Building a MAME arcade cabinet...

**Videodrone** · 24 Jul 2006, 12:39 AM

This may be a stupid question, but would viewing a TV from only ~2 feet away from a extended period of time put strain on the eyes? I've thought about upgrading my cab with a 27" set, but am leary as our mothers have always hassled us about sitting to close to the tv.

*edit*

Did some research and the conclusion is that there is no potenial for damage to the eyes from watching a tv "too close".

**Tain** · 24 Jul 2006, 02:00 AM

Using a tv isn't that bad of an alternative, especially because there isn't any hassel with setup. It took me some time and research to get everything to work on my arcade monitor, but once I did I felt dumb that I doubted getting one.

Yeah, the only real beef I have with TVs is that it seems that you either go with an image that doesn't fill the screen or filtering. Filtering on a TV looks a million times better than, say, filtering on a PC monitor, though. If I didn't go with an RGB monitor, that'd be the route I'd take.

**Fe 26** · 24 Jul 2006, 03:46 AM

Originally Posted by andyrose

Went to my local Lowes store today to start the process by buying 4 sheets of 4X8 MDF board. They didn't have any. The dumbasses that were working at the time didn't even know what Medium Density Fiberboard was. Looks like I'm going to have to get it out of town, I may take a trip next Friday or Saturday to buy my supplies.

us fiberboard really the best thing for this?

**andyrose** · 24 Jul 2006, 10:33 AM

Unless you want your cabinet to have that "rustic" look, MDF is the only material I see using. It's a lot easier to work with, too.

**Bonestorm** · 24 Jul 2006, 03:12 PM

Originally Posted by andyrose

Yeah, I found this guy's website where he uses a 24" Sony Wega, and he says it looks great and I'm sure it does. I think I've decided that a 24" Wega is probably the best option for me and my cab. If I didn't live in Arkansas, where there isn't an arcade, let alone an arcade parts shop, for 500 miles, I might have looked for an RGB monitor.

Went to my local Lowes store today to start the process by buying 4 sheets of 4X8 MDF board. They didn't have any. The dumbasses that were working at the time didn't even know what Medium Density Fiberboard was. Looks like I'm going to have to get it out of town, I may take a trip next Friday or Saturday to buy my supplies.

How much is a 24" wega? If it's like $300, you might as well get a monitor from WellsGardner for around $50 more.
One thing I was doing reseach on but dumped when I got my monitor for cheap, was converting the RGB signal to component video to use on a modern tv. When you use svideo out on regular video card it will only output 480i (and svideo doesn't look great to begin with), but I really see no reason why you couldn't have something convert the output of the arcade vga to component. I remember seeing a post at neo-geo.com where a kid made a mvs supergun and used a audio authority converter and got a good picture on his wega. I beleive JMkurtz started making a rgb>component converter as well. Just an idea to consider if you're bored and feel like finding out...

is fiberboard really the best thing for this?

absolutely!

**Fe 26** · 24 Jul 2006, 03:22 PM

Medium Density Fiberboard may be magical but I've always considered fiberboard to be a shit of a building material. It hates moisture, it's heavy, and doesn't support weight as well as anything else.

**andyrose** · 24 Jul 2006, 03:49 PM

Are you talking about fiberboard or particleboard? Fiberboard is the heavy duty water resistant shit they build office furniture out of. And, I'm pretty sure, arcade cabinets.

**Wildkat** · 24 Jul 2006, 04:54 PM

Originally Posted by andyrose

Are you talking about fiberboard or particleboard? Fiberboard is the heavy duty water resistant shit they build office furniture out of. And, I'm pretty sure, arcade cabinets.

Not to mention speaker cabinets for both home and car setups.

MDF is strong as all hell, you just need to know how to work with it.

Its not really water resisant until you paint and seal it, however, but for an arcade cab, should water be a big issue?