Looking for an LCD monitor for 4:3 games

[Astraea FGA Mk. I]

I've been looking for a nice TATE-able monitor suitable for pre-widescreen 4:3 aspect ratio games. I have been using a 16:10 monitor for my Xbox 360 and MAME, I figured it might be nice to have a monitor to display these games fullscreen.

It seems like it is easier to find monitors that natively display 1280x1024 which is 5:4 such as this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dell-Profession ... omputers_0

It looks really nice, accepts VGA, rotates, has convenient USB ports and the price is decent.

I am assuming that my understanding of this is less than yours, how would games look on a monitor such as this? Anyone use something similar?

Thanks in advance.

[Xyga]

Most - if not all - widecsreen monitors have an option to display 4:3 aspect ratio pictures.
Most games do have an option to choose the display ratio as well.

Why choose a - wrong ratio - 1280x1024 monitor that has 99% chances of having an awful TN lcd panel not fit for tate/portrait ?

There are plenty of great 24" or 27" 16:9 or 16:10 monitors with VA and IPS panels available nowadays at affordable prices.

[P_HAT]

I'm afraid what cheap LCD will have input lag for ~50ms.

Need to test it tho.

[Astraea FGA Mk. I]

I have a 16:10 monitor with a rotating stand that works quite well, though it is a TN panel and doesn't seem to have a 4:3 option within its menus that I can find.
MAME will display the correct aspect ratio with no problem. My 360 is set to 16:9 but my Cave game's display dimensions can be adjusted to compensate for the difference allowing it to display the correct aspect ratio.

I want to get another monitor regardless, to be used for browsing and displaying information while playing games on my current monitor.
I am just exploring my options which led me to make this topic.

[Xyga]

Sure, what's your budget and in what part of the world do you live ?
I would recommend you some I think are pretty interesting but not all are available worldwide unfortunately.

EDIT: Duh figured you live in the UK.
So actually you can still find real 4:3 monitors in 1600x1200 resolution with a good panel (IPS or VA) but the prices are horrendous.
http://www.idealo.co.uk/cat/3832F453064 ... y=minPrice
Not guaranteed to have good responsiveness and low input lag so better stay away.

If you're on a budget but still want a decent monitor that's good for tate-ing I suggest you look into the BenQ monitors (GW2450HM, GW2750HM, GW2460HM, GW2760HM) they all feature VA panels which are average at color rendition but have deeper-than-average blacks and contrast with better-than-TN viewing angles.
Decent 'AMA' anti-ghosting feature (efficiency varies with models) and confirmed low input-lag make those capable gaming monitors and overall good allrounders.
You will find a number of reviews on serious websites like tftcentral.co.uk, prad.de and pcmonitors.info.

The issue is they don't come with a rotating stand so you would have to buy one separately (for a few more £10).
If you go the BenQ route make sure you buy one with a 'flicker-free' part number (check this list: http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/fl ... tabase.htm).
The GW2450HM can be found at around £124 or £129.

PS: And of course they all feature an aspect ratio control feature for displaying 16:10, 4:3 and 5:4 sources... well normally, check the downloadable manuals on BenQ's website if you have doubts.

[bulbousbeard]

It doesn't make sense to buy a 4:3 computer monitor today.

The biggest 4:3 monitor is going to be 21". A 27" or 30" 16:9 monitor is going to be _larger_ than a 21" LCD even with letterboxing.

[Ed Oscuro]

Yup, I noticed this when moving from my SyncMaster 201B, a 21" model, to my 26" Planar PX2611W (note this is 16:10, however, and a bit taller than a 16:9 screen of the same width). The main things to watch out for now are panel tech, lag, and how up to date the connection tech is (ideally, G-SYNC compatible, or any potential future competitor is best) - when I got my Planar, it was at the end of the time period where VGA inputs were considered useful, and of course it has no DisplayPort.

That being said, smashing a 16:9 display into a cabinet could be tricky, and if you don't have a video card with forced scaling options in the driver, you might have to repeatedly set the picture processing mode from the front panel controls of the display, which again would not be ideal.

But even the modern arcade cabinets (i.e. the Viewlix) have 16:9 panels.

[Astraea FGA Mk. I]

Well. I bought a monitor.
A BenQ BL2411PT
http://benq.co.uk/product/monitor/bl2411pt/

What went from shopping for a budget monitor became the purchase of a replacement for more money than I initially intended to spend, this is a usual trend for me.

The most important thing to me regarding a wide screen monitor is being 16:10, 1920x1200. Having a rotating stand is another. This has both.

This means it is substantially wider when in portrait/tate, more lateral space means a greater range of lateral movement.

I get it in a couple of days I'll post my impressions here for the hell of it.

[Xyga]

Oh well that's definitely better than their budget ones !
Good choice.

[Ed Oscuro]

we noticed certain instability of some shades (darker grey) that was probably caused by the panel being 6-bit by default and only functioning as 8-bit

Sounds similar to my Planar 26". Aside from the slight reduction in screen space, this looks like it might even be an upgrade, though.

A good test of gray instability might be good old DOOM - I can moderate it with phase control and possibly VSYNC, but it remains for some solid colors all the same.

I will wait longer for a replacement to my own set (mainly to see how G-SYNC shakes out) - but these are encouraging signs that display technology is maturing further.

It's also nice to see that support for 1200p panels hasn't withered away as some expected. These can be tricky to get working with 1080p sources but if the monitor hardware supports it, you get all the advantages of 1200p resolution gains while still being flexible for 1080p.

[amdiggywhut]

Bumping this as I'm curious about the results of Astraea's purchase. Pics? I've also been in the market for a new monitor so I'm definitely trying to hear your opinion/review of the monitor you ended up...

