19"-24" TV: Too Small?

[jcroach]

Good morning!

[Harry Potter]

I got a 20" monitor in my low-boy cab and there's definitely no problem with eye strain.

Wrist strain from wiggling my joystick is a different thing though. 

[jcroach]

Bump.

Has anyone else had expereince with a smaller TV? 19"-24"?

[ZeroPoint]

My opinion is that a 21" TV is the perfect choice for an Arcade cabinet. I think that the 27" arcade monitors are way to big.

What you should be aware of when using a TV for real arcadegaming is:

1. Do not use flat CRTs, use the normal bowed.

2. Beware that many "small" TVs has only composite and not s-video inputs.

3. To be able to display "Real" arcade resolutions the TV must have RGB inputs, usually only available on Scart-TVs in Europe. You may also have to adjust the overscan on the TV  (the overscan is normally up to 15% and you will without adjustments only be able to display about 215-218 lines with 60hz refresh).

If you are satisfied with using s-video (I am not!), there is no problem selecting a 21" TV for your cabinett. I do not recommend smaller than 21" because you will then have problems with the definition. If you want 19", go for a computer monitor.

One last thing: The best TVs are usually the cheapest. They don

[jcroach]

Thanks for the comments ZeroPoint.

[Harry Potter]

I'm not familiar with these terms.  Do most TVs TVs have overscan adjustments?

Overscan on standard TVs is set. You cannot change it unless you open it up and fiddle with the horizontal and vertical settings.

[ZeroPoint]

Is this for arcade aesthetics or is their a functional reason to not use a flat screen?

Flat CRTs:
This is because the vertical phosphoros lines has a larger pitch on the left and right portion of the screen. Okay for TV and movies but not for close up gaming. (and also a tiny bit of arcade realizm !) Bowed CRTs has a better definition.

I'm not familiar with these terms.  Do most TVs TVs have overscan adjustments?

Overscan on standard TVs is set. You cannot change it unless you open it up and fiddle with the horizontal and vertical settings.

On newer TVs the geometry adjustment is done from the remote control. You have to access the service menu to do this. This menu is not available for the user, and how to access it is different from TV to TV. Anyway, care must be taken when fidling with the service menu. You could end up detroying the TV. Do not adjust anything else than the geometry and stay away from the horizontal geometry if you can. The most important settings are: Vertical Size, Vertical position, Liniarity and Horizontal Position.
I can explain why vertical geomtry is the only important setting later if interested. I have so much info on TVs for arcade gaming that I probably could write a book about it.