I've been selling the TSPP Video TV's through the owner's thread since May, but I now have a website for ordering, as well as a new line called Micro Display Mods (MDM's). http://sparkypinball.com/

There are currently 16 designs for modern Stern, WPC, and WPC 95 games, plus the TSPP TV.

Filming video playing on a display is tough to get it to look right, but the video quality in person is very bright and clear. Customers of the TSPP TV and early customers of the MDM's can verify the quality.

The website address is above, but I'm linking a few youtube videos and pics, as well.

Itchy Scratchy Install.jpg

CFTBL1.JPG

Yes, I have one for Iron Man. The sample video for IM runs about 20 minutes and shows highlights from all three movies, as well as a brief clip from Avengers. I don't have a youtube demo of it.

All video samples are between 15 - 60 minutes, depending on the title, but another good thing about this mod is that the customer can reformat the micro sd card and load their own video! I don't have instructions on the website on how to do that yet, but there's a little more involved than just copying a video file. I'll get those instructions up in the near future.

Thanks for your order! I don't have an IM, but I looked at one closely at CAEX, and I noticed a handful of spots that might work. I'll take a look at pics and make some suggestions if you like.

I discontinued the black TV that was similar to TSPP for TZ, but I hope to do an MDM style plastic in the near future.

I have one in my STTNG, and it looks great! The video I'm playing is about 40 mins, and its highlights from back to back episodes dealing with a rogue group of Borg, Lore, and Data's emotion chip.

Yes it's OLED. The MDM's viewing area is 27mm x27mm (a little over 1" square, 1 1/2" diagonal). It will play 16:9, but it will have black space at the top and bottom. There are possibly some editing and converting ways around that, sometimes. Depends on the video. Some of my samples have the black at the top and bottom, and it looks fine. Full screen looks better, though.

Send me an email, and we can discuss the video steps before I get them on the site. [email protected]
Your video should be fine, but there are some things you will need to do, and as I said, I'll get those instructions up in the near future.

Would you be able to send a hi res pic of IM from mid-field and back to my email? I'm not getting a good look from the pics on the Internet. Email is [email protected].

While at league last night, we found two really good spots for Stern ST premium/LE. They would probably be good spots for the Pro, too.

I tried that spot at league the other night on the host's game, and I thought it not only blocked the flipper, but also was a risk for airballs.

The two spots we all liked best were on the upper right ramp behind the asteroid and off-set to the left (over the pop bumpers). The other spot was somewhere by the left VUK, but I don't know if the screw we were looking at is in the same spot on the pro. We didn't take pics

I'm glad Pincrazy is enjoying it, though!

Thanks!

Yes, possibly AC/DC and other in the future. I had a handful of other designs I tabled for future release. I wasn't completely satisfied with the screen-printed artwork on a few that I held off doing, so possibly in the future we'll see many more titles.

PM's sent.

I just started shipping the MDM versions yesterday, so there are a handful of IM customers who should be getting them in the next day or two. Hopefully they'll send pics

Even pics of holding it in different spots without installing or running the harness might be helpful, or attaching to a screw or nut just for the pic would be good.

I know you're not in the Netherlands, but I sent a TSPP package there for $13 First Class International. The calculator on the site should be more accurate.

Do you mean a generic plastic with a blank micro sd card, or no plastic with just the display?

Customers creating their own vids is the ultimate goal. I just don't have them on the website yet. They will be up in the very future.

Back in May when I introduced TSPP Video TV at PAGG, I also had a black and silver tv for TZ. In addition to the customers who bought it for TZ, I had two customers use the black tv for TAF, and two people used it for WPT. I stopped making the black tv's because there wasn't enough interest, and there's too much labor to put them together on my end.

I hope to add TAF and TZ as MDM designs in the future, but the artwork won't be related to a TV.

Be aware that pics and videos to see how and where it's installed is fine, but it's horrible in dertermining the quality of the picture on the display and artwork on the plastics. It's amazing how different the display looks in person compared to how it shows up on camera. I can't stress this enough, and I hope customers will vouch for this pic/video difference after installing.

