I just got an insane (and probably pricy idea)

[saurian333]

Yes, quite expensive.

Still a good call, though; hadn't thought of USB monitors.  You can find similar USB monitors minus the touchscreen functionality for under $100 if you look (sorry, don't have a link handy at the moment).  Still more expensive than, say, a $40 digital frame.  Not sure how far you're willing to go with the cost of this beast, but that might be an option.

[ark_ader]

Depends on how minuscule your details are about this.  Can you be happy with part of the machine in "Theme" or just part of it?

Yes projection is possible, but noisy and still there is a heat issue.

Mirror reflection too will be expensive.

Now there are two ways to go about this that would be plausible,  and economic versus the options already discussed.

Roller.   I tried to create a drive motor that would change the marquee to the game I was playing via vinyl printed marquees (easily achievable), but up to a number of games I played.  I usually just play 10 games out of 4000.  

You can go about the same idea but with acetate film sheets in front of a light box with some coloured filters.  Shadows yes, but minimal.

Touch.

Now I know I will get some flames out of this, but if you mount your LCD in such a way that the joysticks were integrated into the Control panel flush with the LCD you could use "touch" for the buttons.  I do not know of any lag issues, but it would sure be a good starting point, especially as they have a touch matrix that can be applied via USB for those EEPCs.  Just go one step forward and get a bigger one.  Marry it to a LCD marquee (since we are talking pie in the sky) to a custom style cab like the Mappy cab.



Hopefully you can see where I was going with this...

Then some draw some overlay to create the look of buttons, a bit like how the MAME artwork will be displayed.

maybe you can experiment with a another usb powered led slim light-boxes for the sides of the cab to create some atmosphere......

You can pick up some pretty cheap 14" or 15" wide screen LCDs like the Nova LCM-1540W.

Sure does sound better than hot & noisy.

Tricky but I would like to see some examples if anyone tried it.

Also buy three PCI graphic cards to drive the other screens.

[drventure]

That could be cool, but the problem I see with touchscreens for the buttons isn't so much lag, as it is multitouch.

Plenty of games flat out rely on being able to hit more than 1 button at the same time. If you have 2 screens, one for p1 and one for p2, that removes the "two players trying to hit 2 buttons at the same time" problem, but it doesn't help with a single player hitting 2 buttons simultaneously.

Plus, I'm definitely no purist, but having physical buttons that press for some haptic feedback seems like a big part of the experience. Take that away, and I wonder how it'd feel

I think the "wait till we have flexible cutable screens" idea is probably about the only realistic thing to do here, although the projector idea seems like it +could+ work, but it'd be tricky to pull it off.

[rooter]

Maybe you could find two stretched LCD's and put one above and one below the controls.  Put generic graphics that will fit in with any game across the strip.  Not the perfect solution, but it seems like something that's actually doable.

[Brutal E]

The picture frame idea is simple and will work. You buy all the same and make sure they come with a remote. When you mount them you make sure that you leave a pin hole over the infrared sensor. Buy cheap SD card for each of them. They usually have a USB jack on them so run USB to each and then to a hub so you can add stuff with out having to get to the frames once they are mounted. Switch them all on an put them on one power strip. Have each card with the templates in order as pictures. You then can point the remote at the panel and push next and all frames move on to the next template. Accent the panel in luminescent overlay, maybe some neon string to mix it up and boom you got a pretty cool custom panel. 

[saurian333]

The picture frame idea is simple and will work. You buy all the same and make sure they come with a remote. When you mount them you make sure that you leave a pin hole over the infrared sensor. Buy cheap SD card for each of them. They usually have a USB jack on them so run USB to each and then to a hub so you can add stuff with out having to get to the frames once they are mounted. Switch them all on an put them on one power strip. Have each card with the templates in order as pictures. You then can point the remote at the panel and push next and all frames move on to the next template. Accent the panel in luminescent overlay, maybe some neon string to mix it up and boom you got a pretty cool custom panel. 

Yes, that will work as described, but I got the impression from the OP that the idea was to have them switch automatically when a game is loaded.

Although, if one remote will indeed change all the displays at once, it's not the worst solution I can think of.

[Brutal E]

As long as you buy the same brand the remote will work. Even if the frames are different sizes they still only make one style of remote. I have a couple of these that are different sizes but same brand. They use the same remote.

[saurian333]

As long as you buy the same brand the remote will work. Even if the frames are different sizes they still only make one style of remote. I have a couple of these that are different sizes but same brand. They use the same remote.

Well, yes, naturally.  Generally, as long as they're of the same "line," they'll probably have the same remote.  But some companies might issue separate units and their remotes random code pairings to prevent 2 or 3 from changing when you want to change a specific one.  I doubt that's very common, though, especially among cheaper ones.  Just have to experiment, I guess; take advantage of Wal-Mart's relaxed return policy.

[SavannahLion]

It's a dead thread but here's an interesting projector project.

It could also probably be adapted to use as a marquee.

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Multimedia-LED-Projector/

[saurian333]

It's a dead thread but here's an interesting projector project.

It could also probably be adapted to use as a marquee.

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Multimedia-LED-Projector/

That is a very cool project; I might give that a shot.  And holy crap, those small LCD screens have gotten quite cheap.

[Ed_McCarron]

Now if you could only hide all that wiring and stuff.........................

Run the wiring straight down towards the projector.  Make the mess below the light.

[saurian333]

Now if you could only hide all that wiring and stuff.........................

Run the wiring straight down towards the projector.  Make the mess below the light.

The wiring would still have to angle at some point to get around the projector.  Thus, you would still see shadows.

[drventure]

I think his idea is that closer you get the wires to the light source, the more diffused the shadows would be. I could see that possibly helping, but it'd just take some experimentation.

[Ed_McCarron]

I think his idea is that closer you get the wires to the light source, the more diffused the shadows would be. I could see that possibly helping, but it'd just take some experimentation.

Yes.  The hope would be that the shadows would be out of focus enough to not be noticable.

[saurian333]

I think his idea is that closer you get the wires to the light source, the more diffused the shadows would be. I could see that possibly helping, but it'd just take some experimentation.

Yes.  The hope would be that the shadows would be out of focus enough to not be noticable.

Good point, I hadn't thought of that.  </durrr>   Good call, Ed.

In fact, since light would be coming from multiple angles, you might manage to wash out the shadows entirely if they're arranged just right.

Yeah, it would take some experimentation, but it would be worthwhile if it works!  I'd experiment with it myself if it wasn't such a damned expensive idea.