Firstly I am not having a go at any of the company's in regards to using LCD's as they look cool and bring pinball to a very modern look, but I do have some concerns and have wondered about it for a while.
Unlike displays using leds (which replaced the plasma options) etc I am am concerned that in the future LCD's could suffer a supply issue and when some units are so specific to fit in playfields like with Heighway as well as fit inside speaker panels and backboxes I do wonder if they will keep using one size and brand constantly for many years as well as always have a healthy stock of them for any issues due to age in years to come.
I don't want to strike fear or major concern but unlike dmd's which was pretty much one type was used by multiple companies for many years and some clever people are able to reproduce them. I think LCD's become very specifically ordered by a company made by specialist in the game of making LCD's and probably in batches of hundreds to thousands.
I am interested to hear peoples thoughts on the subject or even better if anyone actually has insider knowledge about what Heighway, Stern, JJP, Dutch and Homepin have plans for in the future in the way of LCD's.
Also something to think about, what if a fairly new company went out of business in the near future how could that affect supply and issues down the track.
posted 16-1-17
