The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls

Main => News Board => Topic started by: Mameroom on May 28, 2019, 08:40:31 pm

Title: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Mameroom on May 28, 2019, 08:40:31 pm
Northcoast Custom Arcades is proud to announce the latest in our product line.  Our new LED Pixel Marquee!  Supports animation.  Will display the currently selected game (if artwork exists) and you can even customize or make your own images.

https://www.facebook.com/257950001951/videos/622570884891804/

(http://www.mameroom.com/images/LEDPixelMarquee1.gif)
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Mike A on May 29, 2019, 01:44:06 am
Why is there an ad in site news? An ad that was already posted elsewhere.
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: PL1 on May 29, 2019, 01:55:58 am
Why is there an ad in site news? An ad that was already posted elsewhere.
Vendors want to introduce a new product on the front page? New software release? Something happening in the game industry? Feel free to post it here.


Scott
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Mike A on May 29, 2019, 01:57:33 am
Okay. I guess posting in two places makes sense to someone.
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: pbj on May 29, 2019, 02:02:11 am
$?
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: PL1 on May 29, 2019, 02:16:13 am
Here are some relevant details from their website.
Quote
Supports 128x32 resolution
*Dimensions: 27"x7.4375"

$349.99


Scott
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Howard_Casto on May 29, 2019, 02:29:44 am
$349?!?

I've built entire cabinets for less than that.  27" is also an odd size considering most real cabs are around 2 feet wide. 
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Mameroom on May 29, 2019, 05:33:14 am
We are working with our supplier to get costs down.  Once we determine the demand, we can buy components in bulk to decrease the price.  As far as the size, we felt the best place to start was with our own brand of cabinets.  We will also be coming out with different sizes to accommodate different cabinets.

Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Rockstead on May 29, 2019, 07:49:12 am
We are working with our supplier to get costs down.  Once we determine the demand, we can buy components in bulk to decrease the price.  As far as the size, we felt the best place to start was with our own brand of cabinets.  We will also be coming out with different sizes to accommodate different cabinets.

What about an encasing for stand alone? I want to mount it above my wall mounted TV which is used for a pedestal.
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Mameroom on May 29, 2019, 08:29:31 am
What about an encasing for stand alone? I want to mount it above my wall mounted TV which is used for a pedestal.

That is actually one of the products we will be introducing.  We can make a low profile box from textured ABS that would make a great wall hanging.  If this is something you would like to move forward with, we would design and manufacture the box at no additional charge with marquee purchase.
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Rockstead on May 29, 2019, 10:05:22 am
What about an encasing for stand alone? I want to mount it above my wall mounted TV which is used for a pedestal.

That is actually one of the products we will be introducing.  We can make a low profile box from textured ABS that would make a great wall hanging.  If this is something you would like to move forward with, we would design and manufacture the box at no additional charge with marquee purchase.

I’m very interested but I’m kind of hesitant to be an early adopter, I want to see how much wider you will make these.

My screen will be in the area of 55”-60”,  and I don’t know how well the current size Marquee will look mounted above it when it’s that much smaller, maybe it will work.
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Howard_Casto on May 29, 2019, 01:28:53 pm
I think they are cool, just not sure how useable they are going to be unless you've made marquee images for most of the games in mame.  I know that with led arrays the low resolution is a necessity, but it means that marquee images simply can't be scaled down and look ok... they've really got to be optimized for that small size.  Logos with transparent backgrounds would probably scale better. 

I'd like to see a company get one of those lcd monitor cutters and offer displays cut at a fee.  That'd probably take care of the different sized marquee issue. 

Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: pbj on May 29, 2019, 03:06:35 pm
$350 gets you a 50"+ 4k TV these days....
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: pbj on May 29, 2019, 03:07:48 pm
$350 gets you a 50"+ 4k TV these days....
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Rockstead on May 29, 2019, 03:15:24 pm
I think they are cool, just not sure how useable they are going to be unless you've made marquee images for most of the games in mame.  I know that with led arrays the low resolution is a necessity, but it means that marquee images simply can't be scaled down and look ok... they've really got to be optimized for that small size.  Logos with transparent backgrounds would probably scale better. 

I'd like to see a company get one of those lcd monitor cutters and offer displays cut at a fee.  That'd probably take care of the different sized marquee issue.

Mame already has an option to display Marquee on a 2nd screen, you think current Marquee’s would have to be re-worked to use with this?
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Rockstead on May 29, 2019, 03:27:42 pm
$350 gets you a 50"+ 4k TV these days....


