Swami Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 I'm looking into an LCD I can stick on my wall for retro-gaming instead of another huge 32" CRT ( my current CRT is getting fuzzy picture), but it seems like a shame to have half my screen wasted ... like getting a 60 inch screen to get a 38 inch picture, let alone paying extra money for wasted screen. Are there any good low lag LCD TVs that are 4:3 aspect, by chance, that I could use with emulators with a PC (HDMI) and also A/V connections for PSX/PS2/Wii/Ataris? If they are known to be region free, that would also be a plus, as I have a PAL and NTSC-J PS2. All I have seen are computer monitors, and even these only go up to 24 inches = $200, but mostly 19 inch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepthaw Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 I was looking for the same thing and found nada. If you go for the more traditional (to computers) 5:4 aspect ratio, the letterboxing will be minimal at least. (1280x1024 is very close to an integer ratio of 320x240) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swami Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share Posted April 10, 2018 I was looking for the same thing and found nada. If you go for the more traditional (to computers) 5:4 aspect ratio, the letterboxing will be minimal at least. (1280x1024 is very close to an integer ratio of 320x240) Unfortunately, did not see anything over 21 inches in this category either. Looks like a lot of extra money and wall space to get a 32+ inch playable area LCD TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgeld Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 I dont recall seeing any large format 4:3 or 5:4 LCD screens, I have seen lcd tv's but none larger than a 21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SignGuy81 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Could you go with a projector instead? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swami Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 Could you go with a projector instead? I'll look into it. 15-20 years ago, I thought projectors were the way to go. I'll have to see if the picture quality is something I like. I've never thought about what kind of lag there might be, either. I think they are much smaller now and the screens have a very low profile storage space now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 Pico projectors are crazy cheap now. http://www.projectorcentral.com/popular-pico-projectors.htm I doubt any of them are a replacement for a halfway decent direct-view screen, but they're so LITTLE!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 I've personally never been particularly satisfied with projector picture quality in normal lighting conditions, in addition to some noticeable lag. They're obviously good if you spend a lot of money for one and can keep it in a dark room, but I'd never want one as a primary or general purpose display. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToddL Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 Dell 2001FP and 2007FP monitors are 4:3 aspect ratio, 1600 x 1200 resolution, with DVI, VGA, S-Video, and Composite inputs. I bought one recently on eBay for a little over $20. Only 20 inches but I don't think I've seen bigger than that if you're looking for 4:3 LCDs. PS2 has many 16:9 games, and I believe all Wii games are 16:9 so why not just get a 16:9 TV? Regardless of 16:9 or 4:3, you probably want a TV with component inputs for PS2 and Wii. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swami Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 Dell 2001FP and 2007FP monitors are 4:3 aspect ratio, 1600 x 1200 resolution, with DVI, VGA, S-Video, and Composite inputs. I bought one recently on eBay for a little over $20. Only 20 inches but I don't think I've seen bigger than that if you're looking for 4:3 LCDs. PS2 has many 16:9 games, and I believe all Wii games are 16:9 so why not just get a 16:9 TV? Regardless of 16:9 or 4:3, you probably want a TV with component inputs for PS2 and Wii. I actually already have an LCD that is 16:9. This was to replace my old 32 inch CRT, so considering my options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swami Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 I've personally never been particularly satisfied with projector picture quality in normal lighting conditions, in addition to some noticeable lag. They're obviously good if you spend a lot of money for one and can keep it in a dark room, but I'd never want one as a primary or general purpose display. Me neither, although I think most of them I encounter are work related and are at least a decade old. Something about them makes me think of watching a TV show with the fake home movie or dream sequence scenes. Grainy or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 you could always take a wall mounted hdtv (tcl are incredible displays for gaming) and obscure the edges behind game shelves! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swami Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 you could always take a wall mounted hdtv (tcl are incredible displays for gaming) and obscure the edges behind game shelves! Or some boss speakers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 Or some boss speakers. Glad you said boss and not Bose! Bose is an abomination as trying to get big sound out of tiny packages violates the laws of physics. My custom built Flaming Tritrix speaker towers are the boss... