Best screen resolution for CRT purist?

[buckrogers]

The setup I am playing around with ATM is a broadcast/pro multisync monitor, winuae, powerstrip, and a couple of matrox and radeon video cards. What is the ideal resolution to use specifically for the most authentic gaming experience? I am currently using powerstrip's default 'amiga' resolution of 640x512p. This looks good and means I can use an AMD integrated graphics setup.

However, there is potential to use powerstrip and older gpu's to and end up with 640x512i or 640x256p. Is there much to gain in doing so?

[Leandro Jardim]

I think a good resolution would be 720 x 576 15 Hz (PAL). Enable V-Sync and set the filter to "Fullscreen (Max)". With this configuration the Amiga pixels will be treated more like it should be, WinUAE will not only display the screen but the graphics around it in the overscan area (sprites, rainbows...).

[demolition]

Originally Posted by Leandro Jardim

I think a good resolution would be 720 x 576 15 Hz (PAL) with the overscan settings to maximum (if your card has it).

PAL is 50 Hz interlaced.

For gaming it should probably be 50 Hz interlaced, or even better 50 Hz progressive if the TV/monitor can handle it (not standard for a TV).

[Leandro Jardim]

Originally Posted by demolition

PAL is 50 Hz interlaced.

For gaming it should probably be 50 Hz interlaced, or even better 50 Hz progressive if the TV/monitor can handle it (not standard for a TV).

Hmmm.

I meant the half of a PAL framerate (50 Hz).

30 Hz interlaced is equal 60 Hz progressive (NTSC) according to WinUAE panel, so 25 Hz should be equal to 50 Hz (PAL). So its not 15 Hz like I said, its in reality 25 Hz.

Its because some cards like Radeon 4550, like my card, doesnt support progressive resolutions in the S-Video output. Windows' display properties always shows 30 Hz for NTSC, for example!

Thanks demolition for clarifying things a bit for me.

[Retro-Nerd]

Amiga games are mainly 50 FPS progressive, not laced. So, 50Hz or 100Hz (and with the new black frame insertion option for newer LCDs) is the best.

640x512 is pretty good for the most games, but PAL overscan games needs at least 720x576.

[buckrogers]

Thanks chaps. Managed to get 640x512p 60Hz and 640x576p 60Hz working and had a slight preference for 576p. I should be using 576p or interlaced at 50Hz as thats what the CRT monitor is spec'd for, and what nearly all amiga games are programmed for too. I will give that a try next and report back.

BTW, if you need full control over video settings when running a CRT then powerstrip 3.63 and a Matrox G550lp pci are hard to beat, but you are limited to xp as there is no windows 7 driver.

[alexh]

720x288p@50Hz

That is the normal PAL TV resolution.

[buckrogers]

Checked the manual of my monitor and it listed several "acceptable" resolutions, including 576p 50hz with a vertical refresh of 31.25 and 625 'active lines'. Not sure if the visible to active lines ratio is authentic but I assume its some where close. Managed to plug those values, more or less, into powerstrip, fired up Turrican 2, and ended up with a picture that was recminiscient of that which I grew up with on my A500 and 1084, black borders and all, albeit with the kind of picture quality one associates with a broadcase monitor and RGB connection rather than the composite one I used with the 1084 in my then pimply igorance.

I also tried auto scaling via the null filter and the screen filled up nicely. Some more experimenting to do but happy with the results so far. Thanks to all who have given input.

[Retro-Nerd]

Originally Posted by alexh

720x288p@50Hz

That is the normal PAL TV resolution.

No, 288p is half of the normal PAL TV resolution which was used by the old computers/consoles back than. You don't want to use it in WinUAE.

[alexh]

The Amiga uses the equivalent of 288p for 99.9999% of games. The odd few it uses 576i

It is true that WinUAE can and normally does double lines or add in black lines to make a 288p output into a 576p one (to keep aspect ratio).

However you used to be able to use WinUAE with a 288p screen resolution and it worked just fine on a 4:3 CRT screen. It was the best resolution.

[Retro-Nerd]

720x288p is completely wrong. Either 720x576p (full PAL resolution which makes sense in emulation) or max 376x288p on real hardware in overscan. Don't confuse PC Host resolutions with real Amiga resolutions. For PC Host you want something like 640x512p / 720x576p, Hires, Line Mode Double. That looks best for lores games, interlace static pics or hires fonts in WB/Text adventures.

[isamu]

Speaking of the CRT look, does anyone know if SweetFX works in WinUAE?

[buckrogers]

I assume most games we're programmed to run at 640x256 or 640x288. As retro nerds states for more modern crt displays you want multiples of these rez's. In my case my crt likes 640x576 50p but also works at 640x512 50p. I have used powerstrip to add these.

I assume that having added these resolutions, and using one as the default in winuae, and ticking the resolution autoswitch option in winuae, then winuae will simply toggle between these as dictated by the software. Is that how it works?

[Retro-Nerd]

Most games are in 320x200 - 320x256 resolutions. PAL overscan up to 376x288. Resolution Autoswitch is for switching between hires and lores. It's up to you if you want to use it or not.

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