Sony BVM or XRGB

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neo-georocks

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I'm planning my entry into the world of Neo Geo and trying to decide between a Sony BVM-20F1U and an XRGB Framemeister. I'm leaning toward the CRT but wanted to see if there's a consensus on this for Neo Geo. I'll mainly be playing shmups.
 
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tighecg

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I would personally say neither. I have the BVM you are talking about. It is nice, very nice. But I have, for the most part, retired it because HD Retrovision cables on a bigger Trinitron is quite nice as well. I think the XRGB has mostly been dropped for the OSSC, or even a Retrotink.

If you are streaming or recording the BVM is nice for the video out options, but there are cheaper methods for that.

I guess it all depends on the price you wanna pay. That BVM is way overpriced considering all the other options out there now.
 
joe8

joe8

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I would recommend a big PVM, 29" or 32". The scanlines can look better on these bigger screens, compared to a 20".
Also, there is the NEC XM29, if you can find one.
Some of the later model PVMs and BVMs can have high resolution, and sometimes support 31kHz as well as 15kHz, and progressive scan. But they also can be more expensive, and the 4:3 screen size doesn't go as big. It depends if you just want to play Neo Geo, or other arcade games as well.
The best option of all is an arcade cab with at least a 29" CRT screen.
 
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RAZO

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Finding affordable monitors over 20 inches is getting harder and harder everyday. It's still possible but this late in the game If I didn't own any crt's, I would just go with the OSSC. Alot of members here swear by it and the Low Input Lag is a major selling point for me. XRGB Framemeister is great if you pair it with a TV with low input lag but if you don't, it makes some games almost unplayable. If you could find a Pro Monitor like the Sony BVM-20F1U in great shape for a great price and space isn't a issue, that would most likely be your best bet.
 
GohanX

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tighecg said:
I would personally say neither. I have the BVM you are talking about. It is nice, very nice. But I have, for the most part, retired it because HD Retrovision cables on a bigger Trinitron is quite nice as well. I think the XRGB has mostly been dropped for the OSSC, or even a Retrotink.

If you are streaming or recording the BVM is nice for the video out options, but there are cheaper methods for that.

I guess it all depends on the price you wanna pay. That BVM is way overpriced considering all the other options out there now.
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This. It's getting impossible to find pvms at decent prices and most of them are getting janky. You can still find late model consumer crts for nothing on Craigslist and pair them with HD Retrovision cables or a RGB to component converter. With that you'll have 95% of the same quality, a bigger screen, and less money paid.
 
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noir

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If you can find a good deal on a CRT monitor that supports RGB, then go for it, but I wouldn’t pay market rates for one. I’ve had a 27” consumer Toshiba CRT for years that looks great. I would say my RGB monitors look marginally better, but you really only notice when comparing side by side. Take any one of them alone and sit ~6 feet away and play some old games and they all look good.

If I were in your shoes I’d get a nice Trinitron or something for free on Craig’s List, and keep an eye out for RGB monitors in case one pops up at a good price. In the meantime count yourself lucky for not dumping stupid amounts of money into a broadcast monitor and expensive cables for an increase in picture quality that no average person would ever notice.
 
RAZO

RAZO

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GohanX said:
This. It's getting impossible to find pvms at decent prices and most of them are getting janky. You can still find late model consumer crts for nothing on Craigslist and pair them with HD Retrovision cables or a RGB to component converter. With that you'll have 95% of the same quality, a bigger screen, and less money paid.
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I sometimes forget about the Wega's or any good CRT since I haven't used one in so long. Awesome TV's and I completely dismiss them now since everyone just talks about pro monitors.

100% correct. People give these TVs away or either throw them out . Teamed up with the Retrovision cables you get a high quality picture at a affordable price. Only issue might be space if you go 27 inches and up.
 
Jibbajaba

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If I was just getting started and didn't already have all of this crap, I would just buy an OSSC and be done with it. Or just get a nice consumer-grade TV with component inputs if I wanted to stick with a CRT. RGB was cool when the monitor were cheap or free, but now that the average retrogaming slob is tuned in, they aren't worth the price.
 
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F34R

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Yeah, honestly, the pvm/bvm looking "so much better" than a consumer crt with component, wears off. Especially with the cost of them now. If you can find one at a decent/affordable price, then sure, get one. I can't say playing $500 for the 20L2MD is worth that at all; much less, trying to pay $1200 for a 20L5 or $2800+ for a D20. That's insane.

