Using a TV - s-video necessary?

[megashock5]

Trying to find a cheap 20" tv, but not many of them have s-video. Is the s-video necessary to hook up a tv to a pc?

I know I would need a card to get the s-video out from the pc. How much does a card like this run typically? Do they make them that have RCA outputs instead or in addition to the s-video out?

Basically, I'm trying to do what's cheaper: a 20" tv and video card to support it, or a used 20" monitor that would just plug in.

thanks in advance!

[Tritoch84]

Well, as far as the video card questions...

http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=3012

No, they are not that expensive, and yes, there are many cards (some in that thread) that use RCA only jacks,, but don't plan on reading a book on that mother as text would just be impossible to read.  So, it's not NEEDED, and alot of people run them that way, the picture is just not going to be that sharp.  Even with an S-Video out,  if you ran windows on the TV, the text would be very hard to read, and RCA is one step below that. But hey, during a heated game of Marvel VS Capcom, you hardly notice a difference. Like I said, the only complaints I have heard is that the windows text is hard to read, I'm sure if your not whiny, and just want to play games for cheap on a tv or arcade cabinet with a tv in it, it works fine, it's not like it's going to hinder your playing and whatnot, just look not as sharp as S-Video.



you can tell the difference between a Geo Metro and a Covette , but they both get you where you are going.

Hope that was any help.

[megashock5]

Thanks for the info!

I guess now I need to figure 100 or so for the TV, plus 50-100 for the card, and compare that to what I can pick up a used 20" monitor for.

The monitor would certainly be easier to hook up and look better when in the OS.

Anything I'm not thinking of here?

[Silver]

I'm sure you can pick up a workable card with tv-out for less than that. If you are strictly speaking mame (ie not bothered by PC games) then 3D abilities are mainly irrelevant - pick up an old ATI radeon, as the tv-out on these (usually both s-video and RCA) is of good quality.

Again, if you are only talking about mame, I would actually say that tv can often look slightly better than a pc monitor - a monitor shows up detail that arcade monitors never could and makes things look a bit blocky/pixellated.

[Tritoch84]

What he said! That budget is pretty high for an old ATI (GREAT tv outs)  you can get on ebay for around 20-30 bucks. I was running my video right from memory! So i guessed having A video card is better than NOT having a card at all, and it turns out these things are perfect for tv out!

[megashock5]

Okay, so a co-worker of mine just gave me an old video card he had laying around. It has an output marked "tv out" that appears to be s-video.

I haven't tried to see if it works or not, but it doesn't have RCA outs and I'm trying to get a cheap tv (most of which don't have s-video). Is there such a thing as an s-video-to-RCA cable?

thanks!

[Tritoch84]

Well, I don't know what your budget is, but 20INCH TV' s with S-Video run about $135, on the low end, I got mine for 125. And yes, there are S-video to RCA cables.

[notaburger]

radioshack sells svideo to rca adapters for like less than 10 bucks
they work fine since you're just downgrading the signal
i've used them before and got the same as if the card natively sent out signal using rca jack
i would highly recommend going the s-video route though
BIG difference
although of course the best choice is an arcadevga and monitor, i think the svideo with a decent card and decent tele work nice
if you want to go the s-video route, pick up an apex
they are exactly 20 inches and you can catch crazy deals (i work at target and we actually had one clearanced the other day for THIRTY DOLLARS)
most likely you won't find a deal like that but i think you can catch em on sale for around 100
expect some to be on sale for the 2 day after thanksgiving ad coming out
enjoy

[megashock5]

Thanks for the info! I've been looking at the black friday deals that have made it to the web so far.

All I'm really seeing for 19-20" tvs is a Sylvannia at Sears for $68 - I'm kind of doubting it would have s-video.

I'll have to keep an eye out for the Apex's. Best Buy is supposed to have a 27" for $89, but that's too big for my cabinet.

[cbmeeks]

really try for the S-Video if you can.  S-Video seperates the chroma and lumina (color and brightness) into two seperate cables...it's much better and not really that much more expensive.

Wal*Mart has a 20" with S-Video for like $118

 Apex 20" Flat-Screen TV, PF2025

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2189028&cat=179858&type=19&dept=3944&path=0%3A3944%3A172479%3A3996%3A179858

-cb