DISPLAY HELP

[spectre]

Ok here are my display choices for mame...
a 15 inch pc computer monitor
or my 19 inch tv (only with the rf switch output and i'd have to buy a tv out card or trade a dvd drive for one if someone wants, lol)
which would be better to use with mame?
keep in mind i know nothing about hooking a pc up to a tv, my last attempt at trying it with this pc failed...lol

i have no idea what to do...

[rampy]

That's not nearly enough information to give you a reasonable answer.

need to know:

What type of games do you like to play

How anal or purist are you when it comes to scanline authenticity

What size is cabinet is this going into?

Vertical or horizontal mount?

You can go with the PC monitor and realize it's way too small, although when playing your eyes will adjust... but if you step back and look at the cabinet it will be out of proportion.

A 19" tv would be a better fit size wise... but if you intend to use composite in, you might not be pleased with the picture quality, especially when standing 1 foot away from the screen... i.e. eye strain / bleariness.

You can certainly "get by" with either option... but more than likely you won't be happy with the result and will end up redoing/replacing it later.

You could check your local pawn shop for some cheap 19" svideo TV's...  a new 19" svideo TV costs less than a hundred beans on sale in a major store...

 *Shrug*

Rampy

[DeathMonk]

I agree with rampy..  You won't be happy with the size of your computer monitor and you won't be happy with your TV unless it has an svideo input.  I bought a 27 inch svideo TV at Best Buy for 200 bux, so I would assume that you could find a 19 inch really cheap.

[spectre]

I just want a clear picture, so i dunno how blurry a tv would be, I'm thinking about going wtih the small pc monitor and saving for at least a 17 or 18 inch one... the cab can hold a 23inch arcade monitor...

[spectre]

oh and i play fighting games like garou mark of the wolves, king of fighters, street figher alpha 3, marvel vs. capcom, stuff like that and metal slug, good ol' contra, so uhh yea...

[Apollo]

Are you actually building a cab? You didn't say. It sounds like you are just hooking your PC up to a display with no cab???

If you are building a cab then stay right away from that 15" PC monitor ( unless it is a cocktail cab ).

It sounds like you are not building a cab if you aren't then just get as big a PC monitor as you can afford I guess.

Otherwise spend a load of money and time build a cab and put a 25" arcade monitor in it LOL.

[spectre]

yea i'm building a cab but its on a really limited budget...
i cant afford a big monitor so i use what i have, the 15 isn't THAT bad, ur eyes adjust to it, but it could be bigger, lol... maybe in the future...

[Apollo]

If you look really hard and use the phone and contacts on this forum you should be able to find a 19" second hand arcade monitor pretty cheap, if you are in to fighting games you will LOVE it. I know what you are saying about being on a tight budget but do you really need to finish it right now. You may be better off taking a bit of time and extra money to do it right.
I am using 19" monitor, arcade VGA and IPAC. Because I have zero money it will take me about a year to finish. The thing is I want to get it right and I'm enjoying the slow process, saving up making my next purchase, it's great. I just bought an electric drill lol.

[spectre]

very true, but even so, I really don't want to dump my money when I have a monitor, i know it's better and everything, besides i didn't go out and buy it for this i've had it for 6 years, i can always upgrade to a bigger one easily if i did end up getting one