Lazy8s said:
VGA is just a signal type - one of the superior signals for game graphics due to its specifications. It's possible to view on different kinds of devices including both computer monitors and HDTVs, if one holds more personal appeal.
So what were YOU referring to in the first place? You wanted to show people how "superior" the VGA signal is (and you're right, it is superior to various other output options), but to which output device were you really referring to? If you had a standard VGA monitor in mind, you would convince very few as it does not look particularly appealing with current console games. If you were actually referring to an arcade monitor or an HDTV with VGA input, I would agree with you. The various forms of DVI are a better choice than VGA, though, I'd say. VGA is still an analog signal, but DVI is fully digital. DVI is also gaining more support on the HDTV market than VGA is. I mean, at this point, the difference between component video and VGA is almost null (a progressive signal sent through component cables to a VGA monitor will look roughly the same as VGA itself...and I have seen this before).
So, your statement should have simply stated that you would love to show people the difference between standard interlaced gaming and progressive scan gaming with the hope that DVI (or a similar digital standard) would be adopted in the future. There are VGA boxes available for the current consoles as well as Dreamcast. There are also component cables available for the current three consoles. All of those will provide the same quality display. A VGA box simply allows for an easier connection to a consumer PC monitor, but a PC monitor is perhaps the worst possible choice for prog-scan gaming in low resolutions. Like I've said, the quality is simply too high for current consoles. Connecting VGA/component to another VGA class (or similar) display (such as those aforementioned arcade monitors or an HDTV) is a far better choice for progressive scan gaming. Luckily, the three current consoles provide a fairly easy solution with both cheap component cables available as well as 3rd party VGA adapters.
Dreamcast only provides a VGA adapter, sadly enough, so it becomes a bit more expensive to take advantage of its progressive output through a device other than a monitor. Of course, it's hard to justify spending $100 or more on the device required to pull this off...so I'm stuck using s-video on my DC while the other three consoles recieve full progressive scan support via component cables. Still, I do prefer the DC's s-video output to actually viewing it on a standard PC monitor. Specifically with the DC, virtually all games were rendered in 16-bit color and feature various common display flaws (such as the ultra aggressive mipmapping).
It's interesting. Within the last few months, prior to the add-on pack for Ninja Gaiden, a certain website released various new pics of the additions made to the game. People were found complaining that the pics were POOR captures and didn't represent the game properly. The pics were NOT poor, however. In fact, it was quite the opposite. They were the most accurate pics of the game released to date! The images we were viewing were exactly what we would see on a PC monitor via VGA output. My complaints were embodied in the crowd as these pics were attacked for every reason I attack VGA gaming on a PC monitor. Consoles games are not to the point where this is the best display choice...and that's all there is to it.
Still, VGA is not the future. I expect continued component video support as well as superior DVI support for future consoles and video equipment. VGA is most commonly intended for usage with a PC monitor (though DVI is becoming the standard for LCD panels...a display technology I seriously dislike).
So why DID you say VGA in the first place? There is a superior standard that should show up in next generation consoles (I hope), for one, and component video cables really do provide roughly the same quality. Do you, perhaps, lack experience with modern HDTV displays then? You see, that's what I'm really starting to think. Perhaps it is you who should be shown what the future of console gaming is really going to look like?
