ICEknight: it means you'd give MAME an SVG file for artwork instead of converting it to a PNG first (which de-vectorizes it and fixes the maximum resolution). MAME would then use your video card to draw it quickly.
Ah, so that's it. Thanks for the explanation.
Originally Posted by Just Desserts
MAME artwork shiny. MAME code not so shiny. When make shiny, pretty shinies become all shiny. Until, less shiny. Pretty thing. Fire bad.
Uh... Really?
LCD artwork scans and cleanups: https://mega.nz/#F!uFYSzK7S!U-lJon9jsqyoCX_3y7_KLA