? Regarding tinted cocktail anti-glare glass that goes between top and monitor.

[rackoon]

I got two questions regarding the tinted anti-glare glass that goes between the top piece of glass and the monitor.

Is it really necessary? I have noticed that many of the cocktail examples I have seen seem to omit this piece. Yet I didnt want to leave it out and end up going "man why didn't I put it in."

On the originals that do have this piece, what are the distances between all the layers of glass?

How close to the monitor is the tinted anti-glare piece?
How close to the top piece of glass is the anti-glare piece?

Any input would be great, thanks.


 

[JLR2000]

Well, I put a piece of tinted lexan between the monitor and the hole in my Cocktail table, mostly because it hides the monitor.  If you go with tinted glass/lexan on the top, the games will seem to "appear" out of the blackness....which looks good IMO.  I had bought the glass untinted and realized this after the fact, so I did what I did to hide the monitor as much as possible.  I'm happy with the results, but if I did it again I'd go with tinted glass for the top.

Some might not like the tinted glass b/c it does dim your display somewhat, but you can compensate by turning up the contrast/colors on your monitor.

Good luck.

[Wade]

It isn't necessary, I had a Space Invaders original cocktail that never had tint, and the Midway cabinets did have tint, however it was light.  I think it was used for the same reason most older vids had them, the tubes are really light colored and it helps to increase the contrast on a poor tube, also helps a little in a brighter room, and especially because it helps to hide screen burn.

I don't use it anywhere it isn't necessary, especially with newer monitors which already have darker tube coatings and better contrast.  My midway cocktail doesn't have it and it looks great without it.  Adding it would just mean I'd have to crank up the brightness and wear the monitor out sooner.

On the Midway cocktails, the plexi was about 3/4" over the tube (basically... it was flush with the top of the plastic tube bezel) and it was directly against the top glass.

Wade

I got two questions regarding the tinted anti-glare glass that goes between the top piece of glass and the monitor.

Is it really necessary? I have noticed that many of the cocktail examples I have seen seem to omit this piece. Yet I didnt want to leave it out and end up going "man why didn't I put it in."

On the originals that do have this piece, what are the distances between all the layers of glass?

How close to the monitor is the tinted anti-glare piece?
How close to the top piece of glass is the anti-glare piece?

Any input would be great, thanks.


 

[jan25th]

Didn't the games originally have smoked glass then tempered glass on top? If so one would have to take that into consideration if buying the cocktail glass clips.

Also, how does the tinted glass effect the appearance of underlays? I would hate to spend $$$ on a nice underlay only to have it obscured by the glass.

I like the idea of rabbeting around the monitor opening and using tinted lexan there but have not seen an example of it and would like to see how it looks.

[RayB]

It doesn't matter where the tinted piece is positioned. Different machines had it in different places. My Gottlieb Juno First (upright) has a smoked plexi sheet stuck right against the glass. My Atari Missile Command cocktail has it maybe 1/2" above the monitor.  My Crystal Castles and Dominos uprights don't have any seperate smoked sheets, but instead it's the main glass that's actually tinted.

And then finally, my Taito style cocktail has this molded tinted plastic thing that fits against the monitor itself and is shaped exactly like the monitor surface.

Personally, I like the use of the tint because it helps hide the shroud and other details around the screen, and lets the game image be the most visible thing showing through. It also helps make grey monitors have blacker blacks.

[squirrellydw]

I like the idea of rabbeting around the monitor opening and using tinted lexan there but have not seen an example of it and would like to see how it looks.

Why can't you just route it out and try it, that's what I am going to do.  If you don't like it your graphic overlay should cover up the rabbit section so no harm done.

[jan25th]

[
Why can't you just route it out and try it, that's what I am going to do.  If you don't like it your graphic overlay should cover up the rabbit section so no harm done.

Yes, but of course there is no way to grow the smoked glass if it is cut for the monitor opening .
I am nitpicking here. As this is what I will probably do but I would still appreciate some feedback on how well a graphic underlay shows through smoked glass.

[squirrellydw]

Maybe you don't understand what I am going to do.  I am using two pieces of glass.  The main TOP piece is a full cocktail glass top with NO hole in it.  The 2nd piece (smoked) is going to be below it sitting in the wood top that is routed along the edges of the monitor cut out.  The smoked piece is not going to cover the graphic underlay at all.  If I don't like it I can remove it and you won't be able to tell it was ever there.

[londonbabe]

I just got a Taito cab and under the glass, just sitting in a routed out section was the tinted bit. It's just a 2mm thick sheet of acrylic/Perspex, not glass, 345mm x 279mm and fits over the bezel.