I don't have the room for a lot of stuff, so instead of adding more monitors, I use an extron vga-dvi scaler connected to a more modern LCD (ultrasharp). It may not be perfect, but it works well enough after some tweaking... I am not an expert or get too crazy about the whole pixel scaling thing but the output looks pretty good to me. (The ultrasharp doesn't cope well with low res VGA signals, or higher refresh rates, as one would expect.)

I know there are a selection of older 4:3 LCDs like you said which work well and people swear by but I cannot vet for specific models as I haven't used any. I'm sure someone can chime in with their experience.

I have a Dell UltraSharp 2007FP which I've used connected direct to a 386 and also some Win98 systems. And an Extron RGB-DVI 300 which I've used in line with that monitor, and others. These solutions indeed work fine but if you're picky about crisp pixels, they're not quite up to scratch.

If there's a flat panel that does true integer scaling at non-native resolutions, I am all ears!

Other than that I don't know of any solution outside an OSSC.

I suggest that you re-read this thread and possibly the threads that it links to .
Purchasing a 4:3 LCD for DOS/DOSBOX/MISTER/OSSC games?

Apologies if you are asking about something that is not covered there and I am somehow misunderstanding or missing the point .

OLED displays. I mean, you won’t get 4:3, but it will be the next best thing in terms of colors

Or e-ink screens in colour, maybe.

They're very expensive and slow by comparison, though.

Nevertheless, e-ink is superior to all the other technologies, because the image it displays looks like a real-world "thing".

True OLED screens, with OLED pixels vs OLED illumination is fine, too.
The colours are very vibrant, very neon-like.

Laser-based rear-projection systems could be nifty, too, but they are not on the market sadly.

Personally, I think a little 12", 14", 15" portable tube TV with SCART is the most practical way.
I mean, sure it's chunky, but it is not bigger than your PC. So the space argument isn't longer valid. 😉

Attach a VGA-SCART converter and be happy.
Some convert to RGB, some to Composite (CVBS) or S-Video.
I'm using one, too, for experiments.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4w22Yuy2bcY

Or use a custom made VGA to SCART cable and a utility that reprograms the VGA CRTC to PAL/NTSC compatible timings.
They are from the arcade cabinet scene and available for DOS and Win9x, I think.

The drawback is, that some games may overwrite the settings.

Edit: I often used little CRT TVs in the other thread over there :
Emulation on MS Windows 3.1x ?

The images were taken with the help of a SurfStation JNT.
That's a little set-top box on Media GX basis.
It runs DOS and has an internal VGA to S-Video/Composite converter.
Edit: It's insides can be partially seen here:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=A1Qwq5xf0g8
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCM_rzw6WcXibc7 … earch?query=JNT

The Composite output is a bit fuzzy in colour.
A monochrome monitor or a monitor incapable of the current setting (NTSC/PAL) will produce a clean b/w picture.
So if you're using a quality converter with S-Video, the picture should be acceptable. At least in 320x200 modes.
640x480 or 720x576 (?) is "ok", but not great.
Again, monochrome video should be razor sharp.
Monochrome "Composite" (VBS, AV, VIDEO) via RCA connection was the RGB-equivalent of the black and white era.