Arcade resolutions windows 7

[paddyboy]

This may have been asked before but i need some clarity on what can and can't be done in windows 7 x64

I have spent the last few weeks in my spare time trying to get lower resolutions in windows 7,i am using a hantarex arcade monitor that seems to work on 640x480 800x600 1024x768 if i use interlaced mode in these resolutions and when i used windows xp with CRT_Emudriver i was also able to use a set of predefined low resolutions without interlaced mode.

Now that i am using windows 7 i have tried the list below to create custom low resolutions with the correct timings but after i reboot

windows and use the arcade monitor as the primary display these low resolutions do not show up in windows 7,also they do not work

if i try to enable them in powerstrip.

LIST OF SOFTWARE

ATI drivers (used a few different older versions and also current version)

ArcadeVGARes (doesn't work with windows 7)

MAME Resolution Tool

RCRM (refuses to add modelines but allows the removal of unwanted resolutions)

ReForce (refuses to add modelines)

CRU (this is the only tool that would allow me to add resolutions but still refuses to all lower than 640x480)

quickres

Modeline (allows to add custom modelines to the driver but refuses to work after reboot)

Soft 15khz (using custom txt to add resolutions)

EasyBCD 2.2 (used to disable driver signing)

So the problem i have thus far is that i can get 640x480i and 1024x768i and both of these are required for windows

hyperspin and segasaturn ssf emulator !!!! but without the lower resolutions that i can get on windows xp i can't enjoy

native arcade resolutions,this is very evident in real life when you see a nes game running at it's native resolution as well

as any arcade game on a proper arcade monitor,it's pretty special looking but when it's running in 640x480i it's probably

the worst way of viewing anything in relation to a standard tv,an lcd or what ever else.

I must point out that i am not using the arcade vga card from ultramarc,i am using ati hd mobility and this works fine

in windows xp and 7 but without the lower resolutions,soo has anyone been able to get lower resolutions on windows

7 ? i really really hate windows xp,it's soo slow and unresponsive at times even when using x64 version and there are

a few emulators that will not work with windows xp and i haven't found a workaround.

I ask what you other guys are using in your arcade cabs and if you are using windows xp,do you have sega saturn

atari jaguar working off of the latest emulator versions,also i ask if there actually is a way of getting lower custom

resolutions in windows 7

cheers and much a thanks

Pad

[sebastian_bailey]

honestly I have the same setup as you, windows 7, ati card, running s-video out to 32" sony crt, but ive never noticed a problem with running nes games at 640X480, they still look great to me. the biggest drawback to using an arcade vga card to me is that then you wouldn't be able to run the newer systems. even the new demul emulator requires a gfx card that supports dx10 or dx11. I think for an all around machine you have to make some sacrifices, think of it this way, those low res games still look better on the tube than a 16:9 flat panel.

[somail]

I think the difference is that paddyboy wants the ability to switch between resolutions, not just a static 640x480. Basically a Groovymame type of setup.

To be honest I do not know anyone that has been able to accomplish such a feat in Windows 7. The OS in general has a major issue with switching between progressive and interlaced signals.

That being said, I feel like powerstip settings should have at least stuck. Have you tried starting from scratch again? I bet your different drivers and ulilities are wreaking havok. Usually when you only have two options in resolution is when your driver is not loading correctly.

Personally, for my CRT setup I am sticking to winxp64 until the windows 7 CRT_emudriver is released by Calamity (but I think he is having problems with the Win 7 interlacing issue). It means I can not run demul games very well, but really there are only 1-2 of them I care about anyways.

[paddyboy]

You might be right on that somail,the driver was in use and all modelines above 640x480 would add to the internal resolution list in windows but none below but what you say about using many different tools to try and add modelines wouldn't help things and prolly messes up powerstrip.

