True monitor sizes?

[RandyT]

I was just thinking about this one........

A 19" Television has a 19" viewable picture.

However, a 19" computer monitor has a 17"+ viewable picture due to the way computer monitor manufacturers have come to over-inflate their specs.  

So I was wondering how the real arcade monitors are rated?  Does a 27" arcade monitor have a 27" Tube or a 27" picture?

Anyone?

RandyT

[radiator]

i though that it was the same rule for every CRT type monitor/tv

ie, we have 3 tv's in our house:

21" which is 20" viewable
25" which is 23.5" viewable
and a 28" widescreen which is 27" viewable

also, my 21" computer monitor is also only 20" viewable (same as the tv)

i just thought that the size is refering to the tube size, and not the viewable area...

*m

[RandyT]

i though that it was the same rule for every CRT type monitor/tv

ie, we have 3 tv's in our house:

21" which is 20" viewable
25" which is 23.5" viewable
and a 28" widescreen which is 27" viewable

also, my 21" computer monitor is also only 20" viewable (same as the tv)

i just thought that the size is refering to the tube size, and not the viewable area...

*m

Don't know what to tell you.  I have a Sony 27" which measures 27" diagonal screen size, and Aiwa 27", also 27" and a chinese branded 19" that is, yep, you guessed it, 19 inches.

Most consumers don't play that game when it comes to TV's.  If the box says 27", it better have a 27" picture.  

RandyT

[radiator]

strange

maybe certain manufacturers badge the tv's by the tube size and not the picture size
my 25" is JVC, 28" is Hitachi and I'm not sure what the 21" is...my sister has an Aiwa 14" which does measure 14"...?

*m

[tom61]

Arcade monitors measure true, since they don't have thier own bezels. Bezels are what cause you to loose inches with PC monitors and some TVs

[rampy]

 correct me if I'm wrong...

But:  TV's have to report their true diagonal measurement .... I forget the governing body (i.e. is it fcc, ftc, or some standards group)... but in order to not bone consumers 27" should equal 27" or pretty durn close to 27" on a 27" tv  (truth in  advertising and all that)

I don't know about arcade monitors....  (that's what I'd like to know... if it's like TV's or is it  like pc monitors)

I believe PC's DO NOT have this regulation in truth in diag sizes... and that's why there's so much discrepency between visible size and reported/advertised size (because there's not regulation/law/standard for them to not use the tube size instead of the viewable size)...  

*shrug* I don't have anything to back up my "facts" it/s just my recollection from some article like a gizzilion years ago...

rampy

[RandyT]

Arcade monitors measure true, since they don't have thier own bezels. Bezels are what cause you to loose inches with PC monitors and some TVs

Still unclear

The tube out of my 27" TV (the one in my cab) measures about 29" corner to corner, but has a 27" image.

Does a 27" arcade monitor have a 29" tube or 27"?

Tom, do you have a 27" you could measure?

Thanks,
RandyT

[tom61]

Arcade monitors measure true, since they don't have thier own bezels. Bezels are what cause you to loose inches with PC monitors and some TVs

Still unclear

The tube out of my 27" TV (the one in my cab) measures about 29" corner to corner, but has a 27" image.

Does a 27" arcade monitor have a 29" tube or 27"?

Tom, do you have a 27" you could measure?

Thanks,
RandyT

I don't quite understand what was unclear. Anyways, I don't have a 27" arcade monitor, but I do have a 19" one and guess what it measures? 19 inches!

The plastic around the monitor tube on a PC monitor (aka the bezel) overlaps the tube a bit, the amount or overlap depends model, make, etc. The tube size is what's reported as the monitor's size (a 17" monitor has a 17" diagonal tube), but becuase of the overlap, the viewable size is decreased.

Since arcade monitors do not have this plastic surround on them (unless you put one on it), the tube size is the viewable area.

In case that was too much information:
19" arcade monitor tube = 19" viewable
27" arcade monitor tube = 27" viewable

[OSCAR]

Sorry for jumping in, but I think perhaps I know what Randy is referring to.  And from my experience, Randy is much like an attorney, he only asks questions he already knows the answers to...    


In the below pic of my 19" WG7901, the corner/corner dimension of the "screen" (gray) is 19" exactly.  The corner/corner dimension of the "tube" (black) is 20.5".  Is that what you are after?

[paigeoliver]

I have never bothered to measure, but I can tell you this for certain. Arcade monitors are a lot bigger than the same size PC monitor. My 19.5" PC monitor is smaller than any of my 19" arcade monitors. And 15" PC monitors often seem to fit perfectly in the 13" monitor bay in most cocktails (provided you take the case off them).

[RandyT]

Sorry for jumping in, but I think perhaps I know what Randy is referring to.  And from my experience, Randy is much like an attorney, he only asks questions he already knows the answers to...    

Not true .  But I do know when 2+2 <> 4 and am resourceful enough to find out why on my own if need be.

But really, I wanted to know from someone that has one, as I currently do not.  You know, verification from a trusted source and all that.

