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A few questions...
smaxdot:
--- Quote from: fredster on April 06, 2004, 11:17:51 pm ---I got the TV at the spirtual and geographical center of the universe, Walmart. They have those component converters from about $15.00 in the wiring section by the CD's.
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Hmm, do you have a link you can post to one of these component converters? Does it convert S-video to component? Or composite to component?
--- Quote from: fredster on April 06, 2004, 11:17:51 pm ---I made two other mame machines out of cabs I got at auctions. That's the best place to find dead cabs. Check www.gameroommagazine.com then show dates for the locals near you. Bring your cash and a pickup truck with plenty of straps.
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Yes, I am thinking of going to the US Amusements Auction on May 1st in Cherry Hill, NJ. Anyone have any experience with the US Amusements auctions?
krick:
--- Quote from: smaxdot on April 07, 2004, 12:26:07 am ---Yes, I am thinking of going to the US Amusements Auction on May 1st in Cherry Hill, NJ. Anyone have any experience with the US Amusements auctions?
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Yep. I bought my cabinet at a US Amusements Auction on January 31 at that location. It's about 4 miles from my house. I'd be glad to meet up with you before the auction and go with you if you'd like. I'm not an expert by any means and I don't have a truck to help you transport your booty (if you end up buying), but I am good company.
cdbrown:
I went for a 27" Diamond brand S-video TV. Apparantly these are made by mitsubishi electrical. I wanted the screen to be big and this was the best value for money. Playing games on the TV screen is great. The graphics are all pixelated just like in the arcade. But trying to use it in windows is a nightmare. So in the near future I'm hoping to be able to get a real front end up and running so I don't need to strain to see the text in mame32. My card is a sapphire radeon 8500LE which is powered by ATI. Made sure I have the latest drivers and make the settings to suit your TV type (for me PAL).
Tiger-Heli:
--- Quote from: smaxdot on April 06, 2004, 09:27:19 pm ---2) Related to #1, is anyone here using a TV for their display and very happy with the quality? I've read a number of posts where people say they're using TV's, but not too many that confirm they're happy with the results! Thanks.
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Check http://www.oscarcontrols.com/monitors.shtml if you haven't already. Many people prefer the pixellated look of a TV. Personally, I like a PC monitor, but I don't like scanlines in MAME either - .
--- Quote ---4) Any good sources to purchase bezels?
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Recommend making your own, but I am doing a desktop controller, so not speaking from experience.
--- Quote --- How about side art?
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Lots of members recommend this site - http://www.classicarcadegrafix.com/mamegfx_sideart.htm
Also
http://www.arcadeshop.com/parts.htm#Graphics
Also http://www.arcaderenovations.com/store/customer/home.php?cat=5
Found some reviews here -
http://www.arcaderestoration.com/index.asp?OPT=3&DATA=4292&CBT=441
Again, no personal experience with any of these.???
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5) I'm not Mr. Handy, so I was thinking of buying a cabinet to use..preferably one that is relatively empty since I don't care about the monitor, PCB, etc.. Any good sources in New Jersey to purchase a cabinet like this?
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Good idea, although as Krick said, I would hold up on a TV and graphics card (and side art, for that matter) until you get the cab in that case. You might find a cab with a very good arcade monitor and not need to worry about a TV or PC monitor, and that would also affect your video card choices as well.
BTW, you covered a lot of topics, and I tend to mainly follow this forum, but there are artwork and monitor/video forums which might have better answers for more specific questions.
(If you need more specific info later on . . .)
PaulG:
I have a tv with s-video and I GREATLY prefer it over a computer monitor. The vector games may look slightly better on a monitor, but it's not worth the sacrafice for everything else.
For best quality, make your game resolutions a universal 640*480. And if it's dedicated MAME machine, set the desktop resolution to 800*600 so the text is easier to read in the MAME interface.
P.S. You can right-click on the MAME application and under properties set MAME to run in 640*480, but after you've run a single game and exit, it reverts back to the desktop resolution for the MAME interface. You can close and reopen if you must have the inteface at the ever readable 640*480 though.
Edit: I'm not a fan of scanlines and on a good tv this isn't really an issue (640*480). The reason the tv is superior to the computer monitor is the colors bleed and the picture isn't so harsh.