Display advice

[Astraea FGA Mk. I]

I should have posted this earlier I tend to post in a topic and go AWOL

Regarding getting the XBOX360 to display correctly on a 16:10 monitor:

I should have said before.

Set the XBOX 360 resolution to 16:9 1920x1080.

The changes you make to correct the aspect ratio is in the individual games.

When the screen is in TATE and the dimensions are correct for 16:9, multiply the height value by 1.111 and set it to the new value. 100% becomes 111%, any static number becomes height = (height x 1.111).

Games that do not allow you to adjust the height and width independently will not display the correct aspect ratio. Fortunately all CAVE releases can be configured correctly, except for the XBLA Guwange and some modes on DSIIX. I do not have many of the non-cave 360 ports. RFA works. Seems like the horis designed to display fullscreen at 16:9 won't let you adjust it properly such as Caladrius, instead it displays fullscreen with the dimensions slightly off but to me I wouldn't know unless I knew which I do but I don't care.
In MAME and other emulators it will always display the correct aspect ratio.

[Xyga]

^^

@Astraea: Did you try setting the 360 to some 4:3 resolution ?

I have a 1600x1200 monitor and sometimes it gives me fullscreen with 1024x768 (Ketsui), sometimes with 640x480 (Galuda II).
If I leave the 360 at 640x480 it's always fullscreen.
That's on HDMI with DVI adapter.

I think it's always easier for a 16:10 monitor to acknowledge 4:3 resolutions and display them correctly.

[Xyga]

For people interested in viewing what the Iiyama ProLite XB2783HSU-B1 looks like with shmups on it, check that page;
http://forum.shmup.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... 20#p464420
(scroll down a bit to see X360 shots, then Mame)

[Xyga]

I'll just leave this here: http://www.playwares.com/xe/45089719 (in Korean)

EDIT: basically; good colors, fast response, low-lag 27" multi-input 1440 IPS monitor. It's a first in that category. There's a couple other but they suck. Not that one.
WANT (fuck, I'm poor )

[Fudoh]

don't know if you read the announcement, but I'm stoked about Eizo's 27" 1920x1920 display. That's extremely cool for MAME with 1920x1440 for both horizontal and vertical games. If these turn out to have acceptable lag, I'll get two for my desktop.

[Xyga]

Yes I'm waiting for a review as well, it's certainly interesting but the announced price is definitely too high for me, and I'd rather have a larger 16:9 area for 16:9 content.

[Fudoh]

but the announced price is definitely too high for me

what did they say ? On the announcements I saw no price was mentioned (yet).

[Xyga]

I read on clubic.com it should be near 1000€, that could be wrong but at the same time realistic as the panel certainly is produced in small quantities and aimed at professionals.

[chronicdog]

Im looking at a couple monitors, can you guys give me your thoughts on the specs here?

Dell 19" 1280x1024 $189

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product

Acer 24" 1900x1200 $249

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824009508

This is mostly for PC and Xbox360 vertical shooters, I have a separate 144hz TN panel for normal gaming that Im happy with. I also have a tateable 20" Sony CRT for my Dreamcast.

[monouchi]

By the time I decided for the E3 I had gone through the AWSD HD project and the Naomi HD project and around 20 26"/27" monitors.
I finally found one that had everything I wanted, like good (amazing) viewing angle, no input lag (6.6 ms) etc.
It is a PLS panel: Samsung Syncmaster 27" LED S27C650D

http://forum.arcadeotaku.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=28846

[chronicdog]

Im looking at a couple monitors, can you guys give me your thoughts on the specs here?

Dell 19" 1280x1024 $189

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product

Acer 24" 1900x1200 $249

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824009508

This is mostly for PC and Xbox360 vertical shooters, I have a separate 144hz TN panel for normal gaming that Im happy with. I also have a tateable 20" Sony CRT for my Dreamcast.

BUMP they are so cheap Im consdering getting both, 19" seems a bit small but this 4:3 Dell monitor might be ideal for NES/SNES/Genesis emulation via HDMI from my Ouya. Would make a nice compact package!

