What screen to use for a vertical cab?

[zaktallica]

So im thinking of making or using a gutted cab to run vert mame games only..What kind of screen do you guys suggest? LCD? If so wide screen or 4;3 and what size? Or do you prefer tvs or crt monitors? I need some ideas...thanks

[zaktallica]

anyone??

[Franco B]

29" (or 27" to you US guys) 4:3 15Khz CRT 

That's what I use and whats used for the majority of Jap shmups.

However, if you only have the choice between an LCD or 31Khz CRT monitor I guess it depends on what your cab is going to be like. If its a slim cab then you will be looking at an LCD. If its a 'fat' cab then you could choose either.

You should be able to pick up a 21" CRT cheaper (read for free/pence) than an LCD but in this instance you may be able to get a larger LCD than a CRT.

You want to be running your games in 4:3. If you were making a Hori cab you would really be limited to a (very expensive) 21" 4:3 LCD. You could get a bigger widescreen LCD and just display the game in the 4:3 section in the middle but you would end up with a very large bezel either side of the screen and it would make your cab wider than it wants to be for the displayed image size.

This should give you an idea of what I mean:



However as you are planning a vert cab you should be able to pick up a larger LCD, mount it vertically and mask of the top and bottom of the screen as there will be much more room to house the top and bottom of the screen in.

Looking at [this] page a 32" 16:9 LCD would give you a 26" 4:3 image.

[zaktallica]

Well I dont have the money for a real arcade crt so it will be a big crt tv or monitor or the lcd...It may go in a ms pac man cab and they look pretty small..

[Franco B]

For some reason I thought you said vert shmup games, I have them on the brain at the moment   

Is this for a real Ms Pac man cab or one you are going to make?

A Ms Pac man cab uses a 19" monitor so you could fit one of those in without having to change the bezel etc size.

You could probably fit a larger monitor in if you wanted to but then you would need to change the bezel size etc.

Regardless to that you want to get a 4:3 monitor in this case. A Ms Pac man cab has planty of depth so I would be tempted to use a 19" PC CRT if money is an issue.

[Blanka]

The best LCD for vertical classics is the HP LP2065. It's 20 inch (rougly the same as the 19 inch tubes the classics used) and because its an IPS panel, the viewing angles are great for vertical mounting. It also has a very short input-lag, so the response is great. Note that a 20 inch vertical mount LCD has a larger image than a 32 inch 16:9 landscape LCD for classics!

[Jack Burton]

If  this goes in a Ms. Pac cabinet then these are your best choices:

# 1 19" arcade monitor.  Not as expensive or hard to find as you might think.  Contact your local amusement vendor and use the trading forum here to find one. 

# 2 19" 15 khz compatible CRT pc monitor.  This is a PC monitor that can sync to arcade resolutions and refresh rates.  Fairly rare but worth taking a look around for.

# 3 19" PC CRT monitor.  Cheap and easy to find.  Don't spend over $50 on this.  You have a high chance of getting one for free if you look around.  

You can forget about LCD's.  There's no reason to use them here.  

Most CRT PC monitors have a metal cage around the actual hardware inside them and are a cinch to mount.  They use the same or very similar mounts as 19" arcade monitors.

21" monitors are also nice, but are a little harder to mount and require a new bezel.  I would go with a 19" to make things a little easier and more authentic.  

[TOK]

In order of preference for me... arcade monitor, component TV, computer monitor, LCD.

19" or bigger. I prefer a lot bigger, I'm using a 27" TV with component. Lots of people don't like an image that big for vert classics, but I'd hate to have anything less than a 25.

[Jack Burton]

You might want to try to find a 19" PC crt with a heavily curved screen too.  Old arcade monitors had a curved screen.  Using one for your monitor will give the games a roundness that give the illusion of "old game".   Make sure to set your monitor color settings to 6500k for this same reason.   A round tube PC monitor will likely be older and have a slightly coarser dot pitch, and that will help too. 

