Remembering monitors....

[Loedown]

Originally Posted by Hewitson

Completely irrelevant comparison.

There is absolutely no reason to use a shitty old Commodore monitor over a nice big SCART TV. I'm obviously not saying people can't use the monitors, but to be quite honest I think you'd have to be mad.

There is plenty of reasons for using old musical instruments/equipment.

CRT monitor design hasn't changed much over time, they work and that's all there is to it, this obsession people have with chuck it out / buy something new is exactly one of the reasons why we will kill ourselves with our own garbage. Many of today's companies have lost the ability to make reliable gear, so in many ways it's almost better to use old gear. How many threads can you read here about C= gear not displaying properly on modern monitors / TV, if someone wants a simple solution and old monitor isn't such a bad idea, as long as it's maintained correctly.

[Hewitson]

I agree. I am not saying they are no good because of their age, they are simply too small to be of any use.

Companies haven't lost the ability to make reliable gear, people in todays society would prefer to buy cheap disposable shit instead of paying a decent amount of money for a quality product that'll last.

[T_hairy_bootson]

Hewitson and I have had this debate in the past.

Monitor for the amiga on a desk for me everytime.

Granted I have the indivision in my 1200 so I use a larger monitor. But the 4000 still uses a commodore multisync monitor. The CD32 and CDTV are hooked up to the big TV.

I still have much love for the 1081 and 1084 monitors I own though.

[Hewitson]

Long time no see THB.. Love the avatar reckon you could do me a similar one but with the middle finger sticking up? :P

[T_hairy_bootson]

I reckon I can try :P

edit:

[8bitbubsy]

Originally Posted by Hewitson

Theres no point using the old Commodore monitors you just about need a magnifying glass to see them and they're all on their last legs.

What if you have it 100cm away, like me?
And no, they're not all on their last leg. Well maybe, but not if you know some tricks. Mine is working like a charm, and I've reflowed the solder joints and cleaned it from a lot of dust.

Originally Posted by Hewitson

A modern CRT TV with RGB SCART will give you an even better picture than a monitor, plus itll be far bigger to boot.

The picture on a 1084S in RGB mode is amazing, at least on the 1084S-P1. And on the 1084S you can adjust the picture size and move it around. You also have S-Video on it, all that in a tiny monitor! Perfect for testing purposes, or retro gaming.

The resolution is still 720x576 (PAL) on a modern CRT TV -- it will be even more blocky except for when you sit 1000cm away
Oh, and many of the modern CRT TVs are widescreen... 16:9 on a 4:3 (not precisely, but almost) resolution. Turrican doesn't want to be fat, okay?

[Hewitson]

LOL.. Thanks very much THB thats brilliant mate

Originally Posted by 8bitbubsy

What if you have it 100cm away, like me?
And no, they're not all on their last leg. Well maybe, but not if you know some tricks. Mine is working like a charm, and I've reflowed the solder joints and cleaned it from a lot of dust.

A monitor chassis can last a very long time. The CRT itself won't.

The picture on a 1084S in RGB mode is amazing, at least on the 1084S-P1. And on the 1084S you can adjust the picture size and move it around. You also have S-Video on it, all that in a tiny monitor! Perfect for testing purposes, or retro gaming.

It's not that good. Any decent TV will have a far superior picture to the 1084. Who cares if you can adjust the size and move it around? There's no need.

The resolution is still 720x576 (PAL) on a modern CRT TV -- it will be even more blocky except for when you sit 1000cm away

That's not true. Even on my 86cm CRT the Amiga does not look blocky at all.

Oh, and many of the modern CRT TVs are widescreen... 16:9 on a 4:3 (not precisely, but almost) resolution. Turrican doesn't want to be fat, okay?

Big deal. I use the Amiga/C64 on my widescreen LCD stretched. It doesn't look out of proportion (I expected it to).

[PowerPie5000]

Originally Posted by Hewitson

Who cares if you can adjust the size and move it around? There's no need.

I actually like that feature with the old monitors and the size of the screen does not bother me as i sit close to it (at a computer desk). My Microvitec monitor hooked upto my A1200 is 17" and it's a good size in my opinion. Some games have huge borders or don't look centered when played on a regular TV... i can correct this when using an old monitor

Anyway a big LCD/plasma screen is a good choice if you have your Amiga setup in the lounge on a coffee table far back from the screen

[Hewitson]

The only games with huge borders are NTSC games run in PAL mode. Add NTSC to Tooltypes and run them full screen and full speed.

Not sure I agree with your LCD/Plasma comment, the scrolling never looks quite as smooth on one of those.

[PowerPie5000]

Originally Posted by Hewitson

Not sure I agree with your LCD/Plasma comment, the scrolling never looks quite as smooth on one of those.

I've never had any scrolling issues using an LCD or Plasma TV (LCD pc monitor is different though). The only thing i found was my RGB scart cable does not work 100% with my 37" LG HDTV (LCD which supports 50/60/100/120/200/240hz modes)... still images look a bit "twitchy". I've not had any issues using it with my old 56" Hitachi HDTV though (Plasma which supports 50/60hz modes).

I've only encountered scrolling issues using a PC LCD monitor as they don't usually work with a 50hz refresh rate (none that i've come across anyway).

[Hewitson]

It is only sometimes noticable. Battle Squadron is one game I always notice it on.

On the other hand, the c64 works very jerky on either of my LCD's. The scrolling "jumps" approx once a second, must be something to do with the refresh rate of the machine being not quite standard.