Building my first cabinet

[rubberpoultry]

Hi arcade junkies!

This is basically my first real post. I've been lurking for a while, and am finally ready to stick my neck out to see if I can get some help. I don't have the time, tools or skills to build someting on my own like so many of you have. So basically I'm going to go the prefab route. I've ordered the SlikStik Classic, and a UAII kit. With the help of my father, I'm building my first PC (I'm a Mac guy) and I'm trying to get everything nailed down to finish this thing within a couple of weeks. I have a few questions

1. Television. What 27" TVs are people using in their cabinets now? I want component in after reading about it, but I'm unclear about what exact settings I need the TV to have in place. Do I need one that I can access the service menu on? I bought a DVI to RGB dongle already (on it's way), but I still don't know what TV to buy. Any reccomendations? I don't have the money for a WG or Betson.

2. Monitor Bezel. I like the finished look of the Happ bezel and I'd like to order one. I've seen some nice pape ones, but that's just not for me. Is there someone here who sells them so I can avoid the gut wrentching Happ shipping fees I've been reading about? Also what TVs does the bezel fit? I've noticed several posts where people say that the TV bezel is sticking over the Happs bezel. I don't want to decase whatever I buy that's for sure.

3. Smoking or non? I've read about smoked glass. I like the idea, but I wonder if it's worth it. Also which is better, glass, or plexi/lexan?

Any help you could offer would be appreciated.

Thanks,
rubberpoultry

[MaMeNnO]

Good step to dive into one. No matter it's prefab, I guess you still have your battles and challenges. About the questions, can't be much of help here. I'm using a computer monitor (22") and going to make the bezel my self. For the glass, I use a little tinted glass, not real smoked. Don't use plexi. You'll regret that after wipping it a few times and being left with scratches. I don't know about lexan. That's mostly used for CP's.

Good luck!

[TOK]

I'm using a 27" Toshiba flat screen with component in. It was an expensive TV, not purchased specifically for the cabinet (bought it for XBox that I never play). I didn't use any service menu tweaks, or even Powerstrip to get my final setup working. I did experiment with Powerstrip before figuring out what worked best for me.

Using a Radeon 9550 with the DVI to component adapter, I just had to specify a custom resolution within MaLa (front end). I suppose if there is any drawback to this, it's that Windows is not running in this mode, so the image is overscanned until I'm actually into the front end. The monitor is vertical and the Windows desktop is sideways, so I use another PC to do most of the admin on it anyway.

If you want the custom resolution available all the time, Powerstrip may be a better solution for you.
640x432 sizes the image correctly for my TV in component mode.

I far prefer a tinted bezel over clear. It helps hide the surround around the TV, and also helps make the image not so "TV like". Component is far better than S-Video, but I still found the image a little harsh looking without the tinted bezel. Tempered glass is probably the best option, but I had tinted plexi readily available, so I went with that. Just have to be careful cleaning it to avoid scratching it up, as MaMeNnO alluded to. If it end up being a problem, at least I'll have something while I find a good source for tinted tempered glass.

[Zeosstud]

I have a Happ 27" monitor Bezel I will sell for whatever it costs at happ and will charge EXACTLY what UPS does to ship, meaning not adding a penny for handleing or whatever.  PM if interested.

Zeosstud

[rubberpoultry]

PM sent!

[subcriminal]

Is it hard to find a TV with a SCART socket in the States? It's the best method to turn a TV into an arcade monitor if you can get hold of one. You just wire a VGA cable to a SCART plug and plug it into an ArcadeVGA card.

[rubberpoultry]

Until I started visiting this board I'd never heard of SCART. I don't think that's common here at all.

I bought a Radeon 9600 and a DVI to component dongle to go in that way. I've read all sorts of posts about scaling and overscan issues. That's why I'm unsure on which TV to buy. A lot of posts with solutions to the overscan problem are using TVs no longer on the market.

[TOK]

Is it hard to find a TV with a SCART socket in the States? It's the best method to turn a TV into an arcade monitor if you can get hold of one. You just wire a VGA cable to a SCART plug and plug it into an ArcadeVGA card.

Since it originated in France, its our duty as Americans to reject SCART whether its good or not. 

Just kidding.

The US is a hodge-podge of assorted inputs, but DVI and HDMI are pretty much becoming the standard. The thing is, everyone is going to flat panel monitors so CRTs aren't really getting much limelight so they're saddled with component inputs at best. They work and produce a good image, it's just more work to get them going.

[TOK]

Until I started visiting this board I'd never heard of SCART. I don't think that's common here at all.

