# SDTM: How To Install a ColorDMD into a Pinball Machine. Order yours now at ColorDMD.com

**Source:** Straight Down the Middle  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2017-06-28  
**Duration:** 13m 54s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLRON9aEbaE

---

## Analysis

Zach Sharpe from Straight Down the Middle provides a detailed, step-by-step installation walkthrough of a ColorDMD (color dot matrix display upgrade) for a Bally/Williams-era pinball machine (The Shadow). The video covers disassembly, power/ribbon cable disconnection, mounting hardware removal, ColorDMD installation with proper spacing and grounding, power cable routing, firmware updates via USB, and final assembly. Sharpe emphasizes safety precautions (unplugging, proper grounding, avoiding pin damage) and highlights the visual improvement from monochrome to color display.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] ColorDMD installation takes minimal time and is accessible to home enthusiasts with proper guidance — _Zach Sharpe demonstrates the full installation process as a straightforward procedure; mentions receiving the ColorDMD within two days of ordering_
- [HIGH] ColorDMD dramatically improves visual presentation of pinball machines from monochrome orange DMD to full color — _Sharpe states the original region is 'ugly and orange and lacks definition' and shows final result on The Shadow with full color display; predicts viewers will 'want it in every single one of your machines'_
- [HIGH] ColorDMD requires USB firmware update after initial installation to display color (ships in grayscale) — _Sharpe explicitly states: 'when I turn this thing on, it's going to be in grayscale. What you guys have to do is get a USB, download the latest code off of ColorDMD.com, and install that'_
- [HIGH] ColorDMD is universal and compatible with multiple pinball machine manufacturers including Bally and Harry Williams — _Sharpe references installation diagram showing multiple mounting hole options: 'So on the diagram it'll show you which holes to use because this is universal and it fits in almost every pinball machine'_

### Notable Quotes

> "this region right here is ugly and it's orange and lacks definition and it needs a lot of work"
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~1:15
> _Describes the visual problem ColorDMD solves; establishes the before state_

> "once you guys see this you'll want it in every single one of your machines"
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~1:45
> _Strong endorsement suggesting universal appeal of the mod_

> "I cannot stress enough you do not want to mess up pins that go into these connectors whether it's on the DMD whether it's on the board just use some ease and some grease"
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~3:20
> _Safety and technique emphasis; core advice to viewers_

> "if you don't want to shock your ass, if you don't want to shock yourself, you need to make sure to ground this thing out"
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~9:30
> _Critical safety instruction regarding electrical grounding_

> "ColorDMD includes this... which is a very nice thing"
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~11:00
> _Appreciates thoughtful inclusion of male adapter cable in kit_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Zach Sharpe | person | Host of Straight Down the Middle pinball show, installer and enthusiast demonstrating ColorDMD installation procedure |
| Straight Down the Middle | organization | Pinball-focused YouTube show/media brand hosted by Zach Sharpe |
| ColorDMD | product | Aftermarket color dot matrix display upgrade for pinball machines; replaces monochrome DMD with color LCD display; requires USB firmware update after installation |
| The Shadow | game | Bally/Williams-era pinball machine used in installation demonstration; Sharpe describes it as one of his newer games |
| ColorDMD.com | company | Company manufacturing and selling ColorDMD product; provides firmware downloads and support |
| Terry | person | Referenced contact from Pinball Light / Marco Specialties for replacement translites |
| Pinball Light | company | Pinball parts supplier (appears to be associated with or part of Marco Specialties organization) |
| Marco Specialties | company | Major pinball parts distributor; mentioned as source for replacement translites |

### Topics

- **Primary:** ColorDMD installation procedure, Aftermarket pinball mods and upgrades, Electrical safety in pinball machine maintenance, Bally/Williams DMD-era pinball machine maintenance
- **Secondary:** Hardware compatibility and universal mounting, Firmware updates and software configuration

