Nanao MS8-26SU vs. Nieman 24.8 Tri Sync...Which monitor for MAME - Arcade VGA?

[jtslade]

Nanao MS8-26SU which has a jumper to switch to standard arcade res (i believe)

Would this be a good upgrade from Svideo TV to arcade monitor CRT action?

Arcade VGA 3000 PCI-E

Will I need an Isolation transformer from the smart strip?

Will standard res horizontal games look ok?

Please no just use an LCD remarks as this is not an option.

Also I don't mind having to cap this monitor, which apparently a cap on the neck pcb helps with brightness..

[jtslade]

So the other monitor option would be From Nieman Displays, a 24.8 Tri-Sync arcade monitor

Both would be hooked up to an Arcade VGA 3000 PCI-e

Anyone have any suggestions? Anyone using these or both at some time..

Price is not an issue as the moving company who broke the existing TV will pay for whatever..

the 25" Nanao MS8-26SU is $150 used
The 25" Tri Sync Nieman monitor is 470 shipped.

Any thoughts, thank you!!!

[mgb]

For the Nanao, you will need an isolation transformer but it will also need to be 100 volts

[jtslade]

100v

Is that because its a Japanese monitor? Ie like a donkey kong and the EZ monitor?

[mgb]

Yeah.
 But it's not really a big deal to get the proper isolation transformer for it

[Rickn]

Yes, you will need an isolation transformer with the MS8, this is because it is not a switch mode power supply. No you will not need one with the Nieman 3M25. When using either monitor in Mame you will want to force Mame to stay at one resolution. This is because both are not digital and will not remember the settings of size, position etc. when you change the resolutions. In the case of the MS8 you will need an Arcade VGA card or soft 15 type software to force it to 15Khz. In the case of the Nieman if your video card can be set to 640X480 (31Khz VGA) your good to go... in both cases make sure Mame is forced to the right frequency.

I know "a little " about both monitors because my first company Imagetel built the MS8 and MS9 Nanao monitors and of course the Nieman monitor was built by my second company Nieman Video Displays.

In any case if you have any other questions I will be glad to try to help!

Cheers Rick Nieman
Rick@Niemandisplays.com

[jtslade]

Yeah.
 But it's not really a big deal to get the proper isolation transformer for it

Where would I start looking for one that will work? Any suggestions or reviews?

[jtslade]

I'm very torn given that Rick Nieman has been supporting us Mame/arcade guys for so long and I feel that supporting his business is the right choice..

The Nieman is an analog tri sync, flat screen and taking  Rick's post above can I run an array of 15khz games standard res games and then


Run Hyperspin in 640-480 ? Will I have to make constant adjustments?


What Mame games will my cab play now, all the vertical stuff will be on a cocktail 60 in 1 so that leaves all the great standard res horizontal 80's classics, the TMNT and early 90's stuff.


Ok the wife loves Tapper, TMNT and tons of neo geo Mvs titles (magic drop 3) for example so a list of 100 games on a default wheel in HS is what I am going for now..

So if this mame cab will be horizontal games only

Will the Nanao 25 inch give 15 kHz
Games standard resolution a decent pic that looks good..

And look faithful, original with the ArcadeVGA 3000 running the show?

Will I have to constantly adjust the controls on the monitor for size H/V?

Does the Arcade VGA help with this ?

All horizontal, ill make a new hyper list of horizontal standard res and throw in the Neo Geo MVS that I like to play..


Anyone have experience with this could chime in on their experiences..

I understand tweaking and spending time getting it right, but is it even possible?

Thank you guys .

[JoeB]

With Neiman you're also getting a brand new monitor.

The ms8 works with 100v but will work with 110-120v without a voltage down transformer. Many in USA use candy cabs just fine on USA voltages.

[jtslade]

That is such a great point. The Nieman is new and basically drop in the cab and hook up the arcade VGA, get the 15k stuff looking great , if Hyperspin looks wired running in 31khz VGA then maybe just run it set in the arcade VGA utility as a standard arcade monitor all the time....

Sure HS may look weird but the games will look good..

Any Tri Sync owners out there have any regrets over just a standard arcade monitor?

Sorry for all the questions but I've had a svideo de-cased tv in the cab for 6+ years and kind of hating not spending the time and money back then to do it right...

