Planning to mount my LCD monitor in a horizontal cocktail

[dprush83]

So before settling in on a measured game plan for mounting my 23" LCD monitor in my cabinet I thought I'd post and gather some feedback.  I see there being 2 basic options, but thought I may get some helpful feedback if I posted some pictures.  I'm hoping to get the monitor as close to the glass as possible and will have a custom bezel right under the glass to cover everything up nicely (or, that's the plan!).

Option #1:

There are two trusty supports running across where the original arcade monitor sat.  My LCD monitor doesn't have anywhere to screw anything on the back, but I'm sure I can figure that out and would plan to attach the entire monitor to a square sized board--raising enough height on the existing supports until I bring everything close to the glass.



Option #2:

Bracket to the part that lifts off the cabinet, probably again attaching the monitor to wood that is then bracketed to the piece itself.  I'm not sure about the stability, but if this worked out it would be nice to be able to lift the monitor up out of the cabinet to work on everything else.




And of course, if there is an option #3 that is superior and I haven't seen it please let me know! 

[Peja]

I am still using an  arcade monitor, but when I switch I will probably buy a cheap wall mount from monoprice.com.  I have seen them under 20 dollars and have an adjustable arm. Could mount it to the back of the cab and can pull it as far out or push as far in as you want.  Might be an option???

[dprush83]

I am still using an  arcade monitor, but when I switch I will probably buy a cheap wall mount from monoprice.com.  I have seen them under 20 dollars and have an adjustable arm. Could mount it to the back of the cab and can pull it as far out or push as far in as you want.  Might be an option???

Interesting, I'll take a look at that tonight!  So essentially, the arm can raise the monitor straight up and you can stabilize it to where it doesn't fall back down towards the base?

[Peja]

I guess I misunderstood what you were doing.  Instead of mounting it to the bottom, which i'm sure you still could, why not mount it on the back of the cabinet?  Those mounts  can  swivel in all directions and tilt up and down.  Those mounts have holes to mount to the back of the monitor.  Most monitors screw holes are vesa compatible and 75mm x 75mm.   I'm sure others may have a better idea though.  Good luck!!

[dprush83]

I think the ease would be appealing, but since it is a cocktail and will be viewable from all sides I'm not sure I'd trust that much pressure when the attachment to the side wouldn't even go all the way through the 3/4" wood panel. I don't know too much about the construction so maybe it's a non-issue.

[Peja]

I'm such an idiot......didn't realize it was a cocktail!  My phone didn't show the pictures very well.  You could still use the flat mount low profile mount and attach it to those cross beams, or you could use a flat piece of board like you said earlier.

It shouldn't be too hard.  I'm not even finished with my cabinet and i'm already planning on a cocktail or bar  after my juke.......lots of fun to be had.

[kahlid74]

I would create another wood support structure under the two "trusty" supports you see and use a wall mounting for it.  This wood support structure would go across the cab, kind of like a piece of Plywood screwed into some 2x4 or 2x6's with wood glue too! 

I would then use a mounting like this:

http://www.amazon.com/VideoSecu-Monitor-Panel-Maximum-Loading/dp/B000VKCIJU/ref=sr_1_38?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1331560242&sr=1-38

[dprush83]

I would create another wood support structure under the two "trusty" supports you see and use a wall mounting for it.  This wood support structure would go across the cab, kind of like a piece of Plywood screwed into some 2x4 or 2x6's with wood glue too! 

I would then use a mounting like this:

http://www.amazon.com/VideoSecu-Monitor-Panel-Maximum-Loading/dp/B000VKCIJU/ref=sr_1_38?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1331560242&sr=1-38

Got it - this makes complete sense.  My only remaining question, then--I've seen several cocktails that have the screen mounted perfectly near the glass (as I will do), but to avoid seeing the monitor shell or anything else is it simply a matter of making sure the bezel art is sized and cut accurately?  Or is there something that should be put between the monitor and the art to ease into one another?

Thanks for the amazon link, the ability to slide the monitor in and out could be very useful and easy to work with!

[kahlid74]

Well certainly you'll want a bezel but whether you go with a plastic bezel, a wood bezel or even just the glass/plexi top and a bezel spray painted black, it will all depend on where you put the monitor.

So if you've got one of those fancy plastic bezels that's contour shaped, then you'd probably want the monitor sitting lower.  If instead you go for the plexi/glass with spray painted bezel then you could have the monitor real close.

As a test, I would suggest making a "stable" tower out of wood that stands maybe 6-10 inches under the glass.  Then using a few books move the monitor up and down inside the cab and see where you like the feel of it.  I've never worked on a cocktail cab before but my gut feeling would be the closer to the top the better, since the viewing angle will be affected by how far sunk in the monitor is.

[Unstupid]

As a test, I would suggest making a "stable" tower out of wood that stands maybe 6-10 inches under the glass.  Then using a few books move the monitor up and down inside the cab and see where you like the feel of it.  I've never worked on a cocktail cab before but my gut feeling would be the closer to the top the better, since the viewing angle will be affected by how far sunk in the monitor is.

My gut tells me the exact opposite...  The closer it is to the glass the more you are looking at the monitor from the side and with LCD panels the closer to get to the sides the uglier the picture looks.  When you move the monitor down away from the glass you are looking more down on the monitor which will result in a better field of view.  

[dprush83]

As a test, I would suggest making a "stable" tower out of wood that stands maybe 6-10 inches under the glass.  Then using a few books move the monitor up and down inside the cab and see where you like the feel of it.  I've never worked on a cocktail cab before but my gut feeling would be the closer to the top the better, since the viewing angle will be affected by how far sunk in the monitor is.

My gut tells me the exact opposite...  The closer it is to the glass the more you are looking at the monitor from the side and with LCD panels the closer to get to the sides the uglier the picture looks.  When you move the monitor down away from the glass you are looking more down on the monitor which will result in a better field of view.  

I'm not sure this will be as much of an issue since it is a horizontal cocktail--so I'll still be viewing it from bottom/top.  When I get home from work I'm going to play around with alignments and viewing angles, though.

[dprush83]

To follow up on that, I guess the results are sort of in the middle.  There isn't much of a distinction from the angle I view the monitor from, but it does appear that it isn't very forgiving when I'm sitting near the monitor itself.  Before I play around with have it too low (which isn't ideal) does anybody know if there are any "optimum" settings to test the monitor.  I'm awful at messing with viewing options, so I've played with increasing brightness a touch...is there much more to it than that?

[kahlid74]

I'm not super knowledgeable on that but I would guess it's more to do with what brand of monitor you're using and the angle you're viewing it from.  Some of the super experienced guys might be able to add more than I can.

[DNA Dan]

To follow up on that, I guess the results are sort of in the middle.  There isn't much of a distinction from the angle I view the monitor from, but it does appear that it isn't very forgiving when I'm sitting near the monitor itself.  Before I play around with have it too low (which isn't ideal) does anybody know if there are any "optimum" settings to test the monitor.  I'm awful at messing with viewing options, so I've played with increasing brightness a touch...is there much more to it than that?

One thing to consider is if you're going to use greylite or some sort of shaded glass/plexi over it to increase the blacks. You may have to have the brightness or contrast turned all the way up if you decide to go that route. Whatever you decide, I would have that on hand in front of the monitor before you test any settings. You may find certain angles give you glare or a reflection with the glass in front. Be sure to test the "real situation" and not just the monitor laying flat.

[wonger]

Not sure if this helps, but I was able to come up with an adjustable setup that can set the monitor flush with the glass using 4 bolts and 12 nuts (and 12 washers, of course). You can check it out here:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,122383.0.html

Hope that helps!