Interested to know how well the 300A handles 4:3 modes!

The firmware appears to be available here: https://www.extron.fr/product/rgbhdmi300a (an account is required)

Just stumbled on a AOC 2269VW (22" WS 1080p with 4:3 mode switch). Have yet to test it thoroughly but $8 was a price could not pass up locally. Will run through some tests and see what happens.

Horun wrote on 2021-01-16, 00:23:

Just stumbled on a AOC 2269VW (22" WS 1080p with 4:3 mode switch). Have yet to test it thoroughly but $8 was a price could not pass up locally. Will run through some tests and see what happens.

You are lucky . Hope it works well .

darry wrote on 2021-01-16, 00:37:

Horun wrote on 2021-01-16, 00:23:

Just stumbled on a AOC 2269VW (22" WS 1080p with 4:3 mode switch). Have yet to test it thoroughly but $8 was a price could not pass up locally. Will run through some tests and see what happens.

You are lucky . Hope it works well .

Thanks goes to you and the others contributing to this topic ! I have developed a habit of looking over all the monitors in thrift stores I visit more closely than in previous years.
No dead pixels detected but a quirk on a quick test was the middle button takes a lot more pressure than the other buttons (the one that quickly switches from WS to 4:3) but it does work.
other than that it seems to function as it should. Will try to do a better test this weekend on how it performs.
Thanks to you found this one, I see lots 16:9 for cheap but if not informed would not have grabbed it.

cde wrote on 2019-10-02, 18:34:

And now for another test, this time the AOC G2590PX. This is a $230 1920x1080 TN panel that can do 144 Hz with Freesync, pcmonit […]
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And now for another test, this time the AOC G2590PX. This is a $230 1920x1080 TN panel that can do 144 Hz with Freesync, pcmonitors has a pretty good review: https://pcmonitors.info/reviews/aoc-g2590px/ (a slighter cheap without adjustable stand and USB is the G2590FX, panel is the same).

What sparked my interest in this monitor is the many aspect ratios: wide, 1:1, 17" 4:3, 19" 4:3, 19" 5:4 and 16:10. The good news is that 720x400@70 Hz over VGA is properly boxed into 4:3 (17" and 19" modes), and the result looks very good. Quake 1.08 (DOS) is very responsive.

Initially I thought 17" 4:3 and 19" 5:4 would be 1024x768 and 1280x1024 respectively. However that's not the case, the two resolutions are something arbitrary that AOC chose based on the panel size. Basically in 4:3 mode any input resolution will be forced into this 17" or 19" box, which is great. I do wish though that a 2:2 mode existed for 640x480 that would basically double the pixels (note: this can be achieved on a 1280x1024 monitor on DVI by choosing in the nVIDIA scaling options the preseve aspect ratio option, putting bars above and below to show a 1280x960 image. But this doesn't seem to work on a 1920x1080 screen).

The image looks really good, with text being sharp and colors subjectively ok. Light bleed is almost nonexistent on my model, although I might have just been lucky. Contrast ratio is not excellent, OTOH brightness range is good. The built-in speakers are average; the USB3 hub is nice. It has two HDMI in addition to VGA and DP, so a good number of inputs.

What really blew me away though is 144 Hz (over DP). I've played an OpenGL port of Quake 1 called darkplaces and the result is extremely smooth, going back to 60 Hz makes quick movement (such as looking left and right) feel very jittery. It really feels as good as my CRT in terms of responsiveness and input lag.

Overall it's a pretty versatile monitor and a good purchase. I would recommend it due to the 4:3 options and 144 Hz refresh rate. In addition, it can do up to 120 Hz over VGA in a number of resolutions (up to 1280x1024), and playing for instance Half-Life at such high refresh rates (with fps_max set to 120) lets to an experience that very much feels like a CRT. I had to use the "RefreshLock" utility (attached) to force 120 Hz otherwise a number of games stick to 60 Hz, even though higher refresh rates are available.

Just testing this monitor as well, but notice 4:3 doesn't stick if you reboot / come back to that resolution. Eg 1024x768 in Windows, reboot and it's stretched again. Something I'm doing wrong?

nogmog wrote:

Just testing this monitor as well, but notice 4:3 doesn't stick if you reboot / come back to that resolution. Eg 1024x768 in Windows, reboot and it's stretched again. Something I'm doing wrong?

Yes, it is a drawback. It defaults to widescreen, changing to 4:3 has to be done every time 🙁

cde wrote on 2021-05-30, 17:38:

nogmog wrote:

Just testing this monitor as well, but notice 4:3 doesn't stick if you reboot / come back to that resolution. Eg 1024x768 in Windows, reboot and it's stretched again. Something I'm doing wrong?

