27" monitor or stay with a 21"

[wbassett]

When I built my cab I originally wanted a 27" Wells monitor but didn't have the money at the time so I put a 21" Dell Trinitron in the cab.

I've been using my cab and 21" monitor for five months now and I'm at the conclusion that it's just fine.  I looked on KLOV at most of the games I like and they seem to have 19" monitors.

So my question is... how many games use a 25" or 27" monitor, and for those that went with a 27" arcade monitor, how do games look and play that were originally on a smaller monitor?  Does the game fill the whole 27" monitor, or is it its original size and centered in the screen?

Originally I thought the 21" looked way too small in the UAII cab, but now after some time using it, that size doesn't seem too small but I'd like to hear other people's opinion and experiences- especially playing games that were originally on smaller monitors being played on a larger 27" monitor.

[Malenko]

the game doesn't know what size the monitor is.......

everything looks better bigger, to me. best real world example I can think of is the pacman /galaga reuinion cab, they used to have 19" monitors; now they are 25"


I have a 27" in my mame cab and 25" in both my MKII and my NeoGeo and I lvoe em, would still love em with 19" monitors, just not as much :p

[Turnarcades]

It's all a matter of opinion so ultimatelythe decision is just your preference. Don't spend if you don't need to and you're happy with what you have.

[leapinlew]

the game doesn't know what size the monitor is.......

everything looks better bigger, to me. best real world example I can think of is the pacman /galaga reuinion cab, they used to have 19" monitors; now they are 25"


I have a 27" in my mame cab and 25" in both my MKII and my NeoGeo and I lvoe em, would still love em with 19" monitors, just not as much :p

Funny you say that Malenko - I think the monitors are WAY too big in the reunion cabs. I posted a thread about it and plenty of people agree that it's too big, and some people think bigger is better.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=62000.0

[Malenko]

the game doesn't know what size the monitor is.......

everything looks better bigger, to me. best real world example I can think of is the pacman /galaga reuinion cab, they used to have 19" monitors; now they are 25"


I have a 27" in my mame cab and 25" in both my MKII and my NeoGeo and I lvoe em, would still love em with 19" monitors, just not as much :p

Funny you say that Malenko - I think the monitors are WAY too big in the reunion cabs. I posted a thread about it and plenty of people agree that it's too big, and some people think bigger is better.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=62000.0

I guess I should rephrase, when I said bigger is better I meant for MAME cabs; since most people put the monitor horizontaly vertical games get the space they deserve without having to rotate monitors. I didnt mean that I LIKED the 25" in the reunion cabs, I was just citing an example where a game that came on a smaller monitor runs on a bigger one.  I love my 27" MAME cab cause the vertical games are about the same size as a 19" vertical cab

[wbassett]

I agree ultimately it's my preference, I was just wondering if a game like say Defender has a different 'feel' on a large monitor, things like that.

[Ummon]

I'd suggest trying a tv you have laying around and see. Then come back and ask some more questions.

[DeLuSioNal29]

I think it all depends on what type of control panel you have.  I chose a 27" monitor because my 4 player control panel is 20" deep and it puts the players a little further back from the screen.  Had it been a 2 player panel, I would have chosen a 21" since the players would have been closer.

[solderguy1]

The tempting thing about 21 inch crt pc monitors is that they're free or almost free these days.  Some craigslist sellers are just happy they don't have to pay someone to take them away.

Just wish they weren't so heavy and deep (front to back).

[mrclean]

I was playing on an ultracade and loved the fact that the screen was nice and bright and didn't have any viewing angle issues...currently I have a 4:3 19'' LCD on a rotating arm, so even vert games are 19''.. However I'm thinking about going with a 24.8'' CRT and was told that the rule of thumb usually is -25% will be what you should experience for vert games which would produce a 18.6'' in vert mode which is close enough . The only concern of mine is will it fit, and screen burn, for me depth, and height is a non issue it's width and very tough because the inside of my cab only measures aprx 22'' wide which ive only come across the niemen displays one that will *gulp* barely fit.. Although id actually rather a curved tube but my dimensions limit me so i don't have much of a choice should i go that way.

[mrserv0n]

anything under 25 is lame

[leapinlew]

anything under 25 is lame

[northerngames]

I had a 19" WG and went to a nanao 26" and after using it I would never go back to the 19" becuase the display is so much better for me.

I also have a 39" showcase it displays great also but the scalines can be seen rather large.

[Ginsu Victim]

anything under 25 is lame

My 19" looks great in my Track and Field cabinet, considering that's what it had originally, plus I have the screen closer to the player's face. A huge screen would be too much for my machine.

[DeLuSioNal29]

My 19" looks great in my Track and Field cabinet, considering that's what it had originally, plus I have the screen closer to the player's face. A huge screen would be too much for my machine.

I agree.

Also, a bigger monitor uses up more electricity!  Trust me on that one. 

[leapinlew]

I'm not opposed to a huge monitor. Here is one of my cabinets:


32" Television. It's just that if I'm going through all the trouble of an authentic arcade experience, I'm going to use the right monitor size for the game I'm playing. I can understand the attraction of a 25" monitor in a horizontal orientation so it can play vertical games as the right size if you plan on only having a single cab.

[Ginsu Victim]

That's great, since it's not in the player's face like my monitor.

[Ummon]

mrclean: unless you get a used monitor, I think burn-in is a non-issue. You won't likely be running it for hours and days on end.

anything under 25 is lame

Yeah, that is kinda funny. And just as lew says below that, it depends on the circumstance. There really isn't anything quite like an original monitor when running a classic - say like DK, or Bubbles, or what-have-you. And likely the same for newer games with their respective monitors. And for standard frankenpanel/combo displaying Mame cabinet, 25-27" is good.

