Newbie - MAME on 52" LCD TV Monitor?

[drew55]

Hi everyone,

I just don't have the room in my small apartment to buy a cabinet with proper arcade monitor, so I'm considering buying an X-Arcade tankstick controller, a controller stand from North Coast, a netbook, then hooking it up into my 52" LCD TV. I'm mostly going to be playing old school arcade games on it. I've been trying to do my research online and have come up with a few questions I'm still unclear on. 

1.) is it worth it to buy a scan converter box?
2.) even using the soft 15KHz software, will playing MAME games on my LCD still ruin the screen over the long-term?
3.) I actually haven't tried yet hooking up my computer to the LCD monitor. But after enabling scanline fill-ins, will the screen still look extremely pixelated? It looks bad enough on my computer LCD.
4.) has anyone successfully tried to do what I'm describing or is this set up just not a realistic idea?

Thanks for your help!

[Gamester]

1.)  You shouldn't need to worry about scan converting.  Your LCD is a digital display, therefore you should be able to connect it directly to your computer and simply configure your display adapter to output at the native resolution of the TV (just like a monitor).

2.) I believe the soft 15KHz is normally only used to get a computer to output a the native signal that CGA arcade monitors use.  I don't believe that's a valid sync for an LCD.  Again, you'll simply want to run your LCD at its native resolution and refresh and let Mame scale it.

3.) Old school games blown up on a 52" LCD are going to be pixelated.   There's just not much getting around that.

4.) What you're proposing is certainly doable.  Will it be an authentic feeling arcade experience?... No.  However, I'm sure you'll still have fun with it.

[iscariot]

1.  Don't buy a scan converter.  You should be able to output to a 52 inch with your netbook through the VGA port.  My Samsung 52 inch has a VGA port.  I'm pretty sure yours does.
2.  See 1.
3.  LCDs, TVs, and Monitors all refresh much faster.  Just use one of the many overlays to simulate scanlines.  Certain CRTs already will have a noticeable effect, like mine.  It should scale appropriately onto your screen but keep in mind the low resolutions of most arcade games(320x240 vs. 1900x1080)
4.  I've already done it.  It's not a big deal.  I'm doing it on my room's 42 inch.  By default it will look blurry.  You can turn off all this stuff and it will just look blocky.  Remember, you're not standing right on top of the TV.

Short answer, just buy a long VGA, DVI, or HDMI cable, depending on what your laptop can output.

[Blanka]

Have you measured the input lag on it? 0.2 seconds? Try play Donkey Kong with that 

Just put it in blocky mode. Its old games on new technology. Accept 5x5mm pixels 

[torez]

Netbooks have crappy video cards and have little power (Atom processor).  Go with at least some decent laptop with dedicated video card.  You will enjoy it much more in the long run.  If you are in US, try craigslist for some local used laptops.

[Hutt]

I have played mame on my HTPC that is hooked to a 52" Sony.
Looks AWESOME....did not notice any pixelation either.

[mlalena]

I have a cheap 37" LCD on my cab (only $400 new) and it was horrible with the VGA cable. I purchased a DVI to HDMI cable, and that made it look much better.

[Spectrum]

+1 for DVI to HDMI if your TV supports it.  I use one of these between my HTPC and my TV and have had great results.  The cables can get a bit expensive if you need a longer one, but it's much better than VGA!

[Kajoq]

You can get away with it a little cheaper with an adapter from http://www.monoprice.com/products/search.asp?keyword=hdmi+to+dvi&x=0&y=0

Monoprice is absurdly cheap on things like that 95% of the time

[Hutt]

You can get away with it a little cheaper with an adapter from http://www.monoprice.com/products/search.asp?keyword=hdmi+to+dvi&x=0&y=0

Monoprice is absurdly cheap on things like that 95% of the time

I was going to say the same thing....Monoprice is great for cables.

I got 25' and 50 HDMI cable a while back for about $20-30 and the are sweet.
Whatever you do, don't fall for those ---That which is odiferous and causeth plants to grow--- expensive cables.

[mlalena]

I started with monoprice (great site), but I decided to check amazon because I had some gift cards from there.
Found this 6ft HDMI to DVI cable for 61 cents + $3 shipping.
http://www.amazon.com/Eforcity-Black-Meter-HDMI-Cable/dp/B000E8SY5Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248746654&sr=8-1