I bought a Radeon 9600 and a DVI to component dongle to go in that way. I've read all sorts of posts about scaling and overscan issues. That's why I'm unsure on which TV to buy. A lot of posts with solutions to the overscan problem are using TVs no longer on the market.

I don't think any TV you buy is going to make it easier. Component inputs in general don't scale right to 640x480 regardless of the type or age of the TV. You're just going to need some tool to set your resolution to avoid the overscan/cropping. Since you're using the ATI card, I can tell you for a fact that the MaLa front end supports inputting custom resolutions and the ATI can handle them. Set your display in MaLa to 640x432 and you won't need any other helper apps or configuring.

Other front ends may also be capable of this, but I've only done it with MaLa.

[subcriminal]

They work and produce a good image

TFT's? For reading the interweb maybe but destroy arcade game emulation.

[rubberpoultry]

Is it hard to find a TV with a SCART socket in the States? It's the best method to turn a TV into an arcade monitor if you can get hold of one. You just wire a VGA cable to a SCART plug and plug it into an ArcadeVGA card.

Since it originated in France, its our duty as Americans to reject SCART whether its good or not. 

Just kidding.

The US is a hodge-podge of assorted inputs, but DVI and HDMI are pretty much becoming the standard. The thing is, everyone is going to flat panel monitors so CRTs aren't really getting much limelight so they're saddled with component inputs at best. They work and produce a good image, it's just more work to get them going.

I read a post by one guy who said he had a JVC and could access the hidden service menu, and was able to make the overscan work right. You're saying MaLa does this through the software? Pretty cool. I'm not interested in having a high res windows interface. The sole purpose of this machince will be MAME.

I'm a lifelong Mac guy. Does MaLa take a lot of complicated setup? I haven't even gotten to the frontend question.

[TOK]

They work and produce a good image

TFT's? For reading the interweb maybe but destroy arcade game emulation.

You took my comment WAY out of context there dude, to the point where I don't think you understood what I was writing. What you snipped isn't even a complete sentence.

What I was alluding to is that the CRT's that are so great for MAME cabs aren't getting DVI and HDMI inputs because everyone wants flat panels for monitors and TV's. We're in a very small group that is actually looking for 4:3 CRT's with advanced inputs.

[TOK]

Is it hard to find a TV with a SCART socket in the States? It's the best method to turn a TV into an arcade monitor if you can get hold of one. You just wire a VGA cable to a SCART plug and plug it into an ArcadeVGA card.

Since it originated in France, its our duty as Americans to reject SCART whether its good or not. 

Just kidding.

The US is a hodge-podge of assorted inputs, but DVI and HDMI are pretty much becoming the standard. The thing is, everyone is going to flat panel monitors so CRTs aren't really getting much limelight so they're saddled with component inputs at best. They work and produce a good image, it's just more work to get them going.

I read a post by one guy who said he had a JVC and could access the hidden service menu, and was able to make the overscan work right. You're saying MaLa does this through the software? Pretty cool. I'm not interested in having a high res windows interface. The sole purpose of this machince will be MAME.

I'm a lifelong Mac guy. Does MaLa take a lot of complicated setup? I haven't even gotten to the frontend question.

Yes. I read all the same posts when I started using a TV. My Toshiba has a service menu, and I was also able to get things working with Powerstrip, but ultimately found out MaLa could do what I needed done without doing either. Its at easy as inputting the resolution you want in MaLa's configuration menus.
It was so easy, I couldn't believe that it worked after reading all the stuff people were going through.

I'll take pictures of my Windows desktop, the MaLa configuration and MAME running and post them if it'll help you get a handle on things.

[rubberpoultry]

Thanks man! THis is one of the last problems to solve. I found an old JVC AV27530 27" online (kind of beat up, but the picture is good) which was referred to in the service menu post I'm referring to. I'm not sure if I should take a chance on that or buy something like an Insignia from Best Buy.

[TOK]

Sorry for this huge kludge and the image quality, but here is a step by step account of my cab booting and adjusting the res in MaLa.

The sideways startup! 


Desktop overscan... This is at 640x480 and you can see the Windows toolbar is cut off.


Mala has started and is using it's custom resolution


Right click the mouse and Mala options come up... Hit the Options menu item:


Hideous image quality, but here is the key to the whole thing... After you're in the Options, hit Mame Config, go to the Mame Executable line and hit the Config box. Click Advanced, then Custom Res.
I'm using 640x432.


Donkey Kong at 640x432! 

[rubberpoultry]

OK, I have to make a decision. Do I buy a Refurbished JVC AV 27530 for $240 (shipped), or do I buy a new Insignia for $230 new at best buy? Both fit in the cabinet.