It only supports a 2gb card, which I provide. I got 1 hour of Avengers and Tron on each of those cards, but the original file was saved on Windows Live Movie Maker as the Small Phone default (320x240, Bit Rate 1.60 Mbps). I also delete the sound in case that takes up file space. The small phone default was the best choice from my trial and error regarding clearest picture without a lot of artifacts (pixel blotches). It also saves at a low bit rate, so the file size isn't very big, and more video will fit within the 2gb limit (it's actually around 1.82 gb).

I think the pixel count of the display is actually 128 x 128

I posted this pic and video in the TZ owners' thread and displayed the TV in my game at PAGG. The guys who bought it seem to like it, but I had a difficult time selling them. At the same time, TSPP was selling like crazy, and I had wait lists two different times! Since both use the same model, the decision was made to stock up on TSPP, and it's been a steady seller.

A lot of the TZ market already has the slide show TV, so I don't think guys would buy both. Having a slide show tv AND an MDM with a different design shouldn't be an issue for guys to have both. I was considering the concept below for a future MDM.

Black TV.jpg

TZ Plastic.jpg

This is a good spot, too (yellow square). I tried a different MDM there, and it fits perfectly on one of the screws there. It also hides the switch cover.

TZ MDM Sample Location.jpg

My sample is about 15 minutes for Metallica. I'll have instructions on how to re-format the cards and customers can load their own video in the near future. You can get about 60 minutes, if you want, before it repeats.

No pictures of it installed in a game yet, but here are pics of the device on the website:

http://sparkypinball.com/spider-man-mdm

My sample video is about 21 minutes long, and there are scenes from all three movies, including Bonesaw, Green Goblin, Doc Ock, the New Goblin, black suit, saving MJ from Venom and Sandman.

My sample for NASCAR is about 15 minutes of mostly race finishes, guys celebrating by burning out, and just a basic compilation of racing coverage. If you're a fan of a specific car/driver/team, you could put together a compilation of your favorite stuff.

There are a bunch of space shuttle launch videos on youtube. The one below is a compilation that's 9 1/2 minutes long that could be edited in with others if you wanted the video to be longer. Some of the portions might need to be edited out because of split screens or leaving the camera on a blue sky with a speck of light (shuttle) for too long, but pretty easy.

Looks great, Cheddar! Goes great with the purple post sleeves.

Thanks for the video! How did you avoid the frequency scan lines while filming? Would it be too much to ask you to film some of the scenes that don't take place at night, so IM owners can get a better feel for the video content? Or do the frequency scan lines show up on the brighter scenes?

Honestly, I'm open to doing any titles that might sell, and this includes DE games like TFTC and GnR, or Sys 11 games like ES or WW, There's a certain investment in creating "X" number of plastics, and I'm hoping the initial investment in these first 16 designs was worth the effort and justifies doing more.

There's no charge for the video. The video you receive is a sample for testing purposes to make sure the display works.

I've only been selling these for five days, but it's interesting that I have more requests for Avatar than I have sales for LOTR, SM, Transformers, and XM! LOL!

Any suggestions for the Avatar faceplate art?

LOL! That reminded me of Pepper from American Horror Story!

pepper.jpg

What about a "field" of the floating tree seeds? This is just a quick mock up:

avatar concept.jpg

**Sorry, edited post. I didn't mean to hit send**

Paul, even if you don't have time to install, at least plug one harness through a coin door and plug in each, one at a time, to see what the video looks like.

Sorry for the tease on the mock up. The artwork to get that one ready requires more time than I have right now. The one below, however, can be ready very soon:

TreeOfSouls.jpg

First, thanks! Second, yes, if all goes well with these initial designs.

ACDC was planned to be part of the initial release, but it was tabled for "future release" for various reasons. There are a lot of titles I hope to do, and ACDC will probably be sooner than later.

A bigger size display won't work for playing videos on these particular devices. (Long winded explanation following): The current size plays 1/2 speed, so video has to be edited to 2x to play at normal speed. The dropped frames per second are not that noticeable on a screen this size, especially for our purposes. TSPP uses a slightly larger screen, and the video needs to be edited 2.5x to play at normal speed. I tried larger screens (up to 4.3" diagonal), and the frames per second are HORRIBLE. I had to speed the video close to 5x, but then the dropped frames make the video look very jumpy. These are not intended to be used as media players, and that's the reason for the poor frames per second, but for our purposes, the small size works because it plays on power, repeats, and still has a nice picture. To do that, it's relatively inexpensive.

