Author Topic: What about this TV? (Read 4623 times)

acevedor2 · « **on:** January 02, 2007, 11:51:17 am »

Ok so I am having a hard time justifying 600 bucks for a Billabs monitor. So I was looking at TV's. I have read all the faq's and I know the downsides to TV's, but I had a few questons still.

1. How hard are they to mount? I have reviewed most of the projects on this site and I know you can put blocks to keep them from moving back but I really need to make sure it is secure. I move often and I need to make sure that it doesn't move at all. Any ideas or links to ideas?

2. Will the Happ Bezels fit over a normal tube 27" TV? One of the reasons I am hesitant in using a TV is that I really want the finished product to look exactly that - finished. I think a nice bezel really does the trick.

3. What do you think about this one:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7631226&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat95100050007&id=1130986501338

spiffykyle · « **Reply #1 on:** January 02, 2007, 12:14:37 pm »

A friend of mine used a TV in his cabinet (he's the one that convinced me to build my own). He used a shelf with blocks to make sure everything lined up right. Then he used a ratcheting tie down strap to hold the TV securely. Its super solid and you can't see anything because of the cabinet and bezel.

Schools and offices use these tie downs on TV's on rolling carts as well.

spiffy

acevedor2 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 02, 2007, 12:18:13 pm »

Thanks Spiffy! I appreciate it. That sounds like a great idea. Since I have a ton of those in my truck, I think we are in business! One more question - If I decide to take it out of the case, does it need to be grounded or anything? Forgive me if this sounds dumb, but a TV tech I am not. Thanks again.

acevedor2 · « **Reply #3 on:** January 02, 2007, 02:49:34 pm »

Well I just picked it up. I will post pics later when I get it all hooked up. $240 (including tax). I had $150.00 in gift cards so 90 bucks later and it's all mine.

Donkey_Kong · « **Reply #4 on:** January 02, 2007, 02:54:52 pm »

Quote from: spiffykyle on January 02, 2007, 12:14:37 pm

A friend of mine used a TV in his cabinet (he's the one that convinced me to build my own). He used a shelf with blocks to make sure everything lined up right. Then he used a ratcheting tie down strap to hold the TV securely. Its super solid and you can't see anything because of the cabinet and bezel.

Schools and offices use these tie downs on TV's on rolling carts as well.

spiffy

Dude! I had that exact idea for 'mounting' my monitor. I mentioned the method & Everybody just laughed at me.

shardian · « **Reply #5 on:** January 02, 2007, 02:55:29 pm »

You should leave a tv in its case if possible. The neck on a crt tv is pretty flimsy, and is often supported by the case in some way. The chassis is mounted to the case, so that will cause problems too.

Finally, the neck of the crt is probably less than an inch from the back of the case, so you really won't save anything.

acevedor2 · « **Reply #6 on:** January 02, 2007, 03:06:42 pm »

Well DK, I am not laughing. I will let you know how it turns out when I finally get it built/mounted! Thanks Shardian, I think I am going to do my darndest to keep it in the case! It really wasn't space I was worried about, it was mounting it. I think the straps will work well though.

tranq · « **Reply #7 on:** January 02, 2007, 03:12:30 pm »

Dude, I'd get some high density foam - like they use in shipping electronic components and such - or styrofoam sheets/blocks. Put a thin piece undeneath, and rectangular blocks around in strategic places - think of them akin to braces when building a cabinet - and then strap it down.

Also, I bought that TV to try out, but I couldn't get the ATI card (for composite out/dual monitor operation) to work correctly, so returned both. I'm curious to see what your results are.

acevedor2 · « **Reply #8 on:** January 02, 2007, 04:31:31 pm »

Tranq you mean component out correct? Red/Blue/Green. I am going to try it work tonight with S-vid and see if it works well. if the picture is good I might just leave it. Hopefully I will get a chance to check it out tonight. I'll post pics later if I can get to it. Cheers.

rackoon · « **Reply #9 on:** January 02, 2007, 05:07:25 pm »

Groovygamegear.com has some great 27" monitors for sale. I bought one and it kicks ass. Even Tempest looks good. Mortal Kombat looks great to.

tranq · « **Reply #10 on:** January 02, 2007, 05:41:09 pm »

......Christ, yeah, I meant component. I mean, I remember thinking....maybe even seeing....component after I typed it. Eeeeeeeeee.