BTW, that was a low blow, Oscar

In the below pic of my 19" WG7901, the corner/corner dimension of the "screen" (gray) is 19" exactly.  The corner/corner dimension of the "tube" (black) is 20.5".  Is that what you are after?

Exactly, thank you very much.  You just saved me a huge amount of typing  

What I was trying to do here was define which standard arcade monitors followed, the TV or Computer standard.  As you probably already know, that 19" monitor would be a 21" in "computerese".

I'm going to go wayyyyy out on a limb here and offer a hypothesis on all of this.

The arcade CRT adheres to the TV sizing standards.  The large dot pitch and low cost of the normal TV tube make it pretty probable that the same tubes are being used in the production of arcade monitors, so the sizing was likely a carry-over.

Make sense to anyone other than me?

RandyT

[OSCAR]

BTW, that was a low blow, Oscar

Sorry, I didn't mean to offend, purely a joke.  I've just ended up on the wrong end of your questions before as we both know, that's all I meant by it.  

Exactly, thank you very much.  You just saved me a huge amount of typing  

What I was trying to do here was define which standard arcade monitors followed, the TV or Computer standard.  As you probably already know, that 19" monitor would be a 21" in "computerese".

I'm going to go wayyyyy out on a limb here and offer a hypothesis on all of this.

The arcade CRT adheres to the TV sizing standards.  The large dot pitch and low cost of the normal TV tube make it pretty probable that the same tubes are being used in the production of arcade monitors, so the sizing was likely a carry-over.

Make sense to anyone other than me?

Absolutely.  I've always thought that the TV & arcade monitors used exactly the same sizing convention.  I took an arcade monitor to a TV repair shop and asked them if they could fix it.  Their answer was, "No problem, nearly identical to TV's".  I believe that PC monitors are a totally different animal, both in size and technology.

[Wienerdog]

I saw something at Bestbuy that I found funny.  I don't remember the manufacturer (I think Toshiba), but there was a TV box that was listed as 27" (pretty standard).  In smaller type next to the size was this: 28" in Canada.  

LOL.  The same TV is 27" in the USA, but 28" in Canada...

[radiator]

hmmm

maybe it's an area thing...i'm in the uk, and all my tv's tube and picture sizes don't match

 

[tom61]

Sorry for jumping in, but I think perhaps I know what Randy is referring to.  And from my experience, Randy is much like an attorney, he only asks questions he already knows the answers to...    

Feel free to jump in any time in situations like this. He was obviously not hearing the answer he was expecting, and it was confusing him. A second poster with the same info (and a pic too) helps to get rid the expected answer problem.

[RandyT]

Sorry for jumping in, but I think perhaps I know what Randy is referring to.  And from my experience, Randy is much like an attorney, he only asks questions he already knows the answers to...    

Feel free to jump in any time in situations like this. He was obviously not hearing the answer he was expecting, and it was confusing him. A second poster with the same info (and a pic too) helps to get rid the expected answer problem.

Tom, I don't quite understand why you seem to be getting out of joint here.  Have I done some wrong to you?

The question I asked very clearly dealt with the differences in the way size is determined between TV's and PC monitors and how that related to arcade monitors.  Having a number of TV's and PC monitors myself in many different sizes, I understand this relationship.  Not having an arcade monitor, I posed a simple question.

Your answer to this question was:

Arcade monitors measure true, since they don't have thier own bezels. Bezels are what cause you to loose inches with PC monitors and some TVs

The part that threw me was that "bezels" have nothing to do with the ratings other than that is the excuse used by PC monitor manufacturers for inflating size specifications.  The same cathode ray tube cannot measure both 27" and 29" diagonally.  Television sets in the USA use the viewable image dimension in their specifications and they also have bezels.  Like Rampy stated, they are required to.  So bezels don't automatically "cause you to lose inches".  And unless a manufacturer is just stupid, they don't put bezels over active screen real-estate, only over the non-functional black borders.

I've also been working with computers long enough to remember that PC monitors were not always calculated like this.  My first VGA monitor (w/bezel) was a 13" that actually had a 13" viewable image, and I remember quite well when it magically became a 15" due to  marketing shenanigans.

All I asked was Does a 27" arcade monitor have a 27" Tube or a 27" picture?

Why did you become insulting when I asked for a clarification to your statement, which didn't answer my question?  

RandyT

[SNAAAKE]

All I asked was Does a 27" arcade monitor have a 27" Tube or a 27" picture?

Why did you become insulting when I asked for a clarification to your statement, which didn't answer my question?  

RandyT

Okay lets try again..27" arcade monitors are 27" viewable when you mesure it diagonal.The tube is slightly bigger because you have that black coating around the monitor but 27" is still viewable.As for as I know and seen tons of monitor(I worked at an arcade warehouse).
I dont even get the question though..you mean you didnt know already RandyT?    
Too weird...

[RandyT]

Okay lets try again..27" arcade monitors are 27" viewable when you mesure it diagonal.The tube is slightly bigger because you have that black coating around the monitor but 27" is still viewable.As for as I know and seen tons of monitor(I worked at an arcade warehouse).
I dont even get the question though..you mean you didnt know already RandyT?    
Too weird...

No need to try again.  

The question was answered by Kelsey.