Monitor just died

edd_jedi · 12 July 2010, 01:01

Well I guess it was inevitable that eventually a 20 year old CRT monitor would pack in! So I need a replacement for my A1200. I did quite like having an authentic old school monitor, but it was pretty hard to read anything in Workbench so I'm thinking a more modern monitor would be better. Smaller size/bigger screen too.

So I'm just wandering what my options are? I was thinking maybe a small LCD TV (1024 x 768 or 1280 x 1024) as that will have RCA inputs which I assume will work. Or is there a cost-effective way of hooking up an A1200 to a VGA/DVI monitor?

Any advice would be great. Looking to spend as little as possible, and would ideally like a 15" or 17" screen (I think anything bigger will look silly with the Amiga's low resolution!)

fitzsteve · 12 July 2010, 08:25

Hi,

Keep a lookout for a 2nd Hand LCD TV, non HD will be fine.

I picked up a 17in JVC LCD TV about 9 months ago, its perfect for Amiga use and only set me back £25.

Its a non HD set but has a PC input so even works with my A1200 Mediator/Voodoo setup.

Hook up you Amiga by an RGB Scart lead and you'll get the best possible picture, the Composite connection is ok, but not as clear on LCD's as Scart. I do really do reccommend you grab a Scart lead as well.

Steve.

Hewitson · 12 July 2010, 10:56

The composite signal from the 1200, while being far better than the A520, is still crap. Forget about using the RCA's, which would be absolutely ridiculous when living in Europe.

To get a sharp and clear picture, the SCART cable is required. In my experience, it'll give you an even better picture than your old Commodore monitor provided.

Not sure what you mean by the Amiga looking "silly" on a big screen. I use mine on a 32" LCD (via SCART) and it looks fantastic.

I advise against the VGA route, as it is difficult to find an RGB to VGA converter which supports 50hz vertical refresh, which is what PAL runs at (most TV's VGA input circuits don't support this either).

edd_jedi · 12 July 2010, 13:50

OK thanks guys. I haven't done scart before, what cable do I need and where would it go in the back of an A1200? Have a feeling I sold the right cable on here recently, doh!

I just thought the Amiga graphics would look too pixelly on a very large resolution screen.

seuden · 12 July 2010, 14:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by edd_jedi

OK thanks guys. I haven't done scart before, what cable do I need and where would it go in the back of an A1200? Have a feeling I sold the right cable on here recently, doh!

Yes you did and they make my A1200's look great on my LCD's

fitzsteve · 12 July 2010, 14:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by edd_jedi

OK thanks guys. I haven't done scart before, what cable do I need and where would it go in the back of an A1200? Have a feeling I sold the right cable on here recently, doh!

I just thought the Amiga graphics would look too pixelly on a very large resolution screen.

Quote:

Originally Posted by seuden

Yes you did and they make my A1200's look great on my LCD's

I do this all the time sell stuff and then need it

Grab one off ebay seller Airey36 he sells them for £5.99 + P&P

Steve.

seuden · 12 July 2010, 14:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by fitzsteve

I do this all the time sell stuff and then need it

Grab one off ebay seller Airey36 he sells them for £5.99 + P&P

Steve.

That's why I never sell anything.

Steve.

fitzsteve · 12 July 2010, 14:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by seuden

That's why I never sell anything.

Steve.

Maybe you should change that and sell me your spare A1200 Ram upgrade, you'll never need it

Hewitson · 12 July 2010, 14:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by edd_jedi

OK thanks guys. I haven't done scart before, what cable do I need and where would it go in the back of an A1200? Have a feeling I sold the right cable on here recently, doh!

I just thought the Amiga graphics would look too pixelly on a very large resolution screen.

Vesalia sell a suitable cable for 9.95:

http://www.vesalia.de/e_amigamonitorcables%5B311%5D.htm

It plugs into the 23 pin Video port and the RCA Audio outputs.

