1 Apr
2016
1 Apr
'16
9:07 a.m.
Since I doubt I'm the only one on the list with failing eyes. I thought
I'd ask about monitors. Now, I'll preface this with the fact that I have
some macular degeneration in my retinae. So, I prefer lower resolution
monitors (so that fonts can't get too tiny). I also prefer as many NITs,
CD/M2, candlepower, or whatever you like to call "brightness" as I can
get (again, it's my eye issues).
I was curious what folks liked? Since I mess with a lot of consoles and
still occasionally play with the Amiga or MiST, I like to have the option
to do composite video. Keep in mind is all geared toward retro users. I
konw there is "better" gear than this, now.
Favorite LCD Monitor line: NEC Multisync, Dell Ultrasharp
Favorite CRT Monitor line: Iiyama (Sony Trinitron as a runner up)
Favorite Video Resolutions: 1280x1024 4:3 and 1280x720 (16:9)
Favorite display Devices: SGI O2 CRM graphics, The Voodoo3 for PC, The
VillageTronic Picasso IV for the Amiga.
Favorite retro NTSC/PAL Video capture devices: SGI Indy built-in
composite/s-video, SGI O2 A/V option, Amiga Newtek Video Toaster Flyer,
Quadra 880AV option for Macs, and the Matrox Rainbow Runner for desktop
PeeCee.
Favorite Retro Sound Cards: Gravis Ultrasound for PC, Sound Blaster emu10k
("Pro" PCI cards), Amiga Studio 16, SGI DM8 for SGI/IRIX, Pro Audio
Spectrum for 68k macs.
If we are going further back to the 90's I'd say I liked 640x480 for all
the great artwork done in that res on various platforms and MCGA 320x200
for games (mainly because they finally got 8-bit color that way).
The biggest downside to the NEC monitors is that few of them support
composite or S-Video. The biggest upside is that most of them perfectly
support sync-on-green. Another good monitor in terms of flexibility for
retro use is the Dell 2007FP Ultrasharp. It's 20" I think, but has a
plethora of ports and features.
I also own a Sony Trinitron PVM-20M2MDU medical monitor for my Genesis,
SNES, and Neo Geo MVS conversion system. It's around 50 pounds (22 kilos),
but at 20" it's small enough to keep around. It's tough to beat these for
any type of non-HD video.
I'm getting interested in projectors, too. However, I'm doubting I'll find
one that's bright enough and will do all the video modes I want (ie.. mix
of sync-on-green with composite etc..)
-Swift
1 Apr
1 Apr
9:36 a.m.
On Fri, 1 Apr 2016, Swift Griggs wrote:
Favorite LCD Monitor line: NEC Multisync, Dell
Ultrasharp
I almost forgot the king daddy 4:3 monitor, the Samsung 214T 21". It does
1600x1200 at 300 cd/m, has HD15 VGA, Supports DVI-I, Composite, Svideo,
and does PAL && NTSC, IIRC.
I had one of these and I gave it to my brother when he was in college so I
could buy a newer monitor. I now regret it. I shoulda gave him a cheap
16:9 monitor.
-Swift
9:43 a.m.
I remember looking at an SGI PC years ago, with a plasma panel display. That was when
plasma displays cost thousands of dollars and LCD displays hadn't quite arrived yet.
I almost bought one but decided against it. It sure was impressive to look at. Plasma
displays have a reputation for excellent brightness and contrast.
(I may be partial; I have fond memories, and an actual working copy of, a 512 x 512
"orange and white" plasma display...)
paul
10:19 a.m.
On Fri, 1 Apr 2016, Paul Koning wrote:
I remember looking at an SGI PC years ago, with a
plasma panel display.
That was when plasma displays cost thousands of dollars and LCD displays
hadn't quite arrived yet.
I wonder if it was one of these that you saw:
http://www.geocities.ws/hinv.geo/sgipics/flatpanel/indy_presenters.jpg
or perhaps this one:
http://www.bytecellar.com/2008/02/13/the_sgi_1600sw/
I almost bought one but decided against it. It sure
was impressive to
look at.
If it was the Indy Presenter, then it's too bad you didn't snag one, they
go for a pretty penny on Ebay these days. The 1600SW used to fetch quite a
bit, too, but nowadays it's relatively dim next to a modern LCD. The only
advantage to getting a 1600SW now is that it does a slightly higher
resolution with the O2 than it'll do out of the HD15 VGA port. That and it
matches the style of the O2.
Plasma displays have a reputation for excellent
brightness and
contrast.
A well deserved reputation.
(I may be partial; I have fond memories, and an actual
working copy of,
a 512 x 512 "orange and white" plasma display...)
I remember seeing those. I also remember a few laptops that had them. For
certain applications they were terrific. I know the military used them for
displays in some of their gear since they didn't easily wash out with
sunlight. Some even thrived on sunlight by backing the plasma display with
what was basically a half-silvered mirror.
-Swift
11:23 a.m.
New subject: Projectors - Re: Favorite Resolution && favorite monitor, sound, video, and capture (retro)
I don't think you'll have trouble finding very bright projectors.
