The "Best" Size Field Monitor?

[PLCJim]

This is a bit of a post that I first made to VPForums, so pardon the redundancy if you read both. 

 

Ignoring issues like cost and table size, what is the optimum playfield monitor size? Spacies_Arcade created a compelling YouTube video arguing that a 48 or 49 inch monitor was optimum for maintaining 1:1 aspect ratio between the emulations and the real tables that the were designed toward.  However, almost every build video and discussion is based around a 42" monitor, which as I understand it, fits into a non-modified widebody cabinet. 

 

I am in the planning stages of a potential high-end build and wanted to get some feedback to this point.  It seems to me that the cost difference between a 42 and 48" OLED monitor is not that great when you include all the other tricked out devices going into a table, so there must be some reasons that people choose one or another.  I am soliciting thoughts and personal experiences to help me make my choice.

 

As a side note, the minimum recommendation for a graphics board seems to be  an NVidia 3070.  Is this a solid choice and at that level are there preferred vendors/models or should one just grab the best value from a respected GPU card manufacturer?  Any favorites out there that people believe is the right card for the application?

 

Thanks in advance for you input.

[GeorgeH]

I don't even have a cabinet but it seems like your decision on cabinet wide or narrow body should be made on which tables you like best.  Thee following link identifies the wide body machines:

 

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/wide-body-machines-1

[PLCJim]

16 hours ago, GeorgeH said:

cabinet wide or narrow body should be made on which tables you like best.

I can see why it might seem that way, but the width of the monitor (in portrait orientation) is a function of the length of the monitor and the diagonal, which is how it is marketed.  A Williams playfield is 43 inches long/deep regardless of the width.  However, TV monitors are only sold in a 16x9 configuration.  A 48" monitor is just a shade over 42 inches.  At that dimension, the width is pretty much fixed at around 24-1/2 inches., well over the standard dimension of a standard body and depending on the bezel, typically a bit over the widebody cabinet.

 

The OLEDs offer 48" but not 49", which is closer to the correct length but a real sacrifice in resolution and performance.

 

Therefore, the selection of widebody or standard games doesn't really come into the equation because we are stuck with commercial sizes.

[GeorgeH]

You might be able to hide part of the monitor under the backbox.  If that works, you should be able to get the aspect ratio that you want. 

[Thalamus]

I'm a bit baffled over some of these conclusions. I have a wide body built cab. And a 48" would have to be rooted in order to fit or TV/Monitor often de cased.  When I go and play in pinball tournaments, I often say to myself. Oh my god, your v-pin is wide ! Most games you play will be "normal" sized. I used to have a 43" 4k monitor in my cab. I had a couple of cm's free on both sides of the monitor. I'm now on a 42" and it is close to 53cm wide. Smaller than my old one. So, yes, I have some free space inside the cab. But, not much. It has its benefits though. Cooling is easier for one. IMO. as long as you make the cab's inside dark (I sprayed mine) and have a OLED you should be fine. The dark of modern OLED' are so good that you will have problems distinguishing where the true end of the monitor is, if the room itself isn't very bright. Games that are supposed to be wide body, looks wide bodied. Regular machines, looks right too. As long as you use the new 10.8 feature and don't scale out of proportions. Sure, it is weird playing a regular machine on a wide body cab. But, no matter that size you have on your TV or Monitor, this will happen. It is kind of weird too ... to play a wide body machine on a regular sized cab too.

 

I think that the fact that it is harder to come by a smaller monitor or TV is the reason some go from the larger sized displays.

[PLCJim]

5 hours ago, Thalamus said:

Games that are supposed to be wide body, looks wide bodied. Regular machines, looks right too. As long as you use the new 10.8 feature and don't scale out of proportions.

Thalamus, you have a kind face.

 

You have some good points, but I am not sure that you understand my primary point for a 48" screen instead of a 42".  If the original playfield is 41 or 42 inches long, it seems to me that there will be tradeoffs it is significantly shorter.  The length or a 48" TV (ignoring a little loss for bezel and inactive portion of the display is 42 inches. That is a one to one perspective. The width should be adjusted to match the width of the table being played and the proportion scaling should be at one to keep from having fat or skinny tables.

 

On a 42" TV or monitor, the screen is about 37" long, which means everything is about 88% smaller.  Is a field where everyone seems to be all about the physics, this would through off the perceived impact. I imagine that the perspective will be that the ball takes longer to come down the length of the table due to distorted gravity and goes up the table faster due to the powered impact forces.  The result could be that timing seems wrong.

 

But hey, I've only played a  48" table and am only speculating so that is why I am asking.

 

Also, I don't think there is any issue getting 42" C4 OLED tvs, so I am not sure about your last point.  If anything, it seems like getting a 48 to work in a widebody flatpack is a bit more work that to go with a 42", With an ultrawide, you have to deal with custom lock bars.

[Thalamus]

I get your point and in some ways your are correct too. I'm just saying. You will feel like your home cab is a copy of Hercules each time you visit an arcade with real machines.

[PLCJim]

Fair point! On the other hand it might make me a better hugger.😁

[jdv]

Anyone see any new monitors/TVS with aspect ratios closer to  a real pinball machine?  This is the only thing I've stumbled across:

https://innocn.com/en-us/products/innocn-40-ultrawide-computer-monitor-40c1r?country=US

Edited August 13, 2025 by jdv