I believe the small size, the universal design for all games, the simplicity of the device (plug n play), and the relatively low cost makes the MDM a good option...but I'm the guy selling them, so what do I know?

If you're a podcast listener, I had an interview with Charlie on the current episode of Spooky Pinball (ep 53):

http://www.spookypinball.com/podcast-2/

Don and Jeff of The Pinball Podcast talk about the MDM's they received/installed on their current episode 37 (Jeff hadn't installed his yet):

http://www.thepinballpodcast.com/

If you've listened, let me know what you think!

Looks great in that spot, Paul! I thought about moving mine above the Crank It Up scoop, but I may have to consider your spot now! Just to be clear, you added the metal hex spacer to raise it to that height, correct?

Make sure that splitter includes the 5v pin. The 3-pin plug on the Stern games and WPC Power Taps are ground/5v/12v. Looking at the splitters on mezelmods.com, It appears they are only 12v. That won't work for these. The 5v pin needs to be part of that splitter.

GND 5v 12v Plug.jpg

Also to be clear, splitters are only required if you are already using that plug for other mods. Stern Power Taps or FTS-8 splitters are also an option.

Thanks for the review, Paul! Looking forward to seeing your install pics on Mustang and ST!

Correct. You need to tap the middle pin position from the plug or splitter, as shown in the pic above. It's ok if the splitter includes the 12v because it won't be connected to anything on the MDM, and you may want to use the split end for another 12v mod. Hope that makes sense.

The connector on my end is 03-09-2031 (no dog ears tabs), but the splitter or Stern end is 03-09-1032.

Sorry, Paul. I considered splitters at one point, and I will look into adding it as a shopping cart option.

You received it, right? You just haven't had time to install?

I'd like to see pics if you find a location different than where I installed mine.

Yes, like Paul said. It has to be regulated 5 volt. Sys 11 should be easy because Mike at DK Pinball has power taps available (he lists a few as coming soon). I'm not sure where to tap 80b.

How much room is there between the glass and the playfield parts on an 80b? Seems like the glass is right on top of everything. Sys11 games and newer have a lot more depth under the glass.

Thanks! I've been surprised by the number of Australian customers! Good on ya, mates! (ok that was bad)

It wasn't a problem, Doug. No worries.

Thanks for posting pics! It's good to see that these will work in so many different areas!

BTW, your game looks great! I'm wishing I had a Tron

Glad to hear it! I'm shooting to have Avatar ready within a few weeks (maybe sooner).

Thanks for the kind words! If you guys are happy, posting in the owner's threads for those titles goes a long way

Yes, they're available as of this morning. There is a separate category on the home page for splitters, or it comes up as a suggested product when you add a Stern title to your cart.

Good to know!

Mike, do you know if Sega games have the same 5v/12v unused plug as modern Stern? Any plans for a Sega power tap? It would be good to know if I need to make a decision about doing a Sega title in the future.

Ok, now I see that you have the games listed on your website under the appropriate power tap. I was looking for a separate one named "Sega Power Tap."

Thanks guys!

The sample video for Stern's ST is a little over 20 minutes before it repeats. I don't know the official names for the scenes, but if you're familiar with the film, you might recognize my description

-Natives chasing Kirk (Prime Directive?)
- Spock Volcano jump
- Klingon fight
- Kirk fights Khan after Klingon fight
- Khan takes over Vengeance
- Space Jump
- Vengeance crash into earth
- Spock chases Khan after crash
- McCoy's hope for Kirk

The Iron Man MDM had been sold out the last few days. It is now back in stock and available on the website. ( www.sparkypinball.com )

The Avatar MDM's are now available on the website. Sample video is about 35 minutes long and is a compilation of many scenes from the film.

http://sparkypinball.com/avatar-micro-display-mod

Avatar MDM.jpg

Thanks for posting the pics! Looks great!

That looks like the perfect location, Paul!

If you're connecting the led nebula mod to the unused plug near the coin door on the right side of the cab, the splitters on my site simply split that plug for two connections instead of one. You shouldn't have any problems splitting both. If a customer has multiple mods, an FTS-8 from DK Pinball is suggested rather than continuing to connect splitters to splitters. If there is one particular mod that consumes a lot of power, like a topper, a Stern power tap from DK Pinball is recommended to run that mod on a dedicated line.

