Vector Monitor?

[FrizzleFried]

Is a VECTOR MONITOR used in the old school vector games simply a hi-res standard monitor?   I'm now considering a dedicated VECTOR machine as vector games on my cabinets standard monitor leaves a bit to be desired (even at 640x480)...

[D_Zoot]

Nope.  Vector monitors work differently than raster monitors.  In very simple terms, raster monitors "paint" the image on the screen by scanning from left to right, top to bottom. This scanning motion (or deflection of the electron beams) is constant at all times. 

Vector monitors on the other hand "draw" the image on the screen by drawing a line between to points. The beam flies around drawing a series of lines to create the image, sort of like connect the dots.

Vector monitors and raster monitors are not interchangeable in any way.

To use a vector monitor in a mame machine would require a very special video card, the Zektor ZVG.

D

[ArtMAME]

You will need to use 800x600 or higher to make the vector games in MAME look at all descent.  Just use a standard PC monitor in your next cab and run the games at 1024x768 or better. 

Try the vector games on your desktop or laptop PC to see how they look.  You can also play with the settings in MAME under the Vector options.  Try different values for beamwidth and flicker.

[ChadTower]

Vector monitors and raster monitors are not interchangeable in any way.

A couple of clarifications...

The CRT in a vector monitor is identical to that of a raster monitor.  Some vary in the deflection angle of the yoke but that happens in raster monitors too.  The differences are in the monitor chassis and how it drives the yoke.  The chassis are very different.

The ZVG isn't a video card in the pure sense.  It is a vector signal generator that takes its input from VectorMAME via different methods than a traditional video card would.  It's not PCI or AGP, it is an external device that is driven by your PC's printer port.

Here's a pic of a ZVG driving a Vectrex: