Monitor Question

[QB1DABOMB]

I've been killing myself trying to figure out what's wrong with my MAME cabinet.   

I've finally found a website that literally spells out what the problem is!   

I'm experiencing the "tearing" from technique 1.  Problem is I think I have the correct things checked in MAME ("syncrefresh" means sync to monitor refresh, right?).  Mind you I think all four are checked now that I think about it.  Does anyone have a surefire way for me to get rid of the nuisance that I'm stuck in which is technique 1?

Thanks in advance 
Jay

[QB1DABOMB]

Might help if I post the link (DUH) 

http://retroblast.arcadecontrols.com/articles/winmamemon_1.html

[QB1DABOMB]

No one?  Really?   

I put the settings to only triplebuff and syncrefresh but that didn't fix the problem.  Can anyone offer further insight?

[qrz]

monitor make/model ?


the monitor's Hosc "freerun" frequency may be off a bit .

for lack of proper test equipment :

let unit run for 5 minute warm up .

pull sync lead(s)  sync will freerun

adjust h/v freq for minimum roll/tear.  reconnect sync-should lock immediately

note: when Hfreq low , pic will tear to left - to right when high
high up/low down for vert

[MonMotha]

This looks like a software issue.  You need to get the video output of the emulator synced up with the refresh of the video card/monitor.  Options vary by emulator.  Look for "vsync" or "triple buffering" options.  That page you linked describes this further down the page.

Attempting to turn on "wait for vsync" may fail if you have this overridden in a driver somewhere (a common setting for "performance gaming" modes as it results in higher framerates at the expense of tearing), so investigate that, too.

[QB1DABOMB]

Thanks for the two follow ups, they are appreciated.

Andy from Ultimarc investigated but wrote it off to the fact I'm using S-video to TV.  I fail to see how that could be the case because there are countless accounts of people using s-video to TV for their cabs and none have reported having to "put up" with this nonsense.

I'm pretty sure a TV has a refresh rate of 60 hz.  I have the computer set at 60 hz.  MESS is set at 320 x 240 with an auto refresh.  I then set it at 60 hz to see if that would help, didn't do squat.  Is there something I'm missing here? 

One interesting thing...I keep going in and out of my monitor properties.  On occasion I've found the computer has reset its refresh rate...to 200hz!  Is the computer trying to compensate for something and thus screwing up the screen?  Maybe it's something I have to override?

[MonMotha]

S-Video outputs on PC cards are generally pretty terrible and can cause exactly what you're describing.  They work by basically attempting to take "anything" PC style and running it through a video masher until it's TV compatible.  This generally means at least a scaler (resolution change) but also sometimes a framerate change since NTSC TV technically runs at 59.94Hz and not 60Hz (it's also interlaced while PC video is progressive).  They don't usually do a very good job.  The intent is to get "something usable" on the TV for things like presentations, not to provide perfect video.  I would not be at all surprised if the S-Video output hardware on your PC's video card is causing this.

If you do want to use S-Video and ensure yourself full control over the video timings (necessary for "native" video output), what you seem to have to do is use the RGB output at native TV compatible timings (e.g. from an ArcadeVGA or using driver tricks like Soft15kHz on Windows to force this since no PC card will do this by default), and then use an outboard converter device like you can buy from arcademvs.com to convert to s-video.  Note that there will be overscan.  There's a thread somewhere discussing this at length.  Results are generally very good (much better than the crappy onboard S-Video outputs), but it's complicated.

[QB1DABOMB]

I do understand what you're saying.  My question is this; I'm running MAME, MESS, and ZSNES on this cab.  MESS is ruined by this problem, MAME experiences this problem but barely at all, ZSNES doesn't experience this problem at all whatsoever!  So if it was truly the s-video out then wouldn't ZSNES show the problem too?

[QB1DABOMB]

MonMotha:

I was incorrect, the problem is on all emulators including ZSNES.  Further I found my video card also has composite output.  I tried that by itself and in conjunction with the s-video...nothing worked.

With the adapter you mentioned...I get that I run an S-video cable from the adapter to the TV, but how is this different than the video card to the TV?.  What else is involved in using this adapter?  Furthermore is the "overscan" another huge problem?  Would I just be trading tearing for this overscan and then be stuck with another problem? 

Also is something that could be fixed by getting a different video card with s-video out or is this something that is generic with video cards with tv out?  I'm fixated on using a TV because I want the size over a 19" computer monitor and I can't afford (nor do I want to upkeep) a 27" arcade monitor.  All insight to this problem and possible solution is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.