If you really want to build....

LoopyByteloose

Try www.happcontrols.com·to fulfill your dreams.

They have a huge selection of joysticks and gadgets for building a game station.

Also, they have 27" CRT Monitors that can mount in a generic cabinet.· At the end of 2008, television is going to be ALL digital and these will be impossible to find.· Already flat screeen have made them rare.

Just add your Hydra and you've got it all.· You can even collect quarters from the players.

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"Everything in the world is purchased by labour; and our passions are the only causes of labor." -- David·Hume (1711-76)········

···················· Tropically,····· G. Herzog [noparse][[/noparse]·黃鶴 ]·in Taiwan

Spork Frog

Interesting idea. Though those monitors are VGA, not NTSC so they'll be sticking around for a bit. Also means you need a converter if you really want to use it for NTSC.

I can also vouch that they're an excellent supplier of arcade parts.

AndreL

2009 february is the date for conversion to digital last time I heard and this was bumped up to 2010-2012 now, not 2008. Unless, it changed since I last checked? So we have time. However, I wouldn't worry. There are billions of NTSC tvs out there and people that just bought sets in the last 2-3 years arent going to upgrade anytime soon since there is no reason to. So I figure by 2012, we should really start worrying. But, definitely products after 2010 should output digital as well. However, there are going to be a lot of converters available, so people can run legacy hardware like game consoles for example. There will be $29-39 converters so you can use your analog NTSC signal on your digital set. Alas, I would bet that this won't happen. The public knows NOTHING about this, they will go crazy when this happens or when its about to happen and lobbiests will start lobbying etc.

But, still, supporting digital output soon is a good idea for everyone that makes any kind of video hardware. I am not going to support it directly in my next game systems, but anything after those, yes.

Andre'

Spork Frog

I agree with you. I also knew about the cutoff (we just got a new HDTV), but I think some public education is defeinetly required, and fast.

[noparse][[/noparse]quote]lobbiests will start lobbying etc.

Speaking of which, any news on the next product from Nurve? Or aren't you saying yet?

JT Cook

I wouldn't be too woried because there are so many devices out there that use NTSC video in that TVs will probably have video input for the next 5 years, or else people will complain and buy different TVs that do support it. Then like Andre said, converter will be available for cheap.

LoopyByteloose

I didn't mean to focus only on the monitors, though 27 inch is good size. This supplier provides a huge array of other components for games - being based in Chicago and Las Vegas indicates that they have been around for a long time [noparse][[/noparse]since Al Capone?].

While I may not buy a monitor from them, I am very interested in their selection of analog joysticks. While expensive, they appear to be very durible and I could use one both for gaming and robotic control.

The TV in Taiwan is talking about the end of 2008 is when USA will convert to digital transmission. Maybe that isn't worldwide, but all the flat screen manufacturers in Taiwan are gearing up for it. And their stocks have been going up over 6% in the past few days due to earnings being ramped up. So, it feels like the change over is beginning.

If you want a cheap NTSC TV in the next 5 to 20 or so years, try any Goodwill Processing Center about 6 to 7 am in the morning in a major city. 5-10% of what they get goes into their own retail stores [noparse][[/noparse]if it works] and the other 90% or more gets sold to whomever shows up and offers a reasonable cash offer - usually buyers from 2nd hand appliance stores. They just don't have the space or manpower to repair and resell all that is given to them.

I have a friend in San Francisco that has made a very good living by buying collectible tube audio hi-fi that is just given away rather than repaired. It is amazing what you get for $5 - names like Marantz, Fisher, Scott, McIntosh, etc.

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
"Everything in the world is purchased by labour; and our passions are the only causes of labor." -- David·Hume (1711-76)········

···················· Tropically,····· G. Herzog [noparse][[/noparse]·黃鶴 ]·in Taiwan