Nieman 24.8''CRT MAME Looks too flat / crispy , video settings help .INI Inside

[mrclean]

I noticed that my MAME games look too crispy / "flat like"  on my new CRT 24.8'' .. What are the video settings I should be using ?
I've been away from my MAME cabinet for a while all of my other dedicated games are using CGA monitors and look alot better.

here is the link to my monitors specs : http://niemandisplays.com/nvd%203m%20spec%20electrical%20spec%20sheet.pdf

here are my MAME 129 settings:

<UNADORNED0>             

#
# CORE CONFIGURATION OPTIONS
#
readconfig                1

#
# CORE SEARCH PATH OPTIONS
#
rompath                   roms
samplepath                samples
artpath                   artwork
ctrlrpath                 ctrlr
inipath                   .;ini
fontpath                  .

#
# CORE OUTPUT DIRECTORY OPTIONS
#
cfg_directory             cfg
nvram_directory           nvram
memcard_directory         memcard
input_directory           inp
state_directory           sta
snapshot_directory        snap
diff_directory            diff
comment_directory         comments

#
# CORE FILENAME OPTIONS
#
cheat_file                cheat.dat

#
# CORE STATE/PLAYBACK OPTIONS
#
state                     
autosave                  1
playback                 
record                   
mngwrite                 
wavwrite                 

#
# CORE PERFORMANCE OPTIONS
#
autoframeskip             1
frameskip                 0
seconds_to_run            0
throttle                  1
sleep                     1
speed                     1.0
refreshspeed              0

#
# CORE ROTATION OPTIONS
#
rotate                    1
ror                       0
rol                       0
autoror                   0
autorol                   0
flipx                     0
flipy                     0

#
# CORE ARTWORK OPTIONS
#
artwork_crop              0
use_backdrops             1
use_overlays              1
use_bezels                1

#
# CORE SCREEN OPTIONS
#
brightness                1.000000
contrast                  1.0
gamma                     1.000000
pause_brightness          0.650000

#
# CORE VECTOR OPTIONS
#
antialias                 1
beam                      1.000000
flicker                   0.000000

#
# CORE SOUND OPTIONS
#
sound                     1
samplerate                44100
samples                   1
volume                    0

#
# CORE INPUT OPTIONS
#
ctrlr                     
mouse                     1
joystick                  1
lightgun                  0
multikeyboard             0
multimouse                0
steadykey                 0
offscreen_reload          0
joystick_map              auto
joystick_deadzone         0.3
joystick_saturation       0.85

#
# CORE INPUT AUTOMATIC ENABLE OPTIONS
#
paddle_device             keyboard
adstick_device            keyboard
pedal_device              keyboard
dial_device               keyboard
trackball_device          keyboard
lightgun_device           keyboard
positional_device         keyboard
mouse_device              mouse

#
# CORE DEBUGGING OPTIONS
#
log                       0
verbose                   0
update_in_pause           0

#
# CORE MISC OPTIONS
#
bios                      default
cheat                     0
skip_gameinfo             1
       

#
# WINDOWS DEBUGGING OPTIONS
#
oslog                     0

#
# WINDOWS PERFORMANCE OPTIONS
#
priority                  0
multithreading            0

#
# WINDOWS VIDEO OPTIONS
#
video                     d3d
numscreens                1
window                    0
maximize                  1
keepaspect                1
prescale                  2
effect                   
waitvsync                 0
syncrefresh               0

#
# DIRECTDRAW-SPECIFIC OPTIONS
#
hwstretch                 1

#
# DIRECT3D-SPECIFIC OPTIONS
#
d3dversion                9
filter                    1

#
# PER-WINDOW VIDEO OPTIONS
#
screen                    auto
aspect                    4:3
resolution                640x480
view                      auto
screen0                   auto
aspect0                   auto
resolution0               auto
view0                     auto
screen1                   auto
aspect1                   auto
resolution1               auto
view1                     auto
screen2                   auto
aspect2                   auto
resolution2               auto
view2                     auto
screen3                   auto
aspect3                   auto
resolution3               auto
view3                     auto