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 Dell 2001FP and 2007FP monitors are 4:3 aspect ratio, 1600 x 1200 resolution, with DVI, VGA, S-Video, and Composite inputs. I bought one recently on eBay for a little over $20. Only 20 inches but I don't think I've seen bigger than that if you're looking for 4:3 LCDs. PS2 has many 16:9 games, and I believe all Wii games are 16:9 so why not just get a 16:9 TV? Regardless of 16:9 or 4:3, you probably want a TV with component inputs for PS2 and Wii. MOST Wii games are 16:9, but not all, with some being in 4:3 and simply stretched unless you made the manual change on your TV. That was one of my frustrations with the Wii, along with the lack of HD resolutions. It really didn't look great on modern TVs in many cases. The Wii really had no business being the way it was when everyone else had already switched to HD (and HDMI), but then that's old news now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToddL Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 MOST Wii games are 16:9, but not all, with some being in 4:3 and simply stretched unless you made the manual change on your TV. That was one of my frustrations with the Wii, along with the lack of HD resolutions. It really didn't look great on modern TVs in many cases. The Wii really had no business being the way it was when everyone else had already switched to HD (and HDMI), but then that's old news now. I agree that Wii (and PS2) will look better on a CRT, but if you are going to use an LCD anyway then might as well go 16:9 (and put the TV in 4:3 with black side bars if needed for certain games). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swami Posted April 12, 2018 Author Share Posted April 12, 2018 I agree that Wii (and PS2) will look better on a CRT, but if you are going to use an LCD anyway then might as well go 16:9 (and put the TV in 4:3 with black side bars if needed for certain games). It's a minor aesthetic point to play 4:3 and 5:4 games on a fitted screen and cut down on cost. I've been doing more MSX, intellivision, and Adam emulation, so part of it was a large retro PC emulation screen, as well. I have a 32 inch LCD for HD games, but it's really maybe 22 inches if I used it for the 4:3 games vs my 32 inch CRT and really miniature for arcade accurate 3:4. Obviously, I've eliminated the large 4:3 fitted LCD screen as an option. If I get a 55+ inch LCD, I might as well get rid of the 32 inch LCD I'm currently using for HD gaming and sometimes the Wii, as long as it is also multi-region for the PAL and -J PS2s. Maybe I will replace my 32 inch CRT with the smaller 27 inch one I have in strorage as a compromise. Sounds like it may ultimately be worth the (somewhat smaller) space it takes up if it looks much better for retro. At least worth a comparison. I have generally not heard good things about HDMI to composite adapters to play PC based emulators on CRTs, so the large LCD would be nice. Basically playing more emulation on consoles I don't have, not wanting even more consoles and an old CRT getting fuzzy and always taking up possibly reclaimable space brings about indecision. I'll probably go with a new large (multi-region) LCD for the wall and my 27 inch CRT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swami Posted April 12, 2018 Author Share Posted April 12, 2018 Also, I have a five year old laptop I'm thinking I should remove internet and everything but the emulation necessities from and dedicate it to emulation on a nice setup. Mostly, I just end up emulating on the laptop screen to avoid messing with arrangement and hookup to my LCD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 Fairly recently I got for $25 a Dell 190SB which is a 19" 5:4 LCD that came with the soundbar. It was mounted like you want just not on a wall but in a cocktail arcade cabinet I picked up that lacked the screen. They don't come really much larger, I do think 20 is the max at least I could remember digging up was a 21" and the 20/21" stuff for what you want in a low display lag rate is going to be trickier to find and likely more costly than the 19" like I found by dumb luck at the time (on ebay, but dude lived 5mi away) I needed it. There are other choices though, the original screen that should have gone into my system isn't quite 5:4 but better than some wide screen 16:9 setup but they go into the hundreds in price and are very flat and have plates along both of the longer sides with screw holes so maybe something could be rigged up. Wells & Gardner known for CRTs going way back and others make the things. Maybe worth your time looking in that direction though they typically have just a VGA output on them since they're specifically made for computer gaming/arcade gaming and not as TVs with the latency issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jagosaurus Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 I've been looking at the 4:3 "EDTV" LCD monitors that also accept component 480p. I'll be covered from NES through Wii. Sure it see 240p as 480i though, and likely won't handle 240 over component (PS1 on PS2). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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