19 inch TV

[mytymaus007]

Im looking for a 19 TV for my desktop, is this the 2nd best option to an arcade monitor, if so what would be a good tv to buy, and what should i look for. IM assuming as long as it has S-video its good to go

[MaximRecoil]

Free or cheap 19" or 20" TV in good shape (strong tube, no burn) + $65 8Liners chassis = a cheap like-new arcade monitor.

In any event, pretty much any 19" TV in good shape will be about as good as any other 19" TV in good shape. However, you may find it difficult to find one with S-video. By the time S-video was common on TVs in the U.S., it was usually on the larger ones. Of course, if you use an 8Liners chassis, it doesn't matter what kind of inputs the TV has, because you won't be using them anyway.

[Beretta]

+1

svideo did'nt come "stanrdard" till 25/27 inch was already the norm.. although that does'nt mean you can't find a nice 19 inch with svid.

it's a matter of option but ya i'd say tv with s-vid or better hook up is 2nd best choice.

[Ginsu Victim]

plenty of 19" TVs have S-video

[MaximRecoil]

plenty of 19" TVs have S-video

Not nearly as easy to find as the ones that don't.

[Ummon]

plenty of 19" TVs have S-video

Not nearly as easy to find as the ones that don't.

Depends where ya are I guess. TVs have had S-video since.....the early to mid 90s, and I see very few around here older than that.

[DJ_Izumi]

The smaller the TV, the lesser it's features is the general rule for CRTs.  Though most of Sony's CRTs even at 19" were built with S-Video input.  I don't think it'd be impossible but it would be more difficult.

[MaximRecoil]

Depends where ya are I guess. TVs have had S-video since.....the early to mid 90s, and I see very few around here older than that.

Not all of them. The cheapest 19" ones tended to have just RF and A/V inputs right up until all CRTs disappeared from the shelves a few years ago. As late as the mid-'90s you could still get cheap 19" and even 25" TVs that didn't even have A/V inputs; just RF. And when it came to people buying new 19" TVs during the S-video era, they tended to go for the cheapest ones (people looking to spend more money were also typically looking for bigger TVs than 19").

Before the '90s, 19" was considered a decent sized TV, so people were more likely to shell out extra money for ones with better quality/more features. However, at that time, S-video (introduced in '87) was rare except on the top end stuff. When the 25" and larger TVs became cheap in the '90s, and S-video became more common, the 19" TVs became more of an economy choice, or a choice for the bedroom or whatever; rather than a choice as a main TV; so they tended to go for the cheapest ones, which tended to lack S-video.

[Blanka]

Guess it's a USA problem. In Europe all small TV's have SCART with RGB and S-video inputs.

[mytymaus007]

isnt there a way to hook up my VGA card to the RCA jacks via an adapter or I need to use the DVI port

[MaximRecoil]

isnt there a way to hook up my VGA card to the RCA jacks via an adapter or I need to use the DVI port

If your video card has a TV-out port (usually S-video) then just use that. You can get S-video-to-composite (RCA) adapters, and they are not expensive. Composite is near the bottom of the barrel for picture quality though (the only thing worse is RF).

[mytymaus007]

So its better to use s-video then this adapter Im only asking because im trying to find a 19 tv with s-video but know luck most just have RCA jacks

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419&cs_id=1041901&p_id=2398&seq=1&format=2

[mytymaus007]

Anyone try these before PC to TV

http://www.amazon.com/6ft-component-video-cable-HD15/dp/B000FM3EQ0

[MaximRecoil]

So its better to use s-video then this adapter Im only asking because im trying to find a 19 tv with s-video but know luck most just have RCA jacks

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419&cs_id=1041901&p_id=2398&seq=1&format=2

That adapter is DVI to component. If you think finding a 19" TV with S-video is hard, try finding one with component inputs. The 19" TVs you are finding with RCA jacks; those RCA jacks are for a composite input, not a component input. Component connections also usually use RCA jacks (three of them for video, compared to just one for composite), but it is a totally different signal than composite.

So no, that won't work at all, unless you do find a 19" TV with component inputs (unlikely); in which case, it is a higher quality signal than S-video; second only to RGB in terms of analog signals.

Anyone try these before PC to TV

http://www.amazon.com/6ft-component-video-cable-HD15/dp/B000FM3EQ0

Same deal. That's for component, not composite.

[DJ_Izumi]

A 19" TV with S-video would be difficult to find in North America; A 19" TV with component inputs would be next to impossible.

I gotta be honest.  If you're going for a 19" TV, why not nix the TV and use a 19 or 21 inch CRT PC monitor?  It'd be a LOT easier to find and can hook directly up to your PC in the cab.

