amiga lcd monitors manufacturer

2023-01-03 12:32:11

I have a brand new 4:3 15" monitor I got this year that I"m very pleased with. The bonus (for me) is it has an 1024x768 native resolution. The reason that"s special is my Amiga"s graphics card has that resolution as one of its settings.

I specifically wanted a "small" screen, too, as it very closely matches my Commodore CRT screen sizes and angles. It"s actually 1 extra inch, I believe, but it"s pretty close. I have a 19" LCD that my older eyes appreciate, but it does look a bit odd sitting on top of the elegant A3000.

That being said, the 4:3 monitors I have that are non-HDMI and simply work with my Amigas are not brand new. It depends on what you"re going to plug them into, and which cables you get matter, too. Big Box Amigas use one type of cable while the all-in-ones (like the 500) use a different one. Buffered vs non-buffered.

Does this monitor handle 15khz through the RGB port (via VGA)? If so, how does it handle the various modes? I"ve been looking off and on for a really good LCD monitor that I can just plug into my stock A1000.

One of the major issues facing returning or new Amiga users is displaying the video output. This instalment of the beginner’s series touches on the technical issue itself then presents some solutions that people in the Amiga Retro Brisbane use.

This article makes reference to modifying the Amiga or other hardware. While the author believes all the information contained here is correct, please conduct your own research prior to beginning any electronics work and please do not undertake an electronics project if you are not confident and not prepared to risk the destruction of whatever you are working on. CRTs contain high voltages and should only be worked on by experienced personnel. The author and all other members of ARB, and any of our affiliates, do not accept any liability arising from this article including personal injury. All electronics is carried out at your own risk. You have been warned!

The Amiga’s standard video output in Australia, the UK, New Zealand, and Europe, is a PAL 4096 (12-bit) colour at various resolutions with a 15 kHz Horizontal Sync* (being an Australian site we will focus on PAL machines in the beginner’s series). This meant that the Amiga’s video output was compatible with the CRT televisions and monitors of the day. This also means that it is NOT compatible with modern televisions or modern monitors, including most VGA monitors from the 1990s and 2000s, which require a 31 kHz input. The video port itself also presents an issue, being pretty much the only device in the world that uses a D-sub 23 port. Thanks Commodore!

*AGA and ECS Amigas can be made to output a VGA compatible 31 kHz signal, but this is really only useful for software that will run under Workbench 2.0 or greater. It will not work for most games, which are hard-coded to run at 15 kHz.

If price is no object or your Amiga came with the original monitor then use it, that"s what it"s for! Commodore and other vendors produced 15 kHz monitors and multisync monitors (monitors that can display 15 kHz and VGA) that are designed for the Amiga. They are the easiest solution since there is no requirement to make a cable, and they are the only solution to people who are interested in historical accuracy.

Many other computer systems of the day, including Apple II and Atari ST machines, as well as arcade machines, use a 15 kHz video output. Monitors from these machines can be made to work with the Amiga provided a suitable cable can be obtained or manufactured.

The Amiga video output is able to be used with the European SCART input, and in fact some versions of some Amiga monitors such as the 1084 came with a compatible SCART cable. Unfortunately SCART is not common in Australia. If a SCART TV or monitor can be found all that is required is a suitable cable. While the construction of such a cable is outside the scope of this article this may be the subject of a future article. In the meantime just ask and we can help, or look up Amiga SCART on your favourite search engine.

While they are not common some modern LCD monitors and TVs will accept a 15 kHz RGB signal. All that is required is the 23 pin to 15 pin buffered adapter (these are reasonably cheap, try AmigaKit or eBay) and a VGA cable. A list of monitors that MAY be compatible with the Amiga’s RGB signal can be found at http://15khz.wikidot.com/. Be careful choosing one as some monitors do not let you adjust the aspect ratio or horizontal width and can force the Amiga"s video to display widescreen.

Back in the 1980s Commodore often bundled the A520 with the A500 and they are fairly common even today. The device connects to the video port of the Amiga and output a composite and RF signal for display on a television. While composite (and its RF derivative) has a poor picture quality by nature (six signals are being compressed onto one analogue line), if the only aim is to play games it is a low-cost solution. The A520 can also be modified to output S-Video for a much clearer output (S-Video being an intermediate step between RGB and Composite), refer http://members.iinet.net.au/~davem2/overclock/A520.html and note that this has not been ground-truthed by the author. Also note that there are PAL and NTSC editions of the A520, in Australia we need PAL.

