21" PC Monitor or 24" TV - help me decide!

[Tokey]

I'm having a bit of a delima.  I'm either going to get a 21" Flat Screen Trinitor monitor or a 24" High Def TV to run my MAME cabinet on.

The reason I'm debating between these two is because I have a 3GHZ pc I'm using to run the mame box, and will be playing many PSX and DC games via emulation that look absolutly amazing at resolutions a standard tv / arcade monitor cannot put out.

espxe makes my PSX games in 1600x1200 look better than my xbox/PS2 games on the TV in my living room, to give you an idea...

With a HD tv I could get to 1024 resolution, not as good as a monitor, but still twice as good as a TV.

So although I like the resolution of the 21" monitor, it is actually only about 20" viewable.  Is this going to be big enough for a 4 player cabinet?

My original plan was a 24" vega but damn, I don't know if I can give up the resolution these DC/PSX games are getting on a pc monitor...

ugh, can't decided, big screen or pretty graphics!

[fredster]

PC Monitor.

Easier to install, has power save options, and can be replaced quickly and easily.  NO special video card, no special wiring, etc.

TV's are blurry, look back in the threads and see the complaints.  I didn't like a TV out either, it was ugly and the colors require constant tweaking between games.

This is of course my own humble opinion.

[Tokey]

Yep, I actually just paid for a nice 21 inch sony trinitron.  I got 2 of them for $200 total, can't beat that deal. 

She's got a few more at $100 a piece if anyone is interested, she said she'll ship them for an extra $50.

Like you said it's a piece of cake this way.  Now I can continue to run my DC/PSX games in 1600x1200 glory

Tekken 3 on PSX in 1600x1200 looks better than Soul Calibur 2 on my TV.

[owenowen]

where about in the world are you?

[ras2a]

If you can use 'SCART' as opposed to S-Vid etc then TV output looks great and IMO is more authentic as no arcade monitor looks as crisp and pristine as a modern PC one.  If you're after the best possible picture quality, go for the monitor.  If you mainly want a more faithful reproduction of arcade display then go with the TV.  Again, if you're TV supports SCART (Virtually all TV's do here in the UK) then go with it.  I'm not to sure on other output formats, but I've been told S-Vid etc are CRAP in comparison to SCART/RGB.  I've just hooked up a 25" (ex rental) Panasonic TV to my cab and it looks fab.

Merry crimbo

Craig

[Tokey]

Yea I ended up getting this cab:



So my 21" worked perfect in there.

I'm in minneapolis by the way.