I hope that answered your question.

The pic below was shared by an ST customer. Another good spot is behind that same asteroid before the ramp turns, or there's a spot by the left VUK that looked pretty good, and it's a little closer to the player.

MustangPaul has an STLE, too, so as soon as he gets a chance to install, he'll probably post pics.

I haven't had any SM customers share their installation location with me yet, so if you find a good spot when you get it, post some pics!

ST Install.jpg

I posted this in one of the TWD threads, but I'm afraid it might get lost in the craziness there.

I hope to have an MDM ready when the game is released. I want to wait to see pics of the playfield art before deciding on the plastic artwork, but what would guys be interested in seeing on the display? A compilation of the show, clips of the motion comic, and/or video scrolling of comic (like the links below)? All of it mixed together?

Send me an email and I'll try to help you troubleshoot. It's losing power, either from a bad harness connector, or possibly splitting with other mods? Move the wire harness back and forth slowly to different positions to see if it goes on/off (don't let the connector pull off the pins, though).

I'm 90% sure that if it works, goes "dark," and then comes back on at the beginning of the video when powered back on, it has intermittent power. More than likely, the red wire on the back of the connector is flaky and moving in and out of "connection."

A corrupt file would go to white screen, snow, or do crazy things in the exact same place every time, and it would have done it before I shipped it. Providing 5v off and on wouldn't corrupt the file.

Cheddar's experience is different because he was creating his own video and loading the micro sd card himself. Once the file is working on the card, it's working on the card. The behavior of MSJ2222's MDM sounds like it has intermittent power or a lack of sufficient power.

Email with pics sent.

I didn't receive those emails, but I sent an email to the account that was attached to your Paypal payment. Sorry for the delay. I was out of town all day without Internet service. I'll take care of the MDM.

A customer sent me this pic of a great location for ToM!

ToM Install.JPG

You had me for a second!

Glad you're happy with it!

There are pics on the website of two different install locations ( www.sparkypinball.com ). The spot I recommended for mamemaster is where I have mine, and I really like it there.

This should be my marketing reply

Unless there's an unforeseen problem with production or shipping, I should be able to introduce seven new titles in the month of September

Care to take some guesses? How quickly before all seven get guessed?

1. ACDC
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

No one has been pressing me to get it done, so it's been low on the priority list. If you want to change out the video, I can email some basic steps that got Cheddar through his space shuttle video for BoP. They might not be as polished as what I hope to put on the website, but I can work you through any troubleshooting if problems come up.

1. ACDC
2. TFTC
3. POTC
4. JP
5.
6.
7.

Three to go!

No big screens here! It's all about micro!

CFTBL MDM is already available, and one of the best sellers!

Still three to go.

Everything named is a strong possibility in the future, but not one of the remaining three

TAF is already "unofficially" available with the black and silver TV. So is TZ. I won't list those on the website because they are made on a special order basis and a little more expensive.

Looks like you guys need some hints on the final three:

1. ACDC
2. TFTC
3. POTC
4. JP
5. (The ramps are the acronym)
6. (The star died before it came out)
7. (It's not out yet)

7. (It's not out yet) - TWD

Two to go!

6. (The star died before it came out) - TDK

One to go:

5. (The ramps are the acronym)

...and then there were 7

1. ACDC
2. TFTC
3. POTC
4. JP
5. GnR
6. TDK
7. TWD

Artwork is finished and the plastics are being printed and cut. I'll be working on the video samples this month, and I hope to have them out before the end of September!

IJ will probably be in the next set of titles.

I like the brass! Post that in the IM VE owner's thread!

In case anyone is interested, top five sellers since launching the website at the beginning of August:

1. TSPP
2. Metallica
3. CFTBL
4. IM
5. Tron

Bump for anyone looking to get one shipped over the weekend.

CFTBL and Metallica have been hot lately!

Glad to hear! I just need to save up some coin and buy a TSPP!

I discovered from ColorDMD that Stern made changes on Star Trek that is causing issues when the MDM is plugged into the aux plug like other Stern titles. To solve the problem, I'm providing a power tap from DK Pinball just like the WPC titles, but they're a little more expensive. ST MDM's are now $124.

The DE titles I'll be introducing soon will also require a DE power tap, and the price on those will be $124 (JP, GnR, and TFTC).