There are other options that connect to the Amiga’s video port. The Author is aware of at least two S-Video adapters. The first is based on the ADZ724 video encoder, and there are many versions of it on the internet including this one https://www.everythingamiga.com/2017/02/amiga-rgb-to-s-video-adapter.html (note that the schematic is for NTSC but it’s easy enough to change to PAL, also not ground truthed but no reason why it wouldn’t work).

There is an open source RGB to component (YCrCb) adapter called the A520HD by GG Labs https://gglabs.us/node/983. While it does output component video the Amiga’s output is only 240p and is not compatible with all televisions.

The Amiga 3000 has a built in flicker fixer/scan doubler based on the Amber chip. It’s the easiest way to get VGA from an Amiga – it does it from the factory! Commodore and other vendors also made internal scan doublers for the other big box machines (2000 and 4000). These are the most historically accurate scan doublers and are a good solution if budget is not a concern.

The big news of 2021 was the release of an open source HDMI video adapter for OCS and ECS Amigas (i.e. A1000, A500/+, A2000, A3000, A600, CDTV). It"s built around the Raspberry Pi Zero, which takes the digital outputs from Denise and outputs them to its HDMI port.

It is possible to modify most if not all TVs made in the 1990s and 2000s to accept an RGB input. This involves intercepting the signal between the microprocessor and the jungle chip and inserting the Amiga’s video output there instead. This option is definitely the most budget option as it uses about $10 worth of parts (plus a cable to the Amiga). This may be the subject of a future article but in the meantime try Googling “RGB hack”. Do not attempt this if you do not know what you are doing as CRTs have extremely high voltages that may still be present after the set has been unplugged; refer the disclaimer.

Australian company Microbee makes a D23 to D9 cable http://www.microbeetechnology.com.au/store/amiga-video-cable-kit-23pin-male-to-9pin-male.html suitable for some 1084 monitors, the GBS 8220, and the Red Keg SVideo adapter mentioned above. It is preassembled for $22 plus postage and is recommended as an easy solution. Amiga SCART cables can be found on eBay for roughly $30 delivered from Europe.

amiga lcd monitors manufacturer

In the late 80’s I was lucky enough to be a developer and manufacturer during the most exciting time in the personal computers development my chosen platform was the Amiga but I have always just been a computer fan at heart as you can see from my retro computer collection.

My last two Kickstarters were great successes especially the first one, the Checkmate 1500 Plus computer cases that can re home an Amiga 500/600 or 1200 motherboard and expansions as well as a normal Mini-ITX and Micro-ATX motherboards. The Checkmate 1500 Mini followed and was Mini-ITX only as the name implies.

Looking forward on my road map I wanted to make a new keyboard and mouse but these projects have been taken on by other great members of the Amiga development community.

amiga lcd monitors manufacturer

"This is the nicest LCD I have ever seen on Amiga. Just use a RGB to VGA adapter and it works VERY well. Highly Recommended. Added by R-C-MAN. (specs)

"Tested via SCART with A1200 revision 2B at 320x200, 320 x 256, 320x512, 640x200, 640x256, 640x512, 1280x256, 1280x512. First time I switched it on it had persistent flicker, 2nd time, 3rd time fine. Picture quality is ok (LG M2232 MUCH better for comparison - but the auto aspect ratio button on the remote does default the Amiga screen to 4:3 and centred. Pixel refresh rate appears higher than M2232D so interlace modes are terrible (they"re ok on M2232D)). Important thing, it seems to work. Will test on Atari ST via RF later

Amiga PAL/NTSC works (Low and high are usable, super high works, but texts are not readable). Uncorrectable aspect ratio. Interlaced flickers. Faint vertical banding. "Perfect" settings: H. Position 51 - V. Position 38 - Pixel clock 94 - Phase 7. Model 9H.L3RLN.IBE September 2010 (specs)

Has speakers, connect using jack. Model ID: GW2480-B, Type: GW2480E, Rev.: 10-130-BL, P/N: 9H.LHELB.CBE, Tested on Amiga, All video modes working including ECS and AGA modes. Laced also works with classic Laced flickering. If certain video mode is applied then aspect ratio correction is not possible, but "it is so beautiful, that it even isn"t needed" (as in a shrapness manner) when happens so. Monitor correctly reports input resolution. Certain video modes allows for aspect ratio correction (720x480@60 is correctable).

