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Tabletop Arcade that ANYONE can BUILD!

RetroRalph·video·9m 51s·analyzed·Feb 6, 2019
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.019

TL;DR

DIY tabletop arcade build using 7-inch LCD display and Raspberry Pi RetroPie system.

Summary

Retro Ralph demonstrates building a tabletop arcade system using a 7-inch HDMI touchscreen LCD display paired with a Raspberry Pi running RetroPie emulation software. The project explores feasibility and design considerations, including cable management challenges, speaker configuration, and mounting orientation. Ralph highlights the versatility of the system for retro gaming on a compact form factor while noting areas for aesthetic improvement.

Key Claims

  • The 7-inch LCD display includes HDMI connectivity and a built-in mount for Raspberry Pi, making it suitable for a tabletop arcade project.

    high confidence · Ralph examines the display components and confirms HDMI capability and mounting hardware during the unboxing and build process.

  • Mounting the Raspberry Pi in the opposite direction from the manual instructions provides better cable management and aesthetics.

    high confidence · Ralph explicitly recommends reversing the mounting orientation and demonstrates the improvement, noting it prevents wires from being visible on the front.

  • Audio output may default to HDMI rather than the 3.5mm headphone jack, requiring configuration adjustment for speaker use.

    high confidence · Ralph diagnoses speaker silence and identifies the audio routing issue, adjusting settings to output through the headphone jack.

  • There is a RetroPie joystick compatibility list available to help users select guaranteed-compatible controllers.

    high confidence · Ralph references the compatibility list when selecting his gamepad and recommends it as a resource for users.

  • The 7-inch display screen is a touchscreen with multiple potential use cases beyond gaming, depending on the Raspberry Pi operating system loaded.

    high confidence · Ralph notes the touchscreen capability and mentions potential for running multiple operating environments via different SD cards.

Notable Quotes

  • “What if we could turn this into a tabletop arcade system? I think we can. I think it would be really cool if we did.”

    Retro Ralph@ 1:32 — Establishes the core project vision and enthusiasm for the build.

  • “I would actually mount it the opposite direction and you'll find out later in the video. It will make cable management ten times better and it will look a lot better.”

    Retro Ralph@ 2:12 — Provides actionable advice to viewers on a key design improvement over manufacturer instructions.

  • “There is a RetroPie joystick compatibility list. It's actually a really good place to go if you're having trouble or you want to know where you should go for joysticks that are guaranteed to work with RetroPie.”

    Retro Ralph@ 3:23 — Educational resource recommendation for viewers building similar projects.

  • “I'm just not digging all the wires showing. I mean, because you can easily put this on a tabletop and play two players, so...”

    Retro Ralph@ 6:18 — Identifies the primary aesthetic concern with the prototype design.

  • “This is actually really cool guys. I don't know, I wouldn't have thought this was a cool way to play this but I kind of like it.”

    Retro Ralph@ 7:48 — Positive assessment despite initial reservations, indicating project success.

Entities

Retro RalphpersonRetroPieproductRaspberry PiproductEmulation StationproductStreets of RagegameSega Genesisproduct

