best value for 25"+ monitor? Happs,Princeton,Betson,billabs?

[brandon]

hey folks.. I finally have a little bit of money where I can finally consider getting a nice monitor for a Mame cab.  that's really been my hold up because I want to build the cab around it.  I'm thinking I want about a 25" -33" range.  What first got me thinking was some of the Gateway Destination or Princeton Arcadia monitors I've seen on ebay.(which alway seem to be 1000 miles away and pickup only)  Then I've seen the Billabs/Wei-Ya's monitors which sound really nice.. so I guess my question is..

for mostly Mame use what would be the most cost effective?  Taking into consideration possible maintance down the road. 

Also, I've noticed that the Billabs can go from 15k-50k and the Princetons can only go down to 30k according to the specs.  so that would mean they couldn't use the original arcade freq and resolution so Mame would have to use some sort of scaling or pixel/line doubling right?

What would be the avantages of using a multisync monitor over a standard arcade monitor and an Arcade VGA card?

hope these aren't dumb questions..

thanks! 


PS.  What about some sort of EDTV?  I've never seen one in a store but isnt that supposed to be 480p?  could something like that be a cheap alternate to the svideo TV?

EDIT:  I'm trying to stay around the $400 mark also..

[SOAPboy]

From what ive been hearing EDTV is NOT in any way shape or form HD

So 480P would be a negative

[brandon]

I just found the Vision Pro 27" Universal Mount SVGA on Happs website and its only $349!  That sound like a pretty sweet deal! and the specs seem very similar to the Princeton/Gateway monitor except that it doesnt have S-video which I'm not at all worried about..

[Excretious]

Ive got a dumb question....

Does that happs monitor hook right up to the pc or do you need to get an arcade vga card?

That monitor looks sweet and it would be heaps better than the tv im about to put in my cab.

[brandon]

I'm assuming that it hooks up directly.. I did a forum search and found that Saint owns one.  I didn't really find any reviews about it though.  Apparently the Billabs/Wei-Ya monitors are sort of the cream of the crop but I think after shipping it would cost $600+ which is more than I want to spend right now.  I have to do some more digging for info.. but its looking like my most affordable options are the Happs or a used multisync like the Princeton or Gateway Destination.. but I'm very apprehensive about buying a used monitor with no warranty so I'm still leaning towards the Happs more than anything else... heck from what I've been able to find its even cheaper than a standard 25" CGA arcade monitor..

[brandon]

I just read through the pdf manual and it does have a 15pin D-sub connector which I assumed it did but its never a good idea to assume anything   Also it has a dot pitch of .85mm which is similar to the Princeton monitors.  I think I read that the Billabs is about .68 but I'm not really sure which would be better.. I guess lower is better for hires PC games but larger is better for looking more "arcade-like" and authentic....

[Ken Layton]

Penn-Ray (www.penn-ray.com) still has the CGA/EGA/VGA/SVGA 27" universal mount monitor (built by Kortek) on sale at $425 till the end of the month. Sale prices are in the PR07 sales flyer you can download from their site.

[brandon]

wow.. that sounds pretty awesome!  so that would be something like 15-38k    similar to the Billabs?  sounds sweet

EDIT:  what do you think of this monitor compared to the Vision Pro 27" svga?  I would think that the extra money would be worth it to a have a monitor that can do 15k.. but I just wanted to get your input.. Thanks!

PS. is this the Kotek monitor you're talking about? 
http://www.retroblast.com/reviews/betson.html

sounds impressive!

[brandon]

hmm... just got an email back from Billabs.  Their trisync monitor, capable of 800x600, cost $475.  so for the $50 difference should I get the Kortek or the Billabs BL27CA1Q ?

[Excretious]

*bump*


I'd like to hear input from anyone using these monitors.  Im so close to completing my cab and i need to make a decision as well. 

Ive currently got it set up for a 27" tv but you guys are making these monitors sound sweet.   

[panya]

I have the Betson MultiSync, I have no complaints.  I'm not running through ArcadeVGA, just my regular Radeon X300 at 800x600.
If you haven't seen RetroBlast's monitor reviews, check them out too.

[brandon]

I think thats the one I'm going to get for sure (betson/kortek)  Penn-Ray has it for sale for $425 and they quoted me $52 for shipping!  That's awesome!  Billabs quoted me $112+ and their monitor with similar specs is $475 before shipping!  I'm hoping I can just use my spare geforce ti4200 and not have to buy the ArcadeVGA right now (if ever).  maybe with pixel doubling or double scan it will be able to acheive a accurate 1:1 ratio..  I just dont want to use hardware stretch at all if possible.  What's your config Panya?  you using hardware stretching?  I just want 1:1 pixels or even number scalling, line blanking.. whatever..  I'm not sure how that all works.. its all new to me.

[Ken Layton]

Better hurry and order your monitors from Penn-Ray as their stock is running low. They are in the process of moving to a new location so stock on many items right now is low.

[panya]

I think thats the one I'm going to get for sure (betson/kortek)  Penn-Ray has it for sale for $425 and they quoted me $52 for shipping!  That's awesome!  Billabs quoted me $112+ and their monitor with similar specs is $475 before shipping!  I'm hoping I can just use my spare geforce ti4200 and not have to buy the ArcadeVGA right now (if ever).  maybe with pixel doubling or double scan it will be able to acheive a accurate 1:1 ratio..  I just dont want to use hardware stretch at all if possible.  What's your config Panya?  you using hardware stretching?  I just want 1:1 pixels or even number scalling, line blanking.. whatever..  I'm not sure how that all works.. its all new to me.

To be honest, I'm not sure of my exact MAME config, nor am I an arcade "connoisseur" about resolution and image quality.   Maybe that's why I haven't bothered with the ArcadeVGA card, as long as I can play my classics I'm happy.  Plus I can still play the latest PC games with my Radeon. 

I think I'm using hardware stretching, but I will check when I get home later.
I got mine from my local Betson distributor, so I didn't have to pay shipping, plus the sales guy was real friendly and sold it to me for only $400!  How could I resist?

[Silver]

I don't have either monitor myself so can't comment.

However, given the option I would always prefer a monitor that can do a full range of 15Khz-38K+. In theory that means you could either set up custom resolutions in windows with PowerStrip, use Advancemame with Dos/linux, buy an ArcadeVGA for ease of use... or if thats painful/expensive/fiddly, you can start out just using it as an SVGA monitor using just 640x480 and 800x600 with windows and no real setup required (just limit the resolutions in windows not to go above 800x600 and thats it).

So basically its the best of everything as far as I can see. (so long as you can afford it).

[brandon]

great   I think I'll probably go ahead and order one this week..  The main reason I'm reluctant to get the ArcadeVGA is because of its 3D performance..  I have a geforce TI4200 for my Mame cab which has more horsepower than the Radeon 9200.. but depending on how much 3D I do that may not even be a factor.. we'll see.  I guess the bulk of what I'll do is 2D and the AVGA will probably help the Kortek look its best..

[brandon]

I took the plunge today and order the 27" Kortek from Betson.  They matched the Penn-Ray price so I ordered it from them instead.  Nothing against Penn-Ray I just figured I might get better support directly from Betson, plus they had a distributor closer to me...

thanks to everybody for your input!