Film Frames Bezel for 16:9 Backglasses on a 4:3 Monitor

Those of us who use a 4:3 monitor for their backglass know the problem: Most backglasses from the late 1970s to the early 2000s look all right without too much stretching, since the format used primarily back then was pretty close to a 4:3 aspect ratio. This changed in the 2010s though, when modern pinball companies increasingly used 16:9 aspect ratio monitors for their digital backglasses.

Of course you all know how to tweak your screen .res files (and if you don't, you should learn - it's not hard, and it makes a world of difference not having a stretched or squished backglass to look at), but that still leaves black bars at the top and bottom of the monitor.

This is a bezel that fills that empty space. It's designed to look like the edges of classic film frames and could conceivably be used for all kinds of tables with 16:9 backglasses that are based on movies and/or TV shows: Guardians of the Galaxy, The Munsters, Beavis and Butt-Head, Game of Thrones, Wizard of Oz... I used mine for Tom & Jerry, as it goes particularly well with the classic cartoon look.

I also included my .res file for that table to provide an example. Of course your values will have to be edited, as this is tailored to my particular specs (playfield 1920x1080, backglass 1600x1200, DMD 1280x720, bezel images in c:\bezels), but maybe it'll be of use to someone.

The image can also be used as a size guide template. Just replace the film frames with other images for other 16:9 backglasses (I made one with rusty riveted metal for Volkan Steel and Metal, for example).

Share and enjoy!