Scalelines?

[scoddie007]

Does anyone use scalelines here? I read somewhere not sure where that using scalelines made the graphics look better on a monitor so I did and it does improve games like streetfighter II but some of the oldergames look better without it. BTW i was using 75% scalelines. I'm using a LCD monitor as my cabinet monitor right now and what to get the best out of it. Any suggestions?

[Fozzy The Bear]

Does anyone use scalelines here? I read somewhere not sure where that using scalelines made the graphics look better on a monitor so I did and it does improve games like streetfighter II but some of the oldergames look better without it. BTW i was using 75% scalelines. I'm using a LCD monitor as my cabinet monitor right now and what to get the best out of it. Any suggestions?

"Scanlines" is only there to try and simulate the look of a low res arcade monitor on a PC monitor. It's not very sucessful at doing it and to be honest only degrades the image. You'll find hardly anybody here uses it.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[hbm*rais]

I use scanlines and I think it does a great job in improving the image. Specially if you're using AdvanceMAME on a CRT computer monitor. It knocks off some of the sharp edges of the pixels, without the excessive blur of pure hardware stretch.

I'm not claiming it successfully simulates the look of an arcade monitor. I'm just saying it makes the image more pleasant (to me, at least).

The reason I mentioned AdvanceMAME is that it can double the original game resolution and use every other line as a scanline. On a CRT monitor, that's probably the nearest you can get to an arcade experience.

The problem with LCD monitors is that they have a fix resolution and a different aspect ratio, so it's impossible to get the exact double resolution on most of the games. You usually end up with a kind of wave effect vertically. However, I do use scanlines on my LCD, I just raise it up to 90% so that the effect is more subtle.

At the end of the day, the best filter is the one that works for you. Just experiment with all the possibilities. That's not an exact science  .

[RayB]

It's only useful if you use a PC monitor set to a resolution at least 1024x768.

[hbm*rais]

It's only useful if you use a PC monitor set to a resolution at least 1024x768.

Well, if you're using a LCD monitor, yes, the higher the resolution the better. But if you're using a CRT, a nice round multiple of the original resolution works better. 640x448 would look much better then 1024x768 for a 320x224 game.

Of course, if you cannot do those non-standard resolutions (via AdvanceMAME, ArcadeVGA or whatever), then the higher the better.

[tetsu96]

If you're using an LCD, then scanlines may not be as good an option as other filters, but as hbm stated - scanlines work pretty well with CRTs when you're running in some multiple of the original game's resolution.  I'd go further to say that 50% scanline effects look a bit better on the digital multisync monitors as they're so sharp the scanlines stick out at you when it's 100% black...  but again, YMMV and it's personal preference anyway.

[scoddie007]

Hey guys after reading some of the responses I dinked around with the settings in Mame32 and found that if I put the resolution to 1280x1024 and 75% scalelines. The results are VERY pleasing to my eyes , I'm very happy with the picture. I may keep using my LCD monitor instead of getting a new vid card and using the 20" or 27" TV I have.

Thanks for the Input.
Scott,