minimal "cabinet" - *really* minimal :-)

[RobotronNut]

i've just gotten mame running through the DVI connection of my panasonic commercial plasma screen (th-42pwd7uy with ty-42dm6d). the result is just awesome - big, bright, and 640x480 native resolution in the central 4:3 area.

i like the plasma so much that i've decided, at least for now, to forget about a traditional arcade cabinet and its attendant costs, bulk, and permanent space usage. instead, i'd like to make or buy a collapsible "tray" or "platform," on which to place my soon-to-be custom SlikStik Classic:



while sitting in a floor rocker like this:



i'm thinking something along the lines of those collapsible trays that were popular on the 60's, that would enable you to sit on the couch while eating a TV dinner . this version would need to be strong, pretty low to the ground, and probably angled.

is anybody out there already doing this? is there some product available commercially that could be used for this, or some plans? extra credit for a way for two people to sit side-by-side for two-player games.

besides the obvious drawback that it's not the traditional arcade experience, are there any other problems with this approach? (like playing robotron without the proper stance?  )

[quarterback]

If you bought one of these, then you could just run the controls to the screen instead of having a computer in the middle somewhere

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=47846.0

[RobotronNut]

If you bought one of these, then you could just run the controls to the screen instead of having a computer in the middle somewhere

not an option for me, since i've already ordered my slikstik. i'd be interested to hear how people are using their "arcades-in-boxes."

[MikeDeuce]

Keyboard stands come to mind... but they're a little tall for a rocker chair:

http://froogle.google.com/froogle?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-20,GGLD:en&q=heavy%20duty%20keyboard%20stand&sa=N&tab=wf

Perhaps there is some potential in an item like this:

http://froogle.google.com/froogle_cluster?q=low+keyboard+stand&pid=4869034325597885432&oid=2127403600099903778&btnG=Search+Froogle&lmode=&addr=&scoring=mrd

[erictrumpet]

Burn-is is supposed to me a major issue with plasma screens... be careful playing arcade games on it.

Eric.

[XtraSmiley]

Burn-is is supposed to me a major issue with plasma screens... be careful playing arcade games on it.

Eric.

Only old ones.  New ones resist it just as much as CRTs.  This is an "old" fact that must die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


http://gear.ign.com/articles/682/682536p2.html

IGN: Could you shed some light on the issue of plasmas and burn-in? Some say its a myth, and I've had a Panasonic plasma for four years and I've never had a problem with it, but other people swear it happens all the time, so we are wondering what your thoughts are there.

Jeff Cove: It wasn't a myth -- years ago, when plasmas first came out... First of all, burn-in is the result of the aging of the phosphors, and plasmas are phosphor based technology, and if the phosphors age at different times, you'll end up with kind of a color splotch on the screen. What's happened is that the phosphors are getting better and better, and there was a change in phosphor technology and there was a change in gas technology a couple years ago, where more Xenon was put into the phosphor panels and the phosphors were generally improved. And suddenly, the lifetimes of these panels became 60,000 hours. That's eight hours a day for 20 years. When that happened, it became very, very difficult to burn-in a plasma. Now, it's still possible to burn in anything that uses phosphors, CRTs, or plasmas, can be burned in. But for real life TV-watching or games we really don't think there is an issue. Our feeling is that if you don't worry about your CRT for burn-in, don't worry about your plasma, as a rule of thumb.

[Lilwolf]

btw, you might consider what you really want to have it do.  I personally think having the joystick firmly mounted to something means a LOT and having something that can move will never be 'right'.

Have you considered making a sit down driving type cabinet that moves without a screen... That you just move from the corner over?  I have some old school desks that are connected together on two wood runners that would be pretty cool for something like that.

But a seat attached to some boards to a console in front.  Heck one with a joystick and some way to switch it to a steering wheel might be really cool.  But having them connected together so when your sitting in it, it feels very firm I think is a much better way then some moving swinging something.

either that, or maybe a good pedistal cab might be the way to go. 

[RobotronNut]

... I personally think having the joystick firmly mounted to something means a LOT and having something that can move will never be 'right'. ...

i'm inclined to agree. the slikstik is pretty big and heavy. whatever i end up buying or making can probably be doctored up a bit, to hold the slikstik, with thin rubber skids or with a slight lip that the slikstik would fit securely into or some other such contrivance.

[Silver]

Jeff Cove: It wasn't a myth -- years ago, when plasmas first came out... First of all, burn-in is the result of the aging of the phosphors, and plasmas are phosphor based technology, and if the phosphors age at different times, you'll end up with kind of a color splotch on the screen. What's happened is that the phosphors are getting better and better, and there was a change in phosphor technology and there was a change in gas technology a couple years ago, where more Xenon was put into the phosphor panels and the phosphors were generally improved. And suddenly, the lifetimes of these panels became 60,000 hours. That's eight hours a day for 20 years. When that happened, it became very, very difficult to burn-in a plasma. Now, it's still possible to burn in anything that uses phosphors, CRTs, or plasmas, can be burned in. But for real life TV-watching or games we really don't think there is an issue. Our feeling is that if you don't worry about your CRT for burn-in, don't worry about your plasma, as a rule of thumb.

Is that recent? If its new development in the last 18-24 months, then maybe thats great, but I tell you I have seen some seriously burnt in plasmas....

To be fair, I work in a broadcasting environment and we use loads of plasmas all over the place, and a lot of them tend to be on 24 hours/day - showing the same channel so channel straps/idents etc are on a lot. So they are probably great for home use, but at work they burn in like hell and rarely last more than a few years max. (Broadcast quality) CRTs last Much longer...

[XtraSmiley]

This interview was last week, so yeah, I bet the guy meant in the last year or two.  Also, no one is going to play video games 24/7.

Either way, all I meant was, you can use your plasma to play MAME without a worry if it's new and you don't do it for 24 hours straight.

[Necro]

Note on the plasmas: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,17904323-421,00.html

Don't know when the TV's were made but...it's still happening.