[Xyga]

Well still no news from Astraea, but I'm bumping just to mention the Dell P2414H & U2414H.

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_p2414h.htm
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2414h.htm

Main differences are connectivity (one with VGA/DVI, the other with DP/HDMI) and price.
The U2414H comes pre-calibrated.

Probably the best 24" 1080p 60Hz IPS monitors on the market at the moment.

[amdiggywhut]

Thanks for posting those links, Xyga. Potentially stupid question time. I know very little about this stuff so bear with me...

I currently have my 360 hooked up to a Dell 2407WFPB LCD monitor through VGA. I don't really have any complaints, but have nothing to compare it to. I experience no input lag when using my 360 (although I did find a bunch of lag when I tried out my Saturn through S-Video, so it went right back to my CRT).

How much improvement would I see if I instead hooked up the 360 to a Dell P2414H (again, through VGA)? To at least some degree, it would look better, correct?

[Xyga]

I think you would find the Dells to be more significantly responsive.
No perceptible trailing and instant-response from the controls.

However, the 2407WFPB has an S-PVA panel right ? So if you choose one of those Dells you may be disappointed at the blacks because IPS panels aren't good at displaying deep blacks (that's annoying when playing games with dark scenes or when you're watching movies).

Still, the U2414H having a pre-calibrated IPS panel, you could be impressed with the colors.
The P2414H isn't, but the colors are still quite good as often with IPS panels.

[Fudoh]

The S-PVA panels back the had about the same blacks as the IPS panels these days.

I have two U2414Hs. They're ok. They're a considerable downgrade from my previous monitors, but eventually I plan on getting two more and 4-monitor setup should be fine using them. And with only 20W compared to 100W per monitor on my previous setups, they're of course much better suited for every day use.

The SRGB precalibration is ok at best. It's already completely unusable when you need to drive two monitors next to each other. Also 6500°K is nothing I would aim for on a PC display. Especially softproofing (pre-press work in Photoshop or Illustrator) is better done at 5000°K.

For a single monitor setup I would NOT recommend to downgrade from a 1200p monitor to a 1080p one. In general, for a single monitor setup I would certainly go for a 27" 1440p monitor these days.

[Xyga]

In general, for a single monitor setup I would certainly go for a 27" 1440p monitor these days.

But which ones do have;
- low input lag
- good responsiveness
- flicker-free backlight
- AND good upscaling ?

Personally I would be interested in a good 27" 1440p IPS, but I have yet to see one that ticks all the boxes.

[Fudoh]

BenQ BL2710PT

For me it was a dpi decision. I wanted the exact same dpi as I had on my 1200p 21" units before and the 27" would have gone over that. I also find the upcoming 32" 1440p from BenQ very interesting. Potentially one of the best monitors for MAME without spending the mighty extra for 4K with IPS. And I heard 699 EUR for the 32" might be realistic.

[Xyga]

You're right that BenQ's pretty good. It would be perfect for me if the input lag was a bit lower, I need one with below-1 frame, preferably around 1/2 a frame...

EDIT: which upcoming BenQ ?

[Fudoh]

did I miss anything ? prad has the 2710 at 5.4ms total lag.

32": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88AghB5Qg_c

EDIT: oh, I see, you mean the 25ms on the tftcentral review. Don't know why the two tests differ so much, maybe another processing mode ? I'll check into it...

[Xyga]

EDIT: oh, I see, you mean the 25ms on the tftcentral review. Don't know why the two tests differ so much, maybe another processing mode ? I'll check into it...

Well I don't know, pcmonitors as well report over-1 frame at 19.5ms
EDIT: wecravegamestoo report 17-19ms

Watching the 32" BenQ video, looks yummy...

[neorichieb1971]

Sorry for barging in.

Whats the best panel for me please?

I want to use an XRGB2 (except for Dreamcast which I have a VGA cable).

On Genesis 2
Playstation 1/2
Saturn
N64 (svideo)


All the above are NTSC native.

Would be willing to spend £300 approx.

Would prefer it to tate. This would be a for a permanent install. IE.. not being moved around.

I would probably double it up for a future PC tower purchase..

[Xyga]

For me it was a dpi decision. I wanted the exact same dpi as I had on my 1200p 21" units before and the 27" would have gone over that. I also find the upcoming 32" 1440p from BenQ very interesting. Potentially one of the best monitors for MAME without spending the mighty extra for 4K with IPS. And I heard 699 EUR for the 32" might be realistic.

About that, it's true that Mame or say, ePSXe will benefit from a higher resolution.
However for someone on a budget looking for a single, rotating monitor to hook up a 360, a scaler, some basic Mame and pc use, those little Dells seem to pack incredible performance and features.
For being simple 'little' 1080p60Hz monitors, they sure do tick all the boxes!

Sorry for barging in.

Whats the best panel for me please?

I want to use an XRGB2 (except for Dreamcast which I have a VGA cable).

On Genesis 2
Playstation 1/2
Saturn
N64 (svideo)


All the above are NTSC native.

Would be willing to spend £300 approx.

Would prefer it to tate. This would be a for a permanent install. IE.. not being moved around.

I would probably double it up for a future PC tower purchase..

If it's for an XRGB-2 I bet you at least need one that doesn't suck at upscaling/interpolation.

[Xyga]

Hey Fudoh, I was looking at this Iiyama that seems to be equal or even slightly better than the VN279QLB in the same category, but google trad doesn't help to understand everything.
Specifically the upscaling part; looks like it is even worse than the Asus (?)
http://www.prad.de/new/monitore/test/20 ... teil6.html
Please halp !