MONITORS
30” Main Monitor
Our standard size arcades use 30" 16:10 IPS LCD monitors, RGB factory calibrated and with very low latency. At a 2560x1600 resolution they carry a high pixel density and superior image compared to standard off-the-shelf TVs and the aspect ratio is closer to a 4:3 CRT (details below). These are a popular monitor for professional graphic designers and used in industry settings for their fidelity and performance.
43” Main Monitor
Now offering larger 43” 4k screens in our Colossus models! Also further upgradeable to g-sync for ultra-low latency. Our 16:10 30” and standard 43” monitors clock in at 17.28ms input delay. The 43” g-sync upgrade cuts that down to just 6.24ms. Highly playable at either rate but the g-sync comes closer to original CRT input delays. See our store for upgrade details.
Improved geometry on 16:10 fullscreen - round things stay round
43” Monitor has a 34” 4:3 aspect crop when bezels are added. (Most older arcade games used a 19” - 25” 4:3 CRT monitor)
Improved image on pixel art with our shader settings - click for closer look at details
A technical deep-dive...
Let's run down a quick primer about LCD types, aspect ratio, and CRT display effects. Jump below the text to skip the technobabble and see some demo images.
LCD TYPES: There's loads of articles out there comparing the different LCD technologies so you can do a deep-dive on that if you wish. We use IPS panels which provide excellent color and viewing angle (especially important on the wide 4 player arcade controls) at a good price while being far superior to earlier TN/TFT panel.
ASPECT RATIO: Aspect ratio refers to the display width. Arcade games and older TVs had a nearly square appearance at a 4:3 aspect ratio. Using a modern and much wider 16:9 screen means you'll be making some unfavorable changes to the old games, either by stretching them very wide or by adding large bezels, shrinking the gameplay screen. We use a 16:10 for our 30” screen since it's a bit taller, much closer to the original 4:3 aspect ratio of older CRT screens.
CRT and SHADERS: Old arcades and TV sets used a cathode ray tube technology or CRT. Old games look great on them but CRTs are large, heavy, prone to burn-in, and require skilled maintenance. The tradeoff in weight savings means we want to use shaders to restore the original look of old games and mimic a CRT screen. Restoring the softer look that was provided by the CRT technology, shaders offer things like scanlines, phosphor trails, shadowmask, and halation - all properties of CRTs that can be emulated using shaders.
NEW SHADERS
Zoom for detail
Disable or modify shaders using THESE INSTRUCTIONS.
