The Great TV FAQ Thread

[camsauce]

Hi All,

I'm hoping we can use this thread to collect data on using TV's as monitors in MAME cabinets.  I think it would be beneficial if those of you using a TV in your cab post the following:

- Make and Model of TV
- Size
- Front or Back Video Inputs (S-Video, Component etc.)
- Whether or not your TV remembers the video input selction if unplugged/powered off
- Speakers on the side or bottom
- General pros or cons
- Video card used and type of output



-CamSauce

[ArtMAME]

- Make and Model of TV
JVC AV-27530

- Size
27"

- Front or Back Video Inputs (S-Video, Component etc.)
Component, S-Video, Composite, RF in the rear
Composite in front (I think)
I am using Component inputs

- Whether or not your TV remembers the video input selction if unplugged/powered off
Yes, TV remembers settings and input selection

- Speakers on the side or bottom
bottom

- General pros or cons
Pros
Picture looks awesome when using component video inputs, especially for old-school games (Defender, MsPacman, Robotron, DonkeyKong, etc..)  Even color vector games look good like Tempest, Black Widow, etc...  I have a 29" presentation monitor(1024x768) that I could put in my cab, but I am really happy with the way the picture looks.
Cheaper than new arcade monitor of same size.  (I paid less than $200 new from hhgregg)

TV can be squeezed into a big Jamma cabinet with out de-casing (my cabinet originally housed a 25" WG monitor).  Some relief cuts are required on the rear plastic casing of the TV to achieve this though.
See my project thread: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=54556.msg534947#msg534947   

Cons
Can only use 640x480 in MAME when using Component inputs.  Not a problem with 99.9% of games.  Asteroids looks horrible though.
Overscans a little but can be adjusted by entering the service menu and shrinking the height a little bit.
Hard to find these new in the store anymore 
UPDATE!!! Browsing through the Brandsmart weekly ads and it looks like they have these for $168.88!!! http://www.brandsmartusa.com/aga/p4.htm Get 'em while they last!!! 

- Video card used and type of output
Radeon 9550 (MSI) with DVI to Component adapter using 480i dip switch setting
(This adapter only works with Radeon 9500 family or better, and Nvidia 6600 or better)

[camsauce]

- Make and Model of TV
Samsung TX-R2435

- Size
24"

- Front or Back Video Inputs (S-Video, Component etc.)
Rear and Side Composite
Rear S-Video
Rear Component

- Whether or not your TV remembers the video input selction if unplugged/powered off
Yes

- Speakers on the side or bottom
Side

- General pros or cons
Pros
Picture quality is quite amazing even with only S-Video, I placed it side-by-side with a 17" Monitor and calibrated accordingly until it looked almost identical in quality.  I anticipate the quality to improve somewhat with a component connection
Flat Screen. I know that this is not the 'authentic' approach for an arcade cabinet but I feel the picture quality improvement is worth it
Shallow depth for cabinet mounting
Quick screen refresh (as in when I turn it on it doesn't take but 2-3 seconds for the screen to display in 99% brightness)

Cons
TV is pretty heavy ~70lbs
TV does not auto power on after being unplugged/power failure
Somewhat spendy +/- $250

- Video card used and type of output
Old 16MB PCI ATi Rage 128 (All in Wonder) using S-Video

I consider a 24" a perfect size when viewed up close especially with a cabinet.  I own a 27" TV and it gave me a headache standing ~20" from the screen

[ChicagoDave]

- Make and Model of TV
Mitsubishi CS-27MX1

- Size
27"

- Front or Back Video Inputs (S-Video, Component etc.)
Rear S-Video and RCA

- Whether or not your TV remembers the video input selction if unplugged/powered off
Yes, it remembers

- Speakers on the side or bottom
Bottom

- General pros or cons
Pros
S-Video, Resume after power loss, pretty good picture.  Only $90 used on ebay.
Cons
Slight doming problem on bright images

- Video card used and type of output
ATI Radeon 9500 Pro using the S-Video TV Out

[mark6437]

Ok thx I will look into all these options.

Mark