LCD Marquee

[gl_fan]

I know this has been touched on a little, but I think this is onc of the coolest ideas I have ever seen, so I though we could have a thread just for the discussion of it.

We could use this topic to submit links to products and info on how this would work.

I don't live too far from a company that makes LED displays,
http://www.daktronics.com

Should I ask them how many orders they would need to build a screen for marquee use?

What would be the ideal dimensions for this device?
Is USB connectivity viable, etc.

Let me know what you think.  

Now I'm a newbie on this part, but what is needed to have say Mame32 talk to the marquee?  Would a program need to be written so that when the game starts, this program is sent info on the title, then it 'projects' marquee .jpg ono the screen?

[SirPoonga]

To talk to the marquee, just how to program for it.

[SNAAAKE]

I have an idea on this..it WILL cost you money but what the heck !  .

First you get a seperate computer other then your mame computer..get onboard video motherboard and built a new computer with a like 500mb harddrive then make a screensaver that displays all the marques ever..when you turn on your computer,after like 1 minute you will have a "my pictures" slideshow just like that screen saver windows xp has..

If someone can tell me where i could get and LCD screen cheap then i might just do a marque like that..its possible right?

[Pixelhugger]

Just a thought but.... what if you used an already mass produced 16 x 9 aspect ratio LCD. The kind of panel currently being used for auto dvd players etc. At 7" wide or so you could make a 3 panel marquee a la Dragon's Lair or Space Ace, with the LCD in the center and printed panels on the side. A wholesaler I looked into wants a minimum order of 1000 units (presumably at hundreds of dollars a piece?) for custom work. Seems more practical to find someone already making a wide aspect ration screen for the booming DVD market, no?

But now, aside from MAME seeing and displaying on the LCD.....how would one output from the PC? Dual monitor card? What kind of supported resolution would be necessary?

I agree, this could be an INSANELY cool addition to a cabinet project.

[BombProofPlane]

if you really want to do this now make a screen and use a lcd or dlp projector to project the marquee to any oddball size you want and then you just plug it into a second video card

yes its expensive but it will work easily

[Frostillicus]

I agree, this could be an INSANELY cool addition to a cabinet project.

not as cool as a built-in beer tap, tho. mmmmm...guiness  

[SirPoonga]

That's what the monkey bar is for!! (Do a google search)

[SNAAAKE]

That's what the monkey bar is for!! (Do a google search)

Yeah its the so called "NEXT LOGICAL STEP"  .

I recall there was a thread wasnt there?

[StephenH]

Rather than order enough LED little displays, get one of those "Message Signs" that are used to display messages at Cafeterias, Schools, Offices, and such.

Pro-Lite, Beta-Brite, ColorCells, and others make them!

[Chris]

There's a cabinet that uses one of those... many titles need to be truncated or abbreviated to fit, and it doesn't end up looking like an arcade machine at all.  A backlit color LCD would look a lot like a real marquee.

Yes, this would be hyper-cool, but there are probably a lot of other things for a cab you could spend the same amount of moneyon and be equally cool...

Alsoi remember that the support circuitry for the LCD screen extends beyond the visible screen... this screwed me up when I tried to make an LCD instruction card...

--Chris