I have owned many over the years, including: a Sony BVM 20, various PVM 20's, an Nec XM2950, Ikegami broadcast monitors, Wells Gardner, Hantarex and Billabs arcade monitors (both CGA and tri-sync varieties). I have also owned various consumer TVs both here (in America) and when I lived in the U.K. (Where all Sony Trinitron TVs had RGB scart sockets).
So... it is fair to say that I have seen enough to have an opinion...
Most of the monitors listed above have gone into storage or have been sold. The two I keep on my desk (and will never part with) are my Ikegami TM20-90rh and my Billabs 25" (which is really 23.5") tri-sync arcade monitor. I believe that these two are the best of what I have seen overall for vintage gaming (I.e. CGA, EGA, VGA).
I know we all have our own opinions and preferences. Some like to see thick black spaces in-between scanlines and extreme clarity while others crave an authentic smooth look and feel from the arcades they remember from childhood. I am more of a purist. I dislike anything that looks drastically different from the real arcade.
I like the Ikegami because (imo) it represents the best of both worlds. The TM-20rh90 was their top 15khz only broadcast and mastering monitor back in the day. It's specs and pricing were comparable to the Sony BVM20 F1U. Having owned both side by side, I prefer the Ikegami. The image clarity, convergence, contrast and color reproduction are slightly better than the Sony (although it's close enough not to matter). The key difference is that the Ikegami has a curved screen like the real arcades.
Seeing arcade games run on that perfect curved screen is special. It manages to produce the thick scan lines that some people crave but without making the image look blocky like the NEC XM29 does. Thanks to it's perfect convergence, I have noticed details in games that I never saw before (like facial expressions in SF2 characters etc). As an FYI, their TM20-80 series are more comparable to the Sony PVM (so great but not in the same league as the BVM20 / TM20).
It's hard to capture the magic in photos which soften and blur but here is a few:
SF3 from a "normal" arcade distance with brightness turned up to arcade monitor levels:
https://s5.postimg.cc/3y76suzk7/image.jpg
A close-up of FF:
FF from where I sit:
And Mercs (vertical mode):
There is a bunch of nice features on the monitor itself too. The square box-like design makes it easy to turn for vertical games. It has a huge number of image control button and pots on the front and on the slide out control panel. If you can't make the image how you like it with these controls, you can't do it period. Having both digital (buttons)) and analog pots makes adjustments very precise.
Importantly, you can quickly and easily adjust the screen size which is necessary because of all the obscure resolutions that arcade games came in.
Also, like the BVM, it uses (up to 5) input cards so you can customize the connections. Mine has 2 RGB inputs plus a component video (all on BNCs). Theoretically, I could replace the NTSC, SDI and blank slots with more RGB inputs for a max of 6 (including the built-in RGB connectors:
It is a truly amazing monitor; the best 15hkz only monitor I have ever seen.
On the Billabs tri-sync.... this will sound like a strange choice for someone who also owned an NEC XM29. On paper, the NEC seems better. It's larger and covers higher resolutions etc but.... I could never get along with it. The XM29 is more of a PC monitor that happens to display 240p. It displays 720p but at a price. The pitch is too fine so old 240p games look blocky, like a 480p LCD display. Certain games just never looked authentic, no matter what I adjusted:
The learning experience was that, while CRT's may be able to switch resolutions, they still have a native res that looks best. A higher res means a finer pitch which equals more artifacts you don't like on screen.
Don't get me wrong, the XM29 is a great monitor. It is especially awesome for 480p driving games but, unfortunately most arcade games were CGA or EGA.
Ridge Racer at it's native 480p on the XM29:
Net net, cga games don't look like the arcades I remember on the NEC.Also, the XM29 is just a little too big for it's age. For some reason they were unable to create screen that large in the 90's without image issue at the edges. I notice image issues like bowing or convergence problems and they bother me.
