LCD panels

[TriggerHappy]

Hey guys,

I've been reading this thread w/ great interest as this is exactly the kind of setup i want to run in my car...

But from what i see it can be a really complicated process because of the required controllers for the lcd panels...

I did however come by this link

Mp3Car

The third item down is a 6.4" lcd display that takes composite input...

My question regarding that is look at the adapter that is used to convert from composite to direct lcd input, its tiny...Now i know that just because its tiny dont mean it aint expensive, but perhaps that's all we need?

[uvodee]

youo are right but......... the screen you are looking at is a 5.6 or 7" screen it is not the same as a 10.x screen
then you need some 'larger' conversionboard

jest my 2 cents

however , i think there is an easy solution out there that suits us fine i just haven't found it yet!

[remp]

TriggerHappy
Thanks for the link Mp3car. That 3rd item down the board shown is not the bit that converts analogue to the panel, its the control panel with the knobs for brightness tint analogue input.
Sorry thats not what we are looking for but the item should be good for your application.

Zardoz
That link you posted looks interesting. Complete video card with LVDS output and lcd size/type support right on the board.
http://www.spectrah.com/LD-S270.htm

Smoke Eater
Forgot to mention when handling your lcd panel good idea to be very careful to keep fingers away from delicate electronic parts because its most likely Cmos and damaged by static electricity. See if you can ground yourself like they do in service shops.

TriggerHappy makes a good point about controllers being complicated. We are trying to use laptop lcd's that might be avaliable at cheap prices. No one else has figured out how to use surplus laptop lcd's so they have low resale value. Thats good for us. Its only half the story though. Even if we find a way to drive a laptop lcd it is not much use if there are electronics in the way for projection.

[remp]

Zardoz

Your Sharp LM64C353 is a 10.4 inch LCD originally for Compaq laptop. It is a DSTN x 2 panel which means its no use for full motion video. Thats probably why it was dirt cheap. The 31 pin connector uses TMDS signalling which is similar to LVDS but different. Sorry. Good info though because now we know a 31 pin connector is most likely TMDS.

[zardoz]

Yes once I found the kyocera part number it was easy to track it to an old compaq laptop....end of a short but intense hope ~L~

On to bigger and better things! I have been to ALL of the service shops that I could find in town plus all of my supplier's (as I said I'm a A+ tech...but this field is past my realm of expertise) tech rooms...and from what I've seen all the laptop screens have had a single ribbon connector.

Now I hadnt at that point in my quest for a projector resorted to counting pins....I will be now... but my point is all of the "worthy" screens I have seen have had a single ribbon connector with what looks like it should be 20 pins...they've all been kinda scary thin ya know what I mean? On the other hand every LCD monitor I have seen has used TWO ribbon connectors....the monitors that I have seen apart looked tough to seperate the electronics from the screen. The laptop panels that I have seen off didnt look too bad.. that is to say the backlight gear comes off easily...but at least one had a "sub card" that was attached with an even smaller and short and scarier ribbon (back to the backside of the LCD itself). Most however looked to have unemcumbered view of the entire LCD front or back.

The prices I found locally for screens was decent I think if I knew for a fact I could drive them.. the most expensive I found was off a Dell laptop....model unknown.....15 inchs of gorgeous! $150.00 canadian if I knew I could drive it I'd have it now...

My plan is to buy one of these spectra cards if they are less than $300.00 canadian(and they will push the screen I want) then put together a microATX machine...one of the cheap and dirty VIA/Cyrix all in one boards....mount the stuff in either a projector box and a micro ATX box (but this brings on data/transmit distance issues as I understand it) or a projector with the computer built into it. OK the projector with it's own dedicated computer with DVD drive and associated crap built in it is! Well that was a simple problem at least. ~LOL~

Via board complete with 800 mhz processor $120.00
stick of ram 256 meg flavour $47.00
16X DVD drive $72.00
TV tuner card $65
20 gig HD $100.00
that sweetheart of a screen I saw for $150.00
power supply $35.00
keyboard and mouse $18.00
Spectra card...assuming it works....$$$...????
frezzies and projection lenses? (didnt care to look till I knew I could do it in style)

Getting more expensive......are we passing the point of vanishing returns?


Zardoz

[remp]

Zardoz

I think a lot will hinge on the price of the video card with LVDS output that you posted. Lot of the things you have on your list you need anyway.

Start counting pins if you can. LVDS should be 20 pin hirose connector. Whats that panel you like got. 15 inch is getting a bit large to put on an OHP unless you have other lighting plans.

There is an interesting new thread here about a guy (maddog) who stripped his laptop and put the lcd on an OHP. He says its much better than what he had before. He has a problem with needing a longer flex cable. Maybe someone can help him out.

[zardoz]

The Dell panel I fell for was a cable about 8 inchs long, and it did not look to have had more than 20 pins....of course it did have the CCFL wires on it, as for it's size I dont mind...I have hopes of putting together a dedicated projector with a metal halide lighting system
(that is to say scrapping the OHP alltogether)...after all if it can be put in one package......full multimedia....DVD... USB ports...lan connections...modem...crt...5.1 surround... just connect a set of surround speakers....wireless keyboard and mouse(extra$100.00) plug in your modem or high speed net connection... aim at the appropriate surface and distance...

I can see watching movies without having to do all this line doubler stuff, power DVD works great, I can see classroom potential...boardroom...of course video games...hehe....kick *** lan party stuff...video dances ...karaoke(if thats your thing..)

BTW I'm building a 24 foot geodisic dome....thats where this is going to live

Zardoz

[remp]

Zardos

I am interested in your geodisic dome. Could you email me please.
Thanx.

[Smoke Eater]

Got home this morning to look at the laptop, found out it has a 41(?) pin connector. (I hope that's right, it was early in the morning after a 24 hour shift and those little things are hard to count!) Thought this was strange as you were expecting 20 pins. Found my laptop manual and found out the screen is DSTN and not TFT. That is probably the difference, don't you think? I can attach a photo of it later if you need one.

[remp]

Smoke Eater

Thanks for that. Yes that the difference. DSTN LCD'S are a lot slower than TFT and often had the screen driven in two halves because they could not get the speed with one frame at a time. If you see DSTN x 2 thats what it means. Thanks for the info.