LED/LCD wide screen vs 4:3? Tv Questions

[Demon-Seed]

Hey Guys,
I have not played a cabinet or build one in years... now I am planning a new one!!! yea finally!! I was thinking of using a LED tv for the monitor, however wondered what it looks like vs. the old 4:3 screens? Whats your opinions? the screens are much lighter, brighter, thinner than the old crt monitors I used.....

Thanks
Jim

[Rigby]

Depends on the level of authenticity you're looking for.  In addition to the light weight, smaller size, and lower power usage, they don't quite display motion properly; motion gets blurred a small amount. 

If you don't mind how it looks on your PC monitor then you probably won't mind how it looks on a cabinet.

[rCadeGaming]

What are you planning to play?  New 1080p content will be great, but classic console and arcade games will not look as good as a real CRT.  Scanline generators and HLSL are an improvement, but they're still not quite the same.

You also can't talk about gaming on a flat panel without considering lag.  I'll refer you to two recent threads:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,133837.0.html

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,134277.0.html

[Demon-Seed]

I plan on playing mame games.... NFL blitz and down.... I like mortal kombats, street fighters.. stuff from mid to late 90's.  Just debating the tv/screen I should use.

I am also confused.... with the ms specs.... and the hz.... what does one need? I am leaning towards LED TV as they are cooler.

Jim

[rCadeGaming]

The "ms specs" on this list,

http://www.displaylag.com/display-database/

refer to the amount of input lag.  A smaller the number means less lag, which is what you want.  Look at the LED's on that list in the size you want, and get the one with the lowest input lag (lowest number "ms spec").  It shouldn't matter if it's a monitor or a TV, as long as it has an HDMI input.

Then be sure to set up your emulators properly for low lag.  The first piece of advice on this is NEVER use triple buffer, as it adds a lot of lag.

Just stick to that list and you'll be fine.  If you look elsewhere, DON'T pay attention to the advertised response rate, which will also be measured in ms.  Response rate is not a measure of input lag.  If you make a purchase based on response rate or something else, there's a good chance you'll get a laggy display which is no good for gaming.

Just stick to that list, and choose based on their lag figures.

[Demon-Seed]

Thank u so much!

[rCadeGaming]

Np.  One other thing, be sure your PC is outputting 1080p (1920x1080 resolution) to the LED.

[matsadona]

I have mixed feelings regarding this topic. I usually prefer running the games on lo-res CRT, since that is the way the games was back in the days. However running on a high-res screen in a MAME cabinet gives has some nice features, like extra artwork like the bezels etc.
Whatever you do, don’t stretch a 4:3 game to 16:9 format – just accept the fact that the will be black borders.
With a high-res monitor you can have other emulators and games also, like Visual Pinball etc.

[Demon-Seed]

hey
I have always used old CRT screens however they are harder to find new......

[jimmer]

Great info on the lag, thanks for that. Glad I spotted this topic before buying my next screen.

Now I need to ask, are LED screens better than LCD in any general way? for gaming of course.

I wil be buying a 23" or 24"  monitor blind from amazon or eBay, so any specific recommendations from near the top of this list ?   http://www.displaylag.com/display-database/

[matsadona]

Well, most people in the business (sales) are more or less trying to fool the consumers that LED tv's are something comepletely new, however it is still an LCD panel but with different backlighting...

[rCadeGaming]

hey
I have always used old CRT screens however they are harder to find new......

Well there's no reason a new CRT is needed.  In the US, a 15kHz CRT TV with an RGB to component transcoder can rival a 15kHz CRT arcade monitor, and they are a dime a dozen on Craigslist, not hard to find one in good condition.  In PAL territories, there are tons of great CRT TV's with RGB SCART inputs.

I wil be buying a 23" or 24"  monitor blind from amazon or eBay, so any specific recommendations from near the top of this list ?   

If you can go a little bigger, the third from the top, LG 27EA33V, looks like a steal at only $250.  I think I'm going to get that for my next computer monitor.  The input lag rating is top notch, but I'll check a few reviews to hear about picture quality before pulling the trigger.

The process is generally the same for choosing any flat screen, look for the size you want, start at the top of the list where input lag is lowest, and check out each model matching that size as you go down the list.  Just check reviews to make picture quality is decent, and make sure you can find it at a reasonable price.

[jimmer]

If you can go a little bigger, the third from the top, LG 27EA33V, looks like a steal at only $250.  I think I'm going to get that for my next computer monitor.  The input lag rating is top notch, but I'll check a few reviews to hear about picture quality before pulling the trigger.

The process is generally the same for choosing any flat screen, look for the size you want, start at the top of the list where input lag is lowest, and check out each model matching that size as you go down the list.  Just check reviews to make picture quality is decent, and make sure you can find it at a reasonable price.

I don't want something that big, maybe in future but I'm just upgrading from 19" at the moment for the sake of StreetfighterII.  Was lookng at it's little brother LG IPS237L-BN but that doesn't have vesa mount. Winner so far is Asus VS239H 23" for £160, will look at a few more and then get it bought.

edit: job done.   Asus VS247H for £112 delivered   

[rCadeGaming]

Nice.

After looking through the list more I realized $250 is not that great of a deal these days.  I ended up ordering this one just now:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236288

It's the one you mentioned.  Good reviews, 10ms input lag is great, and IPS panel with 5ms response time should mean no motion blur. 

For the record, I'm still using a CRT exclusively for MAME and older consoles, but I figured it was time to upgrade my computer monitor.  It will probably get some use for PC games and some PS3 games too.