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.030

0:00
Hey guys, Retro Ralph here. Welcome back. So in today's episode, I'm going to do something a little bit different. I'm always combing the internet for new and unique things and products and whatnot, and I saw something that was kind of cool. It's a 7-inch LCD panel that has HDMI that's kind of built for RetroPies, or RaspberryPies. We call them RetroPies because that's what we use them for. But I got to thinking, if it has a mount for a RetroPie or RaspberryPie on the back, you know, it could make a cool tabletop computer if you hook up a keyboard to it, but better yet, it'd make a really cool tabletop arcade. So let's deconstruct this thing, we'll dive into it, put it together, and see is it feasible to make a tabletop arcade out of, you know, this seven inch display. I'm kind of excited about this, so let's sit back, relax, and go do it.
0:58
All right guys, what we have here is a 7 inch LCD display, but it's really more than that. So let's open it up and see what we got. What my idea is here is I got an idea for a cool project that I think you guys will be into. So basically this is sort of a LCD picture frame based on a retro pie. What I was thinking would be cool is, what if we could turn this into a tabletop arcade system? I think we can. I think it would be really cool if we did. So here's the display. It's a touch screen. Really cool. I'm actually thinking there's a lot of really neat applications for this because this is actually a HDMI display. So we're going to have to play with this in other applications later, but let's get this thing built and see what we can do. Alright, so let's start the build process. So the only thing I'll say here is that paper that's coming off those pieces of plastic, it's pretty difficult and it takes a while. So just have your patience and take some time with that. The only other recommendation I would make is that it tells you to turn the RetroPie in a certain direction. I would actually mount it the opposite direction and you'll find out later in the video. It will make cable management ten times better and it will look a lot better. So we about wrapping up the build and we be back to live action here in a second Okay so we pretty much done building this beast I not really excited about how the HDMI cable does that I feel like there could probably be a better way to do that and maybe tuck that out of the way. So I don't see a power connector anywhere. I'm going to assume I can power the display off of the actual Raspberry Pi itself, which would be pretty cool if you can.
2:51
There we go. some more cords. I mean, I guess we can probably get some wire ties and make that look nice eventually. Okay. So I went and got a couple items to round this thing off. I got two speakers, cheap $10 speakers, got the Raspberry Pi power supply, five volt, a joystick, one that is on the, I know it looks generic, but it's on the compatibility list for RetroPie. I don't know if you guys know that, but there is a RetroPie joystick compatibility list. It's actually a really good place to go if you're having trouble or you want to know where you should go for joysticks that are guaranteed to work with RetroPie. Okay, so I guess we'll power this thing up. This is not exactly the elegant look I was going for, but that's okay. Well, there's always, this is round one. We haven't, this is actually prototype number one. So she kind of looks maybe a little cool with all that stuff hanging off of it. I'm going to plug the joystick in to the USB port and I'm going to plug these speakers into both the headphone jack. I feel like this retro pi would have been better if it was mounted. I feel like they tell you to mount it this way, but if you mounted it upside down, you wouldn't see nearly any of the wires. So I'm thinking they might have messed up in the instructions.
4:26
Because I don't know that you want to see all that. And if you have it upside down, which I don't see why you couldn't, you wouldn't have that problem. All right, so I've got my gamepad. I got my speakers.
4:41
All right, I guess we could try to fire this thing up. Admittedly, I already put a RetroPie image on this, so we see if it just boots up and works All right let fire it up Lots of wires dude Not exactly what I was thinking
5:01
I do think this was wrong. I think all this stuff goes underneath, in which case it would look a lot nicer. So I'm going to have to remount the RetroPie. It just doesn't look right like that. All right, it's booting emulation station. I don't hear any sound from the speakers. Let's see if we can get these speakers working. Sometimes that's a common issue. If you use the 3.5 millimeter jack, the audio doesn't come out of the speakers. It comes out of the HDMI connection, which is most of the time you want that. But in this case, we don't want that. So let's see. So we want headphone jack.
5:38
Whoa. Sweet. All right, let's see what we got here. I'm going to play some. Let's see. Let's see my Genesis stuff. I think the speakers are kind of a fail here, but that's okay.
5:58
Well, my favorite game is Streets of Rage, so let's do that. Ooh, this could be cool. I mean, the screen's not a bad size, really.
6:16
Especially for the distance I'm playing at. I'm just not digging all the wires showing. I mean, because you can easily put this on a tabletop and play two players, so... I don't know, man. I think this could be a cool thing. I don't know. What do you guys think?
6:31
My biggest beef of it is this. Like, I don't really like that that's all showing, so... I feel like if there was a way to get rid of that, I think I would be a little bit more into it. Okay, I'm just trying to flip this around because I did not like the way those wires were hanging out everywhere. I'm kind of digging this whole setup, though. I just didn't like the way the wires were in the way.
6:52
All right, let's see if that helps. So, you know, there's a lot of wires in this thing, but I think it'll look a little bit better having the HDMI from the bottom and not this craziness that it was before. It looks much nicer from the front.
7:09
I still am not totally digging the wire footprint, But it still I think it much much much better than it was so let uh I call that an upgrade Let turn this guy on again All right here a closer look at this thing So what do you guys think of this so far I think it's kind of cool.
7:48
This is actually really cool guys. I don't know, I wouldn't have thought this was a cool way to play this but I kind of like it. If you could put it on a table top or like on your desk at work or something. Maybe not on your desk at work but this is so cool. And the screen actually looks really nice. I don't know if it comes through on the camera, but it's a really cool looking. It's really nice looking screen I
8:22
Didn't mention this screen is also a touchscreen as well, so if you were loaded one of the many Raspberry Pi operating environments you could You could use the touchscreen just kind of cool So this thing could be dual-purpose whether that where they have multiple SD cards that you're gonna put in it or whatever so Alright guys that about wraps things up
8:44
and that's because I missed some configuration settings in the manual for the touchscreen. So make sure you see those and configure those for the boot.config file, and that'll make sure the screen is set up adequately. So sorry about that, but hopefully you guys like this video, please. I would love to hear your comments, so leave them in the comment section below. Please subscribe to the channel, and as always guys, thanks for watching, and we'll see you on the next one.
9:14
Thank you.