I recently bought one of these, 1300 lumens:
https://www.amazon.ca/Optoma-HD80-1080p-Theater-Projector/dp/B000R4J69K
... definitely bright enough for our needs although we use it only at
night anyway.
This NEC model is almost 3 x brighter (!) with a conventional lamp,
http://www.necdisplay.com/p/multimedia-projectors/np-m363w (3600 lumen)
Their range goes much brighter than that, though, including
laser/phosphor models:
http://www.necdisplay.com/p/multimedia-projectors/np-p502hl (5000 lumen)
--Toby
12:09 p.m.
New subject: Projectors - Re: Favorite Resolution && favorite monitor, sound, video, and capture (retro)
On Fri, 1 Apr 2016, Toby Thain wrote:
I don't think you'll have trouble finding very
bright projectors.
Based on that list, I guess not! I find the idea of a laser based
projector pretty awesome. Now I just have to find enough space to set one
up. :-)
It also looks like every one of those projectors has NTSC composite
inputs and HD15 VGA. That's also really cool. Now I'm wondering if any of
them support sync-on-green. I kind of doubt that one, if they are newer.
Does anyone use a projector frequently for non-video applications? I mean
things like gaming, browsing, coding, etc.. I'd be interested in your
experiences.
-Swift
12:34 p.m.
On Apr 1, 2016, at 1:19 PM, Swift Griggs
<swiftgriggs at gmail.com> wrote:
On Fri, 1 Apr 2016, Paul Koning wrote:
It looked like that one, but I'm 98% sure it was plasma, not LCD as that one says it
is.
I remember looking at an SGI PC years ago, with a
plasma panel display. That was when plasma displays cost thousands of dollars and LCD
displays hadn't quite arrived yet.
I wonder if it was one of these that you saw:
http://www.geocities.ws/hinv.geo/sgipics/flatpanel/indy_presenters.jpg
or perhaps this one:
http://www.bytecellar.com/2008/02/13/the_sgi_1600sw/ ...
I can't figure out the mirror bit. Normal practice in the panels I remember was that
they had a polaroid filter in the front, partly to cut down on reflections and partly to
improve contrast with high ambient light. They were PLATO terminals. And yes, that
technology was later applied to military displays (including in 1k x 1k version, 16 inches
high/wide) and early "luggable" PCs.
paul
(I may be partial; I have fond memories, and an
actual working copy of, a 512 x 512 "orange and white" plasma display...)
I remember seeing those. I also remember a few laptops that had them. For certain
applications they were terrific. I know the military used them for displays in some of
their gear since they didn't easily wash out with sunlight. Some even thrived on
sunlight by backing the plasma display with what was basically a half-silvered mirror.
1:03 p.m.
On Fri, 1 Apr 2016, Paul Koning wrote:
It looked like that one, but
I'm 98% sure it was plasma, not LCD as that
one says it is.
They had a couple of models, I've only ever seen the LCD one, but there
was another model (if you look close, one has a bit of an amber cast to
it). That could have been a plasma model. I think it was the one meant to
work with overhead projectors, but I'm not sure.
I can't figure out the mirror bit. Normal
practice in the panels I
remember was that they had a polaroid filter in the front, partly to cut
down on reflections and partly to improve contrast with high ambient
light.
The ones I vaguely remember were on very early ruggedized laptops (those
big brick / nearly-luggable laptops in the style of the Mac Portable).
Someone at a swap-meet called them "Daylight screens". I think they used
those a bit in cop-cars for VMDs, too.
And yes, that technology was later applied to military
displays
(including in 1k x 1k version, 16 inches high/wide) and early "luggable"
PCs.
I had one of those old Compaq Portable III machines for a while. It was
what I used to drag to conventions in the mid 90's. I didn't have the cash
for a "real" laptop. I think it has a gas-plasma display on it. It was
amber, I remember that, at least.
-Swift
12:43 p.m.
On 01/04/2016 17:07, Swift Griggs wrote:
I was curious what folks liked? Since I mess with a
lot of consoles and
still occasionally play with the Amiga or MiST, I like to have the
option to do composite video. Keep in mind is all geared toward retro
users. I konw there is "better" gear than this, now.
Favorite LCD Monitor line: NEC Multisync, Dell Ultrasharp
I have couple of NEC Multisync LCDs as well, and they're nice because
although they don't have a composite input as such they will handle the
frame rates from older home computers.
Favorite CRT Monitor line: Iiyama (Sony Trinitron as a
runner up)
Never had an Iiyama CRT, only their LCDs. I have a couple of SGI-badged
Trinitrons for Indys and two Acorn-badged Philips(?) which I keep
because they're original for some of my machines and one also handles
some newer stuff while living on a KVM switch.
Favorite Video Resolutions: 1280x1024 4:3 and 1280x720
(16:9)
Lots of 1280x1024 here. 4 of them on one machine :-)
I have a number of O2s - some with the "good" AV and some with the basic
version, three Indys, four (I think) Indigos - all with different
graphics options, and a full-rack Origin 2000 in my SGI collection. Two
still in day-to-day use, too. Not the Origin, though it does make a
good hair drier.
