Best display to play Amiga games

NewDeli · 22 August 2008, 12:40

Hi,

As I am about to replace my good old CRT with a flat panel LCD, I was wondering if I was about to loose some clarity, some precision in Amiga games. I've read that people even talk about watching demos & playing games doesn't make sense on a modern screen. And of course, there is the option to watch them on a TV screen.

So , here is a poll, to tell me if, based on your experience, using the 'eating each day more share-market' LCD flat-panels was convincing for you, or not.

TCD · 22 August 2008, 12:47

I have a 19" TFT with a native resolution of 1280x1024 which is really nice to play Amiga games on. I use it for many years now, so I can not remember for sure if it is a big difference to use a CRT. Nearly all my friends use TFT's for gaming (some also for emu's

) and except the very cheap one I heard no complains about them. A widescreen display could be a bit more difficult to adjust to display Amiga games properly though.

Retro-Nerd · 22 August 2008, 12:52

I prefer Amiga Multisync monitors or a TV. All lowres games looks much better on CRT displays. I've seen some emulators running on a LCD...awful, very awful.

StevenJGore · 22 August 2008, 12:56

I currently connect my A1200 to my 32" Sony CRT TV.

When I (hopefully) get my Indivision 1200 in September, I'll be connecting it to my 24" Dell widescreen LCD monitor.

Steve.

Graham Humphrey · 22 August 2008, 12:58

I use a 14" TV but if I had the chance to use something more, er, luxurious then I would...

Retro-Nerd · 22 August 2008, 13:06

And the most modern LCD monitors runs in 60Hz, so no smooth PAL games. Can't imagine that the Indivision AGA runs smooth enough by lowering the refreshrate to 49,9Hz.

s2325 · 22 August 2008, 13:06

Vector objects from Amiga demos on 32'' screen looks horrible.

DamienD · 22 August 2008, 13:37

A 21" CRT monitor for me and sometimes my 32" CRT TV

Paul_s · 22 August 2008, 13:44

Philips CM8833-II. 94% Amiga Format Gold - treasure it

Shoonay · 22 August 2008, 13:53

Amiga monitor for me, but when on WinUAE there's nothing like the good old 21" CRT

john4p · 22 August 2008, 13:57

My notebooks 17" widescreen LCD, WinUAE with hq2x-scaling, refresh rate upped with Powerstrip to 100 Hz (exact: 99.992 Hz) for smooooth 50fps scrolling.

NewDeli · 22 August 2008, 14:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by john4p

My notebooks 17" widescreen LCD, refresh rate upped with Powerstrip to 100 Hz (exact: 99.992 Hz)

Increasing the refresh rate on a LCD

? How can this be posssible ?
I thought you were stuck with 60 Hz.

gimbal · 22 August 2008, 14:19

well mine can be 60 or 70 hz, but I don't see a difference either way.

TCD · 22 August 2008, 14:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deleauvive

Increasing the refresh rate on a LCD

? How can this be posssible ?
I thought you were stuck with 60 Hz.

Like john said : Use Powerstrip

Shoonay · 22 August 2008, 14:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by john4p

My notebooks 17" widescreen LCD, [...] Powerstrip to 100 Hz

But, isn't that:

a). impossible, due to lcd hardware limitations?
b). placebo, powerstrip doesn't change anything only displays it's at 100Hz?

seriously, i'm asking cause i've never had an lcd and i currently don't need/want one...

john4p · 22 August 2008, 14:34

Nope, it's possible. It's real. You can also underclock using Powerstrip - but then I only get 49.5Hz and 50.5Hz or so which isn't perfect. But 99.992Hz is practically PERFECT - I've never seen any millisecond of non-smooth scrolling - be it Pinball Fantasies, Turrican, Uridium II or any other game (except of course the games which don't scroll smooth even on a real Amiga...

).

@gimbal: Of course it doesn't matter if you're using 60Hz or 70Hz or 85Hz - in order to get 50fps smooth you need 50Hz, 100Hz, 150Hz or 200Hz...

Rabbit80 · 22 August 2008, 14:35

Works great on my 32" HD LCD TV! (I can use 50Hz through HDMI - but its not smooth through VGA

- I also get tearing in Vista x64 - but perfect in XP)

Because the resolution doesn't match it even gives me a slight blur - just enough to take away the sharp edges of those HUGE pixels

gklinger · 22 August 2008, 14:53

I generally prefer to use an Amiga monitor even if the screens are a little on the small side. For multi-person gaming though, you can't beat a big TV.

pbareges · 22 August 2008, 15:56

First yep you need a monitor good at handling 50hz for smooth scrolling...if you want reasonnable pixellisation effect, you would look for an interface scandoubling from 15khz to 31khz with the scanline effect (empty lines instead of copied lines), ie like xrgb boxes ... Also xrgb boxes are good at upscaling 320 low resolutions... Finally without any interface and only with regular composite output i was amazed at the good rendering of plasma screens vs lcd screens... I don,t have a clue why but it's'really clear

Anubis · 22 August 2008, 16:02

My 42" toshiba LCD.

