MAMEWorld Forums - Hardware - Re: Moving from 27" CRT to LCD

> 1: What size LCD would you recommend to give me close to the same fill as a 27" CRT

Does not exist... They don't make any 4:3 or 5:4 panels larger than 21 inches or so, or at least they're not mass-produced, and those are really expensive. You could get a 16:9 or 16:10 widescreen panel and turn it "portrait" as you say. Read this entire thread here:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=85044.0

My calculations. Assuming your CRT is 4:3 and the LCD you'll buy is 16:9:
- To get close to a 27" 4:3 viewable area such as a Wells-Gardner D9400 has, you need to get between a 32" and 34" 16:9 LCD (excess on the sides) In fact, a 32" (while more common) would be slightly smaller as a 4:3.

Rotating, you'd now need to get even larger.
- To get close to a 27" 4:3 viewable area when rotated, you need to get between a 42" and 44" 16:9 LCD (excess on the sides).

> 2: Should it be turned in portait

You'll probably decrease the horizontal viewing angle drastically if you do that, but if it's a widescreen, you'll gain the ability to use that upper edge as a marquee or something when displaying 4:3 games. Most widescreen monitors and TVs have a much shorter viewing angle vertically, and when rotating to portrait, this becomes horizontal.

> 3: How bad will the old games look on the LCD screen

Very pixelated. I recommend using one of the overlay filters to apply effects to make it look blurrier, gain "scanlines", etc.

> 4: The black areas left on the screen can they be used to display other information
> like control layout, game instructions, etc.

The original artwork around the bezel can fill in some of it if you have the MAME Artwork pack. It might require some tweaking, but the results are amazing!

All that said, I have yet to build a cab, so I could be wrong. Feel free to ask at ArcadeControls too.

- Stiletto

Edited by Stiletto (04/30/11 04:15 AM)