[mrclean]

  well brings me to another question reguarding burn.. any one got a crt and using mr. do's art for mame ?

and also more importantly...

I was curious and hope that someone here has a 25'' / 24.8'' crt monitor and is using mr. do's art for games.. for instance if i load say "Super Pang" the bezel art in game on my 19'' lcd running 4:3  turns that game into about a 11'' with the artwork bezel..what would the display size of this game for instance be on a 25'' with mr do's art / bezel for that game??

[retrometro]

A few reasons to use a larger than original monitor on a mame cab:

1)  If your monitor chassis doesn't rotate, a larger landscape mounted monitor will play your portrait games closer to their original size.

2)  If you play games with artwork, you can still play your games in their original size but now you have artwork around it.

3)  #1 & #2 together.

[Ummon]

Um, I've tried bezels on my 27" and it ain't big enough to make at least vertical games the right size. A bit small. I don't think the bezel idea is a great idea, given displays aren't really made with such in mind. There's always going to be some compromise. Besides, if running native, you can't use artwork.

wb, this picture is on my candy and slightly smaller than the display field, as the geometry is set for games of 336x240. The hardware scanlines are apparently larger than on a 19" monitor. (Make sure to click inside the picture itself to magnify.)

[wbassett]

Thanks Ummon...

Is that a 27" TV or a WG or Beston monitor?

[ahofle]

I was curious and hope that someone here has a 25'' / 24.8'' crt monitor and is using mr. do's art for games.. for instance if i load say "Super Pang" the bezel art in game on my 19'' lcd running 4:3  turns that game into about a 11'' with the artwork bezel..what would the display size of this game for instance be on a 25'' with mr do's art / bezel for that game??

As Ummon mentioned, if you are going from a high res 21" PC display to a 25+" arcade monitor, you will not be using artwork.  You would have to get a large, high res display such as a Makvision to use artwork, but then you lose native resolutions.
http://www.happcontrols.com/monitors/49271700.htm

[Ummon]

Thanks Ummon...

Is that a 27" TV or a WG or Beston monitor?

It's whatever 15/24 khz monitor that came stock with the Impress. Possibly a Wei-Ya. (Incidentally, that's Mame via soft15. In that picture, I'm using a JPAC - though I've also hacked in a VGA port and done the same; I just didn't turn the switch inside the cabinet on until I knew Windows was loaded ((desktop set at 336x240)) .)

[MiKman]

I had a 27" TV in my cabinet till it decided to die on me.  And I thought it was perfect.  I now temporarily have a 21" monitor (cause it was free).  It's ok but tiny bit on the small side...  The reason 27" is so nice is because on the vertical games they play at very close to the original size without doing any rotating. Vertical games had 19" vertically mounted monitors in them.   

I have been toying with the idea of a 24-26" widescreen LCD monitor mounted vertically in my cabinet... if not prob just another 27" TV lol

The trouble with computer monitors IMHO are that they are too perfect, TV's kinda blur the image a little bit and the graphics look correct (like they did on a real cabinet).  with a computer monitor they are very crisp and the games show all the pixels and "jaggies" and don't look authentic.

[wbassett]

A few reasons to use a larger than original monitor on a mame cab:

1)  If your monitor chassis doesn't rotate, a larger landscape mounted monitor will play your portrait games closer to their original size.

2)  If you play games with artwork, you can still play your games in their original size but now you have artwork around it.

3)  #1 & #2 together.

I downloaded a ton of artwork, don't ask where, I have so many links I forgot!

Anyway, how do I get it to work in Mame32?  I have the right directory, I have 'Use Additional Artwork' selected, but nothing shows up when I run a game.

[Todd H]

wb, this picture is on my candy and slightly smaller than the display field, as the geometry is set for games of 336x240. The hardware scanlines are apparently larger than on a 19" monitor. (Make sure to click inside the picture itself to magnify.)

Look at those lovely scanlines.

[Ummon]

wb, this picture is on my candy and slightly smaller than the display field, as the geometry is set for games of 336x240. The hardware scanlines are apparently larger than on a 19" monitor. (Make sure to click inside the picture itself to magnify.)

Look at those lovely scanlines.

Indeed.

A few reasons to use a larger than original monitor on a mame cab:

1)  If your monitor chassis doesn't rotate, a larger landscape mounted monitor will play your portrait games closer to their original size.

2)  If you play games with artwork, you can still play your games in their original size but now you have artwork around it.

3)  #1 & #2 together.

I downloaded a ton of artwork, don't ask where, I have so many links I forgot!

Anyway, how do I get it to work in Mame32?  I have the right directory, I have 'Use Additional Artwork' selected, but nothing shows up when I run a game.

You may not have the right files. Generally they're availabe at Mr. Do's (Mameworld). You have to select 'use...' and 'bezels'.

[wbassett]

After checking, I did get my artwork from Mr. Do.

Do I only select 'bezel'?  I'll try that and see what happens.

[Ummon]

Hmmm, what monitor, mame version, and Mame video settings are you using?

[wbassett]

21" Trinitron PC monitor, MAME32 v.103u2 up to .127 (yes I have several versions)... and MAME video settings... whatever the default settings are.

I also test on a 27" HDTV in my office and couldn't get it to work on that system either.  I suspect it's something simple that I am just overlooking.

[Ummon]

I dunno. I don't think I even have the files to test....