TV Size Vs Cab Size Questions

[LASmith132]

Hey Guys, 

I am going to use Sony KV-32FS120 32-Inch FD Trinitron WEGA Flat-Screen CRT TV for my monitor. Its a heavy motha, i know. I have never built a cab before, Does anyone know how wide and deep I should make the cab for that specific TV?

I'm building the cab out of MDF 3/4".

Also for that specific TV whats the best way to to make a monitor bezel?

Thanks everyone for your input.

[Donkbaca]

The depth of the cab will pretty much be dictated by two things: 1 is the depth of the tv itself, and 2 is the distance from the screen to the player.  As a general view, most people can comfortably see things that are no closer than 1 inch for every inch of diagnol, so that means that for a 32 inch monitor, you should try to have the players' eyes about 32 inches away from the screen.  In short, you are looking at a pretty beefy cab.  I was going to use a 33 inch tv in my cab build, and then ditched it, figuring it would be too big.  My advice:

1) Build a showcase cab
2) Mount the monitor vertical like Malenko did in his KI2 cab ( do a search for Malenko Killer Instinct 2)
3) get a new monitor

I just think a traditional build with a monitor that big will be too beefy and your wife/girlfriend will hate it and it will end up in the garage.

[Turnarcades]

Our rule of thumb when planning is to always build a cabinet to the size of the screen being fitted. Make the cabinet fit exactly to the size of your TV allowing very little extra, and you'll get a much better fit. You will not need to allow extra as cabinet venting and plastic casing cutting/removal should always be done to aid airflow and heat dispersal anyway.

[LASmith132]

would a 27inch tube work better?

[Donkbaca]

Yes

[Malenko]

wonder why my old ki2mame is so popular all of the sudden? Link is in my Sig

[Jack Burton]

You could construct a very nice showcase cab with that TV, but I wouldnt' recommend it for a traditional style build.  

The user severdhed built a showcase using a 27" trinitron, all you would have to do is scale up a bit.



(credit goes to him for the image)

[amendonz]

my candy (like a lot of others) has a 29 inch monitor, which you sit quite close to, i personally like the large size, don't have any issues at all.

[arximidis]

For me it will be easier to unmount the tv and throw away the unnecessary plastic chassis
It will save you a lot of space. Nevertheless, I think it will be easier to mount the monitor, even to an angle.

[Zebidee]

For me it will be easier to unmount the tv and throw away the unnecessary plastic chassis

Ditto to ditching the TV case. You can mount the tube properly (ie by the four corners) and screw the TV chassis to the inside of your cab. Admittedly, not everyone feels comfortable doing this.

It helps if you are confident enough top take the anode cap and other connections off and reconnect them again.

Ultimately, mounting it by the four corners will be better and give you more options. But it takes more tech.

[2panther]

after just going through this myself. I had the option of decasing my Sony 27" Wega or keeping a Sony Trinitron 20" in it's case and putting it on a shelf inside the cabinet. After being peer pressured (in a good way) I went with the decasing of the 27" and IMO it looks perfect in the cabinet. A smaller TV would have worked but I wouldn't be this pleased.

Go big or go home!

[Zebidee]

after just going through this myself. I had the option of decasing my Sony 27" Wega or keeping a Sony Trinitron 20" in it's case and putting it on a shelf inside the cabinet. After being peer pressured (in a good way) I went with the decasing of the 27" and IMO it looks perfect in the cabinet. A smaller TV would have worked but I wouldn't be this pleased.

Go big or go home!

Well done on the successful de-casing of that Sony Wega! They are darn heavy.

I've popped a few Sony Professional video monitors in cabs before (and use one in my main cab right now). It really rocks!

The best part about doing it this way is that if (when) the monitor eventually dies I can replace it with any old 27" screen.

Also, if you are using almost any TV except a Sony, you can re-use the screen/tube with a custom arcade monitor chassis. Unfortunately, this won't work for Sony's that use Trinitron tubes. However, it is easy enough to replace the tube with another one the same size if necessary.

[Nocturnaloner]

Can anyone give me the approximate dimensions of a Sony Wega 27 de-cased?  I am hoping to get it in my cab that has 24" of space horizontally.  Not likely, but if anyone has one of these

to measure, let me know.

[rCadeGaming]

I have that exact model Sony sitting in my garage.  I also have some KV27's and a KV24.  I would agree that the 32 "is too big unless you're building a showcase cab.  The cab will be so heavy it'll be practically immovable, and the screen will be too big when you're trying to play it.  I'd take that rule of placing your head 32" away from the screen as a bare minimum.  It's not good for gameplay when you have to look around constantly because you can't see the whole screen at once, and having a big bright CRT too close to your face isn't too good for your eyes; the combination can give you a headache.

I'm going to put KV27's in my sit-down cabs, space the control panel so that you're sitting fairly far back, and use tinted glass to cut the brightness a bit.  For a stand-up, I might go with the KV-24.

Whatever you do, I'd build a quick and supply mock-up that will allow you to playtest your design for ergonomics, and get a feel for it for a few days, before building the final version.  Otherwise you'll be noting the mistakes in your final cab as you plan a whole new one.

If you want to get proper arcade quality picture from these TV's, check the link in my signature.

[rCadeGaming]

Nocturnaloner, I would but I'm not ready to decase mine yet.  Using it for consoles right now and not ready to gut it for the cab quite yet. 

[sdweim85]

damn, vertical monitor on the KI2 machine is a good idea, I should've done that with mine

http://s1129.beta.photobucket.com/user/sdweim85/media/Arcade/IMG_1033.jpg.html

[Malenko]

damn, vertical monitor on the KI2 machine is a good idea, I should've done that with mine

http://s1129.beta.photobucket.com/user/sdweim85/media/Arcade/IMG_1033.jpg.html

meh, yours looks pretty good to me.

[paigeoliver]

Measure the width of the visible tube and add 2" for the tube mounting tabs and that is how much space you will need decased. That pretty much works for any tube monitor.

Can anyone give me the approximate dimensions of a Sony Wega 27 de-cased?  I am hoping to get it in my cab that has 24" of space horizontally.  Not likely, but if anyone has one of these

to measure, let me know.