39" Screen in Cab? Need Opinons

[tkropp17]

I have a cab I built now with a 32" LED screen and I'm planning on building a new cab. My new control panel is 38x19.5 and I'm thinking about going with a 39" LED TV. Would this be too large of a screen at a close distance? For MAME I would use 4:3 mode, but 16x9 for games like MK9.

Arcades R Fun uses this size in their rigs. www.arcadesrfun.com

Current Control Panel build:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,142097.msg1475488.html#msg1475488

See Sig for arcade build if interested.

[thatpurplestuff]

Seems way too big to be viewed that close in my opinion... if I was to use anything even close to 39" it would have to be in a mirrored cab or something so you could get a little extra distance between the players and the screen.  To each his own though!

[Malenko]

wow are those cabs aesthetically displeasing.

39" is way too much to be that close. I think 29" is about the biggest you can go. I put a 36" in my old KI2MAME cab, but that was vertical (and honestly a bit too big)

[tkropp17]

I have a 32" now and it's not bad. But as soon as I step back to use the guns, it suddenly feels like a small screen. Again, this is a from scratch build, so I can really make it any size I want or reuse the 32". I was hoping to get a little more screen but not overkill. I've been dabbling with going 50" vertical as well...

[yotsuya]

Screens that wide are fine for pedestals. But I personally hate seeing them in upright cabs because of how wide it makes the whole cab. But then again, I'm a purist, I think.

[tkropp17]

Screens that wide are fine for pedestals. But I personally hate seeing them in upright cabs because of how wide it makes the whole cab. But then again, I'm a purist, I think.

I agree for a purist, it's way too wide. I was more looking at functionality. I don't want to play MK9 and have to move my head to look from left to right.

[yotsuya]

Screens that wide are fine for pedestals. But I personally hate seeing them in upright cabs because of how wide it makes the whole cab. But then again, I'm a purist, I think.

I agree for a purist, it's way too wide. I was more looking at functionality. I don't want to play MK9 and have to move my head to look from left to right.

Do me a favor, don't put a coin door on it if you do go that wide. Nothing looks sillier than a three foot wide cabinet with a 10 inch wide coin door. 

[tkropp17]

Screens that wide are fine for pedestals. But I personally hate seeing them in upright cabs because of how wide it makes the whole cab. But then again, I'm a purist, I think.

I agree for a purist, it's way too wide. I was more looking at functionality. I don't want to play MK9 and have to move my head to look from left to right.

Do me a favor, don't put a coin door on it if you do go that wide. Nothing looks sillier than a three foot wide cabinet with a 10 inch wide coin door. 

HAHA! I know better than that

[pbj]

Do a pedestal.  When you're not playing, shove it against the wall and use the TV to watch something else.

[yotsuya]

Do a pedestal.  When you're not playing, shove it against the wall and use the TV to watch something else.

 

[AzureKnight]

Do a pedestal.  When you're not playing, shove it against the wall and use the TV to watch something else.

 

 

I guess I'm in the same camp, I just don't care for how those large widescreen's look in an upright.

That being said it is your machine and if you will be happy with it, go for it.  Do you have (know someone) with a monitor that big?  If so, test it.  Set up the monitor on a table/counter/whatever at the height it would be in a cabinet, hook it up to something and stand however far you would be and try playing something.   If you like it then go for it.  If you don't have one that big now can you view one in a store?  Go stand 2 feet from it and see how it feels.

 

[markc74]

Everyone here is right - 39" screen from 2 feet away will make you blind. And give you a bad neck from panning left to right constantly to see everything that's going on! R-Type on a 25" screen is enough for me but then again I'm not whipper snapper I used to be...

There are ways you could do it:

- use full bezels on games to make the actual game screen smaller
- make a pedestal build and stand further away then it could work.
- Rotate the screen vertically and do something like the MVC2 cab 
- just use that screen on a pin-cab like it was meant for 

Either way - if you're used to a 32" screen and it works for you then go for it. And supply lots of pics for our wierd new-build cab fetish that we have here.

[tkropp17]

haha thanks for the insight everyone. I do want an "arcade" and will stay away from the pedestal setup. It was hard to find reviews on that screen size and Arcades R Fun uses it as a standard, so I wanted to see if I was missing something.

[yotsuya]

haha thanks for the insight everyone. I do want an "arcade" and will stay away from the pedestal setup. It was hard to find reviews on that screen size and Arcades R Fun uses it as a standard, so I wanted to see if I was missing something.

It's one of those "Aw yeah, this ---maternal-smurf--- uses a 39" screen, plays 50,000 games, and is BAD ASS!" mentality products.

[pbj]

Do it.  Do it for my amusement.

[MTPPC]

Mount the 39" vertical and make the horizontal games maintain aspect ration. Then use Hybrid View tables for VP and you will have an awesome setup:

http://vpuniverse.com/forums/files/category/65-hybrid-view-tables-hv/

[zaltec]

If you want to wait a few months (late spring likely), you can see how my 40" horizontal build turns out... my WAF depends on me using our current 40" tv in the build (it's a 4P anyway, so the cab will be closer to the CP width) and replacing it with a newer, larger tv for the living room... I figure it'll be my first build, so I can get the WAF on it and work on my skills, and then eventually replace it with a rotating 27" or something for v2.