Currently i have installed windows xp x64 sp2 last night and i am now having problems with this that i didn't have before,the modelines work from adding them manually but i couldn't use the crt_emudriver,only 9.3 detected my graphics and went ahead and installed but after a reboot i can hear the windows login sounds of windows but i get an out of sync message on my lcd and if i plug in the arcade monitor i get wavy lines and can't see nothing (this would be to do with not installing soft15 at that point in time but i have no way of being able to install it if i can't see what i am doing,i tried to log in to safe mode and change the resolution to a few different standard resolutions but after i reboot i still get (out of sync),if i uninstall the driver and reboot i will then get a display but i can't install soft15 as soft 15 will try to detect an available display driver before it can install.

current'y i have a standard driver installed along with soft15,but now unlike the last time i was using windows (xp x32) now when i boot up on my lcd i am getting a large black border along the left side of my lcd and my arcade screen,this is if i use a standard resolution at 15k and i have also found mame not to be working if i choose direct3d or direct draw,i am sure i could use both before and i had settled with direct draw in the past as the timing was better with sync.

I am getting around 30 low resolutions and nes emulators work well with these so it does work but mame will not work no matter the resolution i choose,i can't explain why,it will only work in gdi mode and when in gdi mode it seems that no matter the resolution i choose it will always default to the same resolution which looks like 640x480 to me.

ps.sebastian,yes i do agree with you,640 isn't all that bad at all but right now i am debating in my own mind if it's really worth using this arcade screen,if i can't get any of the benifets from it at all apart from some extra blur and a bit of scanline then maybe i am better putting an lcd in my cab,but it would be a real shame to take this screen out,it works perfectly and is in great condition from new,and it's also authentic feeling when i play nes,snes and others,it really reminds me of my youth only it displays it in a way that is far superior to the tvs of my youth ! then there is the really big deal and that's with mame,no matter what i have read from the comparisons i can say for sure that there is a big difference.

On my first setup i was using a laptop and arcade screen in dual display mode so when i was setting mame up,i could first hand see the difference even at 640x480 never mind the lower native resolutions,on the laptop games just don't even look right yet before seeing this i would have always said mame and a good lcd is perfection,but yet these games look the wrong colour,the wrong size and dimension,the wrong depth (arcade has a deep feeling to the image and lcd has a static picture that seems like it has no life,then there is the actual motion of these games when they run,if all you are used to is lcd then never look at an arcade display as it will kill you to look at lcd in the future,the motion with arcade display is soo fluid and smooth it almost feels that it was always supposed to be this way and lol yer i guess it was !!

So really what i am saying is,now that i have had a good look and play with an old school display,i find it hard to go back,but then there are loads of bad points to using an arcade display,awwk i don't know

anyway thanks for all your help and input fellas !

don't really know what to do from here to be honest,what do you guys think

[sandman7793]

Can you compile a version of xp that runs a command to install everything in one run during installation? That way it will auto install without needing input from you once xp installation had started.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[Guest KyJelly]

I just did a search on google for this situation as I may upgrade my xp cabinet to win7 for demul. my 2 options are installing a hacked directx10/11 api or installing win7. has anyone been successfull with either of these options yet? maybe these drivers? http://mame.3feetunder.com/windows-ati-crt-emudriver/ If we could get the modelines to take then the tip found on the ultimarc site would be useful.

ie...

There is currently a known issue with Windows 7 switching between resolutions, which is caused by a bug in Windows 7 / DirectX.

If the desktop is running at an interlaced resolution (eg 640 x 480 on a standard-res monitor), When any game which uses a non-interlaced res is started (which is pretty much any Mame game), an error resuts "Unable to initialize directdraw".

Note this only happens if the desktop is running at an interlaced res, which is the case when using a standard res monitor (not a multi-frequency monitor).

There is a workaround for this: Run the desktop at a non-interlaced res such as 640 x 288. This might mean using a front end which has a 640 x 288 mode such as Mamewah.

The resolution can be switched using the Quickres icon.

There are also 3 useful utilities which can be downloaded here. These are simple programs which change to the specified res. So, you can configure a front end to run 640x288.exe to change to this resolution before starting the game. Once this has happened, Mame will then be able to invoke the correct resolution for the game.

any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.