Best display to replace CRT?

[Kaizen777]

Hello!
I'm looking for recommendations on what type of TV or monitor is recommended these days to best replace a CRT in my arcade cab.  I currently have a 25" CRT in it.  My plan is to get a 48" to 50" 4K TV or monitor and mount it vertically.  I can fit up to 25" in width inside the cabinet.  This approach wastes much of the physical screen, but will allow me to have a great experience with 4:3 and 3:4 games, with full high-res bezels. (As many have done on this forum).  I do plan to use shaders to come as close to CRT as possible. (I know, nothing beats the real thing)

I'm looking at 48" LG OLED TVs - you get the pure blacks and fast response times.  I don't THINK burn-in would be an issue.
Is there anything else I should consider?  (Those are still pretty darn expensive, I'm keeping my eyes open for one that has damage on only the part of the screen that won't be seen)

Thanks!!

[Zebidee]

Best (and IMO easiest) to just replace it with another CRT      Looks better, lots cheaper too.

If you can't source the same size CRT arcade monitor for some reason, there are still plenty of 25-27" CRT TVs out there that are easy to convert/mod/adapt. If you get stuck, come here and ask questions.

[Kaizen777]

Thank you kindly for your reply!
I would love to keep the CRT in place, BUT... as I have posted before I have some sort of sensitivity to it.  There are times when I do better.  I generally can't be at my arcade for more than 20 minutes before I can feel the effects, and that is tragic.  Probably EMF sensitivity.  I have an electronic meter.  I CAN be around 7-8 ft away from my CRT TV with no apparent issues.  For that I have a console emulation setup and I'm using your INCREDIBLE GreenAntz VGA to component transcoder!
I've posted about this sensitivity before and have been seriously flamed for it.  Whatever.  It's an issue for me.
You have to be right up close with an arcade, and THAT is a problem for me.
For that reason I need to change it out, because I really want to PLAY my cab.  =D
There are drawbacks, but then I gain the benefit of having the full bezel graphics and can appropriately size the games.  Having everything blown up to 25" doesn't exactly look right to me for many games that used smaller screens. 
Having the bezel artwork is going to play very well with what I'm doing with this cab, which I will eventually show on this forum. 
Anyway, that's the scoop  =D

[Zebidee]

Well darn, that seems a pretty good reason to swap a CRT for and OLED, at least on the face of it.

I have no directly relatable experience at retrofitting OLEDs (lol, seems strange, said in this context).

Oh right, I recall that thread now. The usual suspects turned up to roast you, oh dear 

I do believe what you were saying/experiencing. Though also admit I that I don't understand what is going on or whether it is EMF sensitivity or whatever. Still seems more likely that it is something like eye strain or some hidden condition like epilepsy. Which is not good. See a doctor.

You mentioned a skin irritation "burning" sensation, something like sunburn. Has this produced any observable symptoms like a rash or blistering? This is physical evidence, show it to a doctor.

Of course, it is theoretically possible that a CRT could be emitting X-rays. That could be an issue if you spend a lot of time working at the back of one??? Seems a unlikely culprit, but you can get a meter to measure that.

Personally, I try to spend no more than 2 hours in front of a screen, any kind of screen, before taking a break. I get tired eyes, headaches, even nausea if I push too long. Extreme light sensitivity. Sometimes stabbing pain and flashes in my peripheral vision if I really push too hard. Similar thing happens from too much closeup electronics work with magnifiers and lights, like building GreenAntz   It gets worse as I get older, and spectacles are not a realistic option. I worry about glaucoma. I consulted with my optometrist about this recently, he did the usual tests and just shrugged like "all is reasonably good, happens to everyone".

So you're OK when playing console games with a CRT+GreenAntz, where you are probably 1-2 meters away from the screen? You still get similar symptoms from watching an OLED over a longer period. This honestly does sound like eyestrain We mostly tend to get more long-sighted as we age, it gets harder to see things up close.

[bobbyb13]

A freshly rebuilt CRT chassis might help with eye strain too.

The panel swap you are talking about will be a headache for so many reasons.

[Mike A]

I don't think he is talking about eyestrain.

It sounds more serious than that.





 

[Zebidee]

Clearly more serious than anything any of us are qualified to diagnose.

However, common sense says that when you usually

sit 4' from my 65" OLED tv (as a monitor) most of the day

, you should not be surprised that eye strain symptoms are present when playing arcade games in the evening.