True but it doesn’t have that Marquee feel using such a large screen, and these smaller screens are not common enough to be sold at standard sized screen pricing, but yeah I would like it cheaper too.

This was a similar offering, it’s an ultra wide thin LCD used in advertising, $360USD from alibaba.

https://m.alibaba.com/product/60817861994/Indoor-Android-System-21-5-Inch.html?s=p&spm=a2706.7843299.1998817009.1.777e3c3bdXeI5z

It’s in the same price range, not sure which one would be better, maybe The NorthCoast custom one because it feels more Arcady.
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on May 29, 2019, 04:05:27 pm
Here are some relevant details from their website.
Quote
Supports 128x32 resolution
*Dimensions: 27"x7.4375"

$349.99


Scott

$350 gets you a 50"+ 4k TV these days....


True but it doesn’t have that Marquee feel using such a large screen, and these smaller screens are not common enough to be sold at standard sized screen pricing, but yeah I would like it cheaper too.

This was a similar offering, it’s an ultra wide thin LCD used in advertising, $360USD from alibaba.

https://m.alibaba.com/product/60817861994/Indoor-Android-System-21-5-Inch.html?s=p&spm=a2706.7843299.1998817009.1.777e3c3bdXeI5z

It’s in the same price range, not sure which one would be better, maybe The NorthCoast custom one because it feels more Arcady.

Looking at similarly dimensioned RGB LED panels, you could chain two of these together https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14718 and approximate the display area, at 20"x5" with the same resolution of 128x32.

Looking at this project using a 32x32 panel, I'm a little surprised just how reasonable a random image looks scaled to that size.
https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/live-spotify-album-art-display
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Gilrock on May 29, 2019, 05:31:12 pm
If you look at this Thingiverse item I posted you can see one of the panels I built.  This posting provides the brackets that held the panels together and I created a battery holder and a mount for the BeagleBone Black that runs it with an Octoscroller daughter card.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2524502 (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2524502)
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Rockstead on May 29, 2019, 05:42:23 pm
Here are some relevant details from their website.
Quote
Supports 128x32 resolution
*Dimensions: 27"x7.4375"

$349.99


Scott

$350 gets you a 50"+ 4k TV these days....


True but it doesn’t have that Marquee feel using such a large screen, and these smaller screens are not common enough to be sold at standard sized screen pricing, but yeah I would like it cheaper too.

This was a similar offering, it’s an ultra wide thin LCD used in advertising, $360USD from alibaba.

https://m.alibaba.com/product/60817861994/Indoor-Android-System-21-5-Inch.html?s=p&spm=a2706.7843299.1998817009.1.777e3c3bdXeI5z

It’s in the same price range, not sure which one would be better, maybe The NorthCoast custom one because it feels more Arcady.

Looking at similarly dimensioned RGB LED panels, you could chain two of these together https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14718 and approximate the display area, at 20"x5" with the same resolution of 128x32.

Looking at this project using a 32x32 panel, I'm a little surprised just how reasonable a random image looks scaled to that size.
https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/live-spotify-album-art-display

I’m seeing 128x64 versions on eBay 10x5 for $60 range, and even packages of 2 10x5  (64x32) on amazon for under $70.

If I’m not mistaken, this is identical to the NorthCoast customs offering as it’s not encased in anything, probably two panels daisy chained.

To use this with Mame, how would I convert this to HDMI for secondary screen display of marquee?
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Gilrock on May 29, 2019, 07:18:43 pm
It's like 2 of these side by side:
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/64x32pixel-P5mm-Indoor-2121-SMD-3in1-full-color-LED-Display-Screen-unit-panel-module-size-320mm/701799_32864834943.html?spm=2114.12010612.8148356.4.44f35999jUnCKy (https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/64x32pixel-P5mm-Indoor-2121-SMD-3in1-full-color-LED-Display-Screen-unit-panel-module-size-320mm/701799_32864834943.html?spm=2114.12010612.8148356.4.44f35999jUnCKy)
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Howard_Casto on May 29, 2019, 11:23:29 pm
You wouldn't convert it to hdmi because that is silly.... the resolution is too low to be useful for anything other than a sign.  You hook it to an Arduino and pump it images via the serial port.  Don't get me wrong, someone clever could probably do it, even with the same Arduino, but it's hardly worth the effort. 
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Gilrock on May 30, 2019, 09:41:28 am
Actually I already have software that could be used to do this but I'm probably not going to run panels like this on my arcade cab.  Just look at one of the songs I had on my house this past Christmas.  Above the garage is a P10 panel matrix, to the right of the driveway is a smaller P10 matrix that shows viewers which FM station I'm broadcasting on, and then at the edge of my driveway is a small P5 matrix that advertises free candy canes.

