Monitor vs. TV Help

[442much]

I've just started my first cab and  I'm trying to decide whether to use a TV or monitor.  I really don't want a dedicated video game monitor, so I'm only interested in monitors that have VGA connections.  I'm leaning towards a monitor but I'm not sure exactly what to look for.  Can any of you give me some recommendations on a monitor and what to look for in a good "hybrid" monitor.  Also, I really don't want to use and ArcadeVGA card to control the monitor.  Will my Radeon video card and a multi-sync monitor cover most of the bases for video games.

Thanks!

[ArtMAME]

It would depend on a few things:
How big you want it?
How much money you are willing to spend?
What are you using it for in addition to video games?

You can get used 21" CRT computer monitors  for dirt cheap in some places ($50 - $150)  These can be used for video games as well as regular computer usage (surfing, text, etc)

If you want bigger you can try a presentation monitor (aka. multimedia/data monitors).  These can go up to 27", 29", even 32" or 37"  .  Used ones can be dirt cheep also, but may have limited resolution, and may or may not have a normal 15-pin VGA port. They probably have S-Video and/or  BNC and component connections.  Examples are NEC XP-2990, Sony PVM-2950Q, etc.

You could try a Princeton Arcadia

http://www.firingsquad.com/hw/2682/Princeton_Arcadia_27-inch_CRT/
or
http://www.audioreview.com/cat/televisions/tvs20-29/princeton/PRD_123991_2724crx.aspx

It looks very promising, but also expensive!!!

Or you could venture into LCD land if you want to spend some $$$
I have no experience with LCD monitors for gaming...but they will play games and do PC stuff...

While I was in the store the other day, the salesman showed me some of the LCD TVs which come with every connector imaginable including a VGA port. so you could use one of those as a PC monitor and an HDTV if you wanted.  27", 32", etc. these are the widescreen type. 
EXPENSIVE!!!
No thanks, I don't even subscribe to cable.  I don't care to spend several grand to watch snow in high definition!!!

If you decide to go the traditional route, you could get a used 25" or a new 27" for under $200.  You use S-Video or composite to connect your PCs video card to most  TVs. 
I got a JVC 27" TV (AV-27530) traditional TV because I am using it in a dedicated setup and it was less than $200 brand new.  This particular model has component RGB inputs, which are better that composite or S-Video.  (Only the JVC and another Toshiba model have the RGB component inputs that I am awhare of)

This setup looks way better than composite or S-Video!!! I am really happy with this setup.

You would need a capable video card (Nvidia 6600, 6800 or Radeon 9550, 9600, 9800 etc.) plus a DVI to Component adapter and a set of RGB component cables.  All available at your better retail or online stores. 

Most or all of the flat-screen CRT TVs will have component RGB inputs, but are more expensive than the curved screen TVs.  Plus I have read several posts by BYOACers  saying that curved-screen TVs look better than the flat-screen TVs for MAMEing anyway.

I hope that helps...let me know what you decide to get .

[divemaster127]

Before you do anything do some testing borrow a tv etc, dont make my mistake, I went with a toshiba 27A43, nice tv good picture but when i hooked it up to my computer to test my cab,I was so disappointed if the tv had a VGA input it might have been different I was using the s-video & it looked bad, so i purchased a betson 27" arcade monitor I LOVE it, the picture is awesome so the moral is be sure before you purchase I spend twice what i should have, of course now I have a nice toshiba in my office
dm

[grantspain]

The moral of the story is always get the correct tools for the job,if you buy cheap you get cheap.Personally i would always choose an arcade monitor above any other but i am sure there are people on this forum who would disagree.

[divemaster127]

Been there done that, dont go cheap you will regret it, I spent twice what I should have, things I have learned & im sure others disagree...but this is my opinion.
1. dont use any old computer trying to get dos mame version to work(whats your time worth) build a nice computer that will play most of the games it will last forever use a BIG hard drive.  You can get a very nice computer for $250.00
2. only use happ, ultimarc, betson monitors or wells, stay away from the cheap chinese parts some companies are trying to sell...(my opinion)
3. arcade monitor all the way with a arcadevga(lots of less trouble down the road)
4. the moral is dont be cheap & buy the best for your cab you will be happy in the long run...
5. I have seen people get into this hobby trying to be cheap, cheap, cheap all the way thru & save money, this is not a cheap hobby...if you cant afford it, its best to wait until you can...build your cp first play with it, & build more later
my thoughts
dm

[ArtMAME]

A few things I forgot about using the TV:

Assuming you are using S-Video or composite it is very difficult to navigate Windows in 1024x768 resolution because normal sized text and fonts are pretty much unreadable. You have to set up the resolution lower, and upsize the fonts.  This limits you if you plan to do regular PC stuff or regular administration of your game and PC settings.  You could use a secondary PC monitor hooked up to my MAME box for administration, or you could VPN or remote desktop into it.

