HELP on control pannel for BIG project

[matt.e]

I have just started work on a new cabinet (my first), i have built the cabinet shell but i could use some help building the control pannel. i would like to use it on my PC (win XP) aswell as my cab (and share the monitor but thats sorted) ANYWAY...
can anyone help me on how to build the control (4-player, 1 joystick per player (2 for player 1), 2 trackballs (for use as a mouse aswell), 2 spinners and 6 buttons per player)
seems like a lot but it's a VERY BIG cabinet (2.75m x 2.25m x2m with a 60" plasma screen [non-commercial], when i can afford it)

[AlanS17]

Is there any way you can post a picture of what this whole thing is going to look like?

[meta87]

Is this guy serious?  

I don't see the reason for using a plasma screen. Arcade games will look like crap. They aren't meant to be played on such a high resolution.

[vusteveii]

i've been setting up my mame and control panel on my 42" sony plasma, and can say it looks pretty damn good, high end plasma TVs have very good scalers which make the games look very crisp in whatever resolution.  Im just using an ati 7500 with dvi output.   The biggest distortion comes in the conversion from 4:3 to 16:9, it gives the games a little bit of a horizontal stretch.  Also light guns wont work with the plasma.  I'll take a couple pictures of some games on the plasma later if you're interested.

steve

[AlanS17]

No offense, but it sounds like a waste of a plasma screen to me. I think it would fel too unconventional and there are other places I would rather use a plasma screen of that size.

[vusteveii]

i agree, i was just using it to goof around with mine, a 60" plasma is going to cost damn near 20 grand, but some people have more money then they know what to do with so, to each their own.  You could make a pretty sweet showcase cab with one though.

steve

[TheTick]

Is this guy serious?  

I don't see the reason for using a plasma screen. Arcade games will look like crap. They aren't meant to be played on such a high resolution.

Sadly there are "cheap" plasma displays that don't support HDTV. They are only capable of around 800x600 (or is 800x428.... widescreen after all). Sams Club carries a crappy... er.. cheap Sampo Plasma non-HDTV.

I don't know, Metal Slug and Xmen COTA look pretty darn good on my Toshiba 42" HDTV thru the S-Video jack. I'd be curious to see if the picture improves or worsens with composite and the ATI HD adapter.

[meta87]

If you say so

[vusteveii]

good plasma's have dvi input which is superior to composite.  The difference between dvi and svideo is dramatic, running a dvi on a 1024x1024 screen is very very crisp, the newest hdtv decoders have dvi out on them.  i checked fleabay for 60" plasmas, you can get the zenith or phillips screens for just under 10 grand.  

[AlanS17]

If I had enough money in my budget to buy a plasma screen of that size for my arcade machine I wouldn't use it to buy a plasma screen... I'd just buy an arcade full of machines.

Chances are, though, I'd spend it something totally different like a car or a down-payment on a house or something... Man, being in debt sucks...  I can't even afford the controls on my machine, but I'm gonna go ahead and do it anyways. They may shut off my power at home, but at least my machine is at the frat house so I'll still be able to play it.