I am however really trying to avoid the looks of the Arcades R Fun builds, I find them horrible looking for some reason (worse so than most typical "fugly" builds)... I'd like to do more of a "widebody" Flynn's or something similar with more classic lines.

[yotsuya]

If you want to wait a few months (late spring likely), you can see how my 40" horizontal build turns out... my WAF depends on me using our current 40" tv in the build (it's a 4P anyway, so the cab will be closer to the CP width) and replacing it with a newer, larger tv for the living room... I figure it'll be my first build, so I can get the WAF on it and work on my skills, and then eventually replace it with a rotating 27" or something for v2.

I am however really trying to avoid the looks of the Arcades R Fun builds, I find them horrible looking for some reason (worse so than most typical "fugly" builds)... I'd like to do more of a "widebody" Flynn's or something similar with more classic lines.

What the hell's WAF? 

P.S. Arcades R Fun do indeed suck.

[MTPPC]

WAF = Wife Acceptance Factor

[yotsuya]

WAF = Wife Acceptance Factor

Oh, I see. Thank God I don't have to worry about that. My wife doesn't care how many buttons my panels have or anything like that. As long as she can play our Tempest, I can do whatever I want.

[tkropp17]

WAF =  Luckily I'm not married and have my own place with my arcade in my living room    I'm glad to learn the general consensus about Arcades R Fun. What do you think about this TV? It's $380 in stores.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-51-class-50-3-4-diag--plasma-720p-hdtv-black/8240051.p?id=1218866284933&skuId=8240051

The LED 720p TV is the same price as this, but I think Plasma would be better for the deep blacks. From my understanding, 720p should be more than sufficient for an arcade.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/dynex-50-class-49-1-2-diag--led-720p-hdtv-black/6522235.p?id=1219236791464&skuId=6522235

[Malenko]

I avoid "store brands" like dynex. I prefer Samsung to any other brand with Sharp a close second

[AzureKnight]

WAF =  Luckily I'm not married and have my own place with my arcade in my living room    I'm glad to learn the general consensus about Arcades R Fun. What do you think about this TV? It's $380 in stores.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-51-class-50-3-4-diag--plasma-720p-hdtv-black/8240051.p?id=1218866284933&skuId=8240051

The LED 720p TV is the same price as this, but I think Plasma would be better for the deep blacks. From my understanding, 720p should be more than sufficient for an arcade.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/dynex-50-class-49-1-2-diag--led-720p-hdtv-black/6522235.p?id=1219236791464&skuId=6522235

Plasma:
Pros: 
- faster refresh rate than LCD (less blurring at high motion)
- better blacks, sometimes better color (this is subjective and arguable)

Cons:
- far more screen glare/reflection (like an old CRT)
- Image Retention:  burn in is pretty much a thing of the past but IR can happen.  This is where an image/part of an image/ 3:4 sidebars/etc get "burned" into the screen so you see them even when the image changes.  Burn In was permanent, IR will fade over time.  Honestly with most modern plasma's even IR is pretty rare but there is a LOT of paranoia out there about it. 

I have a plasma in my finished basement and I love it.  I think the image quality and colors are great.

LCD:
Pros: 
-  brighter whites
-  less likely to suffer IR/burn in (but both are still possible)
-  far more availability, more resolution options, etc.
-  far less screen glare/reflections

Cons:
-  more subject to motion defects
-  black levels are terrible

I have an LCD in my living room as my primary viewing TV.  My wife likes the room bright with overhead flood lighting and a big picture window during the day.  The lack of screen glare was a must.  I'm also really happy with this TV.

I know neither of these are in Arcade machines but the overalls still apply.  Black level won't matter on most classic arcade games as you don't have a lot of subtle greys to black going on.  If you plan on playing a lot of modern PC/console games they will matter a lot more.  If you are paranoid about IR/burn in (I think you are likely over-reacting....) but go LCD.  If you have bright room, go LCD. 

In both cases I'm sure 720p is fine, but the processor on the TV will matter a lot if you plan on relying on it to do any scaling, in other words is your source outputting 720/1080?  Or will you be relying on the TV to upcast the video stream.

I think situation/location/usage are the most important driving factors, but I will add, that I feel Plasma's IMO have the best picture if the situation allows for it.

** Edit NOTE: I reference LCD above...all LED TVs are just LCD TVs with a different light source.  Unless you are buying high end all of this info applies to both.

[AzureKnight]

I'm adding this as a second post on purpose to highlight it a bit.  How are you planning on connecting to the TV?  Some TVs have some edge clipping that will occur when a PC is connected to them depending on the connection used.  You may wish to try to read up on the model a bit or bring a laptop to a store and plug it in if possible to see.