Now if you are using RBG component inputs, you are limited to 640x480 resolution or something... the games in MAME look great, but it makes it near impossible to do anything else on the PC. 

The TV would be a good solution if you just do emulators, and watch DVD movies off of your PC.  A front end for your emulators would be a good thing to have.  Right now I am using the TV and PC monitor on my MAME box until I get every thing configured properly as far as game settings, frontends, etc...

[bossyman15]

well for me i have JVC 27" and it played games fine but hard to read texts. but that's ok, some time in the future when i have cash to burn i will get wells monitor and use that TV in my room to replace my 10+ years old 21" TV

[442much]

I did find the JVC 27" TV (AV-27530)  for $210 at K-Mart of all places (in case anybody else is looking for one).  In the meantime, I hooked my PC up to an older 27" TV via S-VHS.  I was surprised at how good it looked.  Text was a little hard to read, but not unreadable.  Funny thing, most of the newer games look really great.  It was the older lower resolution games that were more blurry and had color saturation.  I might have been able to adjust it out, but I didn't want to screw with the settings on the TV that we watch all the time.

As far as monitors, the best deal I found was a Kortek 27" multi-scan monitor with SVGA connector. for $425 plus $60 shipping for Penn-Ray.  From what I could find it seemed like a decent monitor.  The question is, do I really need an ArcadeVGA to drive this monitor or will my video card work fine.  After search the web, I can't really decipher what the deal is with these hybrid monitors, because it looks like a lot of people still use the ArcadeVGA to drive them. 

I'm still torn on this one.  The monitor route is more than double what the JVC TV will cost me.  I'm wondering if it is really worth it or not.

[mhermann]

I am close to finishing my cab and I originally bought a 27" Tv. It looks good for all MAME games and console emulators. But there are some PC games that I want to play and they do not look any good on the TV. There is enough info on this that I should have seen this coming. Anyway I am going to by a Bentson 27" now and put that in. Resolution is 800x600 so I can play PC games and navigate XP.

So I would consider the fact of playing PC games before you make your decision.

[ArtMAME]

I did find the JVC 27" TV (AV-27530)  for $210 at K-Mart of all places (in case anybody else is looking for one).  In the meantime, I hooked my PC up to an older 27" TV via S-VHS.  I was surprised at how good it looked.  Text was a little hard to read, but not unreadable.  Funny thing, most of the newer games look really great.  It was the older lower resolution games that were more blurry and had color saturation.  I might have been able to adjust it out, but I didn't want to screw with the settings on the TV that we watch all the time.
I'm still torn on this one.  The monitor route is more than double what the JVC TV will cost me.  I'm wondering if it is really worth it or not.

Hey 442munch,
My older games like Robotron, Defender, Ms. Pacman, etc. look great on my JVC AV-27530 using the RGB component video inputs.   

But Asteroids and Asteroids Deluxe still look like crap on the TV.  The other vector games like Tempest and Gravitar still look descent on the TV, although not perfect.  I don't know how good your vector games will look on the arcade monitor.  I would guess if you can get 800x600 or better that they would look pretty good, but I have not tried it so I don't know. 

PC games like Painkiller, Halo, Doom3, etc.  will not look great on the TV, I tried it and after a while, it becomes somewhat painful to my eyes...really...
I prefer to play my PC games sitting down using my computer monitor anyway.

Overall I am very happy with the JVC AV-27530 setup for 95% of my games.  The case of Asteroids still bugs me... , but I am planing to make a dedicated Asteroids bartop cabinet and put a 20" PC monitor in there, then run the resolution at 1024x768 or better.  Asteroids and other vector games look pretty good when you use the PC monitor at high resolution.