(Topic ID: 153170)
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2 years later
Quoted from jake35:we have the same topper for TZ. it's a cool one for sure.
Agreed..love that thing, and getting pretty hard to find.....
I really enjoy the dimmable overhead approach....nothing brings out the beauty of the whole game that way. And dark spots? Umm...none, just vibrant PF colors as they were designed...still use a spotlight here and there to balance things out, but that's it...
Quoted from JJHLH:And Pinstadium lights are awesome for playing in the dark and letting you see the ball prefectly, even better than in a fully lit room.
Man, kool-aid runs deep, even outside the main thread....we are now defeating physics with these things. Come on.....
Quoted from JJHLH:Not defeating physics but using it to our advantage. The intensity or brightness of light follows an inverse square relationship as a function of the distance from the light source.
Having two strips of bright LEDs positioned just below the glass close to both sides of the playfield ensures bright uniform illumination of the game with the additional benefit of little or no glare which makes tracking the ball much easier. Compare that to overhead lighting which will be more diffuse since it is further from the source, probably less uniform unless it is directly overhead, which would cause reflections.
This thread is about playing pinball in the dark and in my opinion these lights are the best way to do that, and it’s not even close. I was skeptical too until I saw them in person at TPF. Seeing is believing.
Inverse square law is something I use daily in both the Audio (primarily) and Lighting (much more involved than 1 formula) design realm. You seem to miss the point that the LED strips positioning (on the side) are actually brighter on the edge, then diminishes the closer to the middle of the playfield, not to mention the inherent pronounced shadowing caused by prior (nothing uniform about it, but a cool mod). No way can (2x) led strips, w limited throw patterns, come even close to uniform, evenly distributed overhead light (leaving the rainbow ramps out of it)
You've made some great posts, but inverse square is irrelevant here. Proper placement (overhead in this case) of correct luminary device to distribute uniform color temperature across entire playfield is the relevant point.
The thread is dark or lit room, and I stated I preferred a properly dim, overhead lit one. I own a set (or 2) and have relegated them to other purposes.
Quoted from JJHLH:This is a friendly discussion and I appreciate that.
You can see how close the Pinstadiums are to the playfield. Very little brightness is lost due to distance. On the other hand the convention room at TPF has a very tall ceiling, which is where the lights were located, so by the time the overhead light reached the playfield much of the luminance had diminished, which is why most games looked relatively dark in comparison.
Ditto...I like Scott, and think his mod is obviously a hit. Fortunately, my ceilings aren't nearly as high as the convention center. Games can be beautifully lit from proper overhead lighting, and I don't like a pitch black game room, or artificially added color to the playfield, GI or otherwise. I stand by my answer - give me a properly lit gameroom ....can see the ball just fine.
Back on track, and away from infomercial pros and cons.... 
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