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TV or Monitor Question
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Minwah:

--- Quote from: TalkingOctopus on February 26, 2004, 03:39:12 pm ---If you can afford it go the arcade moniter route with arcadeVGA.  It is the most authentic and best looking display.  The arcadeVGA card makes setup really easy, and you can use windows XP with it as well.

--- End quote ---

What he said :)

One instance where a PC monitor might be preferred is if your friend is a big vector game fan - PC monitors are the best solution for these games (aside from a real vector screen of course).  Or as NoOne=NBA= mentioned if he is a big PC game/app user...
Tecil:
I have two options right now for my project.

I have a spare 27" Panasonic Flat Screen (not panel) tv I can use with a Radeon 9700 (S-video).  The only down side to this is that the TV weighs a ton, so I'll have to really go all out on the supports in my cabinet.

I also have a spare Hitachi 21" Monitor that would work well, it doesn't weigh as much.

I was going to hook both up this weekend and compare the picture and see what I think from there.
GGKoul:
My 2 cents:

I have a TV in my unit and I feel its the preferred way to go because...  By having a TV in your cab, your not limited to playing just MAME emu games via your computer... You can also play PS2, XBOX, Dreamcast on the unit and you wouldnt be able to do that on an Arcade Monitor (At least I don't think you can)

Another +, your able to watch TV, I know its not the ideal way to watch TV, but when you only have 2 TV in the house and the wife wants to watch one of her "reality" TV shows.  It's good that I can come downstairs and watch the hockey game and in between periods play a few games of either MAME, PS2, XBOX or Dreamcast.

If you go the TV way, just make sure you use a good S-Video cable from the Computer to the TV.


Hope this helps.
-GGKoul

pmc:

--- Quote from: GGKoul on February 27, 2004, 12:40:26 pm ---If you go the TV way, just make sure you use a good S-Video cable from the Computer to the TV.

--- End quote ---

How critical is that? I have a 21" VGA display in my cab and I love it (with the horizontal scanlines enabled) except that I have to use emulators for console games and I also wish it was a tad bit bigger. But the PC I use has S-vid out because I bought it before deciding what to do for a display. I bought a 10' S-video cable so that I can play DVDs or display gameplay on a nearby 27" TV. The cable is a "GE" or "RCA" generic looking cable that I bought inexpensively at outpost.com. I'm NOT impressed with the video picture and damn glad I went VGA instead of TV/S-vid. It never occured to me that it may be the cable that's the weakest link.

Two things to note:

1) the VGA display is an old one with component inputs on the back. It's good for vintage games because the picture is kinda crappy (faded, a little jiggly, and with a small amount of barrel and pin-cushion distortion). It reminds me of an old arcade monitor. Scan-lines are a must. I'm sure I'd be unhappy with a modern state-of-the-art sharp display or a flat-panel or something like that because it'd be too sharp and cartoony.

2) My 27" TV is a 1990-ish model and is a little blurry and faded (washed-out). It looks OK with the comparitively harsh (s-video) DirecTV input. But I'm thinking the S-Video input from the PC may be so soft that the effect compounds to the point where it's really no good as far as I'm concerned. Video is GeForce but I ferget which generation. It's onboard an ASUS AMD-based motherboard.

I tried the composite output into a Panasonic SuperFlat 32" over a 3' Monster cable and the picture was unacceptable to me as well. In the end, I don't regret going VGA at all.
Jabba:
Wow!!! Gret info guys. Thanks for all the excellent replies.

My two cents worth...I have a 20" Sony that I tried. My video card had S-Video out but the TV only had RCA inputs. I bought (which I returned) a Radio Shack S-Video to RCA cable and plugged it in. YUCK!!! I much prefer the Monitor. COuld hardly read any windows stuff.

Question to you all is that If the TV actually had a S-Video input, would the picture have been much clearer (i.e., as good as my monitor???)

Thanks,

Garry
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