Monitor Size

[rdenis]

So I'm new here and to the MAME world - my question is regading size with respect to monitors.  In particular:

1)  Does a large monitor, say a 33" D9200, display old games such as Galaga, Joust, DK, etc. properly?  Or is this size just way to large for the older gen games?  I am concerned that a large size monitor may show make these games look blocky.  (See I told you I was a newby - I don't even know what the technical wording is!)

2)  When it comes to horizontal versus vertical orientation, how does MAME handle presentation of old vertical games such as Galaga on a horizontal screen?

I guess what I am really looking for is the answer to "assuming cost is not a factor, what is the best size monitor to handle old to new generation games consdering it will be mounted horizontally?"

Appreciate your help on this.

[DaveMMR]

I'm definately no expert on monitors, but since I'm at lunch and no one else answered yet I'll help the best I can at least answering your second question:

Think of playing verticle games on a horizontal monitor the same way you think of 'letterboxed' movies.  You get the entire picture but there are black bars off to the side (or top and bottom of a movie).  MAME can also dispay the bezel art in place of the emptiness (though it makes the game screen slightly smaller IMO).

I really don't know much about the D9200 so I won't take a chance giving you wrong information.  But I can tell you blockiness is basically a problem with using a computer monitor, due to it's high resolution.  Arcade monitors and TVs don't have these problems (though they have other negatives you have to weigh in to make your decision on display type).  

[b3atmania]

So I'm new here and to the MAME world - my question is regading size with respect to monitors.  In particular:

1)  Does a large monitor, say a 33" D9200, display old games such as Galaga, Joust, DK, etc. properly?  Or is this size just way to large for the older gen games?

Well, 33inch is indeed much larger screen than the original Galaga, Donkey Kong and Joust. The originals used 19/21 inch screens. Depending on the player's distance from the screen it can appear "blocky" indeed.

If you use artwork files you will likely get something a little more closer to the original and less blocky graphics in the action area.

2)  When it comes to horizontal versus vertical orientation, how does MAME handle presentation of old vertical games such as Galaga on a horizontal screen?

If you want vertical games to be properly displayed on an horizontal screen you should ensure the vertical resolution is enough for the games you try to display. For standard resolution (15kHz) this does not work well because many vertical games require more than 240 lines. If you have an extended or medium resolution monitor it will probably be fine.

MAME can actually fit everything to screen using scaling. As you can imagine up or down scaling the picture to fit the screen will result in loss of quality. It will not look authentic.