Help need in video decison

[TNVols]

What's the best option for the monitor for a MAME cabinet.  The easier the better on the hookup as well. 

1) old CRT with an svideo - off of craigslist

2) new LCD monitor

3) new low end LCD TV

Size is TBD also.  Main use is for MAME, old Nintendo games and a golden tee edition.  It's for the kids so true display replication isn't that important.  I just want something that they can play and have a decent image.  Easy hookup and tweaking would be a plus.  I'd like to get this up and running by summer so I know I need to make some decisions now. 

Thanks for your opinions.

[robertsig]

What kind of MAME cabinet?  How deep will it be and how important is weight in your decision?

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

An LCD monitor will almost always have the easiest setup, the least maintenance, and in the event of a failure, the easiest replacement path. As long as authenticity and 'look and feel' is unimportant, you'd be hard pressed to find a CRT winning out.

The choice then between Monitor and TV really probably comes down to cost vs size, and size is largely driven by the cabinet itself.

Here's a nice balance between larger monitor / small tv:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004KZN828/
24.6" 1080p LCD: $179USD + ~$17 shipping

[robertsig]

Another factor to consider is aspect ratio and what generation of games you will be playing.  I consider a 4:3 AR more important than the technology in general.  So with LCD's, you will hard pressed to find something above 21", but if you go with an arcade CRT, you can get much bigger.

[TNVols]

So sticking with the LCD option, in your opinion what size do some of the older games start to get distorted?  Is it around 25" or so?  Also is it worth getting a monitor/TV that is 1080p or would a lower max resolution capability save some $$$$?

I plan on having a pretty thin setup.  I can even leave the display exposed to cut down on the size of the project.  Sort of like the new versions of the golden tee game that are just the control panel and the screen.  If you have seen any MAME cab designs like that just let me know and I will take a look.

Thanks for helping me out.

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

No, you can set mame to maintain the original aspect ratio of the game. There will be space 'left over' on the sides; however one fun thing you can do with many games is have mame overlay 'art' from the original cabinet to fill out that space, such as the original bezel. There are examples of this in various projects.

The 'leaving the display exposed' that you're talking about is usually called a 'showcase' configuration. There are several examples of that around also.

When it comes to resolution in LCDs, at that size you're going to see essentially two options, 1080p (or close to it) and 720p. Either one provides enough resolution to display all of the pixels of the game, but since you've already gone the LCD route, it makes sense to go ahead and get a higher res display in case you ever decide to play any other games on it which might benefit from a higher resolution. Higher resolutions are also beneficial when using the various 'filters' available in mame to 'smooth' the look of the graphics, or add scanline effects. This is up to personal preference if you like the look of them.

Vector games also benefit from a higher resolution display.

[robertsig]

If you are going to get a bigger (22"+) widescreen LCD, try your best to get a 16:10 AR instead of the new 16:9.  Every little bit helps with vertical games.  If you want 22" exactly, I can highly recommend the Dell 2209WA S-IPS LCD.  I am typing on one now.  (You may have to hit eBay to get it though).