(Supports picture-in-picture). PD: Jul-02-2019 I purchased a model made in April 2005 but it will not work with PAL Amiga 1200 with RGB > VGA cable. JesperG: 06/6-2021, I found one from February 2005, it deos not work with native Amiga systems.

15 KHz works in both NTSC and PAL with a plain VGA cable. All modes worked perfectly on A500 rev 5 board with ECS Chipset. Auto resized when changing from Pal-NTSC and games displayed properly and full screen in 4:3 with no clipping. Has several internal settings, but other than changing my color, brightness and contrast preference, I used it straight out of the box. Someone changed my review and entered severely WRONG info. You need to NOTE the date, revision and year for USING monitors posted here that DO WORK. Model number used is P2214hb Rev A06 December 2015., NOT 2016, NOT 2014, NOT 2214, NOT rev b, etc..

(specs) confirmed working 29/06/18 with RGB-to-VGA adapter from Amigakit. Recommended settings to remove vertical banding (menu, display settings) - H position 20, Pixel Clock 90, Phase 30 (A500) or 60 (A1200). May depend on individual Amiga.

HiRes/LowRes PAL works with pixel and phase adjustments, I ended up with Pixel Clock 94, Phase 74, but it might depend on your hardware, Tested with a buffered RGB->VGA adapter on Amiga. It can also run DblPAL but you need to tweak the TotClk value on the Amiga and Pixel/Phase on the monitor if you want it perfect, you might also need to run borderblank for it to sync. Seems to display NTSC modes too however this wasn"t tested much.

U214MB (PAL, China, October 2012) tested Nov 2022 with Amiga 3000 (flicker fixer disabled) with a plain VGA cable. 15 kHz works in PAL (NTSC shows out of range; this may be the other way around in the US). It supports PAL, DBLPAL and MULTISCAN modes, with and without interlacing, but it does not deinterlace and the flicker from that is obnoxious. The menu allows switching of aspect ratio between 16:10, 4:3 and 5:4, with black bars on the sides but no stretching as a result. Display adjustments are retained when switching between distinct modes (e.g. PAL and DBLPAL).

Tested U213HMt manufactured May 2014 in China. This monitor needs a flicker-fixer to work, but with the flicker-fixer on the Amiga 3000 enabled the experience is okay and somewhat similar to the U2412M (menu"s, etc). The U2412M is a more appropriate choice though, and mine does not need a flicker fixer.

Monitor supports standard Amiga 15kHz PAL/NTSC modes and 30/31kHz modes. Interlaced modes display OK, but with flicker. No support for 20-28kHz video modes.

Works with an Amiga 600 SCART RGB at all PAL resolutions. Some flicker in interlaced modes when Intuition is drawing the screen, but no noticable flicker at 640x256p or 1200x256p. Needs to be manually put in 4:3 aspect on first use. (Service Manual), (Operation & User’s Manual)

* Not according to specification - but it does. Tested with Amiga 1200 1D4 at 320x200, 640x200, 640x256, 640x512, 1280x256, 1280x512, via composite and RGB Scart. Works really well with RGB SCART. Also works with PlayStation 2 via SCART in SDTV mode. Also works on Atari 520STFM connected by modulator RF cable in low and medium res. When i switch the SCART connected Amiga off, TV automatically returns to the Atari screen. Bonus.

* Not sure about specification, situation maybe similar as in case of M2232D-PZ. It works perfectly though via RGB<>SCART cable with such Amigas: A500 R6, A600 1.5&2.0, A1200 1D3, 1D4, 2B, CD32 Rev4, A4000D and A4000T

This one can even handle interlaced modes of Amiga 500, 1200 and not properly on Falcon 030. Has vertical stripes with many games (depending on their precise vertical refresh rate, like 49,8Hz or 49,9Hz), which can be compensated by using the "automatic" setting in a game that actually works fine without stripes (i.e. Xenon II). There is an optional stereo soundbar with 3.5 inch connector available for this monitor, which can be attached to the bottom of the monitor. PAL Hi-Res does NOT work right! The image is vertically stretched about twice the display"s height! The monitor and soundbar was available in white and blgack/silver color. The "p" stands for PVA. (another test) (specs)

Aspect ratio has to be set manually and is kept across all screen modes and inputs. Picture is very nice, though. Interlace flicker is much less uncomfortable than on other LCD screens. Perhaps the only 4K display with VGA port and 15kHz capability!

