Help building an LCD table

[dlmos]

I'm getting ready to build an LCD table for my gaming group and could use some help. The screen is going to be mounted flat in a custom MDF box with a sheet of plexi on top for protection. We plan on using minis on top as usual, and maptool to control the virtual map. I was looking at useing a 32" screen but am concern about excessive scrolling if the screen is to small. the screen is roughly 16 tall x 28 wide. Would this be large enough for most encounters or should I fork out the extra dough for a 42 inch screen (20 tall x 36 wide)?

[YPU]

Dont get me wrong, but aren't these things insanely expansive to make in the first place?

[dlmos]

You can get a new 32" for $299, or quite a bit cheaper is it's used or on sale.  A 42" starts at $499.  Sounds like a lot but I'm sure there more than one person whos dropped 300 buckaroos at a convention or on a scenery order. This is something or group would be using a couple of times a month from here on out.  While it's a big investment it's the only big purchase I'll be doing this year (or wait till spring if I have to save for the 42").

[YPU]

Less then I thought, and indeed one should think of it as a huge number of high quality prints of battle maps being replaced.

I think you should keep your eyes open next time you play, figure out how big the part of the map that actually gets used is. 

[Supercollider]

You can get a new 32" for $299, or quite a bit cheaper is it's used or on sale.  A 42" starts at $499.  

How about getting two 32" ones, and mounting them to make a 32x??* playing surface? Assuming you can mount the edges of the screen areas flush with one another once you've removed their bezels?

It's only 100 dollars more  

Edit: Edited my dimensions - Just remembered that the dimension given fora TV is the diagonal distance, so it wouldn't be 32 inches wide.  I think with 2 you'd get a much more usable surface area for gaming.

[Burgundavia]

How about getting two 32" ones, and mounting them to make a 32x??* playing surface? Assuming you can mount the edges of the screen areas flush with one another once you've removed their bezels?

It's only 100 dollars more  

Edit: Edited my dimensions - Just remembered that the dimension given fora TV is the diagonal distance, so it wouldn't be 32 inches wide.  I think with 2 you'd get a much more usable surface area for gaming.

I really doubt you would get a completely flush line between the two screens. No screen I have ever seen has the pixels running all the way to very edge, there is a always a gap (even if it is only a few mm)

[Supercollider]

Yeah, very true - probably not tolerable, really.

[YPU]

I assume the purpose for the board is DND or some other RPG, which often use so widely different sorts of terrain that building them is folly, this people draw maps on whiteboard like sheets to give the general suggestion of what is going on.
Other use pre drawn maps, of which there are a huge number freely available.

If one could however simply put anything digital up on the table as underground, it saves a lot of steps and thus time and often money.

[Modhail]

If you have a dedicated hobby room, how about mounting a beamer to the ceiling?
Something like this: http://www.penpaperpixel.org/tutorials/tabletopprojection/
I came across it a while back, and thought it interesting enough to bookmark.
No idea what beamers cost compared to 32" screens, though.

[Ramshackle_Curtis]

Projectors eat up the bulbs real quick, its very expensive over the long run.

[dlmos]

I've thought of the projector setup but our group doesn't have a dedicated game room, and the rooms we play in are flooded with windows and light so I would need a very bright projector.  The thought behind the LCD TV would be that it would be set up as a table topper.  Just bring it to the gaming location and set it on the table, and with the brighter screen you wouldn't have to worry about dimming the room's lights.

YPU hit the nail on the head.  We still love minis and plan on using them, this would just allow us to use highly detailed custom maps for anything our GMs come up with.

[Sangennaru]

I assume the purpose for the board is DND or some other RPG

or maybe some hex looong wargames, that are too nice 



ok well:
1) the idea of a lcd monitor i s pretty nice. But there is a problem: when looked too near the pixels are showing pretty bad, and it is not so easy to appreciate them
2) a projector is nice, but you will have around 2000 hours before he dies. not a shor time, but you've to consider it for a long time project.
3) why don't you use an old Reversal Film Projector? not interactive, but you can put imgs with really cheap prices, and the details are really good!