[Fudoh]

19" monitors aren't 4:3, but 5:4. 15", 20" and 21" usually were 4:3.

[Xyga]

Yeah, and the Ouya doesn't seem to have any support for 5:4.
The 360 can do 5:4, but only over VGA IIRC.

Don't bother with 5:4 monitors anyway, those are either lowly TN or bad gaming displays in general whatever they say.

Then the 16:10 Acer you linked seems fishy and not that cheap to me, I couldn't find any proper reviews with lag and response figures, it lacks HDMI, and we don't know if it does proper letterboxed 16:9 (which is an extremely important point when choosing a 16:10).

Look here if you want good advice on monitors: http://wecravegamestoo.com/forums/monit ... ssage.html

[Xyga]

About the LG 27MB85R again, some dude at hardforum confirmed the scaling is quite good (on par with AOC q2770pqu) and almost no fucking glow at all.
From that video looks like it's no BS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYiQYRuLIKk#t=36
But his unit got dead pixels and a temporary flickering issue (it's supposed to be 100% flicker-free, well I don't get the google translation from Korean but...)

Still need a few more confirmations with that one, but omg omg omg. *drool*
Why is it so expensive ? *sob*

[Astraea FGA Mk. I]

Here is something I posted on a different forum, why not paste it here. It addresses the CRT or not to be question. Understand that I am speaking to people who do not understand these things very well, so my explanation is catered to them so I am generalizing somewhat.

Do not buy a CRT. It will not fit your needs. They are heavy, so unless you can pick it up locally you are paying more for shipping than the value of the crt. The best CRTs are broadcast monitors, such as the SONY BVM line, they do not have built in speakers and the ports are incompatible with your systems without extra cables and hardware. They take up lots of space and moving them is frustrating. CRTs are deep unlike panel sets.

Here is the set I use:
SONY KDL-32S2000
https://docs.sony.com/release/specs/KDL32S2000_mksp.pdf

32"
1366 x 768 (720p)
Aspect ratio : 4:3 / 16:9 / 14:9 (fullscreen PAL, exceptional for PAL format systems) / Smart / Zoom

1 x HDMI
1 x VGA
2 x RGB Scart
1 x Component (Y/Pb/Pr)
1 x S-video
1 x Composite

It has 5ms input lag. Most new sets have much higher input lag.
It is an old set from 2006.

The systems I have connected to are:

HDMI - XBOX 360 / Computer
VGA - Dreamcast
SCART 1 - Sega Saturn
SCART 2 - SNES
Component - Playstation 2
S-Video - Used for the few DC titles that won't run on VGA
Composite - Unused

It plays all of these brilliantly.
Finding a new HDTV with 2 x RGB Scart, VGA and Component will be a challenge. I think the output is beautiful.

I strongly recommend you get a set similar to this one, it would be an older set like this one.
I have the means to get any CRT I want, I have seen the PVM and BVM in person and they just aren't very practical at this point in time.
You could use a XRGB-mini on any HDTV for good results but it adds an extra 20ms input lag. Most new sets sacrifice low latency for other modern features that nobody wants. I know what I am talking about. Save yourself the hassle of buying expensive upscalers, this set doesn't need them. Upscalers and transcoders all have issues and will aggravate you.

[Fudoh]

It has 5ms input lag. Most new sets have much higher input lag.

that's technically impossible, at least for the 15khz inputs. Also the panel itself likely has response times up to 25ms which add to the native lag.

I think the output is beautiful.

you're entitled to your opinion, but I very much doubt that anybody else would agree to that.

IMO that's overall just bad advice.

[Xyga]

Sorry Astraea but I must agree with Fudoh here, there are much, much better options today, even among TV's.

[Xan]

No offense, but this post sounds like a bad TV commercial to me.

I don't see how "no built-in speakers" is a real argument either, as many would rather use seperate speakers anyway.

[chronicdog]

I am speaking to people who do not understand these things very well

IMOthat's overall just bad advice.