So... what's so great about the Billabs? First, I should point out that Billabs were just a distributor. I believe this monitor was available under a few different brand names. It was one of the last real crt arcade monitors ever made so it has a few features that make it ideal as a MAME display.
It's 23.5" (visible) screen is optimal (imo) in terms of the right balance between "nice large arcade display" but not so large that you get noticeable image problems at the edges. It is a noticeable step up in size from the BVM20 / TM20 broadcast monitors.
It's a flat CRT. The purist in me sees this as a negative but many people will prefer that.
Either way, I let it slide because the images it produces is awesome, faithful and clear for all 3 vintage gaming resolutions.
The pitch is sufficiently corse that even older CGA games from the 80's look authentic:
Newer CGA games like SF3 look awesome too:
My main test game for "arcade authenticity) is double Dragon. It usually looks awful on anything except an old curved 19" cga only arcade monitor. This monitor does it well though:
Just as I remember.... tick!
Neo Geo games are another good test
As a purist, I found it hard to play EGA games in the wrong res but there weren't enough to warrant a dedicated ega monitor. Problem solved with the tri-sync:
Old EGA games like Narc and newer Sega Model 2 and 3 games can all be played as they were meant to be played:
It does an equally impressive job with 480p games like Sega Rally online on the PS3:
And games like Ridge Racer look better than on my XM29:
The monitor auto-syncs to the input resolution without needing any switches. As with many arcade monitors, it syncs easily to a broad range of resolutions and modes within each resolution banding.
When I used my RGB Sony Trinitron in the UK, it often struggled with any resolution that was unusual (as many arcade resolutions were) which meant non-native modlines were required (which did not sit well with the purist in me).
In general arcade monitors seem to be less fussy with sync and frequency variations which makes them easier to live with.
Image size adjustments on the Billabs are all on pots on a remote board which you can position wherever you want. This is great when switching from cga to ega as the screen size can be adjusted within seconds without navigating menus etc. I keep the pots up front next to my keyboard. This may sound like a small point but I found the screen size adjustment process on my XM29 to be upsetting.
Most arcade monitors I have owned use (non) standard RGBS or RGBHV molex connectors which means you usually need custom cables, adapters or breakout boards to connect a 240p mame box. Due to my lack of skill, custom cables usually result in a noisy image compared to quality shielded pro cables. This Billabs model has a standard DB15 port as well as the regular RGBS / HV arcade molex connector. This makes it easy to connect both PCs or real arcade hardware.
It accepts all 3 resolution modes through either connector. It also has a brightness switch which is awesome. Arcade boards put out a significantly brighter image than consumer hardware. This means that consumer hardware sometimes looks a little dull on an arcade monitor without a signal booster. Not here. Mame games look as bright as the original jamma PCB.
One minor point, it plugs straight in without needing to buy a separate isolation transformer like my Wells Gardner CGA monitor. I like convenience.
If I could only choose one crt monitor for vintage gaming, it would be this 23.5" Billabs tri-sync. The 240p image was only bested by my old 25" curved CGA only Hantarex monitor but.... the ability to display CGA, EGA and VGA games natively, the convenient DB15 port, the remote adjustment pots, the auto sync etc makes it a better overall monitor for emulated vintage games.
One more image because I can't help myself:
What are your favorite vintage gaming monitors and do you prefer the ultra sharp broadcast monitor type image or do you favor displays that make games look how you remember them from the arcades?
I haven't sampled nearly as many models as people here :/ but out of the ones I own, I like the JVC TM-H models the most. I agree that a curved screen is a big factor in conveying a classic look to a CRT. Beside Ikegami's, the JVC BM-H2000 is another model with a noticeably bulging screen (it doesn't look as unique though). Also I think Ikegami is probably the only company to have ever made a multisync (broadcast) monitor with a curved screen on both axes. And yeah, I've never found one for sale in my country either.
I live in a small town an hour away from Quebec City and I go there by car pretty much every weekend