And, I saw those monitors (@ GGG), but the resolution isn't very high, so I decided no. Actually, ace, I happened to find a brand new Billabs B0P on ebay for $350, and no one else bid. A little bit of a logistic thing going, so I don't have it, yet, but eventually.

acevedor2 · « **Reply #11 on:** January 02, 2007, 06:16:15 pm »

Good luck Tranq with the Billabs! I never saw it. Guess I need to work on my search skills

I'll post pics sometime tomorrow night. Doesn't look like I am going to get to it tonight. Cheers.

extremepong · « **Reply #12 on:** January 02, 2007, 06:55:14 pm »

I have a very heavy P810 ViewSonic monitor in a refurbished cabinet. The real problem I encountered was determining the best viewing angle and height of the thing when really I could only make this determination once the monitor was in place. That is where the shelf idea helps. If you can build a shelf at the approximate height of the monitor then you can shim the monitor with blocks (or books) until you get the best position. Then you might cut a couple of permanent wooden rails or other supports, taking the measurements from the correctly positioned monitor. Also when building, I was always aware of the great downward force of the monitor and so I over-engineered my supports to counter that force. But when it came time to move the cabinet I quickly realized that the cab would be tipped and that all that force would be on different structural components (out the back) . So keep that in mind. Finally, I bought some of that pipe-hanger strap to wrap over the top but ended up just using a thick gauge wire to secure it. The ratchet idea is great but if you want to save some money you could just use the minimum materials since gravity is never going to be pushing the thing up.

acevedor2 · « **Reply #13 on:** January 02, 2007, 07:02:33 pm »

Thanks Pong. Mine will have to be VERY VERY sturdy as movers will move it every few years. Not to put down any of you who might be movers but most of the ones I have had in the last 16 years of routine moving - SUCK! It is more like furniture demolition derby instead of moving. Anyway, I will definitely be using the straps and probably several mounts as well. You don't by any chance happen to have a pic of how you mounted your monitor do you?
Cheers

tranq · « **Reply #14 on:** January 03, 2007, 12:40:42 am »

You know, when you move, you should put it on a palet the size of the cab and sheath it in thick cardboard.

BamBam · « **Reply #15 on:** January 05, 2007, 07:49:27 am »

Quote from: acevedor2 on January 02, 2007, 11:51:17 am

Ok so I am having a hard time justifying 600 bucks for a Billabs monitor. So I was looking at TV's. I have read all the faq's and I know the downsides to TV's, but I had a few questons still.

1. How hard are they to mount? I have reviewed most of the projects on this site and I know you can put blocks to keep them from moving back but I really need to make sure it is secure. I move often and I need to make sure that it doesn't move at all. Any ideas or links to ideas?

2. Will the Happ Bezels fit over a normal tube 27" TV? One of the reasons I am hesitant in using a TV is that I really want the finished product to look exactly that - finished. I think a nice bezel really does the trick.

3. What do you think about this one:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7631226&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat95100050007&id=1130986501338

The Happs bezels are curved, but easy to modify for your needs. I have a flat screen 19" PC monitor and used my slot cutter to trim the curved portion of the bezel away. It now fits snug to my flat screen. A sheet of tempered and tinted glass in front of it and I was golden.
I am sure you could do the same thing with your TV. I chose the monitor as the 32" T.V I had planned for the project didn't display my Visual Pinball the way I liked it too.

John

John

More Cowbell · « **Reply #16 on:** January 05, 2007, 09:39:35 am »

As far as moving it, I built my cab so that I could "easily" remove the tv. That way if it needs to be moved it will be a lot lighter and more manageable. I figured I had to remove the control panel to get it through any door ways anyway so I might as well take the monitor out as well. It also means the tv isn't going to get bumped around quite so much. Just a thought.

DonkeyKong, we're laughing with you, not at you. Well, most of us...

acevedor2 · « **Reply #17 on:** January 05, 2007, 11:45:44 am »

Ok,
Here are some pics. I have to say I am not super happy with it. I cannot, no matter what i try, get the screen not to go off of the sides. I have checked the menu and there isn't the normal left right up down buttons available on most computer monitors - to reduce the screen and bring it back into view.

