The Result of My Search for a Great MiSTer Display

[Insert Disk Two]

I own an Eizo S2133. Doesn't work with Pal stuff or off spec arcade games. But for everything else is awesome, especially Tate. Brightness is incredible and the panel is very responsive too.

[BigJonty]

Hi all. Soon to be a new Mister owner. Very informative thread. Just a quick question re the ProArt which I'm thinking of getting. I noticed that it was mentioned that the Genesis cores will not be full screen in 5x in 1200p whereas they are in 1080p.

Is this something that only affects Genesis games?

Does this monitor allow you to adjust to 1080p and allow proper 5x fullscreen as I hate the idea of unnecessary black borders in console games. Thanks.

[Fed]

Why don’t you go for the 1440p ProArt ?

[BigJonty]

Well I prefer the aspect ratio as it's closer to a CRT and its considerably cheaper but I'm not going to buy the ProArt if it means I can't get full screen for Genesis with 5x, so I need to know if it can output in 1080p and how can I make it do that.

[Fed]

Why is it closer to a CRT ? 1200p and 1440p both have a 16:9 screen no ?

[BigJonty]

Why is it closer to a CRT ? 1200p and 1440p both have a 16:9 screen no ?

It's actually 16:10 for the 24inch one which makes a significant difference in terms of black bars at the side.

Some people think it's the ultimate MiSTer display but if it can't display all console cores full screen I'll give it a swerve.

[Lightwave]

Why is it closer to a CRT ? 1200p and 1440p both have a 16:9 screen no ?

It's actually 16:10 for the 24inch one which makes a significant difference in terms of black bars at the side.

Some people think it's the ultimate MiSTer display but if it can't display all console cores full screen I'll give it a swerve.

Don't discount using a vscale_mode that gives you fullscreen; the scaler is quite good and with the proper filter it might be all you need. You could even enable it just for the Genesis core in MiSTer.ini.

[BigJonty]

Why is it closer to a CRT ? 1200p and 1440p both have a 16:9 screen no ?

It's actually 16:10 for the 24inch one which makes a significant difference in terms of black bars at the side.

Some people think it's the ultimate MiSTer display but if it can't display all console cores full screen I'll give it a swerve.

Don't discount using a vscale_mode that gives you fullscreen; the scaler is quite good and with the proper filter it might be all you need. You could even enable it just for the Genesis core in MiSTer.ini.

That is good advice thanks. Using a vscale will still allow use of a filter in fullscreen without loss of quality?

[BigJonty]

And the scaler can be used with a filter and without loss of quality?

[Fed]

What do you mean by loss of quality ?

[BigJonty]

What do you mean by loss of quality ?

I’m kind of new to this and always assumed that blowing an image up leads to a loss of quality.

[FoxbatStargazer]

You only retain full sharpness if you do an integer scale in both directions (horizontal + vertical), or HV integer scale. Anything else will involve some compromise. However its really difficult to notice at high resolutions with good filter choice, like sharp interpolation on H if you just want a clean image, and add bright scanlines on the V if you want a more CRT effect. Some people even prefer softer filters or even the "composite" ones to emulate a consumer CRT better.

[Toaster]

Just got hold of this monitor today after reading through the post. Thanks for all the information that has help me make an informed choice.

I had been running a Dell 1708fpt which was fine and all that but it's of it's time and the screen brightness was pretty terrible. I've only have 30min with this monitor and I'm much, much happier with the brightness and clarity over HDMI. Would I love to be rocking a CRT? Yep! Do I have the space, the time and the means to hunt one down? Nope!

This is the perfect compromise for me. So thanks to everyone who has had input on this topic.

[snoot]

A word of warning for anyone using the 240p test suite with this monitor - I ran the Genesis one for a few minutes and flickering vertical bars remained burned into the screen for hours afterwards.

Fortunately they went away, but was a bit worrying.

[El_Syd]

Is the Asus ProArt PA248QV still the go-to non-CRT display for tate or are there better options now?

The response time seems pretty high (makes motion latency more apparent right?) and the price is not that great.

[FoxbatStargazer]

"Best" is probably one of those newer 27" 1440p OLED monitors attached to a VESA mount that allows tate rotation. But that is quite expensive. Still as far as flat panels go, you can't beat the motion response or perfect blacks of OLED, plus the Misters' new HDR support can make filters look good on a real HDR display.

[PikWik]

for me, one of the biggest draws to using a modern computer monitor over HDMI is having a quick and easy way to TATE in both directions. that, coupled with perfect geometry and natively accepting all the weird refresh rates (which would normally require an expensive broadcast CRT TV to support). i use to use my MiSTer on a big screen and used the OSD to rotate vertical SHMUPs, and then i found out that was using a frame of lag to accomplish, and started to research the best solution. i like vertical arcade games and i wanted a good way to play them

the kind of gaming experience i value, and what the MiSTer makes so easy, is playing in vsync_adjust 2.
i want to play these retro systems with minimal input lag in their original refresh rate

[El_Syd]

"Best" is probably one of those newer 27" 1440p OLED monitors attached to a VESA mount that allows tate rotation. But that is quite expensive. Still as far as flat panels go, you can't beat the motion response or perfect blacks of OLED, plus the Misters' new HDR support can make filters look good on a real HDR display.

Newer, as in not on the market yet?

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/tools/table/107199

I only see the LG 27GR95QE-B here and that's only if we're willing to accept the high response time at 60Hz. Also don't know how it will work with 4:3 (same issue as the C2?)

