Installation guide

Chapter 1: Hang the Displays 5
Option2: Purchase your own displays.
There are a number of manufacturers of mounting brackets for TVs and other displays that can be readily seen
in Bars, Clubs and other facilities. This is a large industry, which should have a number of local suppliers who can
advise you on the various methods on mounting displays onto the ceiling.
Following are the web site addresses of some, but not all, of the major manufacturers of this type of equipment:
www.atdec.com
www.pivotelli.com
www.peerlessindustries.com
Comments on choosing a display
Obviously, price can have a large bearing on the decision for which display to purchase to use with the system,
but the following factors should also be taken into account when purchasing displays:
Commercial Grade vs Domestic Grade:
Although Domestic TV screens are cheaper than Commercial Grade displays, using a Domestic TV MAY
produce some issues. It may be possible that you will void the warranty if you use a Domestic TV in a commercial
setting. Also, as a general statement, a commercial grade panel will be of higher quality than a domestic grade panel.
This may result in a longer life span with fewer problems. Commercial Grade monitors are also designed to remain
the same in appearance across multiple hardware versions. The appearance of Domestic Grade monitors are
constantly changing and it may be difficult to source the same monitor after a short period of time.
Inputs:
Your display MUST be able to accept BOTH VGA and DVI inputs. This is because with the Duo system, the
Odd Lane is using the VGA output of the Duo CPU Module and the Even Lane uses DVI. If DVI is not available, then
you can use a HDMI input instead.
Warning: Some older LCD TVs may OVERSCAN a PC signal when using HDMI. This means
that Left and Right edge of the image may be off the screen. Newer TVs have the
option of turning off overscan from within their menu system. You should check that
this is the case before purchasing your displays.
Quality:
The cheapest display is not necessarily the best. Consider that the usual life of a scoring system is at least 10
years and that any monitor that will be reliable for that length of time must be well built. (and well maintained) As a
general statement, LCD TV screens will be more reliable long term than glass CRT TV screens or Plasma panels.
Presence:
Go with a supplier who is reputable and present in the market. Commonly, a manufacturer with an unknown
brand may not last long term, making spares and repair work hard to achieve.
Service:
Choose a supplier with a local repair agent. Sometimes a manufacturer will actually include the schematic
diagram for the monitor’s electronics with their other documentation. This will make a repairer’s job much easier.
Spares:
Strongly consider purchasing additional units for spare parts as insurance against failure that cannot be
repaired. (Or replaced with an equivalent unit) Spare units are often put into service as TV screens in the Bar or Café
until they are required.
RS-232:
Your displays should also be able to accept an RS232 serial data signal to include the ability to select the video
source on the monitor via serial connection. This will facilitate the feature, which allows the bowlers to watch TV on
one screen while both score grids are displayed on the other screen. This also allows video to be displayed on the
screen when it is not being used for a score grid. This input is usually labelled as “RS-232.” See Appendix D for
more information on switching video sources.
Try It:
The Duo unit is small enough that it should be possible to take one to your local TV retailer to test the quality of
the TV’s display of the video signal. Although this is not essential, it could make your purchase decision an easier
one, and allow you to be confident that your choice will work with the equipment.