TWD, ACDC, BDK, and POTC will be the regular $109. However, I might start offering the Stern power taps as an option to purchase separately like the splitters in case some customers want to pull 5v from the board rather than split the aux plug with other mods. It might be a more stable option.

I have rally Porsche racing video I created for a customer for Checkpoint using the checkered flag plastic, as well as space shuttle video for BoP using the ST purple nebulae plastic. Those two should be added to the website soon for anyone interested.

Thanks for posting! Looks like it fits right in! Checkpoint is now added to the website, and I plan to add your pics to the website with your permission. The video sample is rally Porsche racing, and I think some other Porsche promotional stuff? A little bit of dashboard cam, too? I can't remember. Help me out, Mark.

That checkered flag plastic is being listed for I500, NASCAR, Corvette, and Checkpoint. It's not listed for Mustang, but I guess it could be used for that, too.

Talk about addicting! I edited ^^^^ for you.

BW = Baywatch or Barb Wire?

Edit: I see you have Baywatch in your collection. Question answered.

Hmmm. A Pamela Anderson MDM theme. Anybody know of any interesting Pam Anderson video I could include?

The seven new MDM's are now available on the website.

ACDC 1.JPG Bat 2.JPG GnR 1.JPG POTC 2.JPG JP 1.JPG TFTC 1.JPG TWD 4.JPG

Next batch of releases, for sure!

I posted the following in the new thread where I announced the new releases. I wanted to include it here, as well. This is regarding customers loading their own video:

>>I have temporarily put all products out of stock while I work on the instructions. Mezelmods has also placed these as "unavailable" until I finish the instructions. I will try to create an easy to follow youtube tutorial, as well as written instructions.

It really isn't very difficult. It's just a little more involved than just copying a file to a micro sd card.<<

Planned for the next batch of new releases.

It doesn't have to be from youtube. It just has to be a digital file on your computer.

I like it, too, except I can't use those words at the top unless most of it is cut off. Something else would have to go there. I like the map idea, or I was thinking of either hieroglyphics or pillars on each side like the Williams translite, with a snake going down one side?

The tough part is that if I ask 10 different people for suggestions, I get 10 different opinions. If I show 10 different people an idea, and they all like it, there's going to be others who don't. Sometimes I just have to go with my gut and hope I sell enough to cover my costs.

This is just my own experience on my own games, but once the game is turned on, the video becomes the primary focus. The plastics just kind of "blend in." Other users of the MDM might have a different opinion, and although I believe the plastics are important, I think the video you choose to present on the MDM is 95% of what makes this mod kinda cool.

I'm still working on a video tutorial showing customers how to load their own video. I hope to put the product back in stock on the website soon.

However, for those of you attending Expo, Rob Anthony (Borygard) should have some titles on display and in stock at his table: TSPP, ACDC, TWD, GnR, CFTBL, and I made some TZ and TAF black and silver TV's for him, as well. The TZ and TAF are not carried on my website, but there are pics of it a few pages back on this thread.

Ordering from my website is available again.

I have a video tutorial showing customers how to load their own video. I also have written instructions as a web page or downloadable pdf. Links are below.

If you're willing to take the time to look at the video or webpage instructions, let me know how difficult or easy it appears, whether you plan to order an MDM or not.

I realize I don't have the greatest voice for the video tutorial, and I probably could have hired someone on fiverr to do the voice over, but I wanted to get this finished, so it is what it is

http://www.sparkypinball.com/t/videoinstructions

Dang it! Little things like that bug me, too. The next time I need to go in and fix something, I'll fix those things.

I also noticed on the written instructions/web page I wrote "Ignore screen size restraints" when it should be "constraints."

I didn't mention anything about the TSPP screen size needing to be 160 x 128 instead of the normal MDM size of 128 x 128.

Other than that, so far so good.

The video file needs to be edited to play at 2x before you start using Workshop4 and the Graphics Composer. For example, the GnR video below was posted by a customer who already edited it at 2x speed. Someone could take that video and save it as a wmv, and it would be ready to convert using the Workshop4 and the Graphics Composer.

Here's Itchy & Scratchy at 2.5x from the same customer. The display for TSPP is a different size, so changing it to 2x wasn't fast enough (it's mis-titled "double speed").