Also, I guess the primary purpose of this thing IS to play games, however, I am not really happy with the way it looks in Windows mode. It is VERY blurry. Any ideas what the cause is? I am running a Monster cable S Video cable out of my Laptop into the TV. Again, in Gameex - with games playing it looks great (except fort the fact that it cuts off the picture on all sides.) Any ideas on how to fix this issue?

steveh · « **Reply #18 on:** January 05, 2007, 11:50:29 am »

from my experience windows will look kind of junky. you could try lowering the resolution and putting on some of the accessibility options big text and what not. As far as the adjusting of the video... you need to get into the service menu. Do A google search for the code. Only make changes that are necessary. You can screw up a tv mighty fast in that menu.

ahofle · « **Reply #19 on:** January 05, 2007, 11:53:10 am »

What resolution are you running windows? It looks like 800x600 which would explain why it's blurry. A TV simply doesn't have the resolution to display a crisp picture at that resolution, no matter what connection you use. I have found that games (and windows) look best when manually set to 640x480 on a TV.

acevedor2 · « **Reply #20 on:** January 05, 2007, 12:12:35 pm »

The lowest res I can make the TV is 600 x 800. I think that is because the intel video adapter in the laptop (onboard graphics). I can't figure out what I need to adjust in the TV to get the screen to fit right. I can get into the service menu but it is all codes and I have no idea what numbers need to be adjusted where?

ahofle · « **Reply #21 on:** January 05, 2007, 01:31:33 pm »

You really should find a way to output 640x480 or your image will always look blurry like that on a TV. Maybe try a resolution program like powerstrip or something?

rdowdy95 · « **Reply #22 on:** January 05, 2007, 01:32:37 pm »

I have got this TV, and I love it. Right now it rest up against the back of my back cabinet section. I need to eventually put some blocks on the side of it to hold it into place from sliding side to side. The TV itself is heavy so it is not going anywere.

When i get my control panel box finished with joys and buttons I will give it a good workout playing street fighter 2 or something. If it starts to shake I will mount blocks in there so it won't move.

My cab will not be going anywhere though after I get it in its final destination. One thing you will have to do is hack up a TV remote to have a TV power button on the outside of the cab. It does not auto power back on.

I couldn't get the component stuff to work with my Gigabyte Radeon. I use S-Video and it looks great. After I found out component wasn't going to work for me I got the Act Labs S-Video Light gun and it is pretty dang cool.

Check Dowdy's Mame Arcade Project in the Project Annopuncment Section to see what it looks like.

acevedor2 · « **Reply #23 on:** January 05, 2007, 03:18:46 pm »

Dowdy,
How did you get the screen to look right and what resolution are you using? Did you have the same issue with the screen being too wide - meaning some of the picture is cut off as in my pics I posted above? Thanks.

tranq · « **Reply #24 on:** January 05, 2007, 03:26:10 pm »

I'd figure that windows would recognise the resolution parametres of the TV. Hm...well, you have windows set at SXGA. Looks like you can back it off - likely to the proper res. If you take any more pictures, try without any light behind you/without the flash on; the TV should give you enough light to snap by.

acevedor2 · « **Reply #25 on:** January 05, 2007, 03:29:49 pm »

Windows shows what modes the Tv supports and it does show 640x480. But you can't select it from the conifguration window. I also tried another laptop with the same issue - both have the intel graphics. That is why I am curious if Dowdy has the same problem and what resolution he's running since he has the same TV.

Malacus · « **Reply #26 on:** January 05, 2007, 04:06:20 pm »

I had something like this bothering me a few weeks ago, of course I forget how I fixed it now...

Is it a widescreen laptop? If so try setting the Laptop screen to a more standard setting too, I think thats how I got it working... I guess I could go check.

-Mal

leapinlew · « **Reply #27 on:** January 05, 2007, 04:09:24 pm »

What you'll need to do is manually set the resolution.

Get into your resolution settings and click advanced
click adapters
click list all modes
and select 640 x480

The thing is... the tv is going to cut off a little bit. A CRT TV normally isn't capable of such resolutions. I believe you can force mame to use a specific resolution as well, but I just dealt with not being able to see it all.

Malacus · « **Reply #28 on:** January 05, 2007, 04:16:35 pm »

I just checked on my TV using SVideo from a widescreen laptop - and while Windows is set to a widescreen display on the LCD Panel - it also output in widescreen on the TV, moving the mouse around would let you see those regions you couldnt before - by switching the Laptop's Resolution to 800x600 for the Widescreen LCD Panel, everything was viewable on the TV, I guess because the Windows desktop was no-longer being displayed in widescreen. I dont recall having problems putting BOTH the TV and LCD on 1024x768 - The resolution didnt seem to change anything visually, Im not an expert on any of these things, so dont ask WHY any of it happens....

On a side note - My laptop uses a Radeon 200m or w/e it is, not an intel

acevedor2 · « **Reply #29 on:** January 05, 2007, 04:57:48 pm »

Went in to modes, manually changed the laptop to 640 x 480 and the same thing. Still getting cut off the screen while in MAME. At this point I have no idea what to try next....

greaser · « **Reply #30 on:** January 05, 2007, 05:42:15 pm »

I have this same exact model in my cab and don't have any issues with the image being cut off. In fact there is a very small margin on all 4 sides of the image.

