Flat Screen TV vs. Traditional TV

[Doc Thirst]

First off, thank you all for the weath of knowledge you have provided me.  This is my first post, but you all have helped more than you know already.

OK question time.  I have my cab together and am in the buying phase now.  I plan on using a TV with s-video.  I want to know if anyone is using a flat screen TV (not to be confused with a flat panel btw)?  I thought this would be a great way to avoid having to buy a traditional bezel, but I am scared that the corners might distort.  Can anyone confirm if this is an issue or not?

[gingerone]

I used a normal TV at first but had poor results and then bought a sony trinitron of ebay. Trinitrons are flat vertically but bend horizontally and now it looks far better.
I can't speak for a totally flat screen but the trinitron is brilliant.
Are you in america or the uk? If you are in the uk I strongly recomend going for an arcade vga card and connecting via RGB scart, the results are identical to a real arcade monitor.
p.s. don't waste your money on a brand new TV get on ebay it's a damn sight cheaper.

[Doc Thirst]

Thanks for the reply.

I'm in the US.  Thanks for the tip on e-bay.  I don't know if this is true or not but I just assumed the shipping would out-weigh any benefit of buying something like a TV on ebay. 

I have avoided buying an traditional arcade monitor just because it is out of my realm of knowledge.  I'll have to be a bit more daring perhaps.

[GameOver]

I use a conventional TV and love it.  IMO it does a fantastic job at re-creating an authentic arcade experience.  I guess it depends what you're gonna play on your cab;

1)  TV's don't work well at all with computer games
2)  TV's are 'ok' for Pinmame
3)  TV's are great for raster games, just 'good' for vector
4)  I've read that the trinitron TV's can cause problems w/lightguns, but may be wrong

I've got screen pics of various games using s-vid out to my 24" RCA TV on my cab web page.  Click on the globe under my avatar to see them if you like. 

Ebay could work - just do an advanced search to limit the auctions to within X miles from your zip code.  I see TV's go for a song on there all the time.  But I guess it depends where you are and how far you're willing to go to pick it up. 

Good luck!

[elvis]

1)  TV's don't work well at all with computer games

I disagree.  I have friends who regularly play MMORPGs (WOW, etc) on large TVs.  Likewise, I enjoy fast FPS games (Quake series, UT series, etc) on large televisions.  I force my video out to be NTSC, set my game refresh rate to 60Hz and enable vsync.

Plus, CRT TVs don't require you to run games at super high res, nor require any FSAA thanks to their blurriness which often means you can get away with a slightly lower-specced PC for the same enjoyment.  The only time it matters is for text-heavy games (although with S-Video connections and the right resolution and/or text size that can be compensated for), or people who find eye-candy more important than gameplay (which sadly seems to be the majority these days).

[brain21]

I too have heard of lightgun problems w/ flat tube TVs.  If you plan on using lightguns, be sure to research that first or you might be dissapointed.

Seems to me like a trade off...

Flat tubes require no bezel
Std tubes have a more arcade aesthetic because that's how arcade monitors were (i.e., not flat).

Bezels are cheap from Happs.

Do you already have a cabinet, or are you going to buy one, or are you going to build a cab around your TV?  If anything other than the last option, make sure that the TV will fit!  It's getting harder & harder to find any flat tube TVs that do not have speakers on the sides of the tube.  What this means is that you will have a smaller diagonal TV if you got flat & put it in a cab since you have to accomodate the speakers.

std tube TVs are also a bit cheaper.  If I were doing something where the TV is NOT in a cab (say something where the controls are on a pedestal & the TV is on a pedestal - like this - http://www.dreamauthentics.com/el_gallery.html ) then I would use a LARGE flat tube.  Anything else I would go with a std monitor, but that is just me.

One thing I noticed when switching from a std tube to a flat tube for my main home TV:

The flat tube tends to present a crisper picture.  It also has a more pronounced screen door effect, but after a couple of weeks you don't notice the screen door effect anymore.

Normally the crisper picture is better, BUT those old arcade games had low res, blurry pics, in which case a std tv tube might give you a more authentic feel as well, never mind the actual shape of the tube.

Brain21

[Doc Thirst]

Thanks Brain, that is something to consider, especially the light gun issue.

[Skadar]

I'm currently setting up a cabinet with a standard 27" television.  So far I am very pleased with the video results for the money.  I invested another $12 in my setup to purchase a DVI > Component video adapter.  I just finished setting it up and have posted pictures that compare S-video to Component video.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=43408.0

Plains S-video was just a bit fuzzy for my taste.  Component makes me very satisfied with my regular TV.