Yes, it is a drawback. It defaults to widescreen, changing to 4:3 has to be done every time 🙁

Have you tried other DOS titles with this monitor?

I did Scythifuge. They work without issues at 70 Hz without frame skipping. However you will need the OSSC if you want to avoid pixel doubling artifacts (640x400 incorrectly sampled by the monitor as 720x400). This is a problem common to all LCD monitors I've tested. Note that this pixel doubling issue is relatively subtle so if you can live with it then the OSSC is not required.

Note that, as I mentioned before, the OSSC is very nice to have for 640x480 which is doubled to 1280x960 and can be displayed in a pixel perfect manner with the G2590PX's 1:1 mode. This is great for classic 640x480 games.

cde wrote on 2021-06-10, 11:42:

I did Scythifuge. They work without issues at 70 Hz without frame skipping. However you will need the OSSC if you want to avoid pixel doubling artifacts (640x400 incorrectly sampled by the monitor as 720x400). This is a problem common to all LCD monitors I've tested. Note that this pixel doubling issue is relatively subtle so if you can live with it then the OSSC is not required.

Note that, as I mentioned before, the OSSC is very nice to have for 640x480 which is doubled to 1280x960 and can be displayed in a pixel perfect manner with the G2590PX's 1:1 mode. This is great for classic 640x480 games.

I'm probably going to invest in an OSSC, even for my HP LP2065, as it has a 1:1 option, and like you said, there is some doubling, so DOS is at 720x400. Your monitor is slightly too wide for my desk set up, so I am going to look to see if there is a similar model that is a little bit shorter, width wise. My available space is around 20.5" wide, though I could mount it on the wall and just have the edges cut off by the sides of the hutch.

I am hoping to find a little projector that can give a 20" 4:3 picture at 70Hz from a short distance, but I don't know if they exist. I saw some articles about building your own projector with a Raspberry Pi or with similar items, so I'm looking into that as well. However, it seems that the OSSC paired with a fast monitor with 1:1 support is the way to go, unless CRTs or some other phosphor-based technology comes out (I have read of two separate technologies in development, one uses lasers on phosphors, and I can't remember the other one offhand, but it was being worked on at least as of 2010 or 2011.)

Has anyone tested the Eizo EV2360?

It's a 22.5" 1920x1200 monitor with the following specs:

Only thing missing would be integer scaling for definitions that could be scaled x2 or x3, but I guess that could be solved with the OSSC, right?

No, you need a monitor with an explicit 4:3 option like the Viewsonic VX2418-P-MHD or AOC G2590PX. OSSC doubles 640x400 into 1280x800 which does not have a 4:3 ratio, so it must be forced into it like a CRT would. Aspect would only work with resolution that are already 4:3 like 1024x768.

Note that OSSC cannot discriminate between 720x400 and 640x400 so you must switch manually.

Yeah and having a button like AOC's to get to 4:3 mode versus having to go deep into the menu is a definate plus ! Also I noticed that one does not list 640x350 DOS mode, which the monitors mentioned do have (not that is so critical but could be ;p )

Horun wrote on 2022-02-22, 23:28:

Yeah and having a button like AOC's to get to 4:3 mode versus having to go deep into the menu is a definate plus ! Also I noticed that one does not list 640x350 DOS mode, which the monitors mentioned do have (not that is so critical but could be ;p )

Which AOC monitor do you have? On my G2590PX there seems to be no specific button that would allow forcing 4:3 mode, it has to be reselected manually.

cde wrote on 2022-02-23, 17:56:

Horun wrote on 2022-02-22, 23:28:

Yeah and having a button like AOC's to get to 4:3 mode versus having to go deep into the menu is a definate plus ! Also I noticed that one does not list 640x350 DOS mode, which the monitors mentioned do have (not that is so critical but could be ;p )

Which AOC monitor do you have? On my G2590PX there seems to be no specific button that would allow forcing 4:3 mode, it has to be reselected manually.

My AOC I2269VW, (not the I2269VWM). 4th button ( >) from left when no OSD or Menu you can push and it cycles with each push: Wide -> 4:3 -> Wide -> 4:3, etc. My Asus and BenQ it is buried in the OSD.
I thought the AOC G2590PX also did that from the back > button if no OSD according to page 21 of the manual, think it the second or third push (wide > 1:1 > 4:3, etc) if same cycles in OSD as page 29....

Ah I never knew that feature existed, it's pretty cool! I can confirm the AOC G2590PX can also switch between wide/1:1/4.3 and a few other modes with the > button.

Great ! Yeah saw your AOC G2590PX had many ratio modes, very advanced !