Although this is a TV it has a VGA input. I have tested it using a PAL Amiga 500 using an AmigaKit VGA adapter. All games run full screen so are a bit stretched.

Some users report success. One user with a PAL Amiga 500 reports an NTSC 510N manufactured March 2015 in Malaysia won"t sync at 15kHz using an unbuffered adapter. (specs)

amiga lcd monitors manufacturer

These days it is a bit difficult to track down LED monitors which support 50Hz vertical refresh rate and 15kHz horizontal frequency. But in this review, I will show you one that does — and is available for as little as $199.

CLARIFICATION ON AUDIO:Note that the Audio jack on the back is for output. This means that you can not provide audio from your Amiga into this jack expecting the internal 3W stereo speakers to blast the sounds from your favourite game/demo. This audio jack outputs to e.g. headphone when the monitor is fed audio input thru the HDMI connector. So if you connect a PC using HDMI, you will hear the PC audio on the monitors internal speakers.

UPDATED 29.04.2021I have done more testing and found some more interesting stuff about this monitor. First of all, it has a aspec-ratio setting in the OSD menu so that you can tell it do output either SCALED to fill the screen or you can set it to ORIGINAL ASPECT ratio. The latter is perfect for C64 and Amiga games/demos.

05.05.2021After some testing by other members over at the facegroup forums, I am very glad to report that someone who had access to this monitor and an Amiga 500 and A1200 can inform us that it works. This means that it syncs and displays as expected. The A1200 was tested in both PAL and NTSC. The A500 was tested in NTSC. The connection method was using the provided 23pinRGB->VGA adapter from Commodore with p/n 390682-01)

The 4:3 setting on the monitor (or actually the “Adjust to original aspect radio”) does not seem to put the image in 4:3 mode from a classic Amiga machine, but rather displays it in full screen 16:9. If this is a problem for you, then this is something you need to take into consideration before buying. Please note that this is not a problem on turbo chameleon – only on classic amigas (as far as testing has shown so far).

Thanks to WASD Keyboards who sponsored the extremely nice keyboard in this review. It is a custom made specially designed keyboard to match amiga color pallette, it has a special layout of the modifier keys (in this keyboard we have Commodore logos, but we also got Amiga logo modifier keys provided). This keyboard has USB output but also comes with the ability to use the USB to PS/2 adapter in order to connect it to retro hardware like the Turbo Chameleon.

CRTs can be abundant if you have good places in your local community to look, but they are getting trickier to track down each passing year. And while nothing’s stopping you from using a modern LCD for retro gaming, you may want to track down a square-shaped LCD (mostly 4:3 aspect ratio) so your classic content seems a bit more “at home” — avoiding those black bars.

So whether you’re looking for a cheap 4:3 LCD to use with your MiSTER FPGA setup, have a classic personal computer, or just want something for watching “full screen” video content or a emulation box to run on, I’m hoping this guide is helpful in your shopping.

Granted LCDs, especially older models, aren’t ideal for retro gaming compared to CRTs. LCDs often down’t have as deep of black colors and there is input lag involved among some other issues.

However, LCDs are easier to move around and store and use less electricity. And even though there are many die-hard CRT fans out there, there are also many long-time retro fans that have been using the recommended monitors below for a while and been happy with their performance. I’ve even quoted and handful of enthusiasts to give you a good perspective on these recommendations. And don’t forget, eventually LCDs might be much easier to find and purchase remotely then the CRTs counterparts.

Early LCD monitors may show a lack of technical maturity, however, near some of the later ones that we are focusing on have some decent IPS technology with reasonable color and response times.

In the end, I thought this would be a fun, lighthearted look at some options for those that are interested. If you have any commentary on the matter, please share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments section below. Just be respectful — not looking for CRT vs LCD wars

amiga lcd monitors manufacturer

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