Well, I have to admit my arcade monitor is currently is outside of the cabinet. I do believe that there are people would like to use an arcade monitor for general purpose use outside of a cab. From what I hear, in some places it's much easier to buy a new arcade monitor than a 15 kHz domestic/pro RGB monitor. They also make great monitors for gaming because of all the accessible adjustments which are often hidden away in service mode in a domestic TV/Monitor.
Including full support for a number of different console controllers presents a few problems:
- Cost - A big fat microcontroller, extra PCB real estate, and a hatful of adapter cables to plug into the game consoles proprietary controller ports will easily double or even triple the final price.
- Time - This project must be all wrapped up by the end of the year. If it takes longer than that it will likely never be realised at all.
- Interest - My main goal is to provide a good quality video amp with 100% compatibility. I'm not sure that I'm dedicated enough to implement a controller section to the same standard.
The stereo line level audio output will definitely remain in addition to the (monaural) audio amplifier.
Dave_K,
While the video signal from a game console (domestic video) and an arcade game board contain the same information, the electrical properties differ significantly.
One point of difference is that domestic video is allowed to be AC coupled while arcade video is always be DC coupled. Most consoles use AC coupled video. Explaining what this means in non-technical terms is is a real bastard of a task which I'll leave for another time. What's important to know is that no arcade board will output AC coupled video and it is taken for granted than any board will work with any monitor (with the exceptions of some boards that use unusual video timing).
To be able to make use of AC coupled video, all domestic monitors include what is known as a 'clamp' circuit. Arcade monitors do not need such a thing but many have one anyway. The main reason for this that arcade monitors and domestic monitors (TVs) are built using the same parts and as a clamp circuit it is a requirement for the latter, it is often cheaper and easier to include it than not to.
If AC coupled video is sent to a monitor with no clamp circuit then the brightness (black level) will change with the video content.
As it happens, VGA video is DC coupled which would explain why there is no clamp circuit in Ultimarc's J-Pac. From the picture in slap_fight's post, I can see that Ultimarc's console adapter also lacks a clamp which I believe makes it a poor design and not well suited for its intended purpose.
antron,
From the picture, it seems the Ultimarc video amplifier is doing something non-standard to avoid termination and the 220u caps. I cannot say much else from only looking at the photo though.