Hey there!
Here I come again with a new idea for my HTPC project. I changed the concept of my ideal layout. Here is a short description of the reasoning I have been doing in the last weeks (part-time...). First I was very keen on having a touchscreen on the HTPC case, and was fancying Silverstone LC18. Additionally, I needed 2 more video outputs: a big LCD for TV and working on Office applications/Internet browsing, and a projector for movies watching. Well, I wasn’t confident at all in managing to use the 3 outputs independently. Ideally, I would have liked to keep all the controls for the MCE in the small touchscreen, while sending the full-screens to the projectors, and being able to browse the internet on the LCD at the same time. 2 PCI-e cards could have done the job, but I felt it was going to be too tough to set-up. Additionally, the small touch screen (7”) would not have been as practical as desired for managing MCE.
So I got to another config. The key point of this project is the following. I want to have a 12” LCD with touchscreen in a comfortable position at my coach. This LCD would be hold by a flexible arm (allowing to move it around the coach) and connected to the HTPC. Then, a second big panoramic LCD would be required. That’s where I will display all the full-screens (watching DVDs and TV). The 2 LCDs would be managed by a dual DVI video card, used in a dual view mode, being the 12” touchscreen the main desktop. The purpose of this touchscreen LCD is:
I know there are PPC based solutions available for managing MCE, but this would not allow to be working on a separate screen while movies are playing.
So I first need to validate the feasibility of the touchscreen.
I first had a look to some existing solutions: cased LCD touch screen displays (3M...), but didn’t find anything interesting. High weight, low resolution,.... These are kiosk-aimed solutions...
Then I turned to the car PCs in order to find something that I could use, but nothing convincing.
Now I am considering building my own home-made touch screen. Buying a spare LCD display for laptop, and then adding a touch screen panel to this, and finally building a case (aluminium or so) and adapting it to the flexible arm. I am however finding some difficulties, and some things are not very clear.
So my topic could reduce to the following question: “How to use a laptop display in order to build a cased touchscreen connected to an HTPC?”
I found some topics about how to adapt old laptops LCDs to create a desktop LCD, but in my case I can choose what LCD I want and start from scratch. I specially fancy the Sony Vaio SZ series ones. 13.3” xblack, 1280x800, slim and light... sounds really good. My main concerns are the following:
One other solution would be to buy a spare tablet pc display. I own a Lenovo x41 and this would do the work. Well, I might go for an x60, as it allows you to use the fingers as well as the pen... But again, controller, driver, etc... are still concerns. If I could use some applications available from IBM, it would be quite interesting. But I would need to go for a Win XP Tablet PC edition, and I don’t want to.
Well, if you can bring some light to all these thoughts, it would be very helpful to me.
Cheers
Alex
I'd wait before you start. i suspect sideshow in vista will make this common. its promising.
Hey!
thanks for the reply. I'll search some info about the slideshow. However, I still need to solve the hardware issue: building the 12" separate touchscreen: display, controller, drivers, buttons,...
Any suggestion on that?
thats exactly what sideshow is.
Its a seperate display and control device that doesn't use the computer to make the screen. i've seen some remotes that do what you want, I expect we'll be seeing some larger control screens where its completely seperate. while nobody has shown any screens to do exactly what you want yet, its very possible to create these, it would probably be a wireless device making only power required to your location..
I personally want somethign like this also and I plan to wait it out and bug every manufacturer, especially logitech to make a larger harmony sideshow remote :)
Wow... sounds good. But remote controlling is just one of the applications I want from this separate screen. The other one being to be able to check my email and to work on documents I'll have on the HTPC hard drives, using this small screen while the other is busy at some other stuff...
And slideshow still needs a cable for the power supply. It is not a big deal to add a DVI or VGA cable plus a USB for the touchscreen, and pass it through the flexible arm...
I'm sure there must be some solutions easy to install, with screen+touchscreen panel+controlers+buttons. If I find one of those, I will only need to pack it my way: building a new case for the screen in order to fix it to the flexible arm. I must find some supplier of this kind of solutions. Cash points, some counters for shops,... are all working with this.
checking email and calendar it definately does already :) Actually, theres even a picture frame they showed at ces :) its like sidebar but seperate screen.
in 8 days vista is out, there will be a huge launch party where they really show it off. its usually webcasted with archive view on demand. i'd plan what you want without making it while waiting to see all the bells and whistles.. I suspect within minutes after the webcast we'll see dozens of press releases for hush products coming out now that we all know what vista does that we weren't told.
Jejeje... sounds like it's worth to wait some time. Plenty of new things coming...
Please, if you see something similar to what I am looking for, could you send me the link?
Cheers!
Just a consideration: instead of spending lots of time and energy trying to adapt a laptop LCD in order to get a separate (desktop-like) touchscreen, it would be fantastic to find a nice 12" desktop display. Adding touchscreen panel to this would not be a big issue.
I had a look to what is available on the market, but I can't find any 12" at any of the main makers. I fancy XGA, and prefer it cased. Any suggestion? Nice webpage? I live in Spain, so shipping to Europe is required...