ArcadeSTG disapproves of your Vewlix Monitor

[ArcadeSTG]

There is a surge of people replacing Vewlix monitors with consumer LCDs (such as the widespread LGs). Their motivation is to move from 768P to 1080P (or more) and from VGA/DVI to HDMI (easier to plug to a videogame console).

This remainds me of a similar trend 15 years ago where people replaced original E2/NAC monitors with VGA monitors. The motivation was to move from 240P to 480P and from Jamma plug to VGA connector (easier to plug to a PC with emulators).

See the parallelism

Nowadays, It is well-know that E2/NAC monitors are the pinnacle of 240P arcade gaming.

What it is not well-known (at least by people replacing Vewlix monitors) is that most Vewlix have a special native resolution for arcade games (1366x768). This native resolution is very hard (or imposible) to obtain on consumer LCDs. This is the very same resolution that HD arcade systems (such as Taito Type X/X2/X3/X4) were designed for. So, if one wants to achieve arcade high fidelity better keep the original Vewlix monitor.

If your motivation for replacing the monitor is that your monitor looks dark, yellow, or both, then I suggest fixing that instead of replacing the monitor. Jan pioneered a tutorial for cleaning Vewlix monitors. That helped a lot of people.

Next, I show you how to go deep on the process of cleaning the monitor. As with Jan’s tutorial, there is a high risk of breaking things if you are not ultra-cautious.

First, when you follow Jan’s tutorial you are cleaning, literally, the surface of the problem.



This could be enough in some cases. However, the diffuser has three layers and the last layer is where the bigger source of yellowish is.



Fun fact, one friend bought this monitor and seller described the monitor as very good condition. Hopefully, it is possible to clean it.

But there is more. The backlight is under the diffusers. These monitors have CCFL tubes for backlighting (the same technology than a Vewlix has for illuminating the instruction card of the control panel).



I think that for the arcade community is better to think on ways of fixing monitors than on ways of installing consumer monitors.

Nevertheless, if you want to install an 8K-TV on your Vewlix to play 240P 16:9-forced arcade games, I have my ready.

[cools]

I thought it was just Lindbergh that had the weird native res?

[nem]

See the parallelism

Nope. The parallels aren't there.

You're crazy if you think an old Sanwa from 2007 is somehow better than a new consumer screen from 2020. I like old tech as much as the next guy, but old fluorescent light backlit LCDs are outdated with no redeeming features. I can absolutely live with the scaling to 1080p.

I'll do some side by side pics maybe two weeks from now. I'm going to replace the screens on two Vewlix Ls and I have some original Fs to compare.

[ArcadeSTG]

See the parallelism

Nope. The parallels aren't there.

You're crazy if you think an old Sanwa from 2007 is somehow better than a new consumer screen from 2020. I like old tech as much as the next guy, but old fluorescent light backlit LCDs are outdated with no redeeming features. I can absolutely live with the scaling to 1080p.

It sounds familiar:

"You're crazy if you think an old E2/NAC monitor is somehow better than a new PC monitor."

As I said, it is like 15 years ago.

[thegreathopper]

I replaced my Namco 768 Res screen with a new LG monitor, the image does look loads better ... but what am I losing?

The original Weiya old tech fluorescent tube backlit monitor is safely boxed up just in case.

[nem]

It sounds familiar:

"You're crazy if you think an old E2/NAC monitor is somehow better than a new PC monitor."

As I said, it is like 15 years ago.

The difference here is I never said that 15 years ago. I would have said you're an idiot if you swap out your MS9 for anything else (actually, I wouldn't have said that then. I only got my first candy cab in 2007 I think)

Anyway, proof will be in the pudding. I'll do some comparisons when I get around to replacing my monitors. I don't expect the scaling to be any issue.

[cools]

Also isn't Type X 480p not HD?

Not nitpicking, just trying to fill gaps in my knowledge.

[nem]

Also isn't Type X 480p not HD?

That's right. Not all X2 games are 720p (768p?) either. KOF MIA is 480p.

