Mini Monitors

[thewmster]

I stumbled on these mini monitors:

eBay Link

http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/usb-gadgets/bfa3/

One of the things that is hardest for people playing my cab to understand is what each button does. I have 2 joys with 8 buttons for each stick. It really gets confusing because we usually play emulators which have different buttons and different setups. Usually with each game they pick they have to ask me what each button does. I was thinking I could leave out the middle man (me) and mount one of these mini monitors in a corner of my bezel to show what each button corresponds to as a game is opened. Sure, control cards on the bezel would work, but I think this would add something special to my cab.
Would this be possible? Any one ever work with one of these types of monitors?

[padstack]

I've had drawings drafted for the old PS1 monitors for this application for 2 years and have never gotten the gumption to do it.  I think it would be cool, but a 7" monitor would be a tight squeeze, IMO.  THe PS1 was 5" and was tough to draw in there correctly wihtout making it look like pac-matt from crapmame.

If you can pull it off, let me know.  I'd love to let someone else do the hard work and copy it! 

Is the software capability there to do it now?  I don't know.

[vertygo]

That is a good find. Thanks for sharing it!

I think it would be totally do-able, but yes, the software side of it might be tricky. Something along the lines of detecting the game (how? maybe the window name changes?) then loading up the equivalent named jpg into that little screen.

[Ginsu Victim]

Oh, the software side is pretty easy (I use Mamewah and Irfanview).

[thewmster]

I've had drawings drafted for the old PS1 monitors for this application for 2 years and have never gotten the gumption to do it.  I think it would be cool, but a 7" monitor would be a tight squeeze, IMO.  THe PS1 was 5" and was tough to draw in there correctly wihtout making it look like pac-matt from crapmame.

Right now, I have a 22" widescreen in my cab in a big square monitor opening. It makes the monitor look really small. I am pretty sure that I have enough room to bump the monitor up and locate the mini monitor. Maybe it will take up some of the dead space near the monitor.

I think it would be totally do-able, but yes, the software side of it might be tricky. Something along the lines of detecting the game (how? maybe the window name changes?) then loading up the equivalent named jpg into that little screen.

I've been messing with the program AutoHotkey recently. Great little program. It's pretty much like writing macros for the OS. Anyway, there is a command to detect the active window name and type. As I said earlier, my biggest concern is controls when running an emulator. I think it would be possible, using the program to detect the emulator based on the window type. Based on this, AutoHotkey would open a picture to the mini monitor that would show the controls. I think that that would work for now. Maybe eventually a way could be found to open control diagrams for specific games, but off the top of my head, I'm not sure how that would work. Just thinking about it has convinced me to go ahead and buy it to experiment. Shipping from South Korea to the US could take some time though

[cyork2]

I don't think you need to use a macro or anything like that.  I'm sure there are several options but the first one that comes to mind is to use a front end that is based on the windows screen resolution etc.  With that you just setup windows as dual monitor, create a layout that is big enough to cover both monitors and position everything where you need it to fit the two screens (with one of those CP viewer programs on the small screen of course).  Actually it might be easier than that once you get into it.. but I definitely think there is an easier way than trying to create your own macros since Front Ends have code built into them to launch a CP viewer program with the currently selected game as a parameter.

[Beretta]

that would be pretty cool idea, i think it's doable.

keep us posted im interested in seeing how this turns out.

[thewmster]

I don't think you need to use a macro or anything like that.  I'm sure there are several options but the first one that comes to mind is to use a front end that is based on the windows screen resolution etc.  With that you just setup windows as dual monitor, create a layout that is big enough to cover both monitors and position everything where you need it to fit the two screens (with one of those CP viewer programs on the small screen of course).  Actually it might be easier than that once you get into it.. but I definitely think there is an easier way than trying to create your own macros since Front Ends have code built into them to launch a CP viewer program with the currently selected game as a parameter.

I am currently using the Hyperspin FE and I don't after searching those forums, I don't think it has a CP viewer. Any one else running Hyperspin and can confirm?

Oh, the software side is pretty easy (I use Mamewah and Irfanview).

I checked out that project on the forum. That is precisely what I want to be able to do. How effective is the frontend for doing this? You may just get me to switch.

[javeryh]

I've been wanting to make a micro bartop out of a PSOne 5" LCD screen I've got laying around but I have no idea how to interface it with a computer running MAME... too bad the ones in the OP are WS...

[mini77]

I think thats the problem with LCDs in general.  I struggled to find anything 4:3 in LCD locally.

[Invincer]

Tempest over on the GameEx forums (Morpheus here) has created a program called Marquee Magician that willl pop up images of the current MAME game on a seconday monitor using GameEx. I have it runnning on a 7" touchscreen off to the side (haven't installed it above the main monitor yet). It's great, it allows you to choose what folders to pull the images from be it a combination of CPs, cabinets, flyers, etc... even statistics. I have been talkingg to him this week and he is going to look into seeing if he can get it working for HyperSpin also. He posted here about it also but I don't think anyone took him up on trying to make it available on other FEs when he offered the source.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=89664.0

Just a little FYI because I for one can't wait to have it working in HS as good as it does in GameEx

[padstack]

I've been wanting to make a micro bartop out of a PSOne 5" LCD screen I've got laying around but I have no idea how to interface it with a computer running MAME... too bad the ones in the OP are WS...

Could you just use a TV out?  I'm not sure how Micro you are talking though...  Also, you could do the PS1 VGA hack.

[Morpheus]

If all you want to do is display your CP, then use CPWizard by HeadKaze. It has an option to output to monitor 2.

[Ginsu Victim]

CPWizard, unless it has finally been updated to do so, does not allow you to load an image and keep it there on startup. You have to pause.

[garwil]

You might be able to send the pause key on launching MAME using an AHK script or something...