ARCADE BUILD HELP-Space around TV
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I am finishing up assembling my cabinet and already notice that there will be some spacing on the top bottom and sides of the tv in the cabinet. Looked at other people who bought the same kit and they appear to just leave it but I dont like the way it looks. What is the best approach to this? I have to be extremely careful on this part as I have to glue these batons to the side for the tv mount and once it is done will be hard to fix so approaching this part with caution. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.
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@common763 are you referring to the space around the monitor? You're probably looking to add a plastic bezel for your arcade monitor. Lots of sizes available some are flat and some are curved for different monitor types
https://www.arcadeshop.com/i/750/plastic-monitor-bezel-19-lcd.htm
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@mahoneyt944 yes I was thinking something like that but just wanted to make sure I was on the right thought process. Thanks. I will have to try and find a custom one or try to make my own because of the monitor space.
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@common763 depending on your setup, if you have glass in front of your monitor...I've seen bezels made from large black construction paper which turn out nice if you measure everything out and cut precisely. Another cheap alternative.
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@mahoneyt944 I saw someone online doing that and I think that is what I plan to do. Problem I am having right now is waiting on stuff to come in. I have to install the speakers, get a marquee, and the control area vinyl and set all that up first. Then I have to see where the monitor actually goes before I do this, but trying to plan ahead. The monitor in the cabinet I have requires gluing rods to the side that help hold it up and its hard to do that before these other things are taken care of (at least for me) I appreciate the input. Thanks.
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I made the black bezel of my DIY arcade cabinet (see the photos there) out of black cardboard from a local art supplies shop, because I didn't like the reflective acrylic glass that came with the kit. Although it was mostly an experiment at first, I kept it to this day because I came to like its look very much. As the saying goes, don't fix what isn't broken.
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@clyde that looks really good. So just black cardboard from an art store around the tv and no plexiglass? Your cabinet looks sharp maybe that is the better option for me.
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@common763 Thank you. Yes, no plexiglass, because I don't like its reflections. I never understood why so many people use them in their home cabinets where the screen and bezel shouldn't require this additional protection like in public arcades. I want to see the game, not myself (perhaps even late at night or in the morning – the horror … 👹 ) nor the room behind me.
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@clyde You don't have reflections with appropriate lighting. Plus I replaced the thick anti-reflective glass on my upright cabinet with thin lightweight plexiglass without reflection issues.
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@iandaemon That may be, but I don't want to tailor my living room's lighting to my cabinet, and I just don't see any need for additional protection of the screen and the bezel in my private home. Finally, my whole cabinet is laminated with matt car foil which the matt cardboard bezel fits perfectly. A plexiglass cover would break that uniformity.
Besides, these things are very subjective. What you deem no reflection issues, I may still do. For example, I'm sometimes bothered by my own faint reflection in a completely dark room with the screen being the only light source. Furthermore, matt and anti-reflex surfaces do not only reflect the light less, they also disperse it so that any remaining reflection becomes blurred beyond recognition.
This just as a more in-depth explanation why I personally don't use plexiglass. 😉
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@clyde Like the black cardboard idea, with this if it is nice and cheap, you have the option as well of swapping out the bezel.
So cover the bezel in a certain artwork - say Pac Man, then have another made up as Bubble Bobble. You could tailor the cabinet to how you want. Even do your own custom design.
Think I will do this on mine, when I build it next year. -
@impman66 I just got lucky that my DIY cabinet kit had pre-milled grooves for the bezel, so it can be exchanged easily (well, relatively, because you'll either have to remove one of the side boards of the cabinet , or bend the bezel until it snaps into place). Being no handyman at all, it would be impossible for me to make the grooves by myself. 😉
That said, I never changed the bezel to this day, because I just like the simple black blackness too much. 😁
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