My friendly advice, dispensed with great care but very little responsibility or qualifications, would be to take regular breaks. Go outside, get some coffee, chat with your wife, play with the cat. See a doctor/optometrist, present physical symptoms if possible, or at least take pics of skin when irritated etc..  

[Kaizen777]

I greatly appreciate the feedback from this thread.  I ended up pulling out the 25" CRT from my MVS style cab (possibly was an actual MVS) and replacing it with a 48" LG OLED in portrait orientation.  That was a NIGHTMARE of a process, and a bit of a miracle.  I did manage to mod the cab and get it installed without tearing the cab apart.  The TV is butting up against the roof of the cab, and at the bottom it cleared the coin mech by a couple of millimeters!  Hah!
I'm extremely pleased to say that the new setup does not irritate me in the slightest.
I can finally play this thing!  Except of course, I spend most of my time setting up software and customizing things!  LOL
I absolutely LOVE having the full arcade bezels and the flexibility this provides.  Vertical games look amazing and proper too (which they couldn't on my CRT in landscape orientation). I'm still tweaking the CRT effect, playing with BGFX and HLSL.  I spent some time comparing this to my actual CRT side-by-side and tweaking the CRT effect on the OLED.  I have to say, I'm very impressed at just how close I can get it to look like the real thing.  It's REALLY close.  Plus, I can subtract things I don't really like about the real thing, such as scanline jitter.  =D
So much to do still, but I'm thrilled.
The blacks, oh the blacks... it's nice having perfect blacks!
The ONE thing I haven't got perfect yet, and I may not be able to - motion blur.
It looks like a CRT, and the motion is good, but not perfect.
When I turn on the TV's black frame insertion at 60hz, it does eliminate the motion blur - if I can get perfect settings with groovymame with vsync on and reduce the input lag enough then this might be a seriously winning combo.  Just straight VRR is nice, but there's some motion blur like this.  I think I can live with that if I need to.  I only notice it in some games.
I would definitely choose a setup like this over CRT now, no hesitation - I only have one cab and it's nice that it can do everything I want.

[Justin]

I just went through exactly this. I entirely redid my cabinet and utilized an almost square LCD monitor. This is an absolutely perfect solution, because both horizontal and vertical games play in a very large size format. Also, with modern graphic cards and latest versions of the emulators such as mame, you can perfectly simulate CRT effects. As a side benefit, vector games look perfectly sharp. I will never go back to CRT on a multi arcade machine again. 
The LG DUALUP is basically a 4K resolution display. About same pixel density.

Search for my recent post, I did an in-depth review of the monitor. It is an LG Dualup monitor, which is for sale right now at Amazon.

Edit:  review here...
https://www.reddit.com/r/MAME/comments/12psyfj/review_of_lg_dualup_square_lcd_monitor/

[lilshawn]

as I have posted before I have some sort of sensitivity to it.

oh... it's you.

i still think your issue is sensitivity to audio, particularly in the 15khz frequency.

go here...

https://szynalski.com/tone#15000,v0.75

turn it up and see if it gives you the same sensation(s). wear headphones, or if using speakers, moving your head a little bit side to side and forward and backward... as the standing waves coming out so directionally out of speakers, can often cancel/re-enforce each other and you can often NOT hear anything...then hear it again just by moving your head around. you got tiny little head holes and it's hard to get those standing waves in there at this frequency.

if you start experiencing symptoms even if you can or can not hear it, you are likely sensitive to the frequency the monitor operates at, (but possibly unable to "hear" it) causing your body to react in other ways. (numbness, tingling, etc. while it tries to deal with the stimulus.) again, as i mentioned in my commenton your original post, i am sensitive to 15khz. i can't stand it.

that said...  i am not a doctor, just a guy who has spent a lot of time researching to understand the voodoo that is audio theory to build tuned port subwoofer boxes, and also afflicted with auditory processing issues.

back on track,

measure your cabinet opening and buy the biggest monitor/tv you can stuff in there. quite often a 27" widescreen will fit in most cabinets if you find one with a zero bezel.

be sure the monitor that you intend to purchase will also power back on once you remove the power from it, and plug it back in.

its a good idea to hit up a computer store or the like and physically test the unit you intend to purchase. get a definite measurement etc. you never know how accurate the info online might be.

[bobbyb13]

I would buy you an LCD if I could get your 25" CRT!

Hopefully you can find out what exactly it is about this stuff that is causing you discomfort like that.

lilshawn's recommendation sounds like a good thing to try and I can say from experience that a screen that remembers its last state when powered up again would be helpful for sure.