I'm running it through my comp (s-video out from a radeon 9550) at 640x480 and I'm quite pleased with the picture quality. Hard to tell from your pics. It's better to compare in person.

Well let me know if you want any help. I can send you all the settings i have to achieve the picture quality on my cab.

rdowdy95 · « **Reply #31 on:** January 05, 2007, 05:42:30 pm »

Hey Ace. Sorry man I can't see your pics on imageshack until I get home. I think my work firewall must be blocking it or something. You are saying some of your image is being cut off on the side. I get a little thing called overscan on the sides and top and bottom. Mine is not bad at all though. In Mame you can notice it near the top and a tad on the sides. Everything is somewhat centered though so no big deal here.

On windows I use a gigabyte ATI Radeon x1300Pro I think it is the name. I use the latest version of ATI Catalyst Control Center. I have it plugged in via S-Video and I have my desktop set to 640x480 through ATI's tool. Things like font and shortcuts look a little blurry, but it is to be expected on S-Video.

I can't see the pics but I hope it isn't cutting too much off on you....

Wait wait wait....Are you using a laptop to display this stuff for MAME??? If you are I may be able to help you. I had my laptop hooked up a while back to the tv and it has NvIdia graphics chip. I set the TV (secondary monitor to fill the whole screen or something like that in my Nvidia settings and man it fit more centered than my current setup with minimal overscan loss.

What kind of graphics chip is in your laptop if you are using a laptop cause I would look for a TV settings section under the advanced properties of the windows display properties if that makes sense.

But to tell you the truth either the ATI program or the Nvidia program would have this setting Windows doesn't really have a good setting for this.

See right now in my current setup I have a normal desktop computer with svideo output to the TV. It does seem like laptops center everything better though so hopefully your laptop is ATI or Nvidia.

PS Sorry for the long post.

greaser · « **Reply #32 on:** January 05, 2007, 05:43:55 pm »

You may want to make sure EVERYTHING is running in 640x480 (desktop, mame, frontend) and that you're using the same color depth (16 bit, 32 bit, etc).

rdowdy95 · « **Reply #33 on:** January 05, 2007, 05:46:19 pm »

hey greaser does your tv look good automatically. Or did you adjust overscan in the TV's service menu. Mine I just left alone and let MAME do auto resolutions. My Desktop is 640x480 on windows I can't see the righthand scroll bar if I maximize windows. But it is not necesseary since I know what to do. Games for me have a lil overscan on sides and top, but as long as I can still read score I am good to go.

rdowdy95 · « **Reply #34 on:** January 05, 2007, 05:48:32 pm »

I would like all my MAME stuff to run in 640x480, but I am not sure how to do this. I know I can change the mame.ini file but in version .110 there are tons of listings for resolutions. When I changed it before through the normal RUN command line thing with a -r 640x480 after the command it all looked the same either way. But my frontend MAMEWWAH and desktop are 640x480.

acevedor2 · « **Reply #35 on:** January 05, 2007, 05:48:56 pm »

Thanks guys. I will have to check to make sure that the FE is forcing Mame to 640 x 480 - that might be the problem. I did go into the display settings of the laptop (which has no card, just integrated intel graphics) and set everything (TV/Laptop) to 640 x 480 but still had the screen cutoff.

greaser · « **Reply #36 on:** January 05, 2007, 05:55:36 pm »

Didn't adjust anything on the TV itself, just under windows. I get no overscan at all. Like I mentioned above I actually have a very small margin on all sides but is too small to make any difference.

I'm actually running Mame32 through Mamewah. I find this the best as I can exit Mamewah and make any necessary adjustments easily under Mame32.

Let me know if you still need any tips/help.

I'll also send a link to my project page. I think there's pics of the cab in action so you can compare the screens.

acevedor2 · « **Reply #37 on:** January 05, 2007, 05:57:34 pm »

Thanks greaser!

greaser · « **Reply #38 on:** January 05, 2007, 06:00:10 pm »

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=56209.msg568405#msg568405

Actually no closeups of the screen but what the H.

Trust me since I have the same TV and get a great picture we can figure out a way for you to get the same results. Maybe it's my pompadour greased hairdo or all the Devo albums I own but I doubt it! LOL

We'll figure something out. I'm here if you need me.

greaser · « **Reply #39 on:** January 05, 2007, 06:02:24 pm »

Well those pics showing the screen aren't too crappy as far as the photo quality goes I suppose. Click on them and then zoom in. Gives you a fairly decent idea of what I'm working with.


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