Air Traffic Control Monitors!

[twistedsymphony]

In one of the arcade facebook groups I saw the discussion come up about the lack of 4:3 LCDs in the 27-29in size range. I mean this discussion has been beaten to death right?

Well someone mentioned that they worked in Air Traffic control and that the monitors they use are 1:1 and 2Kx2K resolution... and guess what. they're available in large sizes... AND they're also typically built to support RGBS for integration with older hardware!

Unfortunately this person also mentioned that whey they first came out they were $40K and have since dropped to only $10K

Supposedly a big part of the price is that they have to meet all kind of strict regulations including the size/shape and durability. I'd be willing to bet that these are close to lag free too... I can't imagine they have any tolerance for that in Air Traffic Control.


but check this out:
https://www.spartonre.com/airtrafficcontrol/28-1-2k-x-2k-flat-panel-display/


28.1in 2048x2048 resolution and RGB BNC connectors on the back!

Granted I don't think anyone is interested in spending $10K on one of these, but it's something that might be worth keeping an eye out for on the used market, liquidation sales and government auctions.

 

[Psyko-M1]

28.1in 2048x2048 resolution and RGB BNC connectors on the back!

Baby got BACKplane... wow!

 

[Derick2k]

Ive been keeping my eyes on these types of monitors for a while, they are just too dam expensive. I have been checking liquidation/auctions sites too and havent found these yet.

 

[twistedsymphony]

There are a couple of 19in ones on eBay right now for about $150 each.

obviously the size is too small for our needs but it could be worth just to determine compatibility with typical arcade resolutions, lag test, etc.

 

[kuze]

1:1 aspect ratio presents a problem though right?

 

[twistedsymphony]

1:1 aspect ratio presents a problem though right?

not if it supports letterboxing.

the point is that 1:1 is a lot closer to 4:3 than 16:9

and the resolutions that these run mean you could do 6X scaling

 

[SNK-NEO-GEO]

Let me be "that guy for a sec" this is still an LCD, even if it is a 4:3 what is the use case? I don't see anything that we can not already do on a Vewlix even if it is not a 4:3 monitor on those cabs.. a kit on those cady cabs would work with 27" 16:9 LCD. More real state is good on 4:3 and all but it is still an LCD..

 

[twistedsymphony]

a kit on those cady cabs would work with 27" 16:9 LCD

a 27in wide-screen LCD would give you essentially a 22in 4:3 screen. which is just a Joke really.

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the biggest use for a 27/29in 4:3 LCD is for games like Daytona USA or Initial D where you're already dealing with Medium Res or VGA and the cabs don't have room for a wide-screen disiplay unless you're significantly down-grading the viewable area of the screen.

For me personally I'd like a large format LCD to use as a spectator monitor on my Virtual On cab.

if you know me I'm one of the most outspoken proponents of keeping your 15K games running on CRTs, but half of these chassis don't have replacement flybacks anymore and with ever tube that gets necked, or suffers bad burn-in, or a dead gun... that's one more tube that will never be replaced. There will be a point in time when a good working CRT will be worth more than the rest of the cab...

 

[SNK-NEO-GEO]

"the biggest use for a 27/29in 4:3 LCD is for games like Daytona USA or Initial D where you're already dealing with Medium Res or VGA and the cabs don't have room for a wide-screen disiplay unless you're significantly down-grading the viewable area of the screen."
I see, I was not thinking of those games.. more in the line of 15khz.

 

[xodaraP]

There will be a point in time when a good working CRT will be worth more than the rest of the cab...

That day is already here. Well and truly the case for older games, especially vectors which literally can't be LCD replaced. It's already the case for pretty much everything other than candy cabs too

Once people like Jomac here in Australia and Sharper Image in the US stop doing repairs on CRT chassis and/or the parts supply runs dry we need a good replacement option.

 

[Derick2k]

I still say a crowdfunding type of campaign where the funds can be raised to have oled, ips, tn, or whatever 27"/29" panels made to the specs necessary for candy cabs might be the way to go.

Is there any way to get gauge interest/test market such a product in one of these platforms?

I know the initial costs to have a factory retool for the specific panel size would be around $15K, the snag I ran into was that you need to project a minimum order quantity a year for three years, which some factories require a minimum. Could be 10 pieces, could be 5, 10, 50 thousand pieces a year. Wont know until a quote is issued based on panels requirements, etc...

 

[SNK-NEO-GEO]

My view based on my "bad" eyes site and testing - A candy cab with a 27" CRT, I am about 1.5 feet away from the CRT monitor = no problem.

32" LCD monitor running Super NT = I have to be 4 feet away on a 4:3 orientation. I would say, the monitor does a decent job at upscaling. I would bet that if the Super NT was native 4k, I would still need to be at 4 feet to feel comfortable. I am running MAME at the monitor's 4k native resolution and I have to be at 4 feet..For me, a 4:3 monitor on a candy cab would have to be somewhere in 22-24". Anything bigger than that would not work even if the monitor or an OSSC is upscaling the picture. Something about the old pixels on these 16bit games does not work on my eyes on LCDs at a close distance. Seating on a 27" 4:3 at 1.5 feet would be really bad for my eyes and would not be a great experience, maybe I am getting old

what would work for me - A custom candy cab with a 22" 4:3 LCD/OLED or whatever in the future. I would also be happy with the Mini cute repo that the fellow is working on and hunt down WG19" arcade CRT monitors and stock pile them. What can I say,, I am easy