LCD Marquee Installation

[Gundoid]

Hey Folks,

Wanted to inquire if anyone has installed a LCD Marquee on their cabinet. Currently I am running Gameex, of course, with around 25 to 30 emulators at this time. In the examples I've located online it appears everyone is using it to display marquees associated with an active ROM running in MAME. When not running MAME it seems that most default to a static display.

Had a few questions if someone has gone down this path with Gameex:

1. The cabinet I have is an old (really, really old) arcade machine that I gutted and rebuilt. (technically it is for my wife) The current marquee is 7" by 25", I believe this to be a standard size. Were you able to locate a LCD display that could fit this footprint? I've attached a picture of my cabinet for reference, please see below, forgive the poor image quality.

2. To drive the display was a relatively average video card sufficient? The current machine I have has a i7 processor running Windows 7 with 8 GB of RAM. The SATA ports are tapped out with (3) 4 TB HDDs and (1) SSD that is for the OS. Not sure if this would have any impact but am including it just in case.

3. Did you run into any major obstacles configuring the display to operate within Gameex?

4. Were you able to change the graphic being displayed when switching between emulators other than MAME?

Any shared experiences would be greatly appreciated. As always, greatly appreciate any feedback, and the time of those who submit, as this forum has been a tremendous help in improving my cabinet.

Thanks!!!

[tthurman]

I've looked into this, but I'm certainly no expert. Unless someone is holding out on us, I haven't seen a GameEx setup using this posted in the Rigs section.

I don't believe any major powerhouse card is needed, this guy does it with a 4350. The best looking ones seem to be all using the ultra-wide displays, with this one being the one from the video.

What would you display in place of the marquee on other emulators, custom artwork?

I think the whole idea has an incredible amount of "wow" factor to it, but in the end I decided the extra expense and configuration was something I couldn't justify.

<edit>

If you haven't already done so in your searching, I would recommend you check out MAME Hooker too, as it may answer some of your other questions. I ran across this a while back looking for the same information you are seeking.

Edited September 11, 2014 by tthurman

[RIP-Felix]

In case you don't know or anyone reading was wondering Tempest released a program called "Marquee Magician" to do this here.

As for the monitor. Well, the ultra wide's are somewhat expensive and finding the right size might be tricky. They're 21:9, so you would need to find a 17 inch (diagonal, 16x7) or less monitor to fit. From my searches I couldn't find any that small. A 25" is 11 inches tall. If you modify the cabinet to accommodate it that might work for you. From the pic it looks like you would have to cut the top back to allow it to fit.

[Gundoid]

Thanks to "tthurman" and "RIP-Felix" for the responses...wasn't familiar with "MAME Hooker" or "Marquee Magician".

Came across the cabinet examples above as well as a few more...there are some really sweet looking cabs out there!!! The only thing of value I cam across regarding hardware is a LG LCD Stretch LCD located here. The aspect ratio is good and the price for the refurbished unit is relatively low, at $300, compared to the other options I have found. Actually came across a cabinet that used this display but am unable to locate the associated video at the moment. Unfortunately, the size of this display is too wide for my cabinet by 5". It is roughly 30" by 12". Hopefully it might be an idea for someone else looking into the same modification.

Should anyone come across a good hardware solution for a standard size cabinet please feel free to PM me.

Thanks again for the help!!!

[stigzler]

Search for "Blip" on byoac - a great example of dynamic marquee. @ the moment yer talking mega $ for proper ultra-wide displays, though!

Good luck brother, and keep us posted.

[Gundoid]

Thanks "stigzler"!! I've viewed the "Blip" cabinet several times in the past....very sweet build.

If I do come across a solution for my cab I'll be sure to pass on the details.

Thanks for the input!!

[stigzler]

Did you get any further with this? Might have something useful in the pipeline for you if you went ahead with this..