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