I have been playing my MVS games on the 20L2MD and it for sure looks better than the 27" FV310. It's just not THAT much better and even a 25" arcade monitor looks awesome compared to the smaller 20 pvm/bvm.
 
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neo-georocks

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I'll be playing from my desktop so I think 20" would be a good size. 27" might be too big.

I want to try for the best video quality possible and in any hobby that last 5-10% always costs a lot, I'm ok with that.

Since I'm going for great video and a smallish 4:3 screen, I'm starting to think OSSC could be a mistake. I'd be stuck with some old LCD, right?

For smallish CRTs, is the BVM-20F1U the undisputed winner for Neo Geo?
 
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noir

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Why ask for advice if you aren't going to listen?

In any case, the other thing you need to remember with CRTs is they can, and often do have problem. Unless you're buying it locally, it could either have issues that aren't obvious from pictures, or develop problems from being shipped. You're not just spending a bunch of money for a slightly better picture, you're gambling money on a monitor that you're hoping will have a slightly better picture. It could show up with a minor convergence issue that completely negates any benefits. And without another monitor to compare it to, you may not even realize. You'll just have pissed away money on a monitor you believe to be the best possible picture, but that may actually look worse than a better calibrated consumer CRT.
 
RAZO

RAZO

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And is there really much of a difference between a PVM and BVM? I've owned a few PVM's and BVM's in the past and I couldn't tell the difference in Picture Quality. The only difference was the BVM had more options in the Menu. They say the BVM's have more lines but playing on both, they both looked great.
 
famicommander

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If you're putting it on a desk, go for a 14" PVM. Sitting that close you probably won't be bothered by a smaller screen, it'll be much less expensive, and it'll take up much less space.
 
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neo-georocks

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14" could work. I'll check that out. Are some PVMs better than others or are there certain ones to avoid?

Are the PVM speakers adequate at very low volume? I'd love to not deal with external speakers.
 
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Dvdx2

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Depends how into quality you are. I have a bvm 20f1e, 14e5e, pvm 2053, and a 20L4 and even the low TVL 600 pvm using RGB, seriously blows on a consumer set (and I have used around 5 different consumer trinitrons as over the years). Go up to 800/900 TVL and the quality is outstanding. But it’s razor sharp and maybe not to everyone’s taste. Regarding price, they are worth want you want to pay for them, but remember the horse has bolted regarding broadcast monitors.....it’s very rare to pick them up cheap, nowadays. I personally would have no problem dropping up to £500/dollar conversion, if it was the right unit.

If broadcast monitors aren’t an option, I would go for a cheap consumer trinitron before using a Scaler again. (it needs to be component /RGB,for better image quality). You could get an ossc and a pc monitor, which i’m Sure would look great.

Don’t forget about jvcs/Ikegamis; I have seen soon really nice image quality of various models, but nothing really beats the HR Trinitrons.
 
famicommander

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neo-georocks said:
14" could work. I'll check that out. Are some PVMs better than others or are there certain ones to avoid?

Are the PVM speakers adequate at very low volume? I'd love to not deal with external speakers.
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The 14M2M series is very good at that size.

Volume-wise it's okay but it's only got a mono speaker, so obviously you'll need external speakers if you want stereo sound.
 
Jibbajaba

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Who the hell wants the absolute best in picture quality, but is OK with the built-in speaker?
 
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F34R

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neo-georocks said:
14" could work. I'll check that out. Are some PVMs better than others or are there certain ones to avoid?

Are the PVM speakers adequate at very low volume? I'd love to not deal with external speakers.
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PVM, I'd go with the 14L5 or 20L5. BVM, I'd either get the D20F1U or D14H1U/H5U.

I have a PVM-20L2MD and it works great.
 
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neo-georocks

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What is the best way to connect a Neo Geo to a Sony PVM for RGB? If I go with AES is there a cable that will go from the console to the RGB BNCs on the PVM?
 

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Tech&Music

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What most people do, is buy RGB SCART cables for the consoles, then those go to a SCART switcher, which in turn connects to the PVM/BVM through a BNC to SCART breakout cable.
 
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noir

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A switch has nothing to do with converting anything. It's to more easily switch between multiple systems. If you want to just connect an AES to a monitor with BNC inputs, then yes, that should work. As mentioned, you should probably go do some reading on RetroRGB to better understand this stuff before you start spending a bunch of money.
 
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