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So, how are you setting up your consoles?


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Okay, maybe not a bunch of consoles, but I do have a 2600, 7800 & Colecovision. Now, I'd like to set these up in the 2nd living room's TV but I'd like to build a custom cabinet to hold them, their controllers and cartidges in some sort of fashion.

 

I want to build something that closely resembles the old kiosks we all used to see at Sears or other department stores in the 70s and 80s, but those were built with the idea of customers standing for a few minutes to play some of the games, and a bit too tall if you plan to sit in front of a couch to play them. Currently I have them in a cheapo entertainment center with an ABC switch so I can switch between each console I'd like to play.

 

So, down to my question - what are you guys doing to display/setup your multiple consoles? Looking for design ideas for this so I can properly show-off my systems :)

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I use an entertainment center myself, one that has a decent amount of shelving. Right now I've got 7 machine hooked up, with one port open for my PSP's component cables and another for plug and play devices (like my Pac-Man arcade stick).

 

(excuse the poor quality of the images, working with a webcam here)

 

setup1.jpg

setup2.jpg

 

A/V Selectors are the way to go. I got mine from Gamestop though plenty of other companies make them. My only problem is that even with my system selectors, I have systems that use composite hookups that I have to leave unhooked. I was thinking of maybe daisy-chaining them but I'm not sure if that would degrade the quality on the second switchbox and on top of that, I don't really have the space for it.

 

I've seen some real nice custom jobs on this website. Check out the Show Us Your Collection! forum if you get a chance. I'm not super crafty but I have been thinking I might get a couple bookshelves and just cut some holes in the back for my systems, which will probably give me more space. Then I can get a decent TV stand instead of a 20 year old entertainment center ;)

 

One thing I do like about my current setup is that the shelves are large enough that I can stuff a ccontroller nearby without it looking to cluttered. Wires are a mess though. I need to get a fake plant or something to hide all the power cables heh.

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I use just a standard entertainment center that I got for like $20 a few years back. I put the systems I use most there and then for my spares and systems I don't play as often I put selves up above the TV for them. I need to get an AV selector but it works for now and since my AV on the TV is on the front it's not as big as hassle as you may think.

post-27652-0-83939200-1306520914_thumb.jpg

post-27652-0-08325100-1306520929_thumb.jpg

Edited by GKC
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I use just a standard entertainment center that I got for like $20 a few years back. I put the systems I use most there and then for my spares and systems I don't play as often I put selves up above the TV for them. I need to get so AV selectors but it works for now and since my AV on the TV is on the front it's not as big as hassle as you may think.

 

nice trampoline

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I use just a standard entertainment center that I got for like $20 a few years back. I put the systems I use most there and then for my spares and systems I don't play as often I put selves up above the TV for them. I need to get so AV selectors but it works for now and since my AV on the TV is on the front it's not as big as hassle as you may think.

 

nice trampoline

 

It's the kids' play room. Not for sale ;)

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Yea, I can do something like these - as mentioned I already have them in my entertainment center. I was just wondering if anyone built something custom for their consoles to accommodate them.

 

As mentioned, I was thinking about modifying the design of the old Atari Kiosks to house the carts on either side of the TV, and the consoles in a slide-out below. Give it a sort of retro/70's vibe to it.

post-3524-0-40529200-1306524066_thumb.jpg

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I have a Wii, a Saturn, a PS 2, and toploader NES hooked up at once, I alternate the NES in with a Genesis or SNES when I see fit. Definitely won't hook everything else up at once as I don't have the room. The Wii and Saturn I alternate hookups with as my TV only has so many jacks, most of the time the Saturn's hooked up as I find I play it more. No shelves though as the only shelves I have are home to a lot of my games.

Edited by Bloodreign
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My system setup is a gaint mess. I have 5 game systems all setup in a daisy chain so that they all go through one convertor box and into my TV. The tangle of cords that results from this is such an unholy mess that I dare not try to mess with it unless it's absolutely necessary. It doesn't help that the rat's nest behind my 2600 occasionally comes to life and tries to strangle me while I play my XEGS (interestingly, it also rattles when I play Lynx).

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i have 8 or 10 consoles and they are all in the basement organized with their controls and games in boxes, when i want to play one or show it off for company i bring the whole box upstairs, spend the 5 minutes it takes to hook it to the TV and play for a day or two, then bring it back down to the basement. my wife is really picky about cords being everywhere so after almost a dozen years of marriage this is what works best for us.

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i have 8 or 10 consoles and they are all in the basement organized with their controls and games in boxes, when i want to play one or show it off for company i bring the whole box upstairs, spend the 5 minutes it takes to hook it to the TV and play for a day or two, then bring it back down to the basement. my wife is really picky about cords being everywhere so after almost a dozen years of marriage this is what works best for us.

Yep, the wife, every collectors problem. ;)

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you think thats bad you shoulda seen her when i announced my intention of getting a full sized arcade cabinet! she flat out refused and i told her there was no way she was going to tell me what i could or could not have in my own home. she resisted until i got my first cab, then once she played it and her friends were saying how cool it was she was fine with it. now i have two cabs and a pinball, and theyre all in the upstairs, not the basement.

 

the reality is for me, emulators are fine 99% of the time. its only when i want to show off for a group of people that i hook up a vintage console.

