I’ve been playing with setups to do this but haven’t executed anything yet. I was curious what other people are using for these setups with a camera over a machine showing the game being played on a tv above it. Specifically what equipment for cameras and such to make it work with a tv. mounting of stuff isn’t an issue. Before I invest a bunch of money I’d figured I would see if anyone else had some good cost effective equipment they are happy with. Ideally all this stuff would power up itself on turning the circuit back on each time we open. I don’t feel like powering on each tv and camera individually and selecting inputs every time.
Yes, but we leave everything on for the entire duration of the event. Those Sony 405 cameras are a pain to turn on and off!
Exactly! Fine to do for a couple days but to do it it year round no thanks!
didnt some people try the Panasonic v180 camera as well? is it the same issue?
some thoughts (sorry no actual experience):
- is there a point where you get worthwhile cost savings if you have multiple webcams being passed through a single computer
- raspberry pi with cam direct to tv
- some sony camera models allow remote management of multiple cameras through a smartphone app. not sure whether it needs to be reconnected with each power cycle though
I don’t need any remote connections or everything running through a single hub. Just a camera direct fed to tv in the simplest cost effective form. I don’t need a high end camera I would assume. It’s doing one simple task.
A pi4 can run a Logitech webcam at 720p60 and output to HDMI. It will all just work on powerup, mostly.
I wonder if the new pi camera module v3 would work.
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Right, but I assume you’re looking to do multiple games? I’m just wondering whether 6 webcams and one pc is cheaper than 6 hdmi-output video cameras
I tipped David Yopp to this thread, so hopefully he chimes in. He has flip side in Memphis TN and has done the TVs above the games for years and years.
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Just saw that on Facebook
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Curious what there equipment is.
I have been operating cameras above the majority of my machines for several years. Each setup cost me about $350 and they were well worth it. Our competitive players have told me many times how much they miss having the cameras when they compete out of town.
I have a video of how I set them up but it is kind of old, so the equipment I originally used I had to update when we went from being in an antique mall to opening a full fledged bar. I’ll share a link to the video in a follow-on post, but also add the updated equipment that I use now.
Yopp
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Here is a link to the video: YOPP System (Yopp’s Overhead Pinball Projection System) - YouTube
Several things to note: I no longer mount the cameras to the machine itself which makes it much easier when I want to change out machines. Just pull a machine out from under the camera and add a new one. To get the camera above mounted on the wall above, I created mounts using long wood clamps I purchased at Harbor Freight, and all the conversion equipment sits in trays that I mounted to the wall above the machines. They trays hide the power supplies, conversions boxes and also support the clamp/camera.
The original cameras I purchased were no longer available, but I found new ones on Amazon that don’t look quite as good, but they get the job done and they are cheaper. The conversion box is also available on Amazon. I won’t include a link to the TV’s, but any 32" 720P tv will work fine. You can go larger and 1080P if you want to spend more, but it’s really not needed. Trying to create a system in which the TV’s all come on at once is probably possible, but I just bought all matching TV’s and turn them on with one remote. Finding tv’s that will auto-on may be hard, I don’t know.
Here is the camera and conversion box I used:
Camera: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B096K56YLK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I’ll have to share the link to the converter box in a follow on post since I’m a new user and it will only let me put two links in a single post. See below.
A couple of additional items you will need: SDI cables to reach from the camera to the conversion box. 12V power supply for the camera. HDMI cable from conversion box to TV.
As far as longevity goes- I’ve had both cameras and conversion boxes that have been powered on for 3+ years at this point and they have given me zero issues. They are basically security cams so they are made to be powered on at all times. I just leave them on, and turn the tv’s off at night.
Here’s another photo of the screens, different angle:
Yopp
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And finally, the conversion box:
SDI to HDMI Converter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086VZSDLJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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@JSwain did you get the info to help in the rest of the thread? I can reach out to the owner of Level One if not to see how he is set up. I do play there and really enjoy being able to watch the games on the screens but don’t have knowledge of how he’s pulls off the wizardry 
Thanks for all that info. Very helpful. We already have a cable system running across the Gabe’s with streaming cameras that can slide across the whole bank so no issues with mounting cameras for us. Was more looking at the raw hardware of cameras/converters/tvs. Buying all the same tvs and being able to use the sane remote to hit pier and Input and have all systems going at once is fine. Especially since you leave those cameras on 24/7. I know our players will love it but can’t do all 55 games. Don’t have a spare $20k lying around 