Building cabinet.. Monitor vs TV?

[AdamLotz]

Hey guys -

I'm in a bit of a bind here.  I'm building an upright cabinet (making a Ms. Pac Man replica) and I can't seem to find what I'm looking for in a montior.

I don't want to spend a lot of $.  I either want to get a crummy 19" SVGA montior, or possibly a 19 or 20" TV with svideo...

Does anyone have any comments on the pros and cons?  My monitor budget is only about $90-120.  I have a very nice $200+ 19" montior lying around, but I hate to use that because it's just such a waste.. plus it's a newer model without a single flat surface on the case. (which will make it very difficult to mount)

Any thoughts?  I can pick up a new 20" TV locally for about $110.  That's pretty tempting, but I'm not sure how games will look on it, or if I'll run into issues with the top and bottom being cut off or anything like that. (I have an old ATI All-in-wonder with TV out that I can use...)

Would appreciate suggestions or just moral support on the issue!

[eightbit]

At that price point its going to either be a tv or a used monitor. Around here you can find 19" monitors for about that price.

You should try hooking your ATI card to a TV and see if the results are satisfactory to you.

You don't need flat surfaces on a monitor to mount it but it helps.

[JustMichael]

You should look at what games you like to play.  If you like to play vector games then I would recommend a pc monitor.  Other games look great with a s-video tv.  Just make sure to get a video card with a decent s-video out though.

[AdamLotz]

I'm mainly building the cabinet to play ms. pac man and galaga. :-)  

I'll have to do some tests with my video card and a TV... I'm just wondering if I'll regret it or if a TV really is a decent move.  Also I may canibalize this cabinet someday to build a coctail, so trying to get the big things right the first time.. not sure if a 20" tv will fit in a normal size coctail or not.

BTW, sorry for posting in main - for some reason I had it in my head that the other forums were not as active but I realized my error...

[beek]

Not sure where you live but ABC Warehouse in Michigan is having a sale on 19" Envision monitors.  $129 after $50 mail in rebate.  I bought one about 2 months ago and it works great.  

[Xiaou2]

 I think you will be pretty happy with Svideo tv.  A pc monitor just dosnt do games justice  (except vector games),  because the dot pitch is too large.  

 
 Take a look at the comparison page Ive put up:

 http://www.xiaou2.homestead.com/Turbo.html

[AdamLotz]

Hmm, thanks for the comparison - but to be perfectly honest, I find myself looking at your side by side shots and thinking "wow, the computer monitor looks good, and the TV looks really bad..."

Must be because I'm just a PC type of person..  I definitely understand the point you're trying to make - and I _would_ like to keep the game "true to the era" but now I'm even more undecided.  hah.  

Right now the big thing that has me leaning towards a TV is that it'll probably be easier to mount (more room/more case surface area/more flat surfaces and right angles to deal with) and lighter, plus cheaper.  

I'll have to get my mame "system" up and running and see what I think about the display on a 32 TV and then go from there..  I did get a chance to check out the Ms. Pac / Galaga reunion game today, and that did look pretty cool with the 25" arcade monitor setup.

[Sasquatch!]

Ah, this is one of those debates that some people can be really opinionated about.  

In addition to Xiaou2's comparison page, also take a look at http://www.oscarcontrols.com/monitors.shtml.

A monitor does look "better" than a TV or even an arcade monitor, but it depends on how authentic you want the display to be.  For many people, the output of a PC monitor doesn't look true enough (hence MAME putting in the option for artificial scanlines).  

Bottom line is that it's a matter of opinion and personal preference.  I'd take the advice of eightbit and JustMichael and just hooking up to a TV (before you even futz with mounting anything in your cabinet) and see if you like the results.

[SNAAAKE]

my thoughts,

20" tv looks fair with s-video and a decent ati card.
SAY....apex 20" is very nice looking.

since your budget is only $120 then apex would do the trick.However,everytime you power the tv you have to use your remote to switch to s-video(it isnt a big deal tho).
BUT,if you look around you can find a 20" pc monitor for like $120 and if i were you,I would still go with the PC monitor(good for eye).