[rubberpoultry]

Sorry for this huge kludge and the image quality, but here is a step by step account of my cab booting and adjusting the res in MaLa.

The sideways startup! 


Desktop overscan... This is at 640x480 and you can see the Windows toolbar is cut off.


Mala has started and is using it's custom resolution


Right click the mouse and Mala options come up... Hit the Options menu item:


Hideous image quality, but here is the key to the whole thing... After you're in the Options, hit Mame Config, go to the Mame Executable line and hit the Config box. Click Advanced, then Custom Res.
I'm using 640x432.


Donkey Kong at 640x432! 

Thanks for your post. That's pretty cool that MaLa will do that. Is it a hard front end to setup for a newbie? Nice cabinet. Do you have smoked glass installed?

[TOK]

The first time I used MaLa was with this cab. It was my first vertical, and I asked which front ends had good vertical support. MaLa and AtomicFE were both mentioned, I downloaded both but tried MaLa first. I literally had this machine swapped to vertical and playing within 15 minutes. I was dreading it due to how much hassle I went through with another front end on my horizontal cab, but setup was a breeze. Some of the menu items are buried a little bit, but they're all clickable and easy to find once you remember a couple of key setup tabs.

I actually discovered the custom resolution thing by accident while messing with Powerstrip. That is the option a lot of guys end up going with, but I think that might be because other cards don't support all the modes ATI does. Since you have a good card, I think your decision on what TV to use is much easier.
I'd be more concerned with one that does an auto power on after being unplugged than service menus, etc.

[TOK]

Sorry, missed your question about the bezel... Yes, that is smoked plexi.
I had difficulty finding a local glass shop that had tempered tinted glass. I wanted to have the machine in a playably complete state by Thanksgiving for company so I went with the plexi. I bought a whole sheet of 1/4" smoked for 84 bucks. It was like 4x6 feet, so I have enough for a lot of projects! 

I love the way it looks, but you have to be careful not to scratch while cleaining. I use a soft cloth and a mix of water and dish detergent. So far no problems.

[rubberpoultry]

I called about 5 places today trying to get a quote for a 25x27 piece of Graylite 14 tempered glass. Prices ranged from $53 to $85. I wonder if plexi is  a better solution. Where'd you get it?

[bb040]

a really good tv for your cab is the model ds27425 from sanyo it will fit in a UAII cab i am using one in mine and a freind of mine is using one in his  ...got it a walmart for 268.00...the speaker are on the bottom and not on the sides ....like i say it will fit in a UAII cab ...i am using an ATI card and component imputs ......looks really good

[TOK]

I called about 5 places today trying to get a quote for a 25x27 piece of Graylite 14 tempered glass. Prices ranged from $53 to $85. I wonder if plexi is  a better solution. Where'd you get it?

That doesn't sound like a bad deal for the glass. I called 4 local glass places and didn't get the response typical to what guys got here... Nobody stocked tinted or tempered glass, and none of them wanted to be bothered with special orders for a 25x28" piece.

I have a young daughter so I wanted either glass that'd shatter into tiny pieces or plastic.
I got it from a local plastics supplier in Ivyland PA... Philly burbs, basically. They were recommended to me by a local guy that has games on location. Seemed like having it shipped would pretty much double the cost.

[rubberpoultry]

Thanks for all the great info guys! This is truly an incredible place.

I went ahead and bought a Best Buy Insignia tonight because it was on sale for $190.  That's $42 off the regular price. It has component in (which I intend to use).

I'm still waiting to hear about the bezel, and I'm going to go with a Last Starfighter (Starfighter) look. I'm a graphic artist, and I recreated the art in Illustrator. I probably should start a thread in the Projects forum, but I'm using mostly prefab parts, so it won't be near as cool as what most people do.

Thanks again!

[TOK]

Let us know how that Insignia TV works for you... I considered getting that one for my horizontal cab, which has a 19" PC monitor in it now, but has enough room for that TV.

Do a search in Project Announcements for Last Starfighter. There is at least one really nicely done Last Starfighter themed cab, and there is also a user here who recreated the game from the movie, and made it available as a free D/L.

[rubberpoultry]

I called Best Buy before buying and they said that it does come on automatically after power is cut. I'm going to pick it up today, so we'll see. I'll report back when I know.

[rubberpoultry]

I picked it up, but I don't have my comp set up yet. I'll make sure to post.

By the way, thanks for mentioning the Starfigher cabinet link. I hadn't seen that. Nice for comparison.