, Craigslist, letgo, savers, salvation army, goodwill, or the dumpster at an apartment complex.

[Mr. Peabody]

 

People will list anything for any price on ebay. You havent checked facebook marletplace, Craigslist, letgo, savers, salvation army, goodwill, or the dumpster at an apartment complex.

People will list for anything - but many will not buy it. People are buying these. Local CL has nothing most of the time, and similar when something comes up. I'm not looking, though.

[lettuce]

I was think of doing this for a build using a 4K HDR TV, thanks to the increase in screen resolution scanlines would look much better.

So your saying if using a HDMI input then you HAVE to have the screen centred your not able to move it toward the bottom or top?. If so thats a shame as i was toying with the idea of have the main display area toward the bottom of the screen and then use the top part as a marquee.

[Guywiththegun]

I was think of doing this for a build using a 4K HDR TV, thanks to the increase in screen resolution scanlines would look much better.

So your saying if using a HDMI input then you HAVE to have the screen centred your not able to move it toward the bottom or top?. If so thats a shame as i was toying with the idea of have the main display area toward the bottom of the screen and then use the top part as a marquee.

Im also looking into 4K. Not only for CRT effects but when you do the math, you're getting less than 720p for the newer 16:9 games if you go with 1080x1080. 4K allows even higher than 1920x1080 in a vertical 16:9 aspect ratio. It's the best of all worlds.

The centering thing sucks for sure. I've been doing some research to get around it. I believe the answer is a 4K monitor (not TV). A lot of them have a feature called PBP (picture by picture). It allows two inputs into the monitor, to show two (or more) video sources side by side as two displays. Some even allow custom sizes. I readlthe manual of a model where you could even select PBP with one source connected and get the display half-sized, aligned to the edge with the absent display just blacked out.

The problem is big 4k monitors (43" to 49") are super expensive and you won't 100% know if it'll work until you try it.

[Mike A]

This doesn't seem easier or cheaper than a CRT.

[Laythe]

I don't think the portrait LCD trick is much easier or any cheaper. 

I did it because I wanted horizontal games and vertical games the same size without mechanical rotation, and because I wanted dynamic bezels with readable game instructions.  It's good for those reasons.  It's a little easier to get a PC doing VGA/HDMI/DVI out than a CRT compatible out - but conversely it's a big job to build all the bezels and .lay files, that part took me months.

(I think there's good reasons to do it, just, not it's easier or it's cheaper.)

[Guywiththegun]

Yeah not to mention every passing day the CRT is more and more obsolete. Unless you're preserving authentic machines I personally think its time to move on. If there was a market and a company was out there pumping out new ones, sure.

But even then you couldn't get big vertical games, 29" plus 4:3 games and 27" 16:9 Nesica and TTX games in one machine.

At this point I feel like the best option for a "MAME" machine (I quote because there is more than Mame now) would be a custom 1:1 4K capable led about 30" in height. That's never going to happen so here we are

[Mike A]

You have a Kangaroo cab. It is designed to fit an arcade CRT. You can still get one cheap compared to the displays you are talking about. It will fit correctly. It has built in scan lines. A CRT in good condition will outlive you. They are repairable and there are people who will repair the chassis if you can't repair it yourself.

[daywane]

 And the older you get the less you can move those heavy beasts. A CRT broke a rib not long ago. Just lifting it.

[Mike A]

CRTs don't have ribs.

[Malenko]

CRTs don't have ribs.

WHY CANT WE LIKE POSTS YET!?!?!?

[lettuce]

The centering thing sucks for sure. I've been doing some research to get around it. I believe the answer is a 4K monitor (not TV). A lot of them have a feature called PBP (picture by picture). It allows two inputs into the monitor, to show two (or more) video sources side by side as two displays. Some even allow custom sizes. I readlthe manual of a model where you could even select PBP with one source connected and get the display half-sized, aligned to the edge with the absent display just blacked out.

The problem is big 4k monitors (43" to 49") are super expensive and you won't 100% know if it'll work until you try it.

Yeah a 49" screen it ideally what you'd want and a monitor in that size (if they even do them that large) would probably be in the £2000 range so not really ideal

[Guywiththegun]

The centering thing sucks for sure. I've been doing some research to get around it. I believe the answer is a 4K monitor (not TV). A lot of them have a feature called PBP (picture by picture). It allows two inputs into the monitor, to show two (or more) video sources side by side as two displays. Some even allow custom sizes. I readlthe manual of a model where you could even select PBP with one source connected and get the display half-sized, aligned to the edge with the absent display just blacked out.

The problem is big 4k monitors (43" to 49") are super expensive and you won't 100% know if it'll work until you try it.

Yeah a 49" screen it ideally what you'd want and a monitor in that size (if they even do them that large) would probably be in the £2000 range so not really ideal

They're actually more in the 500-600 range. I just don't want to bite on that without knowing if it will even work.

[Mr. Peabody]

I say get or build a bigger cab.

They're actually more in the 500-600 range. I just don't want to bite on that without knowing if it will even work.

Yes, there are a few.


https://www.bestbuy.com/site/viewsonic-vx4380-4k-43-ips-led-4k-uhd-monitor-black-white/5879800.p?skuId=5879800

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/philips-brilliance-bdm4350uc-43-ips-led-4k-uhd-monitor-glossy-black-with-textured-back-cover/5374102.p?skuId=5374102

https://www.walmart.com/ip/LG-43-Class-4K-UHD-IPS-LED-Monitor/276460667

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Philips-Monitor-43-IPS-Panel-4K-UHD-3840x2160-Res-300-cd-m2-Brightness-VGA-HDMIx2-MHL-DisplayPortx2-7Wx2-Speakers-USB-3-0x4-BDM4350UC/51938755

https://www.walmart.com/ip/ViewSonic-VG2860MHL-4K-28-Inch-4K-UHD-Ergonomic-Monitor-with-HDMI-and-DisplayPort-for-Home-and-Office/44793458