[mgb]

I have a kortek tri sync but its digital.

If you can swing the new neiman monitor then maybe it's the best choice.

[jtslade]

So I found this thread that basically gives me my answer:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,64850.0.html

The analog multisync would not be the best choice for a Mame HS frontend setup using the Arcade VGA 3000 due to having to adjust monitor settings each time you switch from standard 15khz (CGA) to VGA 640-480 31khz for the Front End.

So I guess the Nanao MS8-26SU is the best way to go for me right now.

Now I have to track down an Isolation transformer, figure out how to wire it up to the Nanao MS8-26SU
Order the Arcade VGA 3000 when they get back in stock (Andy from Ultimarc said they would be back in stock this week).

swap the Svideo TV for the 25" Nanao MS8-26SU

install drivers and tweak my current GroovyMame settings for a standard arcade monitor.

If anyone has a good place to snag an isolation transformer that will work I am all ears.

I do have an Asteroids Deluxe upright that has bad wood swelling that is going to be parted out, I wonder if its ISO can be used?

[jtslade]

What if I just select standard aracde monitor in the AVGA setup utility. Will it just act like a standard arcade monitor? Then the FE will run in standard res... games in standard res...

[Rickn]

Honestly the Nanao product was extremely reliable! Having said that it has not been built for a number of years so the used monitor may have some issues, hopefully it is local to you and you can view it before purchase. In many cases parts to service this are hard to find now, but by all means if it fits your budget go for it! Keep in mind it will only accept 15.75khz and 24,3 KHz (Standard and mid-res)
As you appear to be located in Germany I am not sure where you have located a 3M25 NVD monitor for $470 including freight?
We built the last one we had tubes for a number of months ago, I only know of one distributor in the US that has any inventory. We purchased over $5K in parts to continue to support the monitors we produced as the tube ERA ended.
As I mentioned in both cases I would recommend you decide on the resolution and set your system whether Mame or Hyperspin to stay there! The MS8 will not do VGA and the NVD will require many adjustments if you change resolutions.
In any case Good luck in your pursuit!
Cheers
Rick Nieman
I can always be reached by e-mail rick@niemandisplays.com  ... do not always check the forums as I visit quite a few trying to offer help!

[Zebra]

I wanted to resurrect this thread because it contains some misleading info that needs correcting.

I have the Billabs BL25C90T which is the same as the Neiman and the Makvision 24.8" flat Multi-sync auto switching CRT arcade monitors. All three look identical and have the same specs and controls.

All of them make great Mame monitors and the Billabs and Makvisions are still available new.

It is true that you need to make some image adjustments when you switch resolutions but it is quick and easy on these monitors because they have a remote board with pots for image size and shape. I keep my remote board upfront so it takes less than 5 seconds to make the screen perfect for each game.

Regardless of the monitor you choose, you will have to make some image size adjustments for different games. Even if you only have a CGA monitor, Mortal Kombat and other 256 line games will be cut off at the top and bottom if you don't adjust the V size. At least with these monitors they have the remote board. It is much more annoying on monitors that have all the pots at the back.

These monitors use an "A" tube which  means they have a dot pitch of around .8mm which is the same as most standard res arcade monitors. Some Tri-syncs use an "M" tube which has a fine dot pitch like a pc monitor and IMO they should be avoided as CGA games look too blocky on them.

Incidentally, when mine switches from CGA to VGA, I don't need to make any image adjustments. It is only EGA resolutions and 256 line cga games that seem to need some H and v size adjustments.

It is great being able to play street fighter 4 at 480p and Street Fighter 2 at 240p. EGA games might be more user friendly if you use software instead of an arcade vga card. Arcade vga cards only have 1 EGA resolution with 380 lines so games like Narc with 400 lines get clipped at the bottom....

I recommend a video amp with these monitors to raise the signal level to 4 volts. The extra brightness and contrast makes games look more authentic that what you get when using the 15 pin D-sub port at 1 volt on these monitors.

The digital tri-syncs are definitely more convenient if you can find them but these auto switching analogue CRT's are not hard to live with at all.

My personal preference would be a curved CRT over the flat ones but that is just a matter of taste