LCD? are they suitable for cocktail

[1942junky]

Was wondering if LCD monitors can be used for a cocktail machine, haven't seen them used, is there a reason?

Thanks

[loadman]

Was wondering if LCD monitors can be used for a cocktail machine, haven't seen them used, is there a reason?
Thanks

I tried but looking at the screen at angles/sides it looked 
This obvioulsy is not such an issue in a normal cab

More expensive ones may look ok. 

[Howard_Casto]

Just to chime in and say "ditto"....


You shouldn't even have to ask if you just do the math.  Most lcds have about a 20-35 degree viewing angle.  You are putting a monitor on a 90 degree angle from your eyes... even looking down at it, it'll be beyondthe viewing angle. 

[Havok]

Just to chime in and say "ditto"....


You shouldn't even have to ask if you just do the math.  Most lcds have about a 20-35 degree viewing angle.  You are putting a monitor on a 90 degree angle from your eyes... even looking down at it, it'll be beyondthe viewing angle. 

I have a viewing angle of around 160 degrees on my LCD. Just get something decent - anything in the $200 range and up should be fine. Prices have dropped dramatically in the past 6 months.

I think you don't see them much on cabs here due mainly to prejudice. Me - it's a no brainer: less heat, less electricity, waaaaaay lighter, easier to fit in a cab, and no radiation!

Plus, most of these guys are making their decision on an LCD they saw back in 1999...

 

[1942junky]

Thanks Havok

[loadman]

Thanks Havok

Just 'Try before you buy'

 

[Howard_Casto]

I think you don't see them much on cabs here due mainly to prejudice. Me - it's a no brainer: less heat, less electricity, waaaaaay lighter, easier to fit in a cab, and no radiation!

Plus, most of these guys are making their decision on an LCD they saw back in 1999...

Less authentic, more costly, more fragile, more sensitive to heat or cold (it's going to be on a table you know).  No predjuice comes into the equation, there are just a lot of bad things about using a lcd, most notably... well it's a lcd, it's too sharp a picture. 

Also keep in mind that  the viewing angle on the box refers to the viewing angle when mounted horizontally, not vertically (which is how you will be using it).  In general they can vary greatly. 

[Havok]

Less authentic, more costly, more fragile, more sensitive to heat or cold (it's going to be on a table you know).  No predjuice comes into the equation, there are just a lot of bad things about using a lcd, most notably... well it's a lcd, it's too sharp a picture. 

Also keep in mind that  the viewing angle on the box refers to the viewing angle when mounted horizontally, not vertically (which is how you will be using it).  In general they can vary greatly. 

Do you have one in a cabinet? I speak from experience, not theorecticals. Plus - who cares if it's on a table? I would think there would be glass on the top, like most "authentic" cocktails? LCDs are a lot more resilient than you give them credit for. If you properly provide airflow in the cabinet, heat will not be a problem. You have more to worry about from the video card or power supply than the LCD.

Your price argument is not valid, prices have dropped dramatically recently. Hell, with rebates I have seen 19" LCD monitors for $100! A 19" WG 7200 from Happ is $232...

I agree it's not authentic, but even Happ is acknowledging the future and is beginning to offer LCD replacements for their CRT monitors. Yes, they are sharper. Good! I for one prefer a slight upgrade to image quality - that is up to the individual user's taste of course. However, with a better monitor, you open up the possibility of using this as a regular computer and can put high res games on there as well.

[vrf]

Yes, they are sharper. Good! I for one prefer a slight upgrade to image quality - that is up to the individual user's taste of course. However, with a better monitor, you open up the possibility of using this as a regular computer and can put high res games on there as well.

I very much agree with this. I actually like the sharper picture. "Arcade authentic" just means blurry pixels to me.

[javeryh]

Isn't there a way to mimic the scanlines of an arcade monitor on an LCD to give it an authentic look?  I am currently debating whether to use a 17" LCD or 13" CRT in a mini cabinet (75%).  Anything bigger than the 13" just won't fit but I'm afraid it will be too small so that's why I'm considering the 17" LCD.

[FrizzleFried]

I am of the opinion that ARCADE AUTHENTIC = smoother looking.  When I see pretty much ANY game emulated with MAME on a PC monitor,  I want to hurl.  That is NOT the way the game is supposed to look.  That is NOT the way I remember the game looking!

Sure,  you can add tricks that and overlays that make the screen appear to be more arcade authentic,  but NOTHING compares to an actual 26 year old Eletrohome G06 running MAME...

JMHO of course...

[spacies]

Havok,

Do you have any problems aith the LCD lying flat?

I have a replica Defender cocktail that I want to MAME.
It did have a 20" CRT (CGA) and since the I have cut the hole and bezel to fit that then replacement option would be a 19" widesceen LCD.

Any thoughts?

[zelony]

A simple test would be to lay your LCD on a table in front of you and plug it into a computer.  Then sit at the closest approximation to sitting at a cocktail table and see if you like it.

As far as image quality, I think MAME on an LCD looks great.  Also, I have a 36" CRT PC Monitor that I use in my big cabinet and I also have a dedicated D&D: Tower of Doom with a 25" Arcade Monitor.  When I load that game up in MAME they look virtually identical to me.  So, to each their own, but I wouldn't get too worried about authenticity.  Also, the LCD will not strain your eyes the way any CRT does.

Good luck.

Jeff

[blueznl]

most lcd's i've checked have theoretical viewing angles, but in practice these may wildly differ from the specs

i've been playing some mame on a philips 190s, supposedly a slow monitor, but it looks fine, and is very suitable for single player stand up playing

with a base resolution of 1280x1024 the filters of mame work fairly well, approaching the actual view of a real arcade monitor, but yes, it's emulated so not perfect :-)

i had to smile looking at the arcadevga card claiming to be sharper, yes, i am going to buy one (may get my hands on some elo arcade touchscreen one of these days) but i feel a bit funny about it: people liked the original arcade monitors because they were somewhat blurry, and now we complain about modern 3d cards as they 'soften' the edges... 

anyway, most screens i've checked allowed a viewing angle of roughly 45 to the left, to the right, and to the bottom, and perhaps 15 or so to the top, so it just may work, though you may be headbutting your opponent now and again :-)

the biggest problem i found suspect with lcd's is that when you lean back (on a coctail) the image dims which may be less comfortable on a coctail

however, lcd's are getting better and better, and i'm pretty sure that using a widescreen lcd in a coctail is going to look awesome and pretty usable too! (as those televisions are designed for larger angle viewing, and the 'enlarged' x-axes (rotated to y, obviously) may provide more screen estate to have more fun in face to face coctail mode)

so... who's going to be the first to use a cheap lcd television and put it in a coctail? (gimme the money and i'll try :-))

[Grasshopper]

... , more fragile, ...

Not sure I'd buy that.

If you accidentally tap the neck of a CRT monitor, it's basically goodbye CRT. LCDs don't have that problem.

OK, admittedly the screen of most LCD monitors is covered by soft plastic instead of mineral glass so they're more susceptible to scratches. This is one thing that really irritates me about LCD monitors and it's a completely unnecessary design compromise unless you're fanatical about keeping weight down. But if you're putting one in a cocktail cab it will be covered with a separate sheet of glass anyway, so that's not really an issue in this context.

One factor that hasn't been mentioned is that LCDs tend to work best at their native resolution i.e. a resolution that matches the number of actual pixels in the x and y directions. CRTs don't have discrete pixels (unless you count the dot mask which is a much higher resolution than most monitors would be capable of) and therefore don't suffer from this problem.