Retro Gaming on LCD TVs

[VenomMacbeth]

I believe there may have already been a topic about this, so I'm sorry if I'm making a duplicate post.

I'm redesigning my living space to accommodate all my game consoles & make everything more "feng-shui." 

I know a CRT television is the best way to play old games, and as much as I like them, they're so large & bulky that I'm having difficulty finding space for one.  An LCD TV would be the most space-effective solution, but I've experienced first-hand the problems with playing retro games with them.  I played an Atari 2600, NES, Genesis, PS1, and an N64 on one that seemed to work okay, but there was just a slight controller input delay, which made gameplay...well...less fun.

Are there any LCD's that one can play retro games on without these problems?

[SuperDeadite]

If you really want to go LCD, just get a good external line-double/scaler.  For a console only gamer, I'd go with the XRGB-3 (VGA) or Framemeister (HDMI) depending on what your TV accepts for inputs. 

There are no consumer level LCD TVs that are good enough for retro stuff.  Now arcade grade LCDs or professional monitors can work quite well, but then you often need an external PSU, and a mess of exposed wires.

[VenomMacbeth]

If you really want to go LCD, just get a good external line-double/scaler.  For a console only gamer, I'd go with the XRGB-3 (VGA) or Framemeister (HDMI) depending on what your TV accepts for inputs. 

Do those accept coax input?

[Chuplayer]

Now arcade grade LCDs

Can you elaborate on this? Perhaps some links? I don't care about the exposed wires. I'm just looking for a good alternative to an XRGB.

[Ji-L87]

I too want to hear about those arcade grad

Now arcade grade LCDs

Can you elaborate on this? Perhaps some links? I don't care about the exposed wires. I'm just looking for a good alternative to an XRGB.

2nded.

A scaler is nice to have but an LCD that can the job somewhat decently seems...intriguing.
Not to mention, most scalers seem to cost more than some TVs. I probably paid about the same amount for mine and my Bravia 32'' - both used. Maybe there are better deals to be had, but they are still not cheap.

[SignOfZeta]

At Galloping Ghost arcade they have a large number of machines that have been converted to LCD using off the shelf drop-in JAMMA compatible displays like the ones you get from places like Happ. Some looked kind of so-so, but some looked AMAZINGLY good. Their Ms. Pac Man cocktail unit for example was basically perfect. I literally ate lunch on the machine so I was staring at it for several minutes in attract mode.

Unfortunately I have no idea which manufacturer's display this was.

Before you run out and buy one of these displays you should know:

They will be RGB only

The will have no case and probably no power supply

The quality of the signal probably has a lot to do with what I saw. Some machines had rather noisy input and aside from the noise itself I think this probably reeks havoc with the digitizer making for even more noise.

[Ji-L87]

Before you run out and buy one of these displays you should know:

They will be RGB only

The will have no case and probably no power supply

Yeah, that sounds about right, too bad tho'.

I did a google search and while I didn't find anything new worth mentioning, there are quite a few people out there asking the same question. I sure am no businessman but it seems to me there certainly is a demand here, which is to say, a gap to fill and a business opportunity in making a good LCD display suitable to retro gaming.

[grahf]

I agree with SuperDeadite - just go with an upscaler. It's a big chunk of change to drop, but it'll ensure you can play your games on any modern display. Add a nice RGB switchbox to it, and you can have everything hooked up at once.

[SuperDeadite]

Professional grade LCDs used in arcade cabs are very expensive.  Hence the "professional" part.  Japanese arcade shops charge close to $2,000 for the 20'' models.  And yes they are meant for cabs, meaning no power supply, you'd have to buy that seperate and wire it all up without setting your house on fire, and it would be an ugly mess without a cab to hold it all.

For RF (coax) input there is only ONE scaler ever made.  The Micomsoft DISPL TV.  Be aware though it doesn't take RGB (RF, Composite, S-Video, and D-Terminal).  Also there is only so much you can do with RF, it still won't look to hot.  And finally it's designed for Japanese RF frequencies.   Meaning any non JP system may not work at all.

[Arkhan]

Don't even use RF.  What do you have that uses RF?   The Atari 2600?  If that's about it, you should just hook it up to a VCR and use the VCR composite output to go into the XRGB!

VCRs! f*ck YEAH.

[VenomMacbeth]

Don't even use RF.  What do you have that uses RF?   The Atari 2600?  If that's about it, you should just hook it up to a VCR and use the VCR composite output to go into the XRGB!

VCRs! f*ck YEAH.

My 2600, NES, SMS, Genesis, Saturn, Famicom, and PC Engine all have RF out.  I'm gonna try to get AV cables for all of em but the 2600, and I'll probably have my Famicom AV modded...not sure about the PC Engine, though.  Miraculously, I have a VCR. :3 I hadn't considered that option.  Good stuff.

[SignOfZeta]

You're not seriously using a Saturn with RF, are you? I mean, the RF switch was an overpriced, somewhat scarce item that didn't even come with the system. You'll get so much better results with the pack-in composite cable. Saturn composite is incredibly good.

Aside from the 2600, and maybe a few other very old and crusty things (TV Tennis, Oddessey) you can get composite AT LEAST and usually s-video. Even the Colecovision can do s-video.

[Frank_fjs]

My 2600, NES, SMS, Genesis, Saturn, Famicom, and PC Engine all have RF out.

NES has side mounted AV jacks, just need a standard set of RCA plugs to hook up via composite.

SMS, Genesis and Saturn natively output RGB with the right cable. Of course you can just grab composite cables if you don't have an RGB capable TV/encoder.

PC Engine - it's easy enough to make a home made cable to obtain composite or RGB from the expansion port. Other than that there's always the AV Booster.

2600 and Famicom would need to be modded. Re the Famicom, I really don't like the AV output of it once modded, it always looks dull with jail bars. I'd rather grab an AV Fami.

[Digi.k]

even better if your TV has a 21-pin euro scart connection

some very ollllld pics taken from my old toshiba LCD..



I know these are probably not the best and digital photography always seem to turn up the contrast and bloom but...

composite


s-video


scart

[GohanX]

Re the Famicom, I really don't like the AV output of it once modded, it always looks dull with jail bars. I'd rather grab an AV Fami.

Over on FamicomWorld we've been working on removing jailbars from modded AV famis with great success, so it can be done. Mine looks pretty damn good for composite.