jp1 wrote:Apologies if this has been addressed, but what is a good choice of vga monitor for the dreamcast? I really want to run in native resolution, and I prefer CRT. The problem is locating something that fits that description. I can find 4:3 lcd monitors at the local thrift shops, I even found a CRT...but I think it had a higher native res than that. Any particular models that are readily available and affordable?
I recently picked up a Iiyama Vision Master Pro 500 21 in CRT VGA Monitor for my DC & I must say it looks absolutely ace. You coulndnt go wrong with one of these.
jp1 wrote:Thank you, but I was looking for specific recommendations. I don't want 640x480 to be supported but rather I'd like it to be the native resolution so no scaling is taking place.
CRTs scale pretty seamlessly, unlike LCDs. In fact, some CRTs look better in lower resolutions than pushing their max. Also, CRT scaling has no lag AFAIK, since all it does is adjust display frequencies and doesn't use a scalar like an LCD. Just find a flat Trinitron or shadow mask CRT and you'll be fine. Trying to find a CRT screen that's fixed resolution or maxes out at 640 x 480 could turn into a fool's errand. I say this as someone who owned a fixed resolution screen for a time. An NEC, Hitachi, or Sony monitor would be a nice find. Viewsonics were nice as well. They all made CRTs for some time and have high quality units available if you can find them. Avoid some of the newer brands like Acer, AOC, etc... since by the time they entered the CRT market (near the end) they were using cheaper parts.
Well, that makes it much simpler. Thanks for the info. I had no idea that CRTs didn't have an effective "native resolution". Now all I have to do is find a decent one. I found a dell at one of the thrift stores local to me, but it only had a male end connector. It looks like that may be the usual situation, so I will have to order a female to female adapter. I doubt the Dell was a high quality monitor though.
jp1 wrote: had no idea that CRTs didn't have an effective "native resolution".
The only "native resolution" a CRT has is its maximum resolution, and some cheaper or older screens look a little blurry in their highest resolution setting. Unless the monitor just has crap display all the way around, it's going to look great at 640 x 480. You will love it.
i finally got a vga box, but seems my TV doesnt support whatever resolution it does. (my tv is a 5 year old 32inch samsung hdtv) .. am i possibly just connecting it wrong? or do i have to get maybe a VGA to hdmi converter ?
DC -> VGA box -> vga cable -> TV ... right? but when i select tv, says not supported, when i choose pc, nothing comes out at all.
EDIT: so i saw this thread http://www.ign.com/boards/threads/dream ... 175570231/ , seems like i need a vga scaler.. im out of cash.. cant buy anything right now. looks like ill have to stick to the svideo for awhile. since that thread is 5 years old, any chance of an alternative these days? (other than getting another monitor)
arcadifvid wrote:i finally got a vga box, but seems my TV doesnt support whatever resolution it does. (my tv is a 5 year old 32inch samsung hdtv) .. am i possibly just connecting it wrong? or do i have to get maybe a VGA to hdmi converter ?
DC -> VGA box -> vga cable -> TV ... right? but when i select tv, says not supported, when i choose pc, nothing comes out at all.
EDIT: so i saw this thread http://www.ign.com/boards/threads/dream ... 175570231/ , seems like i need a vga scaler.. im out of cash.. cant buy anything right now. looks like ill have to stick to the svideo for awhile. since that thread is 5 years old, any chance of an alternative these days? (other than getting another monitor)
does your tv work with a vga pc? what signals can you send?
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arcadifvid wrote:i finally got a vga box, but seems my TV doesnt support whatever resolution it does. (my tv is a 5 year old 32inch samsung hdtv) .. am i possibly just connecting it wrong? or do i have to get maybe a VGA to hdmi converter ?
DC -> VGA box -> vga cable -> TV ... right? but when i select tv, says not supported, when i choose pc, nothing comes out at all.
EDIT: so i saw this thread http://www.ign.com/boards/threads/dream ... 175570231/ , seems like i need a vga scaler.. im out of cash.. cant buy anything right now. looks like ill have to stick to the svideo for awhile. since that thread is 5 years old, any chance of an alternative these days? (other than getting another monitor)
You'll want to review information on the TV to make sure it supports 640 x 480, or 480p. If it claims to support that resolution, it SHOULD work with the VGA box, because that's what the box outputs.
I know I had an issue with my newer LCD TV in that only one of the HDMI ports supports resolutions other than 720p and 1080p. So with a VGA to HDMI converter I can use the DC on the TV, but I have to connect it to the proper HDMI port.
my tv can definitely support 480p. my wii works and ive tried outputting a 480p on 360 years ago. they all came up fine. seems the issue is only with the dreamcast. according to the link i saw, this appears to happen on samsung TVs. something about the VGA slightly different and therefore not able to display.
marurun, how does it look using a vga to hdmi cable? is it still crisp enough? no graphical issues? any lag? ive been reading about that and it seems the consensus was using a vga to hdmi is really terrible but i cant imagine how it would look like. i just want this to work
If there's any lag from the converter, it's miniscule. The VGA - HDMI box I got doesn't do any upscaling. It digitizes the video signal and that's it. That said, I've done some reading that suggests the Dreamcast's VGA output isn't entirely VESA compliant, and that it outputs a 720 x 480 signal in which the displayed video content only uses 640 x 480 (and is cropped to 640 x 480). The VGA to HDMI converter only reads VESA specs and therefore picks up a 640 x 480 signal in which 568 x 480 is displayed. That said, it's apparently very difficult to notice for all but the most discriminating eye.
Some lag may be introduced when the TV upscales the input from 480p to the native HD resolution.
well this is unexpected turn of events. my wife wanted a bigger TV (out of the blue). asked me to shop around. and one of the first things to check was a VGA port of course! so finally sold off the old samsung and got a bigger sharp and the most important thing is, the VGA box finally works!
extra comment... geez.. looks like they're phasing out the VGA port or something. most TVs ive seen doesnt have one anymore. id rather have more ports rather than curve, 3D, 4K, smart tv or whatever useless feature they keep trying to sell.
arcadifvid wrote:well this is unexpected turn of events. my wife wanted a bigger TV (out of the blue). asked me to shop around. and one of the first things to check was a VGA port of course! so finally sold off the old samsung and got a bigger sharp and the most important thing is, the VGA box finally works!
extra comment... geez.. looks like they're phasing out the VGA port or something. most TVs ive seen doesnt have one anymore. id rather have more ports rather than curve, 3D, 4K, smart tv or whatever useless feature they keep trying to sell.
The Sony TV I bought about a year and a half ago when my Emersop died doesn't have a VGA port. I wasn't willing to sacrifice the VGA quality on my Dreamcast or buy a probably inferior TV (Sonys tend to have the lowest input lag and are therefore amazing gaming TVs), so I bought a VGA-to-HDMI converter for my Dreamcast. I was worried at first that there would be major input lag that would kill the experience anyway, but I haven't had any problems with that. Sure, my light gun games don't work, but the only one I have is House of the Dead 2, and I don't even have a lightgun for my Dreamcast (I play that along with House of the Dead 3 on my Wii U anyway via the Wii port).
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