Doesn't matter if you have a 15" or 50" TV. The resolution is the same.

Edit: Sorry fitzsteve, didn't see that you recommended a cable above. If that seller is located in the UK and the cable looks of decent quality you might as well go with that one.

seuden · 12 July 2010, 14:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by fitzsteve

Maybe you should change that and sell me your spare A1200 Ram upgrade, you'll never need it

Hehe, you never know.

Srsly, you're not after a ram upgrade are you? I thought you were all kitted out?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hewitson

Doesn't matter if you have a 15" or 50" TV. The resolution is the same.

Agreed, my A1200 via RGB and Scart looks fantastic on my 40" LCD.

The difference in picture quality makes the cables well worth £10 each

edd_jedi · 12 July 2010, 19:46

Oh I know the resolution is the same, but 1 pixel is about 1mm on a 15" monitor, and 1cm on a 50" monitor

so I can imagine text being hard to read on a screen so big (everything would look like lego!)

Hewitson · 13 July 2010, 02:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by edd_jedi

Oh I know the resolution is the same, but 1 pixel is about 1mm on a 15" monitor, and 1cm on a 50" monitor

so I can imagine text being hard to read on a screen so big (everything would look like lego!)

I understand you're thinking, but it doesn't really work like that.

I have seen Amiga's on projectors taking up HUGE walls, and the Workbench text has looked fine.

However if you were to use the A520 + the RCA cables, you'd struggle to read WB even on a 15" screen

edd_jedi · 04 August 2010, 17:20

Well after a lot of patience I managed to pick up a 15" Bush LCD TV for £25 on ebay, just waiting for it to be delivered. Scart cable purchased, will report back

mike4466 · 04 August 2010, 17:53

When you receive it i would take the back off and give it a good vacuum as there will be some killer dust

there,this what could have killed you other monitor.
When i vacuumed my monitor and pc recently there was about a 1 inch thick of dust that had accumulated in there creating a heat jacket i had only vacuumed it last year as well.
its that cooling fan in your pc sucking the dust from the air thats the main contributor,so regularly service your pc and monitor guys or the killer dust

will get you in the end.

Loedown · 04 August 2010, 23:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike4466

When you receive it i would take the back off and give it a good vacuum as there will be some killer dust

there,this what could have killed you other monitor.
When i vacuumed my monitor and pc recently there was about a 1 inch thick of dust that had accumulated in there creating a heat jacket i had only vacuumed it last year as well.
its that cooling fan in your pc sucking the dust from the air thats the main contributor,so regularly service your pc and monitor guys or the killer dust

will get you in the end.

Very good advice, I recently fixed a PC with blown caps on the graphics card because of the horrendous build up of dust.

edd_jedi · 15 August 2010, 17:16

Thanks for the advice guys, got a 15" LCD TV and Scart lead, and very impressed with the picture.

You were right, I can't believe how bad the RCA picture is in comparison! I thought it looked OK through the old CRT monitor, guess that just goes to show how bad the picture is on them!

fitzsteve · 15 August 2010, 17:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by edd_jedi

Thanks for the advice guys, got a 15" LCD TV and Scart lead, and very impressed with the picture.

You were right, I can't believe how bad the RCA picture is in comparison! I thought it looked OK through the old CRT monitor, guess that just goes to show how bad the picture is on them!

That looks superb mate

Nice one

Jope · 16 August 2010, 16:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by edd_jedi

I thought it looked OK through the old CRT monitor, guess that just goes to show how bad the picture is on them!

You really need to witness an old CRT monitor displaying an RGB picture then. You'd be surprised. :-)

orange · 16 August 2010, 17:28

I was somewhat disappointed after comparing output of PIV and amber card on CRT 14" VGA monitor with RGB on C= monitor.
RGB looked much better, colors were more vivid and all..

