LCD or CRT Computer Monitor?

[javeryh]

Hi.  I am in the planning stages of building a bartop cab.  I'm looking for opinions regarding the monitor I should use.  THe screen will be 13" - as far as running MAME, what is preferrable, a flat LCD monitor or a normal run-of-the-mill CRT monitor?  Thanks!

[Bgnome]

i have seen a couple examples that used lcd screens from laptops and turned out really well.  i would recommend trying it if you don't mind blowing the money on one.  it would take up a lot less space than a crt, which is an important issue when you are building a bartop or something similar.  personally, i think the biggest problem with lcd over crt is the cost..

[javeryh]

i have seen a couple examples that used lcd screens from laptops and turned out really well.  i would recommend trying it if you don't mind blowing the money on one.  it would take up a lot less space than a crt, which is an important issue when you are building a bartop or something similar.  personally, i think the biggest problem with lcd over crt is the cost..

So you think the games look as nice on an LCD?  I only have a CRT at the moment but I'm looking at getting something like this:  
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2686083&sourceid=0100000030660804302498

I think I could find a CRT for a lot less though...

[javeryh]

Any other opinions?

[seibu]

I was under the impression that LCD monitors had a fixed resolution, and all other resolutions were achieved by kind of blurring the pixels. You'll know what I mean if you've ever run a modern laptop at 640x480.

Now, since most 80s and 90s arcade games ran at resolutions somewhere around 320x240, and used a very wide variety of exact resolutions, I think an LCD screen for MAME would be a very bad idea. Certainly, MAME looks shockingly bad at full screen on every laptop I have ever tried.

Furthermore, even the best LCD screens struggle to display very quick movement without trails and blurring - so not really good for vintage arcade games.

[whammoed]

I would use a standard res 13" arcade monitor and run the actual arcade resolutions using either an arcadeVGA card or AdvanceMAME.  It will be easier to mount the open frame arcade monitor and you will have arcade perfect resolutions.

[Mangalore]

I am also building a bartop machine.  I tried tested a laptop lcd and it didn't quite look right.  There was some real slight "trails" behind fast moving objects.  Anyway, if you can fit an old computer monitor they are cheap (sometimes free) and they look good.  I just started asking around and suddenly I have four old computers with 3 - 14" monitors.  I saw a 13" color monitor at Salvation Army for $3.00.  You can also find them cheap on Ebay (just watch the shipping - find one close to home)  If your budget is tight, it's the way to go.

[javeryh]

I have an old 17" Gateway 910 monitor but it's just too big for a bartop - the Salvation Army is a good idea.  Hopefully I can find something there...

[whammoed]

Yep, if you are looking to go cheap, a computer monitor is the next best thing...but real arcade resolutions, now that would be sweeeeeet!

[MonitorGuru]

This has been talked about many times here, if you search for LCD in this forum you'll find tons of info.

However, in short:

Cheaper displays, especially those integrated on lower end laptops have NO scaling ability. This means if you run 640x480 on a 1024x768 screen, you will have a huge black border on the screen and tiny actual image.  

Next if you have a screen that scales, and you happen to have a 1280x1024 screen the 640x480 image will qudruple every pixel making for a VERY blocky image.

On a non 2x scale, if the panel scales, you will end up with a very soft image, sorta like turning hardware stretching on in Mame on a CRT.


So, you will have one of 3 problems typically, unless you let mame scale to the appropriate size (and also tell mame the actual pixel size of the monitor on every game) which then means you also will end up with softer pixels and require more hardware power on your video card and more CPU power.


To top it all off, you won't want to use an LCD, even the absolute BEST quality ones, in a cocktail table.  Why?  Because even the best ones only have a +/- 80 degree or so viewing angle and when you're sitting down looking at the panel you will likely see negative or washed out images.  Upright it wouldn't matter as much, but on cheaper panels two player games may be bad because neither player would be standing directly in the center of the panel, both off to the side and again not see as bright an image or strange colors/etc..


A computer CRT is best since it can scale to so many resolutions and require less CPU power to rescale to fit the screen (as it can find more matching resolutions the monitor supports) .  An arcade monitor is even better if you only play the classics as it looks the most authentic, and with AdvanceMame requires the LEAST amount of CPU/Video Card processing power since it outputs everything 1:1 with no extra processing, but of course limited to the resolutions the arcade monitor supports.


Hope that helps.

[javeryh]

Thank you - Computer CRT it is then...   .... now to find an inexpensive one in the 13" range...