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LCD specs needed for MAME

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Tiger-Heli:

That helped - according to this site http://reviews.cnet.com/Dell_E196FP_19_Flat_Panel_Monitor_3_Yr_Warranty_Analog/4505-3174_7-31626247.html native screen resolution is 1280x1024, which is indeed 5:4.

In Windows, you likely can't notice the difference between 1280x960 (4:3) and 1280x1024 (5:4).  Likely you won't in MAME either.

If you absolutely don't want stretching, it should be possible in MAME to get the image only letterboxed on two sides rather than all four, but we'll worry about that after your test results come back.

hbm*rais:

Well, the first thing to do would be to discover what kind of LCD you really have. It *looks* like a widescreen to me, but that may just be the picture.

Try to find out what is its native resolution.

In the test suggested above, the picture will not show letterboxed if you have a 5:4 LCD configured to a 4:3 resolution. Mine is 1280x1024, if I configure it to 1280x960, 4:3 pictures will appear slightly stretched, not letterboxed. Whatever resolution you choose on a LCD, it will always be converted internally to the native resolution in a way to cover the entire physical screen.

If you're getting black borders both horizontally *and* vertically, I'd say you have MAME set to use the closest round resolution to the original game (I think it's called Clean Stretch). For instance Pac-Man (288x244) would be strethed (x4) to a 1152x976 rectangle with black borders completing the difference to 1280x1024.

As you say beyond the problem with the borders, the image looks the wrong aspect ratio, i'd say you have the wrong native resolution configured in Windows or the wrong aspect ratio informed to MAME.

I hope that helps.


--- Quote from: javeryh on April 11, 2007, 09:46:02 am ---
--- Quote from: hbm*rais on April 10, 2007, 03:41:10 pm ---
--- Quote from: crpngdth2001 on April 10, 2007, 02:45:23 pm ---Just me personally, but I wouldn't use a widescreen LCD for a cab, I'd rather use a 19" 4:3 Standard LCD.

--- End quote ---

Standard LCD's are usually 5:4. Which can be a good compromise for vertical and horizontal games.

No point on the widescreen, really. Youl just end up with wasted space on black borders or with a horribly deformed image.

--- End quote ---

Is that really true?  How could I not know that?  Hmmm... I'm a little disappointed finding this out.  I'm using a Dell LCD monitor in my cabinet but I'm having display issues (the picture does not go to the edges and seems a little bit squashed/deformed) and I don't know how to fix it.  This is what I'm talking about:

 

Am I totally screwed?  Is there a way to get it to display to the edges? it's not just the top and bottom - I lose about an inch on each side too...   

:angry:


--- End quote ---


Tiger-Heli:


--- Quote from: hbm*rais on April 11, 2007, 11:32:45 am ---Well, the first thing to do would be to discover what kind of LCD you really have. It *looks* like a widescreen to me, but that may just be the picture.
Try to find out what is its native resolution.
--- End quote ---
Javery said before it is not widescreen, and if the Cnet page is correct, it's native resolution is 1280x1024.


--- Quote ---In the test suggested above, the picture will not show letterboxed if you have a 5:4 LCD configured to a 4:3 resolution. Mine is 1280x1024, if I configure it to 1280x960, 4:3 pictures will appear slightly stretched, not letterboxed. Whatever resolution you choose on a LCD, it will always be converted internally to the native resolution in a way to cover the entire physical screen.
--- End quote ---

I didn't realize this.  Could you post the settings your are using with your screen.  That might be the easiest thing for Javery, since you both appear to have 1280x1024 screens.


--- Quote ---If you're getting black borders both horizontally *and* vertically, I'd say you have MAME set to use the closest round resolution to the original game (I think it's called Clean Stretch). For instance Pac-Man (288x244) would be strethed (x4) to a 1152x976 rectangle with black borders completing the difference to 1280x1024.

As you say beyond the problem with the borders, the image looks the wrong aspect ratio, i'd say you have the wrong native resolution configured in Windows or the wrong aspect ratio informed to MAME.
--- End quote ---

Both of those make sense.


u_rebelscum:


--- Quote from: hbm*rais on April 10, 2007, 03:41:10 pm ---Standard LCD's are usually 5:4.

--- End quote ---

Errr, small point:

Most 'standard' 17" & 19" LCDs are 5:4, and have a native res of 1280x1024. (probably 99%)

Most 'standard' 15" & 20" (& greater) LCDs are 4:3, and have 1024x768 & 1600x1200 respectively.

The most common LCD over the last year or two are 17" & 19", so it might seem that all non-widescreen LCDs to 5:4, but that's not quite true.

FWIW, CRTs also had 5:4 aspect 17" & 19" monitors, but they were not as common as 4:3 of the same size, and usually on the cheap end.  Again, look at the native res and if it was 1280x1024, it was a 5:4 monitor.

hbm*rais:

Now, that could be a problem. You see, my LCD is on my desktop, where I use MAME32. My cabinet uses FastMAME, with a CRT. Both of these probably have different options from whatever Javery is using (I don't think he stated what he's using).

But I can try to help:

First things first: Make sure Windows is configured to your native resolution (1280x1024, apparently, but I would double check). Every thing will go wrong if this one is wrong.

The Options, as they appear in MAME32:

Display
  Clean Stretch = None
  Rotation = Clockwise
  Enforce Aspect Ratio  Marked

Advanced
  Switch Resolution to fit  Unmarked
  Size = 1280x1024
  Stretch Using Hardware  Marked
     Aspect Ratio  4x3

That, adapted as necessary to the mame.ini file, should give you an image that fills your screen completely.

or...

use "Aspect Ratio 5x4" and you'll have perfectly 4:3 image (the correct aspect ratio) on your 5:4 LCD. (Yes, that seems counter intuitive, but that's right)

Now some notes:

That's not, in my opinion, the settings that produce the best image, but that should be enough to get you past the black borders stuff, then you can experiment with filters and everything else.

Setting MAME to use 1280x1024 may use a lot of computing power unnecessarily, but using any other resolution will introduce blur as the image is internally converted to the native resolution. 640x512 should be fine, but I could never get that resolution to work properly.

Now, the above settings will give you very blurry image anyway, so you can get away with other resolutions, but if you start playing with filters and have the required horsepower, you'll want to have MAME set to your native resolution, so that any blur introduced in the image is there deliberately.

PS: Then again, I'm talking from MAME32 experience. I don't know what you can do with filters and a LCD on pure MAME.





--- Quote from: Tiger-Heli on April 11, 2007, 11:46:49 am ---
--- Quote from: hbm*rais on April 11, 2007, 11:32:45 am ---Well, the first thing to do would be to discover what kind of LCD you really have. It *looks* like a widescreen to me, but that may just be the picture.
Try to find out what is its native resolution.
--- End quote ---
Javery said before it is not widescreen, and if the Cnet page is correct, it's native resolution is 1280x1024.


--- Quote ---In the test suggested above, the picture will not show letterboxed if you have a 5:4 LCD configured to a 4:3 resolution. Mine is 1280x1024, if I configure it to 1280x960, 4:3 pictures will appear slightly stretched, not letterboxed. Whatever resolution you choose on a LCD, it will always be converted internally to the native resolution in a way to cover the entire physical screen.
--- End quote ---

I didn't realize this.  Could you post the settings your are using with your screen.  That might be the easiest thing for Javery, since you both appear to have 1280x1024 screens.


--- End quote ---


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