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Sharpe is enthusiastic and complimentary about ColorDMD product quality, installation experience, and results. Strong endorsement language throughout. Minor tension only in acknowledgment of installation complexity/care requirements, but framed as manageable with proper attention.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Educational content creation around popular aftermarket mods; video serves as instructional resource for community adoption (confidence: high) — Detailed walkthrough format; emphasis on safety; encouragement to purchase and install; reference to ColorDMD.com for ordering
- **[product_strategy]** ColorDMD visual upgrade dramatically improves monochrome DMD presentation to full color; described as transformative aesthetic improvement (confidence: high) — Before/after comparison on The Shadow; Sharpe's statement that viewers will want it 'in every single one of your machines'
- **[technology_signal]** Color DMD replacement technology is accessible, plug-in compatible, and being actively marketed to home enthusiasts and collectors (confidence: high) — Detailed step-by-step installation guide; USB firmware update process; universal mounting compatibility across manufacturer lines

---

## Transcript

 Hey what's happening guys this is Zach from Straight Down the Middle of Pinball Show. So I get home tonight right and you know what's waiting for me? This beautiful box right here. This is the Color DMD, a Color DMD for my Shadow, one of my newer games that I got in. So if you guys look at this machine the trans light is beautiful and colorful, the playfield is beautiful it's colorful but this region right here is ugly and it's orange and lacks definition and it needs a lot of work so i get a hold of the guys at color dmd great people uh and i say i need a color dmd for the shadow and within what two days boom here it is so we're going to install it tonight i'm going to show you guys how easy it is to install and how much of a difference it makes putting a color DMD into every one of your machines once you guys see this you'll want it in every single one of your machines so let's pull this all down and let's get this thing installed all right guys now we have the machine opened up here first thing first things first turn the damn machine off unplug the thing you do not want to get shocked with this high voltage back here so make sure the machine is off the second important thing is make sure that translate you take out is in a safe place if not you're going to bust it and you're going to have to call terry from pinball light from marcos and you're going to get a new one so i put that in a safe place and then we folded down the speaker panel here all right let's start with some directions here directions one work carefully remove the translate and backbox lower the speaker panel as so number two disconnect the dnd power and ribbon cables from the dnd simple enough this is your power cable right here I cannot stress enough you do not want to mess up pins that go into these connectors whether it's on the DMD whether it's on the board just use some ease and some gray see nice little wiggle motion we'll get them right off don't be jerking tugging on them all right so it says unplug the DMD power cable from the high voltage AV board J 604 C figure E which is on the website here and remove this cable from the backbox all together a little awkward position here but now for mine mine wrapped all the way up through here to right here it was attached to one of these so I had to take all of the little little connectors that was holding these together I just snipped all of them off so I've already prepped that and again nice little wiggle you don't want to mess around too much and then you'll take it out from all of there and take this thing out of your machine. Okay. That is done. Remove and save all the DMD mounting hardware. Remove the original DMD from the game and store it in a safe place. Alright. Very important. So I've taken the nuts off of these already and you just lift it like so. Be careful with this thing because you know what's going to happen. If you've got a good DMD you're going to go sell it another game and it's going to have a couple lines out you're going to need this bad boy or sell it on eBay or pins I don't care all right so we saved all the mounting hardware There are one things you want to do There a washer there a nut on there and then there a black spacer I taken all of those out Next thing, it says if the pinball machine has a lamp board mounted to the speaker panel, some of them do right up here, disconnect that and put it to the side in a safe place. Then remove the protective film from the front side of the new color DMD. I have done that. I'm joking. That would be bad. That would make a hell of a video though, wouldn't it? Install the one quarter inch spacer for each of the four threaded studs. One, two, three, four. It comes in the package with the color DMD. They're little white clear ones. So you take the black ones off, put them with your nuts and your washers. Take these and put them on each one of these. I have them on there. Alright. Then position the color DMD face down in the orientation shown in figure B, which is on the website. And this is that orientation. So again, I've got my spacers on there. I'm putting this right and you know what this is a good time if you have any dirt on that speaker display go ahead and get that all out of there all right this is a nice piece of equipment so you do not want to tear up anything as you're doing this. All right, so on the diagram it'll show you which holes to use because this is universal and it fits in almost every pinball machine. So make sure you line them up on the Bally Williams, that second one right there. So we've got that in, what do we