View Poll Results: Amiga games are best watched...
on a TV screen	10	24.39%
on a FlatPanel LCD	8	19.51%
on a CRT (you know, those big displays with 17, 19, 22 inch size)	13	31.71%
on a multisync Amiga monitor	17	41.46%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 41. You may not vote on this poll

22 August 2008, 12:40	#1
NewDeli Banned Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Paris / FRANCE Age: 50 Posts: 1,248	Best display to play Amiga games Hi, As I am about to replace my good old CRT with a flat panel LCD, I was wondering if I was about to loose some clarity, some precision in Amiga games. I've read that people even talk about watching demos & playing games doesn't make sense on a modern screen. And of course, there is the option to watch them on a TV screen. So , here is a poll, to tell me if, based on your experience, using the 'eating each day more share-market' LCD flat-panels was convincing for you, or not.

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22 August 2008, 12:47	#2
TCD HOL/FTP busy bee Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Germany Age: 46 Posts: 31,525	I have a 19" TFT with a native resolution of 1280x1024 which is really nice to play Amiga games on. I use it for many years now, so I can not remember for sure if it is a big difference to use a CRT. Nearly all my friends use TFT's for gaming (some also for emu's ) and except the very cheap one I heard no complains about them. A widescreen display could be a bit more difficult to adjust to display Amiga games properly though.

22 August 2008, 12:52	#3
Retro-Nerd Missile Command Champion Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Germany Age: 52 Posts: 12,436	I prefer Amiga Multisync monitors or a TV. All lowres games looks much better on CRT displays. I've seen some emulators running on a LCD...awful, very awful.

22 August 2008, 12:56	#4
StevenJGore Amiga Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: North Yorkshire, UK Age: 46 Posts: 726	I currently connect my A1200 to my 32" Sony CRT TV. When I (hopefully) get my Indivision 1200 in September, I'll be connecting it to my 24" Dell widescreen LCD monitor. Steve.

22 August 2008, 12:58	#5
Graham Humphrey Moderator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Norwich, Norfolk, UK Age: 37 Posts: 11,167	I use a 14" TV but if I had the chance to use something more, er, luxurious then I would...

22 August 2008, 13:06	#6
Retro-Nerd Missile Command Champion Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Germany Age: 52 Posts: 12,436	And the most modern LCD monitors runs in 60Hz, so no smooth PAL games. Can't imagine that the Indivision AGA runs smooth enough by lowering the refreshrate to 49,9Hz.

22 August 2008, 13:06	#7
s2325 Zone Friend Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Gargore Age: 43 Posts: 17,789	Vector objects from Amiga demos on 32'' screen looks horrible.

22 August 2008, 13:37	#8
DamienD Banned Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: London / Sydney Age: 47 Posts: 20,420	A 21" CRT monitor for me and sometimes my 32" CRT TV

22 August 2008, 13:44	#9
Paul_s Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Amigaville Age: 46 Posts: 3,334	Philips CM8833-II. 94% Amiga Format Gold - treasure it

22 August 2008, 13:53	#10
Shoonay Global Caturator Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Porando Age: 43 Posts: 6,105	Amiga monitor for me, but when on WinUAE there's nothing like the good old 21" CRT

22 August 2008, 13:57	#11
john4p Competition Moderator Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Germany Posts: 4,756	My notebooks 17" widescreen LCD, WinUAE with hq2x-scaling, refresh rate upped with Powerstrip to 100 Hz (exact: 99.992 Hz) for smooooth 50fps scrolling.

22 August 2008, 14:19	#13
gimbal cheeky scoundrel Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Spijkenisse/Netherlands Age: 42 Posts: 6,908	well mine can be 60 or 70 hz, but I don't see a difference either way.

22 August 2008, 14:34	#16
john4p Competition Moderator Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Germany Posts: 4,756	Nope, it's possible. It's real. You can also underclock using Powerstrip - but then I only get 49.5Hz and 50.5Hz or so which isn't perfect. But 99.992Hz is practically PERFECT - I've never seen any millisecond of non-smooth scrolling - be it Pinball Fantasies, Turrican, Uridium II or any other game (except of course the games which don't scroll smooth even on a real Amiga... ). @gimbal: Of course it doesn't matter if you're using 60Hz or 70Hz or 85Hz - in order to get 50fps smooth you need 50Hz, 100Hz, 150Hz or 200Hz...

22 August 2008, 14:35	#17
Rabbit80 Its hard being famous! Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Gateway to the dales, UK Age: 43 Posts: 633	Works great on my 32" HD LCD TV! (I can use 50Hz through HDMI - but its not smooth through VGA - I also get tearing in Vista x64 - but perfect in XP) Because the resolution doesn't match it even gives me a slight blur - just enough to take away the sharp edges of those HUGE pixels

22 August 2008, 14:53	#18
gklinger Vegetable Lasagna Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toronto, CANADA Age: 54 Posts: 711	I generally prefer to use an Amiga monitor even if the screens are a little on the small side. For multi-person gaming though, you can't beat a big TV.

22 August 2008, 15:56	#19
pbareges Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: montreal / canada Age: 47 Posts: 722	First yep you need a monitor good at handling 50hz for smooth scrolling...if you want reasonnable pixellisation effect, you would look for an interface scandoubling from 15khz to 31khz with the scanline effect (empty lines instead of copied lines), ie like xrgb boxes ... Also xrgb boxes are good at upscaling 320 low resolutions... Finally without any interface and only with regular composite output i was amazed at the good rendering of plasma screens vs lcd screens... I don,t have a clue why but it's'really clear

22 August 2008, 16:02	#20
Anubis Retro Gamer Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Underworld Age: 51 Posts: 4,058	My 42" toshiba LCD.

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