help with TV monitor - NEWBIE!

[The Shore Thing]

I'm new to MAME and this fourm. My cabinet is finished, and now I'm up to the monitor.

I'm using a TV as a monitor. I researched, and found several peopel who prefered S-video to composite video.

So I upgraded my computer with a new Radeon PCI video card that has s-video outputs.

When I hooked up the 27" TV, the picture is a little blurry. It's blurry to the point that I can barely read the workd on my desktop.

I tried adjusting the TV controls - sharpness, tint, etc - but that didn't do much. The computer is recognizing the TV as the monitor, but it won't let me adjust the resolution (if that is even a factor)

Now - I admit that I did cheap out on the TV, and went with an Emerson. It is brand new, and has component and s-video inputs (and is a flat screen).

Would another TV make a difference?
IS there a way to adjust settings on the computer?

Again - I'm totally new to ALL of this!

Thanks in advance!!!!!!!!!

[MonitorGuru]

You will not be able to get clear Windows desktop/application text to appear on a TV set with S-Video output from a VGA card.  Heck, you can't even get good windows desktop/application text on a CGA arcade monitor with a VGA card, since the resolution is too low.  But the TV and the conversion to and from Svideo makes it all the worse on a TV Set.

You will need to use a program such as AdvanceMenu or ArcadeOS or other front ends that use LARGE fonts to make them readable on the screen, instead of the tiny font you get from basic Windows.

If you use these programs listed above you can also just connect the computer up to an arcade monitor for a better picture than the Svideo will give.

But to solve the immediate problem, your only solutions are to use a front end with big fonts, or to switch to a large and expensive computer monitor.  It's not really the SVideo causing the problem, it's the resolution of the output and tube itself.  (but the Svideo actually does cause degredation as well)

[mattv]

Yep;

TV = crap for windows but quite good for arcade games.

The very fact that your TV IS a little blury is what makes it so good gor games, not as good as a proper arcade monitor, but much better than a PC screen.

Look ar advancemenu or arcadeos or mamewah maybe?

These will give you nice big fonts that are readable on your TV and an easy frontend to your games which will look great on the TV

[The Shore Thing]

Ok - being a newbie - i guess it's ok for me to ask dumb questions.....

I'm assuming I can easily download mamewah, or another front end, from the net. I guess It's easy to install and figure out what the heck to do with it.

Also, will using smoked glass over my bezel sharpen the images?

Finally, I just purchased the TV, and I can still return it. Would you recommend gettign a better name brand TV, or even changing my graphics card to a component video? Teh TV has inputs for that.


Thanks!

[MonitorGuru]

Component video, compared with SVideo as a signal transport produces almost the same picture quality from even good DVD players on good televisions.

That said, the limiting factor here is the TV technology itself and the resoulution you're running it at AND the type of chipset used to covert the VGA RGB signal into an SVideo signal..... none of which will be improved by switching to another TV.  

Plus remember component video is NOT the same as VGA/pure RGB. Component is a mathematical equation based upon sending a B+W portion and 2 separate color portions, not 3 separate R/G/B portions (that's why it's only marginally better on standard TV technology, you can't really notice a difference unless you're talking HDTV/Plasma/LCD technology)  And the fact that I don't know of a single computer video card that outputs component video anyway.

I'd look at using something other than MAME32 as a front end (I assume that's what you want since you're using windows), or attempt to load some video drivers that would let you display windows in a really low resolution or something.

Edit: Adding a bezel hides imperfections and *can* have the effect of sharpening edges by removing the fuzzy light that trails off from pixels. However, it also darkens the screen so you often have to increase brightness (or go into the set and adjust internal controls) to make it as bright/vibrant as without, which of course causes more blooming around the edges of pixels.  Tinted bezels were mainly used in the arcades to hide burn-in better, plus to reduce reflection against the glass and light grey picture tubes.  New TV's already have a tint built into the front glass on all but the absolute cheapest sets. (Does the screen look black or grey when it's off?), so adding more tint in front of it won't help much.

[AmericanDemon]

ATI Radeon with the Dongle does, but like you said only useful for someone usiung an HDTV set.