Golden Age Arcade Build Monitor Aspect

[1-UP]

What aspect works best in a retro MAME type cab with multiple games?

[PL1]

The correct answer depends on your games list.

You did make a games list, right?  That's step 2 under "What type of build meets my needs?" in the FAQ. (Link to the wiki is near the top of the page.)

If your list includes both vertical and horizontal games, you may want to consider one cab for vertical and another for horizontal or a rotating monitor setup or a partly-blocked vertical WS with a centered square display area like markiej is doing with his SquareVision Max cab.


Scott

[benarcade]

I like the 20in 4:3 monitors mounted horizontally. 19in are easier to find. The vertical games look fine with the black borders, but it won't look as nifty as a dedicated vertical with a bezel.

[leapinlew]

If you want 1 cabinet to rule them all, go with a large monitor mounted horizontal.

[Howard_Casto]

It also depends upon the resolution of the monitor used.  If it's an arcade monitor then the orientation needs to match your game list but if it's a modern monitor with a svga or larger resolution then as the others have mentioned a big-assed horizontal monitor can handle a huge game list pretty well as vertical games will still look fine. 

[keilmillerjr]

With my horizontal monitor, I can get away with running horizontal variants of some normally vertical games. Like strikers 1945+ for neo geo.

However, if your into vertical games, there are plenty of vertical games to warrant a dedicated vert cab.

[1-UP]

The correct answer depends on your games list.

You did make a games list, right?  That's step 2 under "What type of build meets my needs?" in the FAQ. (Link to the wiki is near the top of the page.)

If your list includes both vertical and horizontal games, you may want to consider one cab for vertical and another for horizontal or a rotating monitor setup or a partly-blocked vertical WS with a centered square display area like markiej is doing with his SquareVision Max cab.


Scott

I did yes, for a vertical nintendo cab. Someone had done most of the work with an image for the raspberry pi. Then I changed my mind on the artwork and went for Popeye which is the same cab but with a horizontal screen.

I was thinking of having a vertical screen cabinet for retro stuff and a bigger screen horizontal cab for more modern arcade games. Although, tapper is one of my favorites. Shame its not vertical, it could have so easily been done that way.

A 5:4 ratio 20" is closer to a 19" CRT although not as easy to find cheaply.

[markiej]

The correct answer depends on your games list.

You did make a games list, right?  That's step 2 under "What type of build meets my needs?" in the FAQ. (Link to the wiki is near the top of the page.)

If your list includes both vertical and horizontal games, you may want to consider one cab for vertical and another for horizontal or a rotating monitor setup or a partly-blocked vertical WS with a centered square display area like markiej is doing with his SquareVision Max cab.


Scott

I ended up abandoning that design, due to a skills limitation, and went horizontal instead.  I still think it's a pretty sound design if you want size parity between vertical and horizontal games.  It's the software equivalent of a rotating monitor.

[1-UP]

The square monitor idea is pretty cool. I've not seen that before. I know a bit about raspberry pi screen setup so if anyone needs to know how to effectively cut off that top part when using emulation station (retropie) id be happy to assist. Basically, there's a config file which can be changed.