Mame vs Jamma pcb on arcade cabinet???

[nigel1210]

I'm getting an arcade cabinet and i'm trying to decide, wether to go down the pcb or mame route.

I'm tempted with the mame route, but i want to know if i will get the same quality i will get with pcbs. I've noticed on my pc that games don't look as defined as they do on an arcade machine almost blurry, i suppose this is becuase the monitor is working at a higher resolution.

Will i still have this problem on a arcade monitor and mame, and are there any other disadvantages of having mame?

[DeathMonk]

If you use a real arcade monitor with AdvanceMame or AcadeVGA it's going to look nearly identical.

[SirPoonga]

Why not go both

Have a PC with jpac and arcadevga.  Swap between PCBs and the PC with mame

[microwrx]

Why not go both

Have a PC with jpac and arcadevga.  Swap between PCBs and the PC with mame

What he said.   That's what I'm doing.

[egomaniacal1]

Would someone care to elaborate on how to do both exactly. I'm a total nOOb here and i need to know what a JPac(and for that matter a I-Pac) is. Are u saying that PCB's can be connected to a PC? And what exactly defines a REAL arcade monitor? I mean could i use like a High Def TV? Thanks in advance.

[StephenH]

If your cabinet is indeed a JAMMA Cabinet, you can buy a J-Pac and the ArcadeVGA video card from Ultimarc.com.  

JAMMA is a type of connector that most PCBs attach to, with a standard pinout.  The J-Pac allows a PC to connect to this connector in your jab, allowing video to be sent to the arcade cabinet monitor, controls to work, and more.    The J-Pac also connects to your PCs video, and keyboard or USB ports for key in, and has ability to wire for sound as well.

The ArcadeVGA video card allows your PC to output at the arcade monitors lower resolution and refresh rate.  Most arcade monitors use 15Khz mode, where PC monitors use between 31 and 48Khz.     There are other cards that output at 15Khz, but you will need to configure AdvanceMAME.    The ArcadeVGA card makes configuration a snap, because its BIOS is designed to run at 15KHZ almost all the time.

[egomaniacal1]

Thanks Stephen. Ok...so what is a I-Pac? What would i need inside my cab to allow for real PCB's to be installed? I mean is this Jamma connector attached to something that i could instal into my cab and if so what is it called?

By the way are Neo Geo arcades different from Jamma? If so could u explain the diff? Thanks in Advance.

[Sasquatch!]

Thanks Stephen. Ok...so what is a I-Pac? What would i need inside my cab to allow for real PCB's to be installed? I mean is this Jamma connector attached to something that i could instal into my cab and if so what is it called?

I don't own either an I-PAC or a J-PAC, but my understanding is that they're basically the same, except for the following:

The I-PAC has screw terminals for all of its connections to the controls (it's assuming that you're starting with a homemade control panel), whereas the J-PAC has an edge connector so that you can hook your JAMMA harness up to it.   The other difference is that the J-PAC has an onboard video amplifier to boost the signal so that you can output to an arcade monitor easier.

By the way are Neo Geo arcades different from Jamma? If so could u explain the diff? Thanks in Advance.

The Neo-Geo MVS pinout is close to JAMMA, but not exact.  http://www.hardmvs.com/ is a really good site to check out, specifically the Jamma vs. Neo Geo Wiring Diagram.

[microwrx]

Go to Ultimac's website for a proper explanation of the J-PAC, I-PAC and ArcadeVGA card:
http://www.ultimarc.com/

If you are building from scratch then don't bother with JAMMA or proper game PCB's just go with straight MAME only and use one of the several keyboard encoders available (I-PAC, Keywiz etc.).

If on the other hand you have already bought (or intend to buy) an arcade machine to convert and it is already JAMMA (JAMMA is a wiring standard) then you have the option of using JAMMA game boards as well as connecting your PC to the cabinet using the ArcadeVGA card (or similar card/software that can send a 15KHz signal to the arcade monitor).  A J-PAC plugs into the JAMMA connector in the cabinet (unplug your game board and plu in the J-PAC) and interfaces to your PC.  For a 2 player, 3 button each player cabinet (which is what the JAMAA std is) there is no configuration of the J-PAC required and it really is plug and play once you have the video sorted out.

On my JAMMA cabinet I had it up and running with MAME in about 15 minutes.  The PC was already configured from my last cabinet (non JAMMA) and I just plugged in the ArcadeVGA card, connected to the J-PAC, turned it all on  and I had a picture.  Took a couple of minutes to install the drivers for the ArcadeVGA to get the picture the way I wanted it but out of the box it worked.

[toopack2]

If your cabinet is indeed a JAMMA Cabinet, you can buy a J-Pac and the ArcadeVGA video card from Ultimarc.com. 

JAMMA is a type of connector that most PCBs attach to, with a standard pinout.  The J-Pac allows a PC to connect to this connector in your jab, allowing video to be sent to the arcade cabinet monitor, controls to work, and more.    The J-Pac also connects to your PCs video, and keyboard or USB ports for key in, and has ability to wire for sound as well.

The ArcadeVGA video card allows your PC to output at the arcade monitors lower resolution and refresh rate.  Most arcade monitors use 15Khz mode, where PC monitors use between 31 and 48Khz.     There are other cards that output at 15Khz, but you will need to configure AdvanceMAME.    The ArcadeVGA card makes configuration a snap, because its BIOS is designed to run at 15KHZ almost all the time.

StephenH,
From what you said, I finally understand that having MAME and JAMMA play on the same cabinet.  Now I do not know how to put JAMMA's PCB in.  Do you have information on how it can be done?  I searched for a long time but can't find the information (I never build an arcade game before, just start to attempt it).  Does "Project Arcade" book has information I am looking for?  Thank you in advance.

[paigeoliver]

I have never found any decent reason to use both Mame and jamma boards in the same cabinet. It is an essentially needless complication. 98ish percent of the jamma boards out there are emulated perfectly (or close enough that you would never notice) in mame. Just buy a second cabinet if you are really going to get into collecting the tiny number of jamma boards that both aren't emulated properly in mame AND can be played with standard controls.

[Jack Burton]

I have never found any decent reason to use both Mame and jamma boards in the same cabinet. It is an essentially needless complication. 98ish percent of the jamma boards out there are emulated perfectly (or close enough that you would never notice) in mame. Just buy a second cabinet if you are really going to get into collecting the tiny number of jamma boards that both aren't emulated properly in mame AND can be played with standard controls.

If you're involved in a competitive gaming it's always better to have the ability to switch over to the PCB's for games you are hardcore about. 

[paigeoliver]

And then you can totally spend $100-$300 for a second cabinet to swap the boards into, heck the boards we are talking about cost nearly as much as the cabinet does.

I have never found any decent reason to use both Mame and jamma boards in the same cabinet. It is an essentially needless complication. 98ish percent of the jamma boards out there are emulated perfectly (or close enough that you would never notice) in mame. Just buy a second cabinet if you are really going to get into collecting the tiny number of jamma boards that both aren't emulated properly in mame AND can be played with standard controls.

If you're involved in a competitive gaming it's always better to have the ability to switch over to the PCB's for games you are hardcore about.

[MTPPC]

I think I'm going to strip an nintendo super system in a dynamo cabinet and use the dynamo as a generic JAMMA cabinet. I'm acquiring a number of JAMMA boards and the way the control panel pulls out with the board, it will make for easy switching.

WRT OP, I fully agree to use a J-Pac and switch the JAMMA connector between the J-Pac and the JAMMA boards when you want to use those. I don't care for the arcadeVGA, but it is a lot easier solution than Soft15khz for CGA graphics at original resolutions.