Yes, you can add or replace videos, in raw H.264 format without audio.

You can use ffmpeg utility to convert any .avi .mov .mkv .mp4, etc... to raw H.264 format. Also can load any video in Adobe Premiere and export to DVD format, then audio and video are in two files, and can use only the video file.

Also you can use the Freemake Video Converter to get a raw H264 from any video format.
http://www.freemake.com/free_video_converter/

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Hello granDD.

Next week I receive this Pick and Place machine, which I just bought, to place components automatically on the boards, so I'll have free time to finish all the pending designs, the HolomodSP included. Now I waste a lot of time assembling boards (a lot of DMDMK66 orders), in addition to several professional designs on request that I have to do, and that leaves me very little free time.

With this investment in machinery, I hope to finish all pending designs and be able to start others as digital bumpers and several more. I will also be able to offer a better service to my clients, in the professional developments that hire me. Invest to progress.

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Hi, Davi.

To apply solder paste I use a steel stencil laser cutted, and to solder I have a pair of infrared ovens. I just needed a Pick and Place machine to be able to manufacture any circuit, quickly, with quality and without assembly costs to be able to offer the best price. It was time to make investments, because I work professionally in electronics.

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Thanks Davi.

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Delays to receive my Pick and Place, for local holidays, I hope TNT will deliver it to me, finally, this Wednesday.

Meanwhile, I've tried my Video Bumper Cap design with round color screens, high resolution, same size as a bumper (70mm), which I received recently. This works with the same interface as the HoloModSP, and can play videos, images and text on the Cap of the Bumper. It is also interactive, user can configure what videos, texts or images to play on the bumper, according to the status of the switches, lamps, bumpers and playfield flashers. I have two more designs with Digital LEDs, but those do not have as much resolution as these video screens allow.

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This round screen is AMOLED, no problem, it is very compact and lightweight. There is no direct impact of the ball on the bumper cap, anyway I will probably add a thin strip of double adhesive rubber between the LCD screen and the acrylic base to attach it to the body of the bumper.

The LED versions do not have such a high resolution, the LCD has a resolution of 320x320 dots, and the LED versions are one with 86 LEDs in several concentric circles, and one with smaller 2x2mm digital LEDs with 535 LEDs. The 86 LED can not play videos, it has a very low resolution, it only has visual effects of color in circles, and the 535 can play an animated GIF of low resolution (32x32 pixel in circe).

Some time ago I published PCB LED boards, I did not assemble them because it is very tedious to do it by hand, a lot of time to assemble a single board, when I receive my Pick and Place machine (probably tomorrow or Thursday), I finish this project and I will offer all three versions.

The interface will be the same for the three Digital Bumper, this interface captures all pinball data signals, lamps, switches, bumpers and flashing lights, to play animations, all configured by the user and stored on a micro SD card. The interface for these Bumpers is NOT based on Raspberry, even to play high resolution videos, but it is based on an ARM microcontroller, more easily and economically, without third party dependencies of Raspberry (the Zero only sell one per order, and the others are expensive and too big for this project)..

As soon as the product is ready for sale, I will open a new publication just for these BUMPER Digital Mods, and from the Video Bumper I will make a version for the interactive TV MOD, as well as to play videos on a small TV (2.8 to 4 inches )) according to the status of any playfied input/output. Now I am also testing several types of LCD screen, by SPI, Parallel and MIPI (probably I will use by MIPI).

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These Digital Bumpers are good for pinball where the bumpers are very visible, and better if there are several together to play synchronized effects between them. For example Twilight Zone with three bumpers, or Addams Family with five bumpers, can look great. I will do the final tests in my Addams Family, it is the one that I have more at hand, the TZ I have something far from here.

For other machines that do not have bumpers or these are not very visible, I can make other mods based on digital LEDs or video screens. For Theathre of Magic, I designed a new trunk a long time ago with hundreds of digital LEDs and a board for the Spirit Ring, now I can finish and assemble them in quantity with the Pick and Place machine.

I do not have the Creature here, and I do not know where I could apply a mod with digital LEDs for lighting effects or video displays , I'm sure there will be something in the playfield where they fit, I'll talk to some friends who have the Creature to see what they suggest.
 

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I thought about the impacts of the ball on the trunk, my idea is to cover the impact areas with a black rubber sheet. The board of the PCB is fiber, and much more resistant than the original trunk, but the LEDs need extra protection.

I have to try it on my TOM, I have this machine close to the tests, also the Addams family and an Indiana Jones.

I am now consulting with my supplier of acrylics, to see if they make a sheet of transparent material with a thickness of 1mm, methacrylate or other acrylics. It would also be useful if the material were translucent colorless, almost better, so that the light of the LEDs mixes the colors better and is somewhat more diffuse.

I have also thought about covering with resin among the LEDs, although this would be more complicated to do. Everything to protect the Leds from the impact of the ball, the PCB board is not going to be damaged, the fiber as I have commented is extremely resistant, much more than the cover of the original trunk.