--
Pete
1:24 p.m.
On Fri, 1 Apr 2016, Pete Turnbull wrote:
I have couple of NEC Multisync LCDs as well, and
they're nice because
although they don't have a composite input as such they will handle the
frame rates from older home computers.
I share your reasoning. I also use scan-doublers to overcome the lack of a
14Khz refresh rate. However, the monitor will happily do the low
resolutions of an Amiga or ST with a scandoubler.
Lots of 1280x1024 here. 4 of them on one machine :-)
Whoa. What's the story there ? Are you using some specialized system or is
just that they fit on your workspace well and you like multi-head? I have
a friend who, after at least 6 years of keeping his triple 4:3 monitor
setup in place, broke down and got him one of those ultra-super-wide
gaming monitors. He says it's better for games (no seams), but worse for
applications (can't split up the real-estate).
I have a number of O2s - some with the
"good" AV and some with the basic
version,
I used to have 3 O2s, but I've gone down to just one bad-dog top of the
line R12k O2+. That's fixed my O2 lust issues. I just had to make "one
good one." :-)
Not the Origin, though it does make a good hair drier.
Lots of SGI's do. My old Octanes did, my Tezro does, etc... I wish I could
find some audio-spec fans to replace these loud ones they come with, but
it's harder than one might think.
-Swift
3:08 p.m.
On 01/04/2016 21:24, Swift Griggs wrote:
On Fri, 1 Apr 2016, Pete Turnbull wrote:
The latter, really. It started as a dual-head PC and the nearby third
monitor on an Indy got a KVM switch. Then a while ago I snagged a 2-up
2-across stand and happened to have 4 matching Iiyamas that had cost me
nothing, so... It's grown organically and a lot cheaper than buying one
really large hi-res display. The two graphics cards can actually drive
three monitors each but that really would be OTT, and besides then I'd
probably have to actually /buy/ something.
It's useful when photo editing or doing anything "interesting" on the
network that needs a lot of windows. The KVM is still there so
sometimes the top right is displaying the Indy desktop.
--
Pete
Lots of 1280x1024 here. 4 of them on one machine
:-)
Whoa. What's the story there ? Are you using some specialized system or
is just that they fit on your workspace well and you like multi-head? 
3 Apr
3 Apr
7:48 a.m.
On 04/01/2016 11:07 AM, Swift Griggs wrote:
Favorite LCD Monitor line: NEC Multisync, Dell
Ultrasharp
I think the only one I've got (out of seven or so) which will accept the
oddball-frequency VGA from some of Apple's old machines is a Dell, although
I'd have to check the model number.
Favorite CRT Monitor line: Iiyama (Sony Trinitron as a
runner up)
For consumer-grade displays, I'd agree with Iiyama - I loved those screens.
I had a 17" and 21" one when I lived in the UK; the picture quality and
specs were great, they'd do SoG, and having both VGA and BNC inputs was
handy as I could have a PC and a Sun hooked up together.
I've been keeping my eye out for one ever since moving to the US, but all
I've ever found is crappy Gateway and Dell stuff (and a Viewsonic which is
slightly better, but still garbage)
Favorite display Devices: SGI O2 CRM graphics, The
Voodoo3 for PC, The
VillageTronic Picasso IV for the Amiga.
I think the most-impressive-for-its-time one I've got is the Max Impact
board set (with the extra TRAM) that's in my Indigo2.
Favorite Retro Sound Cards: Gravis Ultrasound for PC,
Sound Blaster emu10k
("Pro" PCI cards), Amiga Studio 16, SGI DM8 for SGI/IRIX, Pro Audio
Spectrum for 68k macs.
Never was much of an audio person, but I did have a PAS16 for my PC in the
early '90s, which came in handy a few times just for the SCSI interface
(which was supported under Linux)
The biggest downside to the NEC monitors is that few
of them support
composite or S-Video.
I picked up an old JAMMA arcade board a while ago and managed to get it
running, feeding the video output via a resistor network and dumping it
onto an old green-screen monitor turned up onto its side. But I really need
something here which can do 15KHz RGB - I keep wondering if I can hack an
old TV and feed the sync information in via a composite->RF box, but work
out where the RGB information is extracted and just tap the RGB in at that
point. I know a few companies would do conversions like that back in the
day, but I don't know how easy it is.
I'm getting interested in projectors, too.
However, I'm doubting I'll find
one that's bright enough and will do all the video modes I want (ie.. mix
of sync-on-green with composite etc..)
Someone gave me an old 16mm Bell & Howell a few weeks ago, but I suspect
that's not the kind of projector you're talking about ;-)
Jules
3502
days inactive
3504
days old
11 comments
5 participants
participants (5)
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jules.richardson99＠gmail.com -
paulkoning＠comcast.net -
pete＠dunnington.plus.com -
swiftgriggs＠gmail.com -
toby＠telegraphics.com.au