34 replies to this topic

[rhymer]

I'm also interested in fitting a 43" monitor in a standard body. Seems like the BDM4350UC is a popular choice so I would probably want to go with that. I guess it will be about 550mm decased? So what are the options for fitting this in a standard body? I have not built the cabinet yet but I have come up with these ideas and plus and minus for each:

 

1. Build a standard wide body using 18mm plywood. Use a router to remove (550-(560-18*2))/2=13mm on the top on each side so the monitor could lay on top.

+ It will be a standard cabinet.

+ Relatively easy to remove the monitor.

- Maybe hard to get the playfield monitor deep enough into the cabinet? (needs a lot of routing to have it at the recommended 0 degrees)

- Cannot use standard playfield glass.

 

2. Build a little wider than standard body, like 550+18*2=586mm and buy a custom lockdown bar.

+ Easy to fit the monitor

- Wider than standard, may not give a genuine playing experince?

- Cost of custom lockdown bar.

- Cannot use standard playfield glass.

 

3. For the sides, combine 12mm plywood with 4mm plywood by gluing one onto the other. Let the 4mm plywood stick up longer than 12mm so the inside will be 560-4*2=552mm.

- 12+4=16mm and standard is 18mm

- Not sure this is a good construction, maybe the tree will warp etc.

- Cannot use standard playfield glass.

 

4. Use a router to make a track and slide the monitor in from the back.

+ Any playfield angle possible.

- Hard to remove the monitor.

 

Any thoughts or other ideas welcome :-)

Edited by rhymer, 22 July 2017 - 04:23 PM.

[yagesz]

 

I'm also interested in fitting a 43" monitor in a standard body. Seems like the BDM4350UC is a popular choice so I would probably want to go with that. I guess it will be about 550mm decased? So what are the options for fitting this in a standard body? I have not built the cabinet yet but I have come up with these ideas and plus and minus for each:

 

1. Build a standard wide body using 18mm plywood. Use a router to remove (550-(560-18*2))/2=13mm on the top on each side so the monitor could lay on top.

+ It will be a standard cabinet.

+ Relatively easy to remove the monitor.

- Maybe hard to get the playfield monitor deep enough into the cabinet? (needs a lot of routing to have it at the recommended 0 degrees)

- Cannot use standard playfield glass.

 

2. Build a little wider than standard body, like 550+18*2=586mm and buy a custom lockdown bar.

+ Easy to fit the monitor

- Wider than standard, may not give a genuine playing experince?

- Cost of custom lockdown bar.

- Cannot use standard playfield glass.

 

3. For the sides, combine 12mm plywood with 4mm plywood by gluing one onto the other. Let the 4mm plywood stick up longer than 12mm so the inside will be 560-4*2=552mm.

- 12+4=16mm and standard is 18mm

- Not sure this is a good construction, maybe the tree will warp etc.

- Cannot use standard playfield glass.

 

4. Use a router to make a track and slide the monitor in from the back.

+ Any playfield angle possible.

- Hard to remove the monitor.

 

Any thoughts or other ideas welcome :-)

 

#4 is my preference and what I will most likely to. I like that the routed edge covers some of the bezel.

[rhymer]

Yes 4 seems like a good choice. The only drawback as far as I can see is that it will be hard to remove the playfield. I have some regular pinballs and it is not a one man job to move them around. So if the back of the cab is against the wall it would first have to be moved in order to remove the monitor which probably would require help. Anyone have experience with this kind of mounting of the playfield monitor? Can it somehow be constructed so the monitor could be removed from the front?

[yagesz]

I don't see this being possible from the front. I would do #1 if this is your true concern. I have had my machine for a while. I barely get into it for the tv. I can reach everything from my back access.

[rhymer]

Thanks, good to know that back access may be enough. My concern is also that the weight of the cabinet will make it hard to pull away from the wall so I can access the back. Regular pinball machines are quite heavy but maybe virtual pinballs are a bit easier to move since they don't have the weight of a regular play field. I have my machines on rubber feet to not scratch the oak floor, so I cannot really slide them out easily either. Using #2 I think it would be possible to mount the monitor so it could be folded up, same as in this picture. That would probably provide the easiest access to the inside of the cab. But of course that would mean the bezel would be visible. Lots of trade-offs to consider.

 

Regarding #4, do you know of any plans or pictures with examples of using this solution?

 

Regarding the Philips BDM4350UC, I think someone earlier in this thread wanted the visible area of the panel. I found a spec sheet that says "Effective viewing area: 941.2 (H) x 529.4 (V)". Although they don't provide the unit of measure in the sheet I'm guessing it is in millimeters :-).

[BorgDog]

Both my mini cab (sig link here) and my full size (build thread on vpinball.com, same username) have the monitors slide out the back of the cab from routed grooves. Yes, it is a pain in the butt, especially the way I built the full size, but I did it that way on both to minimize side bezel and maximize monitor size. Fortunately once you get it "done" you rarely need to get inside.

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk

[rhymer]

@BorgDog, thanks for the info! Could not find your build thread at vpinball.com, found no way to search the forum over there. Do you have a direct link?

