Suggestions for monitor for arcade cabinet at various sizes (60hz+Low/No Blur?)

[sodaboy581]

Hi there! First post and I'm getting right into a request for help. Haha!

I'm hoping to find good recommendations for monitors for an arcade cabinet.

I haven't decided whether I'm going to rock a 32" widescreen, 27" widescreen, or 22" widescreen monitor, so I need suggestions in all 3 categories. (Haven't picked the exact cabinet I want to build yet. Even though most retro games are 4:3 aspect ratio, I'll be using the borders on the left and right of the screen to display graphical overlays related to the game.)

Also, the majority of retro arcade and console machines output at 60fps, so I'm looking for monitors that can do 60fps with really good motion blur reduction without too much loss of light when reduction is activated.

The monitors should accept input from an HDMI port and, ideally, the monitors can still output at least 100nits while doing great motion blur reduction. 125-150nits would be ideal, though!

Hopefully, leaving the reduction on 24/7 won't reduce the lifespan of the monitor too much!

I'm thankful for any suggestions people may drop in this post!

Thanks again!

[RealNC]

If you want to use vertical arcade overlays, then go for a big, rotated widescreen display:

https://www.verticalarcade.com/

[sodaboy581]

I don't think I'm going vertical!

Actually, after doing some research on this forum, it seems like I'd have to go with an Eve Spectrum 4K144 for 27" or a Viewsonic XG2431 for 24". That just leaves an option for 22".

That Eve Spectrum 4K144 is too expensive, though, I think for the 27". I actually have a BENQ XL2720Z at home, so I think that might be good enough to purpose if I went the 27" route...

Still, though, would like options!

Thank you!

[RealNC]

I would go for a 1440p one. 4K is only important if you're really into CRT shaders. Most shaders look excellent at 1440p already.

Also, if you care about accurate emulation at the correct game speed, you should probably consider a VRR display. See this for an explanation of why it's so beneficial for emulation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CeZ0xbtfDo

[Chief Blur Buster]

I would go for a 1440p one. 4K is only important if you're really into CRT shaders. Most shaders look excellent at 1440p already

The reason Spectrum is an excellent MAME display is because of of multiple items, it being one of the panels with very good 60Hz motion blur reduction that few panels have.

Hello, all....
Doing further tests of Blur Busters strobe tuning of EVE Spectrum's motion blur reduction mode.

I did some emulator tests on my EVE Spectrum prototype with my Blur Busters Strobe Tuning.

Damn. I think the EVE Spectrum makes a fantastic Original / RetroArch / MAME panel. Probably one of the best LCDs for a standup arcade machine. Hopefully this produces a legitimate alternative to CRTs because CRTs are getting rare and harder to find.

And Blur Busters has been working hard on making strobing more retro-friendly with multiple manufacturers with single-strobe 60 Hz built into the monitor without needing "software BFI". But this panel, specifically, seems to tick multiple checkboxes for arcade cabinet builders:

1. **Size similar to arcade CRT**. A portrait EVE Spectrum is approximately the same width as a portrait arcade machine CRT tube (Just taller, but can be masked off if you want to a more 4:3 shape, for portrait games like Galaxian or whatever without excess LCD showing)

2. **Retro friendly motion blur reduction**. EVE Spectrum supports retro-friendly motion blur reduction built into its hardware. It has less motion blur than a plasma display. True hardware 50Hz / 60Hz single strobe, with the motion clarity more resembling CRT than LCD. 100% image retention proof, no burn in, no need for software BFI on this LCD. Compatible with all real & emulated games / MAME / FPGA / original arcade machine (via HDMI Fury type adaptor). Perfectly clear SEGA Sonic Hedgehog games!

3. **Slim bezel, flat back, stand is optional**. EVE Spectrum is slim bezel and can be purchased without a monitor stand.

4. **Ease of mounting inside Arcade Cabinet**. EVE Spectrum is easy to wood-mount inside a MAME cabinet. The Eve Spectrum uses rectangular protrusions on its rear -- beveled rear shape -- that makes it stupidly easy to build a wood frame to securely hold an Eve Spectrum in a MAME arcade machine cabinet.

*IMPORTANT TIP: Add a quiet slow-spinning 120mm or 160mm fan inside the cabinet to cool-off the waste heat emitted inside the closed cabinet, since the Spectrum 4K144 gets too warm in a fully enclosed area.*

4. **Resolution for CRT filter**. CRT filters look kickass at 4K. MAME HLSL type filters. 'Nuff said.

5. **Color gamut of CRT**. NanoIPS gamut makes it more colorful, similar to a real CRT tube. No "crappy LightBoost colors", this is strobing at better than NTSC color space!

The main thing that seems to look off (relative to a CRT tube) is the flatness of the display, and imperfect LCD blacks, but par for the course for current LCDs. One can put a tempered glass layer on top, to hide the LCD's flatness and protect the LCD from damage in an arcade machine.

The design of Eve Spectrum is all accidentally coincidental to being perfect for an arcade cabinet.

Even though the "144Hz" feature of EVE Spectrum will become dormant when an EVE Spectrum is installed in a 60Hz arcade cabinet, it's one of the best arcade LCDs I've seen.

Note: Due to science & physics, refresh rate headroom is very good for CRT-clarity at low Hz -- since higher-Hz panels tend to do a better job of blur-reducing 60 Hz. A faster-refreshing screen has more time to hide LCD pixel response between refresh cycles in the dark period, unseen by eyes. Creating a more CRT-like image. So the 144 Hz feature should not scare away 60 Hz cabinet builders.

What are your priorities in a flat panel? Motion blur reduction or other attributes? If motion blur reduction is not important, there's a much bigger variety of choice.

But it is true very few panels provide blur reduction for 60Hz MAME.

The other option is to use RetroArch software-based BFI, instead of hardware-based strobing. 180Hz BFI looks very good, for example -- though you need 300 nits to generate about 100 nits of brightness with a 2/3rd reduction in persistence (With zero image retention effects -- which is why odd divisible refresh rate is recommended, for software-based BFI with certain LCD panels prone to image retention behaviour).

[sodaboy581]

Motion blur reduction is top for me. Reading more, I guess I should be aiming for 50 to 100 nits after apply motion blur reduction.

Motion blur is important because I play a lot of fast paced games like shoot 'em ups and fighting games (vs series that move quickly and scroll the screen a lot with super jumps, combos and such. I want to be able to clearly see what's coming at me and what to dodge)

I hadn't even considered software-based BFI. That might work out.

So, when you say 180Hz BFI, that would run the monitor at 180Hz but 120 of those frames would simply be black, correct?

[Diesto]

@Chief Blur: Sorry for this being off-topic, but I'm really curious about your personal setup. What type of monitor(s) are you currently using?.. and thanks for all the work you do. I have learned so much from this forum!

[RealNC]

The other option is to use RetroArch software-based BFI

I tried that here, and the image retention issues are severe. After only a minute or so, parts of the panel retained images of past frames. It took over 30 minutes for the panel to recover and the retention to disappear.

[sodaboy581]

I tried that here, and the image retention issues are severe. After only a minute or so, parts of the panel retained images of past frames. It took over 30 minutes for the panel to recover and the retention to disappear.

Do you think that it could just be your monitor? Maybe not all monitors play well with software based BFI?

May I ask the monitor you attempted that on?

[RealNC]

Do you think that it could just be your monitor? Maybe not all monitors play well with software based BFI?

Not sure. It's an IPS panel, maybe it's more susceptible.

May I ask the monitor you attempted that on?

Viewsonic XG2703-GS.