[Thenasty]

19" Arcade Monitor. Nuff said 

[zaktallica]

I will be using this for shooters as well as pacman etc..I dont care to much about it looking authentic just wondering what are good options..I may go with the crt monitor but 19 inches seems so small..If i was going lcd i was going to use a 22 inch or more but it would most likely be wide screen so I wasn't sure if that makes things look crappy..Is there enough space on a pacman cab for 2 players 2 play a shmup together?

[RayB]

Since none of the classics were designed for a widescreen, they will look crappy stretched to fit a wide screen.

[zaktallica]

Ya i noticed that on my hp monitor that goes vertical..it stretchs the game and there are 2 very thin black bars on the side

[zaktallica]

Heys guys that guy wants 150 bucks for the pacman cab but I found some selling a cab that was converted to a gauntlet here - http://sacramento.craigslist.org/vgm/1579720622.html
Should I just buy that? Would it be easy to make it into a vertical cab?

[Blanka]

The 20 inch HP LCD is true 4:3 with pivot, so no black bars on that one. If you want a similar vertical 3:4 picture on the new widescreen LCD's, you need at least 32 inch for the same image size!

[gryhnd]

I used a 22" Dell CRT off Craigslist for $20 (mint condition, fwiw). See my build notes (linky in sig) if interested.

[Kevin Mullins]

Heys guys that guy wants 150 bucks for the pacman cab but I found some selling a cab that was converted to a gauntlet here - http://sacramento.craigslist.org/vgm/1579720622.html
Should I just buy that? Would it be easy to make it into a vertical cab?

No, you need to leave that one for someone who may actually restore it.

BTW - shooting games in a Pac cab will suck.

[Jack Burton]

erm

Galaga is a shooting game and it plays pretty good in a pac man cab.  So do the other shooters I've played in them. 

[zaktallica]

None is going to restore that cab..Its not even a original cab its a gutted cab and someone through gauntlet on there with the Cp..So I know galaga plays fine on a pacman cab but with two people standing over the cab for 2 player shmups? Im leaning towards this gauntlet cab and throwing a vertical tv or monitor in there.People around here dont buy arcade cabs really so I might as well pick it up..

[zaktallica]

How about this screen? Would this fit in a pacman? Or would it look 2 small in the gauntlet as vertical? I squeezed a 27 inch in my mortal kombat 2 cab but that's for horizontal games.
http://stockton.craigslist.org/sys/1577174766.html

[Kevin Mullins]

erm

Galaga is a shooting game and it plays pretty good in a pac man cab.  So do the other shooters I've played in them. 

erm
When someone says "shooters" I immediately think of light gun games. 
But yeah, I see what you're saying.

[Jack Burton]

ewww

in that case please don't.

But he said if the cab would be wide enough for 2p shmup play so I guess he means shmups.

Personally I don't think it would be quite wide enough.  I always stick to 1p mode in shmups and then alternate players though.

That NEC monitor should work nicely.  You might have to modify your mounting bracket a little bit though.  When I pulled the 19" monitor out of my pac man cabinet it looked like the bracket would have to have some holes drilled in it to fit a 21" monitor. 

[zaktallica]

Ya i want this mainly for 2 player plane shooting games no lightgun..And of course pacman galaga etc..So ya teh gaunlet is sold so I may hafta get the pacman..

[DeLuSioNal29]

I have a 22" monitor in my newly built vertical cabinet.  I got it for free on Craigslist.  It fits perfectly with case and bezel removed.  I was able to put something that large in the cabinet due to the angle of the monitor.  The general rule is if the angle of the monitor is laying on it's back you can fit a larger monitor in there.  The more upright the monitor is the greater chance you have that it won't fit since it will stick out in the back.  You'll see in the tail end of the video that my other arcade cabinet is using a 19" monitor.  (it barely fit with the back closed)

Here's my cabinet (byoac project announcement coming soon):



DeLuSioNaL29