do next? What do we do next? Okay, we've got that. Use step seven, use the original DMD mounting hardware from step three to fast and the color DMD display to the speaker panel. See figure B for correct stacking order and that's really nice. So what they want you to do is take the existing ones from your DMD these spacers they're black they're tall they want you to put these back over the screws like so. Okay they're all on there. Next comes the washer and then the lock nut. Put my washer on all four of them. Ta-da. And then the lock nut on top. to the living isn't it? Alright, two more, two more. Alright, now you're going to tighten these up, but words of wisdom here, just barely, I mean, you're not cramming this thing in there. So just make sure they're tight. You don't want it to come loose, but then again, you really don want to damage any of the hardware there All right those are in directions What do you got next for me Okay so now Step 8. Locate the included green color DMD ground cable. Right here. And connect the ground lug on the metal bracket. See, fit your seat to the ground lug in the backbox. So it shows that the ground lug is right there. So I take out this screw. I put the ground plug on. This is really important guys because if you don't want to shock your ass, if you don't want to shock yourself, you got to make sure to ground this thing out. Again, tight without breaking anything. This goes back to this ground plug right here. Take the screw off there. Now there will probably be an existing ground plug, I just take that out all together. You don't need that. And loop this back onto there. Then take your lock nut and lock it tight so you have a nice good ground there. Bam! Good to go. Alright, next. I'm sweating in here because I turned the AC off so we can hear this thing. Alright, so we got that in. And then it has a big warning. Electric shock hazards. To protect against electrical shock, do not operate the game without ensuring that that color DMD metal bracket is electrically grounded. Alright, step nine. Locate the included four pin color DMD power cable. Here it is. Ah, isn't it beautiful? Okay, one end of the cable has a single connector. Plug this connector into the power header on the color DMD. And you'll see the power header is right here. And there's four holes in there. One of them is plugged so that you can match it up to that one. So there's only one way to do it. And again, don't want to break them pins, so wiggle, wiggle, wiggle. Okay. Okay, plug the other end of the new color DMD power cable into J116 of the WPC power driver board, C figure E. So it shows pictures for all of this stuff. If an existing cable is currently plugged into J116, it is, then disconnect it before connecting the color DMD power cable. So we're going to disconnect it, and we're going to connect, again, the top one. Connect the top one in there. And there's one plug that's plugged out, so you can't plug that in. Good to go, good to go. Make sure you don't bump any other wires. So then you route the new color DMD power cable along the existing game cables for a clean install. Right here. Let's tuck it right back there. That's good. Okay, good to go. If you disconnected a cable from J116, we did in the previous step, use the included male adapter to reconnect it I already got the male adapter in there but this is what it looks like There you go Male to male And ColorDMD includes this So that is a very nice oven. All right. So we're going to plug this 116 right back into it. All right. We're good to go there. Okay. Step 12, plug the 14 pin ribbon cable into the DMD and the color DMD with the red stripe nearest the top side. This is what we're talking about. This is existing, so we keep that plugged in. On this ribbon cable, there is one red side. It shows you the schematics here of the red side needing to go to one particular side. For this, the red side is closest to the top of the color DMD. like so. Alright, what else you got for me? Directions. If the pinball machine has a lamp board mounted to the speaker panel that was removed, reattach that lamp board. And then it says double check for proper alignment of all cable connections. Good. Good. We're good. We are good. Ground is good. We're all good. While ensuring no wires get pinched, raise the speaker panel and turn the machine on. You guys were here. This is it. Alright. So let's lift this bad boy back up in there. This is the tricky part, making sure those cables, you guys know about that, make sure those cables don't get crept. And again, make sure that machine is off. If you go messing around back here, you're going to hit a fuse and oh, you're going to be hating life. All right, so those are all good. Uh-oh, turn the color DMD on. So what you guys will need to know, when I turn this thing on, it's going to be in grayscale. What you guys have to do is get a USB, download the latest code off of Colordmd.com, and install that. So let's do all of that. Now you guys are going to see the color display on the shadow. All right, guys, I'll show you this real quick as well. So I folded it down, and you put the USB right in there, and then it tells you to press and hold the leftmost button to begin the update. Alright, then it goes, it shows you the LED there and it is programming it right now. You can take a little sneak peek. It doesn't show anything. And it will tell you when it's done. Alright guys, so there it is. Color DMD on the Shadow. Look at that. Beautiful, isn't it? Look. the weed hoping you guys like the install again this is back from straight down the middle you gotta see that So go to coloredmd.com, order these for all of your machines. They really are the greatest mod.

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

---

*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 9166e039-31a1-42ec-8e82-36915a102ce9*