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| Monitors make me hate this whole thing. |
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| Guywiththegun:
Yeah, I just had to vent. I've pinpointed the problem. Its the monitor. It turns the wide-eyed dreams of my inner-child into the nightmares of the pessimistic bitter adult I've become. Arcade monitors are not worth what they cost. Not even close. I wouldn't pay more than $200 for one without feeling ripped off. They are ludicrous in price. Don't tell me it makes sense that my 42" 1080p 120hz flat-screen is cheaper than a 27" tube that can't go beyond 800x640 pixels. Tube TV's are old and outdated. S-Video sucks, apparently, and good luck finding one that will come on with your computer and will stay on the same channel. In fact, good luck finding any without the ---meecrob--- selling it putting a $250 price-tag on it like its 1998. Oh and its so much FUN thinking of ways to mount that monstrosity! LCD TV's are all widescreen and you might have to worry about lag, just because God hates arcade machines. LCD Monitors, I'm leaning towards . . frankly because every option is an absolute disaster in its own way, so why not stick with the one that won't make you want to get black-out drunk and forget you ever set foot in an arcade? As a side-note, as you can see I'm in the market for something to fit into my Kangaroo machine, which I decided to (once again) undertake but is already starting to get under my skin. Advice, comments, etc. are all appreciated. I'm thinking (and this may sound crazy) of getting a big LCD monitor and turning it vertical. Then I'll play the 4:3 games with the top and bottom of the monitor cut off. I just need to know what size TV would give me a good 20"+ display like that. |
| newmanfamilyvlogs:
Start looking on things like Craigslist for a 21" VGA computer monitor? I picked up one for around $30USD a while back. It was a little dim, but an 1/8th turn of the brightness pot on the flyback brought it up good as new. |
| Well Fed Games:
I feel your pain. Buying TVs off of craigslist is hard as the best demo I've gotten is a view of static in the person's house before I bought it, to find out the geometry is off or the colors are bad, or the channel/power return was inconsistent... and try to sell it right back on craigslist. Finally found a 19" tv that mounted right in my pac cab with power return, and I decided that composite video was good enough (it really is), as the set met enough of the requirements to stop looking for the white whale. And learning about different video card sockets (pci-e, etc?) Pain in the :censored:. Just wanted to commiserate, I think you summed up the monitor challenge well. Only advice I have is that the later Sylvania CRT TVs have been my best luck for power/input return. |
| Donkbaca:
Welcome to the darkside. If its an old Kangaroo machine, a 19 inch 4:3 lcd would be a good solution. You can go up to 21.5" on a 4:3 screen and they are cheap used. You can get a 19 inch for under a hundred bucks and a 21.5 incher for under 200. 21.5 inches is PLENTY big enough, especially when you consider most classics were played on 19 inch crt's that probably had 17.5 inches viewable.. Not to mention the weight of the damn CRT screens. Just get a LCD and don't look back. |
| Guywiththegun:
The problem is I can never settle. You have brilliant people on here and throughout the net posting these amazing machines, making it seem like its easy. It makes you want to go for the best option . . problem is, the best option is $2000 in total, with years of wood-working experience and knowledge in wiring and soldering, etc. For someone like me who doesn't know how to build a set of shelves, its impossible to match up. I want my machine to look good and sleek, but I need to accept that its not gonna win any prizes here, or even be celebrated at all here. A self-built arcade machine with an LCD monitor and my Hotrod SE as controls would have made me weep in joy 5 years ago . . what the hell changed? |
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