Help me find a new monitor

[HatefulGravey]

I need a new monitor for my MAME machine. When I say that I'm not looking for an actual arcade monitor, I just want to go to a PC monitor. I'm sick of dealing with color issues, scale issues, and contrast issues in menus. I'll sacrafice the look of a real arcade machine for something just as fun and ton easier to use.

 

I can't find a monitor to fit my needs anywhere. That said I don't know of as many good places to look as everyone here put together might, so I have come to the community for help with my retro gaming needs.

 

I need a 4:3 aspect ratio PC monitor or LCD tv with VGA input. Either will work but the aspect ratio is getting hard to find if not impossible. I don't need new but I do need it working well. Here's the part that makes it the hardest I think. I need it between 20 and 25 inches depending on the size of the housing around the screen.

 

Any help would be freaking sweet and someone would become my hero. Cost isn't the first issue so don't exclude things that are high so long as they are reasonable. I'm waiting until I can find the right monitor before I finish the upgrades I have planed for the track ball and light guns to this is getting to be a big deal for me.

 

Thank you for your time.

[+wood_jl]

I don't know if this is suitable for you, but I bought some used DELL 2007FP monitors from Ebay....but I'm not putting them in a MAME machine, of course. They're 20", they're 4:3, they swivel for portrait mode, and they are excellent.

 

I just got them hooked up using DVI, but to tell you the truth, they looked EXCELLENT at 1600 x 1200 (native res) over analog VGA. They also looked excellent at 1024 x 768.

 

Evidently, they interpolate down resolution quite well. I was quite surprised, as my notebook computer(s) never look very good in lower (non-native) resolution but these look quite respectable! You almost can't tell.

Edited March 23, 2011 by wood_jl

[HatefulGravey]

Sounds good, just bid on one with little time left and no other bids. Says its 100% and if I win it right now I'll pay less then $100 shipped. I hope this works out. It would be freaking sweet. Thanks for the model number, that made life real easy. I'll let you know what comes out of this, with any luck I'll be a very happy person at the end of the week.

[HatefulGravey]

Ok so I didn't win that one. Something tells me I got hosed a bit. There were about 10 of them listed with no bids, and instead of bidding on one of the other ones someone had to bid on mine. I've dealt with this in the past as I'm sure most people have. You bid on something and almost instantly someone bids behind you, and I have known people that sell on eBay to get friends to do this to find the top of the bidders price. Oh well, I'll get one.

[mimo]

Thats why you have to play dirty, use some sort of sniper, I use Gixen, it is excellent and free. You can set up a group of bids, so if you want to bid on 10 identical items it will keep sniping until you win one, then stop so you don't end up with 10!

[Cynicaster]

Hope you're able to find a suitable monitor solution.

 

Incidentally, I'm just putting the finishing touches on my first MAME cabinet as we speak (the plan is to paint it this weekend). Several months ago when I first started planning the project, I decided on using a 21" CRT monitor that I picked up from the local classifieds for $20 because I thought it would seem more "authentic" than a LCD flat panel. While that may arguably have truth to it, man, if I could go back and do it again I'd just go for the flat panel. The CRT is a total boat anchor, such a pain in the ass.

 

CRT monitors tend to last forever so I probably won't have an issue, but I was sure to make provisions for easy removal/replacement of the monitor if necessary. Can't wait to get this damn time vampire up and running...

[HatefulGravey]

CRT will give the right shape, but the image will be sharper then it should be. I've used a TV for a long time now, but the resolution in the menus is hell if you ever have to make a change to something. Not to mention the unit I use to convert VGA doesn't have a memory and requires me to reset all the color info every time the power blinks or something.

 

I have 2 ways to fix the problem. Replace the video card, get s-video and still have to deal with the menu problems, or just replace the TV with a VGA monitor, it is lighter, easier to deal with right now, cheaper, and solves my menu problem. I will sacrifice the acurate look, but I think the gains will out do it.

 

I had a 25 inch CRT a while back, wish I had kept it as that would have been real easy to use and freaking huge! Heavy yes, but I wouldn't have to move it anyway.

Edited March 24, 2011 by HatefulGravey

[HatefulGravey]

I got one for around $130 shipped. I honestly get sick of waiting and bidding and all that crap so I hit a decent BIN and moved on. Most of the bids were stopping just short of $130 anyway, so I spent an extra $10 and saved 4 days. Its a deal to me, I hope this works right.

 

Light guns are next. Arcadeguns.com here I come.

[Rex Dart]

CRT will give the right shape, but the image will be sharper then it should be. I've used a TV for a long time now, but the resolution in the menus is hell if you ever have to make a change to something. Not to mention the unit I use to convert VGA doesn't have a memory and requires me to reset all the color info every time the power blinks or something.

 

I have 2 ways to fix the problem. Replace the video card, get s-video and still have to deal with the menu problems, or just replace the TV with a VGA monitor, it is lighter, easier to deal with right now, cheaper, and solves my menu problem. I will sacrifice the acurate look, but I think the gains will out do it.

 

 

 

Many emulators have at least one "TV" display option, some have several. Run them on a halfway decent computer and the picture can be pretty TV-like.

[HatefulGravey]

Many emulators have at least one "TV" display option, some have several. Run them on a halfway decent computer and the picture can be pretty TV-like.

 

Fantastic idea, and one I didn't think of. I have seen but never tried these TV modes. I might be able to have my cake and eat it to for a change.