New Wells LCD monitor - check this out

LyonsArcade

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Wells Gardener just sent out this email to everybody, touting their replacement LCD monitor that works retrofit with CGA monitors. This would actually be pretty cool, price is getting there, it's still a little high but not crazy high imho.

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Wells-Gardner Introduces New 19" Shelf-Mount LCD Replacement Kit For

Class II Gaming and Amusement

15 - 80KHZ CGA/EGA/VGA

"The Wells-Gardner 19" Shelf-Mount LCD Replacement Kit is designed to retrofit 19" CGA to VGA CRT displays used in many amusement games (Pac-Man, Galaga, Space Invaders, Joust) in addition to various Class II line games. This LCD kit is pre-assembled and includes a power supply. Wells-Gardner quality and reliability is backed by a one year warranty."

Price is listed at $325.
 
Has anyone tried one of the LCD's on a retro game? Does it look "fuzzy" like other LCD's when not in there native res?

From my understanding, its the exact opposite. They look so intensely detailed and sharp, it sucks. Classic games were never meant to be in 'hi-def.' Pac Man pellets are square pixels and characters are pixelated and jagged, where a CRT display gives everything a softer look.
 
Why can't they add a "soft" filter to the input to "round" the pixels? It seems like a pretty simple idea... not sure how hard it'd be to apply though. :)
 
From my understanding, its the exact opposite. They look so intensely detailed and sharp, it sucks. Classic games were never meant to be in 'hi-def.' Pac Man pellets are square pixels and characters are pixelated and jagged, where a CRT display gives everything a softer look.

Exactly.

I remember what it was like to play classic emulated games without the scan lines. Sucked. That's sort of how I felt when I saw an LCD playing classic games the first time...
 
Why can't they add a "soft" filter to the input to "round" the pixels? It seems like a pretty simple idea... not sure how hard it'd be to apply though. :)

as with many things it could probably be done but there is not likely enough demand. They are catering to operators who will mainly have new machines on location and probably don't care what monitor is in the few classics they still have on location. We are not their target consumer. Maybe some one in the hobby can figure out an add on to make the pic look somewhat correct. Although the lack of a curve also effects the classic look too.
 
I personally think $325 is still at least $100 too high. $199 is when I might actually consider using one.
 
Although the lack of a curve also effects the classic look too.


I bet if someone was clever enough they could even simulate the curvature through a bit of ingenuity.

So who has the talent do do this?
 
Why can't they add a "soft" filter to the input to "round" the pixels? It seems like a pretty simple idea... not sure how hard it'd be to apply though. :)

That just makes it look like an LCD image through a "soft" filter, which is as far from the look of a CRT as black is from white. The look of a standard resolution CRT won't be able to be replicated until they make displays capable of matching the resolution and other qualities of the human eye and how it perceives real-world objects; and enough processing power to drive it.

In such a case, they could replicate the look of phosphors with a course dot-pitch generating their own light through a course RGB triad shadow mask and then through thick, curved glass. It would also have to have some sort of sensor to track your eyes so it could adjust reflections and whatnot as you moved, to match up with how you perceive real-world objects as your viewing angle changes.
 
Don't forget the existing bezel in a machine is curved to fit a CRT tube. So if you installed one of these new "monitors" (and I use the term loosely) you'd new to buy a new bezel for a flat face.

What are the hidden charges that go with these new monitors? If it's like Happ Controls, then the $325 is the base price for the LCD itself then you add another $50 for the monitor mounting brackets then shipping charges on top of that. Prices are too high for these 'things' to be practical for a collector's budget (or for an operator's budget too).
 
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Supposedly 325 with the brackets and power supply, i'm sure shipping is extra.

As for the resolution, this monitor runs 15K... so you're not going to get the exact same pixelated look you do with the multigame board that outputs at VGA. You still will get an inferior picture though of course, but it won't be the same that we've seen before... I'd be interested to see if they do put some sort of soft filter on it or something when it's a CGA input.

Somebody'd have to buy one though to show it, lol.
 
nice to know we at least have options for brand new monitors though. I would like to check out how these look in person. I know they are not authentic but if it keeps me playing games for the next 30 years then so be it.
 
Personally, I can't imagine ever using one of these and being happy with it, as a classic gamer or collector. Everything about the way these look is not right if you care anything at all about originality.

Might be good for operators or the rare collector that likes LCD's... but otherwise I think 95% of collectors won't like these AT ALL.

Wade
 
Supposedly 325 with the brackets and power supply, i'm sure shipping is extra.

As for the resolution, this monitor runs 15K... so you're not going to get the exact same pixelated look you do with the multigame board that outputs at VGA. You still will get an inferior picture though of course, but it won't be the same that we've seen before... I'd be interested to see if they do put some sort of soft filter on it or something when it's a CGA input.

Somebody'd have to buy one though to show it, lol.

LCDs have a fixed resolution, and this one accepts up to an 80 KHz input, so that is up around 1600x1200. It is an ordinary LCD panel that has additional hardware built in to accept and convert sub-VGA video signals. An ordinary PC LCD monitor plus one of these would accomplish the same thing. The result = ugly as homemade shoes to anyone who likes the way classic arcade games look on real arcade monitors.
 
Not to mention... for the budget minded... 19" VGA LCD monitors are a dime a dozen. Someone willing to use a $25 upscan converter plus a $50 VGA monitor could have essentially the same thing.

Wade
 
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