Little Drummer Boy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0i91LT7-0I)
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Mike A on May 30, 2019, 09:45:41 am
At first I thought it was one of the control panels people here are building. Then I put the video full screen and realized it was a house.

That is an impressive display. I am sure it takes an impressive amount of work every year.
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Gilrock on May 30, 2019, 09:47:13 am
Well I realized I linked the wrong song.  That was 2 years ago and the candy cane sign was P10 back then.  This video is a little closer up view.  Didn't want to post again but sorry there was no button to edit the other post.

Little Drummer Boy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz5pgj1oTak)
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Titchgamer on June 09, 2019, 07:24:33 am
If I could get these at custom sizes at a reasonable price I would be all over them but at 350? No way could I drop that mullah for a marquee.

Its cool and I want one but not that bad heh
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Rockstead on June 09, 2019, 09:36:24 am
If I could get these at custom sizes at a reasonable price I would be all over them but at 350? No way could I drop that mullah for a marquee.

Its cool and I want one but not that bad heh

Agreed, and for $600 you can buy an actual LCD Marquee from Alibaba.

What about the links above and purchasing the LCD Matrix panels directly  from various sellers for a fraction of the price, seems to be identical.
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on June 10, 2019, 09:03:10 am
What about the links above and purchasing the LCD Matrix panels directly  from various sellers for a fraction of the price, seems to be identical.

Hardware might be identical, but there's no software with those. Going from images on a computer to displaying on your raw hardware is not a trivial matter. The biggest draw for this marquee is that it's being positioned as a plug and play upgrade, rather than a hardware/software diy.
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Rockstead on June 10, 2019, 09:37:57 am
What about the links above and purchasing the LCD Matrix panels directly  from various sellers for a fraction of the price, seems to be identical.

Hardware might be identical, but there's no software with those. Going from images on a computer to displaying on your raw hardware is not a trivial matter. The biggest draw for this marquee is that it's being positioned as a plug and play upgrade, rather than a hardware/software diy.

HyperMarquee is an add-on for Hyperspin and is used to display Marquees on a secondary screen.

I’m just not sure if it works in this case where the secondary screen is serial.
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on June 10, 2019, 10:54:25 am
Nope, that's just for a secondary monitor in Windows, and with raw panels you're nowhere near that yet. You'd be looking to integrate something like this DVI->LED system:
https://www.adafruit.com/product/1453
And by that point, you should have just purchased the actual marquee.
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Howard_Casto on June 13, 2019, 09:44:19 pm
You act like software is the stumbling block here.... it really isn't.  Arduinos can be setup as a serial device via one of the templates and mamehooker can send serial commands as well as do a series of commands via a script.  All that's needed is a piece of middleware to size down images to the appropriate resolution, read each pixel color and write a script to change each pixel.   Sounds a lot more complicated then it is. 

As I mentioned earlier, the real stumbling block is the lack of content.  Some marquees scale well as-is and some don't. 
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: newmanfamilyvlogs on June 14, 2019, 08:59:38 am
You act like software is the stumbling block here.... it really isn't.  Arduinos can be setup as a serial device via one of the templates and mamehooker can send serial commands as well as do a series of commands via a script.  All that's needed is a piece of middleware to size down images to the appropriate resolution, read each pixel color and write a script to change each pixel.   Sounds a lot more complicated then it is. 

As I mentioned earlier, the real stumbling block is the lack of content.  Some marquees scale well as-is and some don't. 

I always forget about mamehooker because I've never had an opportunity to do something with it. Issuing serial commands to an arduino sounded trickier in my head before that. Sending a raw RGB array over serial doesn't sound so bad when you put it that way.
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Pasqualz on July 11, 2019, 06:57:14 pm
What about using a micro projector in the cabinet aimed at a piece of semi-transparent material on the marquee? It just looks like another monitor to your Computer.
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: Nephasth on July 27, 2019, 11:48:43 pm
What about using a micro projector in the cabinet aimed at a piece of semi-transparent material on the marquee? It just looks like another monitor to your Computer.

Griff-richer did it with leotards... Just because something can be done, doesn't mean it should...

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,130727.msg1342040.html#msg1342040
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: patrickfx1 on September 08, 2019, 08:58:05 am
Definitely worth a look and maybe a buy!
Title: Re: Northcoast Custom Arcades New LED Pixel Marquee
Post by: tommyinajar on September 29, 2019, 12:06:39 pm
https://ledpixelart.com/pixelcade/