#
# FULL SCREEN OPTIONS
#
triplebuffer              1
switchres                 1
full_screen_brightness    1.0
full_screen_contrast      1.0
full_screen_gamma         1.0

#
# WINDOWS SOUND OPTIONS
#
audio_latency             1

#
# INPUT DEVICE OPTIONS
#
dual_lightgun             0

[ahofle]

Have you tried running the games at CGA resolutions instead of 640x480? 

[isucamper]

Have you tried running the games at CGA resolutions instead of 640x480? 

Of course that'll look better, but he's either got a Nieman that can't do CGA, or a Nieman that won't digitally multisync and will be tough to configure for CGA and a higher resolution frontend.

I'm suprised you describe the picture as "crisp" since your using 'video d3d' and 'filter 1' which, in my experience produces a very soft, fuzzy picture at 640x480.

One thing to try.  Use 'video ddraw' and 'hwstretch 0'.  This will produce a very clean picture.  The one problem with this is you loose the correct aspect ratio for many games. 

[mrclean]

Have you tried running the games at CGA resolutions instead of 640x480? 

What do I put in my MAME settings to change that ?

I'll try anything it just looks like crap-o-la IMO i'm just used to my dedicated CGA monitors. I havn't tried anything else yet.

again here is my monitors specs: http://niemandisplays.com/nvd%203m%20spec%20electrical%20spec%20sheet.pdf

[isucamper]

Have you tried running the games at CGA resolutions instead of 640x480? 

What do I put in my MAME settings to change that ?

I'll try anything it just looks like crap-o-la IMO i'm just used to my dedicated CGA monitors. I havn't tried anything else yet.

again here is my monitors specs: http://niemandisplays.com/nvd%203m%20spec%20electrical%20spec%20sheet.pdf

Ok, first of all, you've got the tri-res Nieman which is capable of th native CGA resolutions that most old arcade games use.  You could try SailorSat's Soft15Khz program (if you've got a compatible video card) and see if you can get CGA resolutions going.  Just know that because you're monitor does not have any digital memory, you can't bounce between CGA (arcade game resolutions) and VGA (your front end) without making adjustments to the monitor's pentometers (not something you want to be doing every time you play a game). 

If you want to try and get a cleaner picture at 640x480, try these mame options.

Under WINDOWS VIDEO OPTIONS
video                     ddraw

under DIRECTDRAW-SPECIFIC OPTIONS
hwstretch                 0

Again, some games will lose their correct aspect ration, but others will be close and look a lot cleaner.

[cmoses]

Mr. Clean,

Could you post some pictures of what you are comparing?  I have a different display, WG D9200 running at 640 x 480 and think it looks really good.  Now I was using a 20" LCD so that maybe the reason.  I do not have access to any CGA monitors to compare apples to apples. 

I run my games with D3D, not positive on the filter setting, but I have not changed it so it would be whatever the default is. 

[mrclean]

I installed the soft 15k program, and I don't know how to force my graphics card to that setting ? it seems to be at 60hz at 640x480 I'm using ATI Catylist software if that helps

[isucamper]

I installed the soft 15k program, and I don't know how to force my graphics card to that setting ? it seems to be at 60hz at 640x480 I'm using ATI Catylist software if that helps

did the CGA resolutions get installed?  if your not sure, run quickres and see which resolutions are selectable.

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_quickres.htm

[Ummon]

mrclean, you need to read how mame works with native res. Also, use mame32 to set things - that is, use the graphical interface. Or, edit the values in your ini, but some things you obviously won't just know whether they're '0' or '1' or an ascending value, etc. Anyways, first, try out D3D with prescale at '1'. (with mame after the video-rewrite) Only use ddraw for native resolutions.