flat screen TV to replace monitors?

Andy63

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Has anyone and or is there info available on what would be needed to use an LCD flat screen tv to replace an arcade monitor. In my case I have 2 Cruis'n USA's that I think have medium resolution monitors. 25 " or about that size flat screen tvs are becoming the less expensive alternative. Is there an adapter that would let me plug games into the pc vga port on the tv? Would picture be as good? Seems like this would be a good alternative for 19" games as well. Mounting should not be to hard to figure out.
Thank you
Andy
 
I can't offer much on the technical side on this, but this arcade in Ocean City NJ (jilly's) has a set of Cruisin's with flatscreen LCD monitors. They're widescreen instead of 4:3 so the image looked stretched and there was some... pixelation? bastardization? it just looked "off" to me. like it was trying to run a resolution it wasn't designed for, which is surely the case.
 
LCD wide screen TV can be set to run in 4:3. They are so much cheaper, lighter, generate less heat, and hopefuly more reilable than 16 year old monitors in there now that are failing. Could send chassis out for rebuilds but I have no experience with this and talking to an op he said he has rebuilt them himself and sent them out and they do not last long after.
 
LCD on a classic machine = SUCK. No scan lines... all the wrong (right) colors due to the lack of bleeding... terrible view angle issues... wrong native resolutions... overall absolute shit.
 
Least costly, most reliable alternative to old failing monitors would be?
Are there adapters so a LCD can run in Medium resolution? Would be nice to be able to use as TVs in the game room as well.
Thank you for constructive help in solving this.
Andy.
 
Least costly, most reliable alternative to old failing monitors would be?
Are there adapters so a LCD can run in Medium resolution? Would be nice to be able to use as TVs in the game room as well.
Thank you for constructive help in solving this.
Andy.

$8.00 - $15.00 cap kit in most cases...

You can pick up Korean replacement chassis for most tubes for $50-$80...
 
As mentioned talked to an op who has rebuilt chassis and he sent them out to be rebuilt. He said they do not last long after rebuilds. Is this not correct?
Least costly, most reliable alternative to old failing monitors would be?
Can get 26" LCD tvs for less than $ 200.00.
Are there adapters so a LCD can run in Medium resolution? Would be nice to be able to use as TVs in the game room as well.
Thank you for constructive help in solving this.
Andy.
 
theoretically, if you buy a multi-sync LCD monitor that'll do medium res then you won't even need get any sort of converter, just make an adapter cable.

this Chinese board does do VGA:
http://www.jammaboards.com/store/cga/ega/yuv-to-vga-converter-pcb-gbs-8220/prod_291.html i can't speak for the quality and most of the stuff coming out of China is crap so you may be throwing your $50 away but since you're pretty insistent on doing this here you go.

as for your question if the picture will be good, no, it probably won't be. it'll look blocky and pixellated as medium res is only EGA, unlike the new games created for LCD monitors that are VGA or better. and mounting may be a pain in the ass, especially if you're trying to cram a 26" 16X9 into a space originally made for a 25" 4X3. i wouldn't be surprised if the Cruisin' USA cabinets aren't wide enough to accommodate a 26" LCD but as i don't have one handy to measure i can't be sure.
 
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If you re-cap a monitor correctly with ALL NEW caps, you're highly likely to get many years of use out of it before needing to repeat the process. I'm just now reaching the point where I'll need to re-do a cap job on a monitor, and that's for my Tron, which I originally "cap'd" about 8 years ago.

I also have some monitors in use where I replaced the chassis on the tube with replacements from Victor Genao, and so far they've all been running famously -- even after a few years of use.

The bottom line is...LCD monitors look ALL KINDS OF WRONG in classic arcade machines, and unless your CRT has a severe case of screen-burn, you should ALWAYS repair your CRT by installing a new cap kit, flyback, or whatever it may need. If the tube is good but the chassis is just beyond reasonable repair, then grab a new chassis for it.

If you DO happen to need to replace the entire monitor, then at least try to buy a used CRT from someone and get it back in shape for your machine. I think an LCD should only be considered when there's absolutely NO OTHER option to be had.

And if you find that you prefer the look of LCDs for classic arcade gaming instead of CRTs, then you'd be better off getting out of this hobby and enjoying MAME on your PC. (It's a hell of a lot cheaper and will save you a ton of room!) ;)
 
There's no real competition... LCD monitors are easy to adapt, they're cheap for large sizes, and they're reliable. The problem comes with wether or not you can stand having an LCD replace a CRT in a classic game. Most people here will tell you the same thing, that it ruins the expirence. I'm sure there's also a bit of "lets keep it origional" thrown in there.

Not that I disagree.
 
Has anyone and or is there info available on what would be needed to use an LCD flat screen tv to replace an arcade monitor. In my case I have 2 Cruis'n USA's that I think have medium resolution monitors. 25 " or about that size flat screen tvs are becoming the less expensive alternative. Is there an adapter that would let me plug games into the pc vga port on the tv? Would picture be as good? Seems like this would be a good alternative for 19" games as well. Mounting should not be to hard to figure out.
Thank you
Andy
Arcade games look like ass on LCD's. I read the first part about replacing the monitors on the Cruisn USA's. If I had no other choice I would use an LCD but only if there was "NO OTHER CHOICE". There's still plenty of monitors to be had and if you can find a VGA CRT thats better than an LCD. I wouldn't try to play a classic game on an LCD. The higher definition of the LCD makes the low definition graphics look very bad. Completely ruins the experience imo.
 
Thank you all for the info and locations. Great to have options.
Andy
 
The higher definition of the LCD makes the low definition graphics look very bad. Completely ruins the experience imo.

Not only that, but the flat display simply makes classic games look and feel terrible inside a cab.
 
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