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i have 8 or 10 consoles and they are all in the basement organized with their controls and games in boxes, when i want to play one or show it off for company i bring the whole box upstairs, spend the 5 minutes it takes to hook it to the TV and play for a day or two, then bring it back down to the basement. my wife is really picky about cords being everywhere so after almost a dozen years of marriage this is what works best for us.

Yep, the wife, every collectors problem. ;)

 

its must be most women,my mum also hates all my systems lying everywhere :P

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I have two TVs set up.

 

My LCD has everything that can do SVideo plugged into a Pelican Av switch (8 switch unit). Dreamcast, 3DO, SNES, N64, Atari 7800 (modded), gamecube. I also have my ps2 and ps3 hooked up to the TV via HDMI and component.

 

The Pelican switch is a great solution to the lack of inputs. It uses premade name inserts above each of the switches, the idea being that one could switch out the inserts for whatever one has plugged in. Problem is, they don't make additional inserts and most of the game systems are not available. I make do with labels. It's fairly simple to use. Set the TV on S-Video and push the switch of the system to use.

 

The switch is no longer being sold, sadly, so you have to look around for one. I got mine at Goodwill on a chance find. I had to buy a AC adapter from Radio Shack, but for 35 bucks total, I've not regretted buying it.

 

The second TV, a 25" CRT has the older classic systems that require RF or composite. I have a maze of Y cables int he back to hook everything up. Atari 5200, Intellivistion, NES, Genesis.

 

Pictures of my set-up here for those who are interested.

Edited by Lendorien
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Here's my setup (basically) from a few months ago.

 

It's changed around a bit now. It now includes my NES, SNES, N64, Wii, Genesis, PS2 and PS3.

 

I'm thinking about screwing in some hooks to dangle controllers above each console. Currently the controllers for most of the systems have to be disconnected every time and placed in a basket, which I don't really like because I think it wears out the connections. And besides, damnit, I'm fickle. I want to just be able to grab my controllers and play. :P

 

The older consoles are currently in storage and come out to play periodically when I have time. I'm planning on getting a CRT and setting up a new home for them in the computer room, which will include my 2600, 7800 (hopefully), ColecoVision, Intellivision, SMS, and APF TV Fun (hopefully), and moving the NES in there too for the light gun.

 

As you see in the pics, consoles are covered with towels. I've been very slowly working on making console covers for each of them. That's a slow process, though, as I'm very new to sewing, and I am particularly picky about how they look and work.

Edited by SlowCoder
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This is my solution at present. The bookshelves came from Target, $79 each. The pic is actually old, I swapped my two television stands to the one with shelves in it to hold more systems.

 

Game Room 2011 - The Rig

 

There is a liberal application of "power center" computer power strips, so I can leave everything effectively 'plugged in' but unpowered. I also have a handful of A/V switches daisy-chained to provide for non-RF systems. That part, I have plans to fix it when I get enough 'discretionary' money to put together a version of Ben Heckendorn's solid-state A/V switchbox.

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Shoerack, the coated wire type. Four shelves on each, about 29$ IIRC.

 

I have a "media storage shelf" which is like a bookshelf but not as deep and with shorter shelves, from wallyworld. That's got my GEN and SNES carts; to the right of that is a cube shelf with 2600, CV and INTV carts (as well as 7800, SCD, FAMI and SMS stacked on top). Anyway, that's one wall. Adjacent to that wall I have one wire shoerack, then the TV in a entertainment center, then another shoerack. So it goes like this:

 

GCN, WII, GEN1 w/SCD

GEN3, GEN2, Generation NEX

2600jr, dead Wii, NES

SNES, SMS1

 

that's to the left of the tv. To the right is

 

vader2600, INTV2

DC, 7800

CV, Gemini

PS1, INTV1

 

so you can fit 2-3 systems per shelf with a good use of space.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I used to have 12 video game/computer systems all hooked up to the same TV on a large computer desk with a hutch. I used four 4-position switch boxes all hooked together...three games into each one, with the 4th output running to the next box and then on the last one, to the TV. I finally decided it was a fire hazard as they were all plugged into a number of power strips under the desk (although never turned on at the same time)...so I put all but three of my favorites in plastic storage boxes under another desk and just pull them out when I want to play one.

 

 

Okay, maybe not a bunch of consoles, but I do have a 2600, 7800 & Colecovision. Now, I'd like to set these up in the 2nd living room's TV but I'd like to build a custom cabinet to hold them, their controllers and cartidges in some sort of fashion.

 

I want to build something that closely resembles the old kiosks we all used to see at Sears or other department stores in the 70s and 80s, but those were built with the idea of customers standing for a few minutes to play some of the games, and a bit too tall if you plan to sit in front of a couch to play them. Currently I have them in a cheapo entertainment center with an ABC switch so I can switch between each console I'd like to play.

 

So, down to my question - what are you guys doing to display/setup your multiple consoles? Looking for design ideas for this so I can properly show-off my systems :)

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Since I'm so limited on space, I only keep one console hooked up at a time. I have two TVs, an old 13" Sony KV-1397R and a five-year old 14" Toshiba 14AF43; the Sony gets used for systems with RF and composite video (composite through this TV looks fantastic) while the Toshiba is used for S-video and RGB (through a SCART to component converter). For audio, I hook up whatever console I want to play through an old JVC R-X500B receiver, which has a couple of 1970s-era speakers and a newish subwoofer hooked up to it.

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