[Ed Oscuro]

Here is something I posted on a different forum

We had a discussion recently about the Leo Bodnar lag tester where we realized that a 8ms (average lag, between reading the top, middle, and bottom bars) figure is the absolute best you can get for a 60Hz source, on LCDs that is (and the bottom bar should be 16ms). For plasma, it should be 16ms across all bars, I believe.

tbh, I'm skipping reading your post based on the 5ms on 15KHz claim, I don't need to confuse myself.

[Xyga]

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2863745/ ... -last.html

[Xan]

Can't wait for the reviews.

[limpan]

Edit: Sorry, I was supposed to send a PM instead!

[RGB32E]

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2863745/ ... -last.html

I'm pretty excited about the Acer XB270HU as well! I'm hoping that the black levels can match the Eizo FG2421, but we'll see what the reviewers measure. It is my understanding that the panel will be sourced from AUO (not LG), so perhaps there's hope of better black level. Should be available in the US within the next 30-45 days!

[Xyga]

I don't believe the black levels and contrast will be any better than the current average IPS, but the colors and viewing angles will certainly defeat TN (which is already great and unseen on an advanced gaming monitor, but don't expect the second coming of the Display Christ).

Anyway perception of black tones also depend on;
- the bezel's color, since our brain can play us 'balance' tricks (a dark grey matte bezel is better than a black glossy)
- ambiant light (mildly dim ambiant + a soft light source behind the monitor is recommended)
- viewing distance against glow (depending on the panel quality, size and coating, sitting 50-90cm away you won't seen any glow)
- reflections on the screen (of course)

When used properly a decent IPS can show black tones almost as deep as an AMVA+, well those have their own quirks, and there's calibration, the source, etc.

AUO are indeed the manufacturer of that new 'generation' of IPS, leaving LG in the dust.

[Ed Oscuro]

Ohhh...finally:
http://www.pcgamer.com/acer-adds-freesy ... u-monitor/

XG270HU - FreeSync
XB270HU - G-Sync

I think PCG misspeaks when they state "it doesn't require a processing chip to be added to the monitor," though it might be that the scaler is just slightly different from a usual one. Still, let's hope for some good pricing.

Edit: WTF are they going on about here?

Response time is the issue. TN screens, like Asus’ Swift, have a lightning quick 1ms response time, much lower than the 5-8ms you'd expect from an IPS panel. On a high refresh rate monitor you’d likely end up with some severe input lag—not great for games.

They also seem to have missed out that the XG270HU would be a TN panel if it sports a 1ms response time.

[Xyga]

There's still a lot of technical confusion about that AUO 144Hz IPS panel (how it works/perform), and AMD FreeSync (chip/nochip, modified scaler, whatever).

I think until we get to read actual reviews, most articles and comments on both topics will remain speculation (mixed with a lot of BS).

And yeah unlike the XB270HU, the XG270HU will indeed be TN.

PS: pcgamer.com, they got shit wrong in their previous article, now they don't even dare mention the panel type... quality journalism

[Ed Oscuro]

Most of the other sites could be counted on to get this right (Anandtech, THG, TFT Central, PRAD.de) so I guess this is what I get from posting "breaking news" that gives them a free link. Quite ashamed that the PC Gaming centric sites do so bad on the technical fronts - this isn't the only example.

[Xyga]

SO... XB270HU is single input (DP)

Can't use my consoles or scalers on it.

Deal-breaker.

Not gonna spend 700€ on a PC-only display, especially as I'm not a PC gamer.

Reconsidering LG 27MB85R now and fuck 144HZ, ULMB and G-Sync.
Or maybe I'll just wait and see what's cooking in the AMD FreeSync displays kitchen.

[Ed Oscuro]

http://hothardware.com/news/acer-confir ... ng-monitor
Hot Hardware fails the spec recognition test, too.

With these monitors there's still no clear agreement about what the specs actually are. Hot Hardware seems to think that you can get IPS and 1ms response time together.

Yeah, there's definitely no reason to buy these for consoles until (unless) we get scaler support. For 1080p or 720p at standard timings I don't see the use, period, of an adaptive sync monitor. I'd look at 1080p or possibly 4K displays with input flexibility instead, or just a regular HDTV for that matter.