[mytymaus007]

Is the tv closer to an arcade monitor or can i get the same resolutions from a PC monitor as the TV. if tv is better ill try to get a bidder size with component

[MaximRecoil]

Is the tv closer to an arcade monitor or can i get the same resolutions from a PC monitor as the TV. if tv is better ill try to get a bidder size with component

A TV with component inputs will be closer to an arcade monitor than a PC monitor is. Before you go in that direction however, do some research on it. I don't think that all video cards will output component even with one of those adapters. Read through some of the threads in the Monitor/Video section on the topic of using component inputs on a TV with MAME.

[mytymaus007]

yeh only ATI cads work with an this adapter

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419&cs_id=1041901&p_id=2398&seq=1&format=2

[MaximRecoil]

yeh only ATI cads work with an this adapter

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419&cs_id=1041901&p_id=2398&seq=1&format=2

Yeah, there are more issues you can run into than just that though. For example, here is a quote from one of the many threads on the topic in the Monitor/Video section:

Component can be a big pain in the butt to get working right as evidenced by some of the threads here, but if your hardware supports it, its definitely worth a little tweaking to use it.

Like I said, you may want to research before diving into it.

[severdhed]

i'd take a 19" CRT vga monitor over a 19" TV with composite video any day.  i'm not an arcade purist though...i dont mind if the picture doesn't look exactly like it did on the real cabinet, as long as it doesnt look like crap.

i have a 19" CRT pc monitor in my DK mame cabinet and it looks great.    also, i found a sunset riders cabinet today at the local ice skating place, so i naturally had to play a little.  the cabinet was in good shape and everything looked and played well, but the picture was not nearly as good as it is on the 36" gateway destination monitor on our mame cab at work, or even my 19" LCD monitor in my mame cab.

i see no point in making something look crappy just for authenticity.

[mytymaus007]

The classic games look like poo on LCD's and PC"S, even with scanlines there off unless im seeing different. Classics should either be played on TV for scanlines or arcade monitor if you have a cab. IMO any other opinions

[MaximRecoil]

i'd take a 19" CRT vga monitor over a 19" TV with composite video any day.  i'm not an arcade purist though...i dont mind if the picture doesn't look exactly like it did on the real cabinet, as long as it doesnt look like crap.

Composite is crap; component is not. Component is on a similar quality level to RGB, if you can get it to work that is.

i have a 19" CRT pc monitor in my DK mame cabinet and it looks great.

I think classic arcade games look like crap on PC monitors, but it is a different kind of crap than say, a TV through composite, but not better crap. The problem with PC CRT monitors is not due to the lack of a high quality signal, because they use RGB which is as good as it gets. The problem comes from the display being optimized for high resolutions and reading tiny text; it makes those old crude graphics look like Lego blocks.

Also, they are not typically capable of 15 KHz, so the only way to get the low resolution classic arcade games to fill the screen is through either unfiltered pixel duplication (which enhances the Lego effect) or through pasty filtered stretching; neither of which look particularly good.

[DJ_Izumi]

Composite is crap; component is not. Component is on a similar quality level to RGB, if you can get it to work that is.

I gotta be honest.  I'd be pretty shocked if anyone can find a 19" CRT in North America with component.  I think that's why people are knocking composite.  Cause they don't think he'll possibly find a component 19" CRT.

[MaximRecoil]

Composite is crap; component is not. Component is on a similar quality level to RGB, if you can get it to work that is.

I gotta be honest.  I'd be pretty shocked if anyone can find a 19" CRT in North America with component.  I think that's why people are knocking composite.  Cause they don't think he'll possibly find a component 19" CRT.

I know, but he said:

Is the tv closer to an arcade monitor or can i get the same resolutions from a PC monitor as the TV. if tv is better ill try to get a bidder size with component

I'm assuming that "bidder" means "bigger".

[Beretta]

ya s-video is about as good as it's gonna get on a 19inch tv.

although im far from a expert here i've never personally seen a 19inch tv with componet hookups..

composite sucks like veryone else is saying.. although i'd have to take a composite tv oer a vga monitor.

s-video is a setup from composite and is widely considered "acceptable" or i guess you'd say "best effort" hookup for tv's.. those spoiled euro's have scart but we dont in the states.

component is your best option on tv's but like people have said finding a 19 inch with component will be harder then just buying a 19inch arcade monitor.

[mytymaus007]

check out this sale on craigslist 27 inch tv with s-video can anyone explain what power return is used for and why its good for mame

http://longisland.craigslist.org/ele/1392481652.html

[DJ_Izumi]

In googling, Power Return apparently means if you unplug the TV while it's on and then plug it back in, it will turn on agian without needing the power button pressed.

But you could easily get a 27" with component as well and that'd look a lot better.  I'd suggest something with a flatter tube face as well.