[Thalamus]

 

I don't think the BDM4350UC is the best choice for anyone using a standard size build. I have a widebody. You can see here on the picture how much the monitor builds on the bottom end. What I've done is to attach a TV wall mount to a flat wood surface and that again I lay down resting on some wood "rails" ( don't know the right term here guys ) I've made on both sides.

 

I guess it is possible to de-case it, but, I would still rely on using a tv wall mount, just in order to get it level. It is not like the top and the bottom side look alike.

[BorgDog]

@BorgDog, thanks for the info! Could not find your build thread at vpinball.com, found no way to search the forum over there. Do you have a direct link?

 

Can't direct link to there from here, but this should get you close http://vpinball.com/...wars-wedgehead/

[Brer Frog]

 

I don't think the BDM4350UC is the best choice for anyone using a standard size build. I have a widebody. You can see here on the picture how much the monitor builds on the bottom end. What I've done is to attach a TV wall mount to a flat wood surface and that again I lay down resting on some wood "rails" ( don't know the right term here guys ) I've made on both sides.

 

I guess it is possible to de-case it, but, I would still rely on using a tv wall mount, just in order to get it level. It is not like the top and the bottom side look alike.

 

I had a similar problem with my monitor. The top was straight & the bottom was not. And there were no VESA mounting holes. I would have to buy a VESA adapter bracket that attaches to the monitor where the stand screws on. Instead I used a shorter rail on one side of the cabinet but it was a PITA to get it level.

 

 IMG_2741C.jpg   54.71KB   6 downloads

Edited by Brer Frog, 24 July 2017 - 10:23 PM.

[rhymer]

@Thalamus Thank you! That's something I had not even thought about! So the solution for sliding in the screen would require it to be symmetric in both ends, otherwise it would become quite difficult to get it level. In the case of BDM4350UC in a standard body it would have to be decased because it is 562mm in width (at least that is what the spec says). The viewable width is 529 mm and the inner width of a standard body is 524 mm, so the grooves would cover 5mm of the viewable width which may not be optimal? I wish all manufacturers would provide decased measurements and pictures :-).

 

@BorgDog Found the thread. That is one nice looking build! I think I see what you mean about removing the screen. The way it is built you would have to remove the backbox to slide the screen out right?

 

The option to build a little wider than standard (#2) is looking quite good to me. That way I would not have to decase and could lift the screen up and do work in the cab. The custom lockdown bar is $89 extra but it might be worth it. However most builds I see are standard width, so maybe there are other drawbacks of custom width that I have not thought of?

[BorgDog]

 

@Thalamus ...

 

@BorgDog Found the thread. That is one nice looking build! I think I see what you mean about removing the screen. The way it is built you would have to remove the backbox to slide the screen out right?

 

The option to build a little wider than standard (#2) is looking quite good to me. That way I would not have to decase and could lift the screen up and do work in the cab. The custom lockdown bar is $89 extra but it might be worth it. However most builds I see are standard width, so maybe there are other drawbacks of custom width that I have not thought of?

 

Thanks, and yes must remove backbox to take main screen out. I basically left it out and sitting on an adjacent pinball machine until I was pretty sure that I had everything the way I wanted, and have still taken it out 3-4 times since then.

It might be easier to go wider and make the cabinet to the tv, a lot of the new TV are made so the case is the structure that holds it all together. Other than custom size glass, I can't think of any reason that everything else shouldn't work. I think my custom size tempered glass was around $50. Be sure to tell the glass shop to leave off the temper symbol.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Edited by BorgDog, 25 July 2017 - 05:17 PM.

[Brer Frog]

rhymer -

 

You mentioned the viewable width is 529 mm. But that may not be the de-cased width. From everything I've seen even after you decase a monitor or TV there may be still be some type of border material that holds all the internal panels together. If not then the case/bezel may be holding the panels together. Someone on the forum mentioned this & after decasing their TV it did not properly work anymore because the panels did not line up, or words to that effect. Obviously not all monitors are made the same but it's something to look into before trying to decase it.

 

I think older TV's or monitors may have been easier to decase because they were built bigger & with older methods. Since everything tends to be made cheaper as time goes on I'm guessing manufacturers have a found a way to use the bezel/case to hold things together. Just my 2 cents worth.

[Thalamus]

I think both BorgDog and Brer Frog makes excellent advices here. I love my monitor, and still recommend it, so, go wider. Custom made lockdown bar or widebody.

[wrd1972]

 
I don't think the BDM4350UC is the best choice for anyone using a standard size build. I have a widebody. You can see here on the picture how much the monitor builds on the bottom end. What I've done is to attach a TV wall mount to a flat wood surface and that again I lay down resting on some wood "rails" ( don't know the right term here guys ) I've made on both sides.
 
I guess it is possible to de-case it, but, I would still rely on using a tv wall mount, just in order to get it level. It is not like the top and the bottom side look alike.

The only way that monitor is going in a standard width cab is to de-case it. Even so, its still at the top of my list. I suspect it will de-case nicely just like other larger displays. Maybe someone will try it before I do.