[FoxbatStargazer]

Well yeah, you might be waiting for stuff yet to come out this year. But it's probably just going to be the same panel with different case and scalers. At least that one has tate built in already...

I don't know what happened to the 60hz response time in this monitor. At 240hz its a blinding 3ms, so 60hz=12 ms is a linear relationship. Maybe it needs some kind of "boost mode" to enhance the lower refresh. If its something that other scalers can't resolve in this panel then yeah, maybe 27" oled this year is not the best choice for speed. Odyssey G7 looking better in that regard.

I doubt the C2's issue has anything to do with being an OLED or not, its just the scaler they went with. It is something maybe worth worrying about cause hardly anyone is testing 4:3, but a lot more can go wrong in complex TV scalers vs monitors usually.

[PikWik]

Is the Asus ProArt PA248QV still the go-to non-CRT display for tate or are there better options now?

The response time seems pretty high (makes motion latency more apparent right?) and the price is not that great.

this is the monitor i use, Acer Nitro XF243Y Pbmiiprx.
i mostly play those super mario world kaizo hacks, and am very happy with its performance. no complaints, handles everything the MiSTer has thrown at it. perhaps you can find it for cheaper nowadays (i paid ~$150 when it was on sale)

---

Asus ProArt PA248QV
https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/ ... ay-pa278qv
Resolution - 1920×1200 (16:10)
Refresh Rates Supported - 48hz-75hz
VRR - Adaptive Sync (FreeSync compatible)
Rotation - Yes, both 90 & -90 (VESA compatible)

Color - Adobe RGB 74.5 % (sRGB 95.8 %)
Color Depth - 8 Bit
Input Lag @ 60Hz - 9 ms
Response Time @ 60Hz - 12.4 ms

Release Date - May 15, 2020
Average Price - $210 USD

---

Acer Nitro XF243Y Pbmiiprx
https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/ ... y-pbmiiprx
Resolution - 1920×1080 (16:9)
Refresh Rates Supported - 20hz-144hz (165hz in extreme mode)
VRR - FreeSync
Rotation - Yes, both 90 & -90 (VESA compatible)

Color - Adobe RGB 76.0 % (sRGB 99.4 %)
Color Depth - 10 Bit
Input Lag @ 60Hz - 9.3 ms
Response Time @ 60Hz - 9.3 ms

Release Date - October 14, 2020
Average Price - $200 USD

[morgoth]

A word of warning for anyone using the 240p test suite with this monitor - I ran the Genesis one for a few minutes and flickering vertical bars remained burned into the screen for hours afterwards.

Fortunately they went away, but was a bit worrying.

Anybody have any idea why this would be the case, with this monitor? Agreed, it seems a little worrying, esp since I just received it in the mail!

[PikWik]

what theyre describing is image retention, and ive seen that happen with the 1st stage in the arcade popeye core, and also from leaving the progear demo running for a long time.

this can also happen with the PSX core when using bob instead of weave in certain game menus (eg silent hill).

its ultimately a dice roll on if the panel will do it or not. some monitors are more prone to image retention than others

[morgoth]

what theyre describing is image retention, and ive seen that happen with the 1st stage in the arcade popeye core, and also from leaving the progear demo running for a long time.

this can also happen with the PSX core when using bob instead of weave in certain game menus (eg silent hill).

its ultimately a dice roll on if the panel will do it or not. some monitors are more prone to image retention than others

Thanks...when you say "some monitors", do you mean certain models (ie the PA248QV) or certain instances of a given model (ie my PA248QV vs your PA248QV)?

[PikWik]

from what ive read on rtings when they do their monitor testing, image retention can vary from panel to panel within the same model (ie my PA248QV vs your PA248QV)

im sure theres ways to narrow it down with production runs and serial numbers, but you would need a bunch of people with the same monitor reporting on it

[Insert Disk Two]

Anyone tested Arcooda 20"? On paper that's the best option ever.

[grizzly]

Bob from retroRGB did test the 20" and 32" arcooda.
https://www.retrorgb.com/arcooda-20-240 ... eview.html
https://www.retrorgb.com/arcooda-32-gam ... eview.html
And why not link this too!
https://www.retrorgb.com/3d-printed-sta ... panel.html

[Onizuka]

Just about to put a deposit down on the slim version Arcooda 20.1

https://www.arcooda.com/buy/20.1%22+Pro ... tor+-20139

Apparently it’s for desktop usage, best paired with their rotating stand. Almost pulled the trigger on the Asus, but the image retention concerns me a bit. For the life of me I can’t find a 2007fpb without paying a ridiculous premium. I have a bad history with Acer hardware in the past. This is pricey but I don’t think there is a better long term option. Happy to hear otherwise!

[thorr]

Other than not being a CRT, that looks like a really great option. I am a CRT snob, but if I wasn't, I would get that Arcooda.

[Onizuka]

Other than not being a CRT, that looks like a really great option. I am a CRT snob, but if I wasn't, I would get that Arcooda.

Totally agree! I have a single PVM for everything 480i and under. I’m hoping to cover the rest of my bases with this. Especially for TATE games.

[jd213]

It's nice that 4:3 monitors are still available but $500 for a 20" monitor doesn't seem like a very good deal. You could get a 27" gaming monitor for a much lower price (and probably better PQ) and just ignore the black bars. I'm pretty fond of my rotating Samsung monitor when I'm not using one of my CRTs: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09FRCXSJK/