Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Monitor/Video Forum => Topic started by: nussmier on May 30, 2017, 10:33:01 am
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I am in the beginning of working on a MAME project and started looking at everything monitor related. I have read some faqs here done some digging and had decided I wanted a multisync CRT monitor in order to have the feel of the original games and to be able to display newer games also. Now it seems CRT's are a diminishing resource and multisync CRT monitors are priced beyond my wallet. I am trying to understand what all the options are for a monitor these days at a reasonable price. This is what I was thinking are options.
- Find an old CRT monitor take it apart and use it. Problem I see is this would only be CGA(15 khz) correct? I would need a special video card or software to display on this? How would it deal with EGA or VGA or does the special video card shrink it to display it on monitor? If taking an old monitor or TV is and option any particular monitors that are better to use than others?
- Display on a LCD and just deal with the fact wont be authentic? Are there any multisync lcd monitors out there? I know there are Tri Mode Makavision but my understanding is they cannot change from CGA/EGA/VGA any way but manually adjustments. Is there a way to use an LCD monitor and still make the resolutions as the original game?
I am sure there are other options out there that I don't know about so any help would be appreciated. Again Id like to keep the feel authentic but I can't see spending $900 on a multisync CRT monitor.
Thanks in adavance
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It would depend on what you're building. Is it PC based? Pi based? It may limit your connection options. It may also tell you what you want to do depending on budget.
The quality of a proper monitor will be the biggest benefit. A CGA monitor looks beautiful when working properly. It's just that they're not as abundant as TV's. I myself am just new to all this, and quite content using a Pi over composite video to a $5 CRT TV I decased. It's far from perfect, but considering my build is hopefully coming in under half of that $900 price, it's pretty decent.
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To answer your questions:
A 15kHz CRT will display 240P like original, but higher res things like EGA/VGA will be displayed in interlaced mode which will not look as good. You'd also need a TV capable of RGB signals, which are easy to get in Europe, but not in the US. Google groovymame and crt emudriver.
LCDs are fixed resolution so everything needs to be upscaled, which MAME does fine. 240P games will never look 100% authentic but modern games are a blast. Note that this setup needs a very good graphics card, as opposed to the easy requirements of a CRT. Google HSLS and CRT shaders.
Good luck!