To all my friends on PinSide, I was paying attention. After almost 2 years of searching, protos with different LED blocks, and many changes, XPIN now has a WHITE LED Dot Matrix Display...and of course just in time for Christmas! http://www.xpinpinball.com/products/displays/NEW-XP-DMD4096LV-W

Quite a few of you may have seen it at the Chicago Expo and I received a lot of great comments about different color gels and ideas as to how to handle them. The current plan is to send out a complete set of color gels in each box. The pictures below are just some samples. The official pictures will be up on the website in the next couple of weeks with a larger variety of colors to see. The key thing in dealing with a white LED as it is being done, is to experiment with the gels I provide, but also keep in mind that your imagination is the limit.

In the pictures I actually stacked a couple of gels giving them a different contrast. Different colors are achieved by stacking different gels as well, so play with it to find something you like.

The image white_nogel small.jpg is what a white display looks like with no gels. Don't let the yellow dots concern you. This yellow dot is a phosphorescent material that is required for this LED block technology to make it cost effective. As you add gels, these dots are not noticed.

For those of you not looking for a white DMD, I have recently received more of my other color DMD displays.

From now until Christmas, every order can be shipped with either a T-Shirt or Poster free+shipping (domestic only). Just go to the Accessory page http://www.xpinpinball.com/products/accessories/Accessories and make your
selection.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Brett
XPin

Here are the pictures!white_greengel small.JPGwhite_green+Greygel small.JPGwhite_bluegel small.JPGwhite_violet+greygel small.JPGwhite_violetgel small.JPGwhite_rust+greygel small.JPGwhite_orangegel small.JPGwhite_nogel small.JPG

Thanks for the kind words! You are right, the photos don't do it justice. I am definitely not a photographer. I will post new ones with a much larger variety. I am going to work on a web page that will show some possible color combinations as well.

My vendor for the gels offers 16 colors. I don't know if the cost will be low enough to offer all 16 but I maybe looking at just having the gels as separate items to be ordered.

The XPIN DMD display should not have any issues fitting in the new Star Trek LE. Let me know when you want it and I will head down the street and do a personal install...

The XPin dot matrix controller is FPGA based. Ed did the FPGA code and I did the board design. You can't see it but the display is actually plugged into my controller. It is independent and doesn't require a WPC MPU. Ed deserves the credit for the code.

Makes me think that I will have to look into having a clear one made...If Stern is doing that then something will need to be done. Does Pinbits do clears?

You are right on that one. I can see that the white will displace all of the fixed colors I offer (Red, Green, Blue, Amber) but I doubt if it I will ever stop making the orange. That will be the low cost alternative for those looking for quick flip if they can't get a plasma.

One of the challenges with any product is that you have to weigh the pros and cons in the selection. I personally think the ColorDMD guys have a good product. I have seen it in many games. Some games look good, others not so good. It is all a matter of personal preference. Call me old school, but I personally prefer monochrome coloring on the DMD displays. I am way to interested in playing the ball than watching the screen...that is for the audience.

A guiding point in my designs is to try and accommodate as many games as I can...universal if possible. Depending on the game, I have yet to find any that I can't drop an XPin DMD into. I haven't had to write any new firmware for the game, or made any custom hardware pieces. Can you put a ColorDMD in a DE game without more custom hardware than it already has? What about some of the Stern games? Capcom? It is all about what you are targeting.

In the electronics industry, volume is key when it comes to components and circuit boards. If you only build 100 pieces at a time, there are no price breaks in the production costs. You might be able to get a low end laptop for $250 today, but so will 500,000 other people. If the mfg only was going to buy parts for 100 of these laptops, they definitely wouldn't be selling them for $250 if they wanted to make any money.

I think the ColorDMD folks were creative and innovative in their solution, re-purposing a laptop screen. I think all of the engineers that have come up with products to keep the games alive and fresh deserve a round of applause for their dedication and willingness to share their talents to keep the hobby alive. I know that most of us though are still working day jobs with the dream of maybe quitting them and doing this full time, but that really is a dream because the profit margins are small, especially if a distribution model is chosen to get the product out.

Sorry for the soapbox guys...

Miguel, concerning the gold dots, if you put the grey film on you don't see them.

Not a problem!