12 July 2010, 01:01	#1
edd_jedi Registered User Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: London / UK Posts: 423	Monitor just died Well I guess it was inevitable that eventually a 20 year old CRT monitor would pack in! So I need a replacement for my A1200. I did quite like having an authentic old school monitor, but it was pretty hard to read anything in Workbench so I'm thinking a more modern monitor would be better. Smaller size/bigger screen too. So I'm just wandering what my options are? I was thinking maybe a small LCD TV (1024 x 768 or 1280 x 1024) as that will have RCA inputs which I assume will work. Or is there a cost-effective way of hooking up an A1200 to a VGA/DVI monitor? Any advice would be great. Looking to spend as little as possible, and would ideally like a 15" or 17" screen (I think anything bigger will look silly with the Amiga's low resolution!)

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12 July 2010, 08:25	#2
fitzsteve Professional slacker! Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Kent, UK Age: 44 Posts: 6,685	Hi, Keep a lookout for a 2nd Hand LCD TV, non HD will be fine. I picked up a 17in JVC LCD TV about 9 months ago, its perfect for Amiga use and only set me back £25. Its a non HD set but has a PC input so even works with my A1200 Mediator/Voodoo setup. Hook up you Amiga by an RGB Scart lead and you'll get the best possible picture, the Composite connection is ok, but not as clear on LCD's as Scart. I do really do reccommend you grab a Scart lead as well. Steve.

12 July 2010, 10:56	#3
Hewitson Registered User Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Melbourne, Australia Age: 41 Posts: 3,773	The composite signal from the 1200, while being far better than the A520, is still crap. Forget about using the RCA's, which would be absolutely ridiculous when living in Europe. To get a sharp and clear picture, the SCART cable is required. In my experience, it'll give you an even better picture than your old Commodore monitor provided. Not sure what you mean by the Amiga looking "silly" on a big screen. I use mine on a 32" LCD (via SCART) and it looks fantastic. I advise against the VGA route, as it is difficult to find an RGB to VGA converter which supports 50hz vertical refresh, which is what PAL runs at (most TV's VGA input circuits don't support this either).

12 July 2010, 13:50	#4
edd_jedi Registered User Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: London / UK Posts: 423	OK thanks guys. I haven't done scart before, what cable do I need and where would it go in the back of an A1200? Have a feeling I sold the right cable on here recently, doh! I just thought the Amiga graphics would look too pixelly on a very large resolution screen.

12 July 2010, 19:46	#11
edd_jedi Registered User Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: London / UK Posts: 423	Oh I know the resolution is the same, but 1 pixel is about 1mm on a 15" monitor, and 1cm on a 50" monitor so I can imagine text being hard to read on a screen so big (everything would look like lego!)

04 August 2010, 17:20	#13
edd_jedi Registered User Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: London / UK Posts: 423	Well after a lot of patience I managed to pick up a 15" Bush LCD TV for £25 on ebay, just waiting for it to be delivered. Scart cable purchased, will report back

04 August 2010, 17:53	#14
mike4466 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: grimsby Posts: 291	When you receive it i would take the back off and give it a good vacuum as there will be some killer dust there,this what could have killed you other monitor. When i vacuumed my monitor and pc recently there was about a 1 inch thick of dust that had accumulated in there creating a heat jacket i had only vacuumed it last year as well. its that cooling fan in your pc sucking the dust from the air thats the main contributor,so regularly service your pc and monitor guys or the killer dust will get you in the end.

15 August 2010, 17:16	#16
edd_jedi Registered User Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: London / UK Posts: 423	Thanks for the advice guys, got a 15" LCD TV and Scart lead, and very impressed with the picture. You were right, I can't believe how bad the RCA picture is in comparison! I thought it looked OK through the old CRT monitor, guess that just goes to show how bad the picture is on them!

16 August 2010, 17:28	#19
orange Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Belgrade Posts: 567	I was somewhat disappointed after comparing output of PIV and amber card on CRT 14" VGA monitor with RGB on C= monitor. RGB looked much better, colors were more vivid and all..

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