Question Regarding monitor size + Cab Width

[Yourname942]

I'm making an arcade cabinet for my brother's friend, he is going to get a 32" led monitor, my question is:

- How much space should there between the monitor and the inside side-walls of the Cab? (is it ok if there is some space, or does it have to be snug up against + touching the inner side-walls?

I am planning on making a cab shapedlike these:

http://arcadesrfun.com/files/DSCN2352.jpg
http://arcadesrfun.com/files/IMG_0035.jpg
http://arcadesrfun.com/files/42-Inch-4-Player-Super-Mario-w-LEDsJPG.jpg

Each one of those has a 42" monitor, but I'd be using a 32" monitor. What would be a good width for the cabinet? Thanks.

[paigeoliver]

Why would the monitor have to touch the side walls?

I think those monstrosities you linked to actually have 50" monitors, one of them is on ebay with a 50" right now.

When you get into the territory of cabinets like that you are firmly into the territory of cabinets that were designed by people who have no familiarity with actual arcade game cabinets at all.  It makes it difficult to give advice on the "right" way to modify the design for a change when the design itself is a bit flawed.

[Yourname942]

I mean, It just needs to be able to fit a 32" monitor (and probably an extra 2" for some space)


But on a "normal" sized-width cabinet with a 4 player CP, a lot of the images i've seen there is an Control panel overhang on both sides of like 7" which looks terrible imo.
(it makes the CP not match the cab imo)

 I figured that if I widened the cab to be like 38" ~ 42" then the CP and the Cab would feel right/look better.(and much less side-overhang) That's why I am looking for a second opinion, and wondering if it mattered if the side of the monitor touches the inside walls of the cab.

[paigeoliver]

Those cabinets try to solve the "problem" of having a 4 foot wide control panel overhanging the sides of the cabinet by making the cabinet 4 feet wide.  This creates the need for an absolutely massive screen which is way too close to the player's eyes.

Real 4 player arcade cabinets followed one of two basic plans.

The Gauntlet. This design is nowhere near 4 feet wide and it leans the monitor way back so everyone can get a good look at it.



The Showcase.



These are pretty darn wide, but they properly space the players back from the huge monitor. I have the back half of one of these suckers under my carport in St. Louis MO right now if anyone wants it.

[BadMouth]

Try playing with a 32" TV first to see how far away you need to be for it to be comfortable.
With a screen that size, you need to get some distance between your eyes and the screen.
No way I could play on those cabs you linked to.

[unkpinball]

Wouldn't a 4:3 arcade game that isn't stretched out to 16:9 be easily playable on a 32" at close range? It would be about a 25" ish equivalent tube screen with black bars on the sides(or hide them with bezel). I'm going to try a 32" tv mounted vertically so my favorite vertical scrollers look good, blockoff the top part with the marquee, and for standard games ignore the small black bar at the top. The 'width' of the 32" mounted vertically isn't much at all, about a 19 to 20" screen size.

[Felsir]

I'm planning a 32" led tv for my cocktail table. Each player will have a full screen experience for horizontal 4:3 games that way.

[BadMouth]

Wouldn't a 4:3 arcade game that isn't stretched out to 16:9 be easily playable on a 32" at close range? It would be about a 25" ish equivalent tube screen with black bars on the sides(or hide them with bezel). I'm going to try a 32" tv mounted vertically so my favorite vertical scrollers look good, blockoff the top part with the marquee, and for standard games ignore the small black bar at the top. The 'width' of the 32" mounted vertically isn't much at all, about a 19 to 20" screen size.

I have a rotating 27" widescreen.  The 4:3 games come out to 22" diagonal.
My CP is fairly narrow, but the screen is recessed into the cab about 4 inches.
I find myself standing back farther for the widescreen games.

I'm not saying don't do it, just experiment playing that close to the screen first.
Rather than building it, then wishing you had longer arms so you could stand farther away.

A Deep CP and sharper angle would help, but watch the viewing angles on LCD screens.
The bottom edge is usually the worst viewing angle for them.