In any case, I will verify the product in my TOM before offering it for sale, to avoid claims for breaks due to the impact of the ball.

Although I designed this trunk a long time ago, I never assembled it because there are 535 LEDs, very tedious to assemble by hand, now with my Pick and Place is time to do all my pending LEd designs. I think that with 535 leds, visual effects can be spectacular, you can create many effects, some randomly and others depending on the state of the playfield.

I did not remember it, but some time ago I asked my supplier about samples of 1 mm thick acrylic sheets, and he sent me these two of the attached photos. These were to test a new type of filter for the DMDMK66.

One is translucent white, 1mm thick and the other is transparent, 1.34mm thick. I can order custom pieces, laser cutted, to cover the cube faces, to protect them from the impacts of the ball, apart from adding some thin strips of rubber to absorb the impacts.

For led bumpers, I also plan to cut round pieces of transparent or smoked methacrylate to improve the effect, as well as protection.

Finally, and with great delay, TNT will deliver my Pick and Place machine next Tuesday, then after programming it to assemble my DMDMK66 displays, I will have already free time to finish all pending designs like the Creature HoloModSP and start new ones for Digital Bumpers and others.

I have many ideas about designs, but without finishing because it is not practical to assemble them by hand and ordering the assembly from another company is expensive. Now with the Pick and Place, everything is possible, there are no limits to design and manufacture any circuit, no matter how complex it may be.
 

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Next Tuesday, I will be delivered, by TNT, the Pick and Place machine that I bought to assemble the electronic boards, I will install it, I will program it to mount the DMDMK66 displays, and I will have free time to finish the Hologram Kit for the Creature.

In short, news of the Hologram Kit, next week.

 
As of next week, I will have more free time and I will be able to dedicate myself to finish this project and upload videos.

 
The design of the protection I have is based on 1mm clear acrylic sheets. And in the impact zones a rubber sheet, or it is probable that in that line of impact there are no LEDs, only the rubber band.

I do not know the transparent rubber, another thing is to cover with resin the space between LEDs, to create a compact block.

I can also make a second cover of fiber board of 0.8mm thickness, which is in front of the LEDs, with small holes through which the light of each led, in addition this second cover could be black for a better finish .

Some time ago, I was also looking to place a vinyl sticker on the outer cover in front of the led, to give a more striking appearance with the trunk off or even running. They are the vinyls used to personalize cars, I have not tested how much transparency they have to let the light of the LEDs pass.
 

An idea, is a cube inside another cube. The main cube is the electronic board with digital LEDs, and the second cube is the protective cover with holes so that the light of each led passes. In addition, this second cube is fiber board in black color, for a better finish.

Apart, in the areas of impact of the ball, there could be no LEDs, but some strips of black rubber that would act as a shock absorber.

The boards, with which each cube is made, are made of fiberglass 0.6 mm thick or even 0.4 mm thick. Each board is welded by the edges with the other two boards that it has on each side, and with the lid of the cube.

The prototype of the pictures that I put is made with a fiberglass PCB board of 0.8mm thickness, and once all the sides of the cube are welded, it is very resistant. The only thing sensitive to the impact of the ball are the LEDs and their solders, not the fiber PCB boards.

The cube only needs 4 cables to control the 535 LEDs (of the current design), two cables for data and clock and another two for the voltage supply of 5 volts.

There are other ways to do it, I can cover the outside with a transparent film, fill between the leds with polyester resin, etc.

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Today I received a first batch of TFT screens for interactive TV mod. Also a round TFT, but this is not for the bumper because it is too small. These rectangular screens are 2, 2.8, 3.2 and 4.3 inches in size, with several types of interfaces (SPI, parallel and MIPI), I think I will use the 3.2 and 4.3 inches.

I have also thought about using one round screen for the STTNG cannon mod, I designed one long time ago but with LEDs, with the TFT video screen it will be much better, with much more detailed and striking effects.. The round display in the attached image is something big (40mm), I ordered some 35mm. The idea is that it is on the outside, connected to an internal board with a few pins connector, and with a transparent dome somewhat larger than the original.

I'm waiting for another batch of TFT screens for tests with interactive TV mod, and the final round screens for the bumpers, plus a few smaller ones to test in the STTNG cannon.

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Today I received a second batch of TFT displays samples, these are 3.5, 3.69, 4 and 5 inches, all MIPI interface, for interactive TV mod and other designs. Im waiting also for some more round displays, 2 inches size for more tests.

In addition, finally today, after quite a few delays, TNT has delivered me the Pick and Place machine which I bought, in a large and very heavy wooden box (85 Kilos). This machine automatically assembles the components in the electronic circuit boards, instead of having to do it manually.

Now I need about 2 or 3 days to install the machine, configure and program it to assemble my DMDMK66 displays, then I will be free to dedicate myself to finish all pending mods and start others like digital bumpers, TOM trunk, etc ...

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