[cRacKh0rN]

The Diamond Black is actually 1080p native right?

[zak]

The Diamond Black is actually 1080p native right?

Yes.

[nem]

What it is not well-known (at least by people replacing Vewlix monitors) is that most Vewlix have a special native resolution for arcade games (1366x768). This native resolution is very hard (or imposible) to obtain on consumer LCDs. This is the very same resolution that HD arcade systems (such as Taito Type X/X2/X3/X4) were designed for. So, if one wants to achieve arcade high fidelity better keep the original Vewlix monitor.

I'm going to call baloney on this.

The Sanwa screen in the Vewlix F is 1360x768 native. On the Sanwa you can set Image size to "1 to 1" in the menu, and guess what, I have black borders around every TX2 game I've tested. So the games are 720p.

Sure, if you want to have the game running inside a box, then you can have a pixel perfect image on the Sanwa. However, if you're scaling it to full screen, I suspect 720p will scale up better to 1080p than it does to 768p (neither are integer, but 1080p has higher PPI).

[nem]

I decided to swap one of my Lindbergh Universal screens. I might not do a Vewlix after all.

The replacement was the cheapest 32" monitor I could find locally, the LG 32MN500M-B. I just wanted to convert the whole cab to 230V. The monitor was well under 200 euros delivered.

The Lindbergh Uni I bought in 2011, it has seen very little use. I suspect the Toshiba monitor in it is as good as it was when new. No dust under the screen like I've seen on Vewlix monitors.

Is the cheap as chips replacement monitor better?

On the whole, absolutely.

lindbergh_uni_lg_vs_tosh_5.jpg

It's only when you compare the two side by side you can see that colours are way off on the Tosh. Whites are yellow, blues are green, blacks are dark grey.

Also, what surprised me was that there's tons of details missing on the Tosh. It's not a case of crushed blacks, it's something else. See the below for an example:

lindbergh_uni_lg_vs_tosh_4.jpg

Compare the right and left hand side borders in this pic. They should both have a bright blue outline around the border. It's more or less missing on the Tosh.

I didn't notice the scaling at all. It's not an issue.

One thing is better on the Tosh though. The backlighting is more uniform. The LG is really poor in that regard. If this is something that bothers you, don't get this model.

[Jan]

I can see why people replace screens ( personally I would only do that if the screen is f*ckef, but that is a matter of taste), but all the butchering aka upgrading/tuning of original JP Vewlix is IMO disgusting.

[markedkiller78]

I’m the same, I never change bits unless they are broken or badly worn and then it would be OEM unless it’s either NLA or in the case of the Lindbergh monitors, pretty awful and NLA

I know a lot more about displays than I did 20 years ago and as already posted, modern LCD panels are miles better than they were 5 years ago never mind 10+

That being said, I’d still have bought a new “official” Lindbergh monitor if it was available at an ok price

[nem]

I've done three Vewlix Ls and and three Lindbergh Unis now. I don't lose sleep over the process. I did hack up the original monitor enclosure for all of them, but it's not like I'm going to keep the original Vewlix monitor around if I buy a new replacement from Taito (which for the record, I still want to). What difference does it then make? As for the Lind screen, it's rubbish. Good riddance.

[markedkiller78]

They did a 1080p monitor for the Lind iirc, that’s the one I would like to see.

[nem]

Seems like a unicorn. I've never seen one in the wild. I only know of it from exA's list of recommended cabs.

[Pete]

The Lind shooter cab had a much nicer LCD in it iirc, I still have some OSD images to compare if needed.

[slugflyer]

I've done three Vewlix Ls and and three Lindbergh Unis now. I don't lose sleep over the process. I did hack up the original monitor enclosure for all of them, but it's not like I'm going to keep the original Vewlix monitor around if I buy a new replacement from Taito (which for the record, I still want to). What difference does it then make? As for the Lind screen, it's rubbish. Good riddance.

Is it still possible to buy new ones direct these days?

[nem]

Is it still possible to buy new ones direct these days?

I think so. I think they're like 100k.