The only thing more annoying than someone putting 100 super bright LEDs in their backbox and causing the whole playfield to wash out with glare, is the glare from the DMD display itself.

I play completely in the dark, so glare bothers me more than a regular guy who's mom makes them leave some lights on because "playing in the dark is bad for your eyes".

My eyes are 75" off the ground, so I'm also at a worse angle for glare than the normal six foot tall guy.

Most things I buy are a disappointment or only work half-ass, so I'm pretty critical when I review something.

The DMD Glare Eliminator does not come with any instructions, so I'll give full install details near the end of the review.

WHAT DOES IT DO EXACTLY?

The DMDGE allows light to only travel in a single direction. It does not allow it to leave at an angle and reflect off the playfield.

DOES IT DIM THE DISPLAY?

As you can see in the picture, it dims the display very slightly. But if you did not know it was there, you would never notice.

A bonus is that it makes the display have more contrast. The background becomes darker, so the overall contrast increases.

HOW MUCH GLARE DOES IT ELIMINATE?

Literally 100%.

There is not even the slightest glare from the display on the playfield glass, no matter what angle you play at.

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I mounted a camera with a wide aperture lens to a tripod at exactly my eye height and angle. This way I could make exact "before and after" pictures of what you would actually see playing the game.

Here in this picture I taped the DMDGE onto the front of a rather dark game The Shadow.

I only covered the right half of the display.

As you can see, there is no reflection on the glass at all !

On a game like The Shadow, this makes a big difference.

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Now something this cool can't be as easy as just taping it to the front of the game.

If you do that, you can see secondary reflections on the display itself (as you can see in the picture above).

So we have to open up the backbox and attach the DMDGE to the front of the DMD display itself.

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Here I have installed it properly into another dark game, Attack From Mars:

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Pretty amazing, yes?

And again, the camera was locked on a tripod in the exact same position for both photos.

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INSTALLATION

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It is easier to take the whole speaker panel out, since it is probably filthy with 20 years of smoke and grime.

Disconnect either end of the ground wire, the power connector and the data connector.

There is also a speaker connector that did not make it into the picture, lol.

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Now the panel out, you can work comfortably while seated.

Remove the 4 (or 3 if you already did the Ground lug) #2 Philips screws.

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Now you can remove the insulator shield and the DMD itself.

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Polish out any scratches or haze with Novus #2 and a soft cloth.

Don't use paper towel, it will make more scratches.

If you've never cleaned the inside of the plastic protector window, it will likely be very dirty. You will be glad you took the whole panel out when you see the brown nicotine stains on the rag.

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The face of the DMD is actual glass.

Spray some Windex on a paper towel and carefully clean all the smoke, dust and finger prints off.

Don't spray Windex directly on the display.

The display is fragile and expensive.

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The adhesive is a little tricky to apply, but not difficult at all.

Remove the white paper protector, the adhesive stays behind.

Now press the adhesive onto the face of the display, rub with your fingernail and the adhesive will stick to the glass.

Obviously, don't put the adhesive blocking the dots themselves.

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Put the adhesive around the perimeter of the display

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Finally, place the DMDGE centered onto the display.

Start at one end and move across so you don't end up with an arch in the center.

The DMDGE has a protective film on both sides of it.

The shiny side of the film (marked peel #1), gets stuck to the adhesive.

The dull side faces the player (it is marked peel #2).

The DMDGE comes with a cleaning cloth you can use to press the film into the adhesive without scratching it.

Reverse the steps to put the panel back in.

Don't forget the grounding lug.

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Novus #2 will remove fine scratches from most plastics.

If you have no scratches on the display protector at all, then all you need is Novus #1 - but most these old games will have a ton of scratches.

Everyone to the sides has a perfect 180* view.

Anyone standing directly above you on a balcony, or an overhead camera would have a blacked out display.

Yes, of course you are welcome to use them.

Had I known they were going to be used in some official capacity, I would have done better on the installation pics (my good camera was locked on the tripod).

A larger sheet would be great!

But for the time being solution, remember to use single LED bulbs, and don't fill every lamp socket.

Everyone thinks they need super bright LEDs for the backbox, and they don't.

Everyone thinks they have to fill every socket with a bulb, and they don't.

I've been using frosted, single LED bulbs and they work pretty good (but a full sheet of Glare Eliminator would be better, lol).

Thanks.

I need to keep my batteries fresh, because I might not get a score that high again, lol.

Shadow is a hard game

It's all Art.

The only thing I did was install one

There is no worries about up and down. You can spin it 180* and it will have the exact same performance.

The only better feature about the bent plastic guards is that you can take them with you from game to game.

Otherwise the DMDGE is better at eliminating glare (100%), and it darkens any unlit part of the DMD making for a higher contrast display.