8.4" LCD in WRX dash.

**Giuliano** · 12-29-2004, 08:19 PM

I've been thinking for a long time about what kind of LCD I wanted to put in my WRX's dash.

I wanted a LCD that used LVDS so I could hook it up directly to the motherboard.. and not have to use a controller board to hook it up via a VGA port.

An 8" widescreen LCD would fit the double-din opening perfectly, except that they're hard as hell to obtain in single-quantities, basically making them unavailable.

A 7" widescreen LCD would be slightly smaller, and is easily available, but not in LVDS.. and the 800x480 problem is one I'd rather avoid.

An 8.4" 4:3 LCD would fit the double-din width perfectly, but is about 2cm too tall.

So instead, I've been looking at an 8.4" 4:3 800x600 LVDS LCD panel from a local supplier, shown and listed here:

http://www.evisiondisplays.com/images/ub084s01.jpg
http://www.evisiondisplays.com/evd084s01-1.html

Panel layout w/touchscreen:
http://www.evisiondisplays.com/evd084s01-1_M.html

I created a mockup LCD panel out of foamboard that's exactly the size of the actual LCD panel, and decided the panel will fit, although I'll have to do some cutting.

Pictures attached:
lcd template.jpg shows the foamboard mockup, with lines drawn on it to show where the actual display area would be.

mockup1 and mockup2 show the foamboard LCD taped to the radio bezel - you can see the drawn lines match up with the width of the bezel opening.

mockup3 and mockup4 show the LCD and bezel in place on the dash.

You can see that the LCD will fit.. but I'd have to lose the cup holder in the upper right, cut away the plastic in the upper left, and reshape the bezel entirely.

I can live without the cup holder, and those plastic parts are replaceable, so cutting it up wouldn't really be a problem for me.

I'm thinking that the computer itself would go above the vents, in one of those gauge pod housings, so the LCD would be close enough to the motherboard for LVDS to work (~12").

Edit: Cross-referencing a post of mine from ~9 months ago, with part numbers and prices:
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/lcd-display/23765-possible-8-4-lvds-1024x768-lcd.html#post179720

Thoughts?

**Giuliano** · 12-30-2004, 03:50 PM

I've further decided that instead of cutting apart the original dash bezel parts, I'm going to cast duplicates out of polyurethane resin (plastic), using silicone rubber molding materials instead, and modify the duplicates.

The parts that I would have had to cut are:

66065E $52.26 Panel-audio (radio bezel)
66065O $70.50 Panel-center (center heat/ac vents w/hazard switch)
66080 $33.62 Console-instrument panel (the lower center console itself)

The parts are listed here, and are shown in the 2nd and 3rd diagrams:
http://www.subaruparts.com/diag/?mod...category=660-1

Rather than modify/destroy $120-150 worth of parts, I'm going to make exact duplicates and modify those instead..

I'll be cross-posting a thread in Fabrication with pictures tomorrow, I have to pick up the casting materials tomorrow morning.

The upshot of this is, if anybody else wants to put a 8.4" LCD in their 2002-2004(maybe) Impreza/WRX, I'll be able to cast a perfect part easily.

**Giuliano** · 12-30-2004, 09:47 PM

Fabrication thread posted here:

How to: Duplicating a radio bezel.

If anybody can tell me how to embed those attached images inline, I would appreciate it.. PM is fine.

**ncamara** · 12-31-2004, 10:30 AM

What's the price for this screen? Do you plan on plugging this into your MII board with LVDS?

**Giuliano** · 12-31-2004, 10:41 AM

Originally Posted by ncamara

What's the price for this screen? Do you plan on plugging this into your MII board with LVDS?

The price for this screen itself was $428 when I got the quote 9 months ago, so it might have changed since then.

The price was for the LVDS LCD panel itself, a brightness enhancement, and a touch screen panel.

That cost does not include the inverter ($25), the touch-screen controller ($25), or the various cables necessary.

The total cost was $511, not including shipping or tax.

See this post for the part numbers and details:

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=179720

And while I will be plugging it into an LVDS-enabled motherboard, it probably won't be a MII..

I'm currently considering this board from Commell Systems:
http://www.commell-sys.com/Product/SBC/LV-671.HTM

The Taiwan site has more info/documents:
http://www.commell.com.tw/Product/SBC/LV-671.HTM

The board goes for about $395 without a processor, such as from here:
http://www.bwi.com/scripts/site/site...tion/configure

The board has the useful options of a MiniPCI slot or a MiniAGP slot, either of which can be used for interesting possibilities.

**ncamara** · 12-31-2004, 11:40 AM

Wow. Quite expensive to get this entire working system.

**Giuliano** · 12-31-2004, 12:42 PM

Originally Posted by ncamara

Wow. Quite expensive to get this entire working system.

Oh yes, perfection doesn't come cheap!

But for the price, I'll get an 8.4" LCD, with a native resolution of 800x600, a standard aspect ratio of 4:3, and a direct digital LVDS connection to the motherboard, freeing up the analog VGA port for a secondary larger display elsewhere in the car.. such as in the back seat.

And for a comparison, here's Mp3Car.com's own Xenarc 800TSV:
http://www.mp3car.com/store/product_...products_id=55

The price is about the same ($485 vs $511), but you're only getting a physical resolution of 640x480...

And for LCD's, there is no other resolution other than the panel's native physical resolution - sure, you can do scaling (1024x768 -> 800x600), but it isn't going to look good.

**Giuliano** · 12-31-2004, 01:09 PM

And for those of you who want more, here's a picture of how the LCD (posterboard mockup) would look in the WRX's dash.

The drawn lines on the posterboard represent the viewable area of the 8.4" LCD.

The posterboard is off-center on purpose, as the viewable area of the LCD is also off-center.

As you can see in mockup5, it looks like the LCD will fit.

Mockup6 shows the panel with the A/C bezel in place - you can see I'm going to have to cut off that bottom section of the A/C bezel to make it fit, and I'm going to lose the space where the cup holder was.

Big, isn't it?

**ncamara** · 12-31-2004, 08:18 PM

I think the Xenarc 8" native resolution is 800x600. I know the website says 640x480 but the back of the screen says 800x600. Maybe I'm confused with the Lilliput 8"; if anyone has it and I'm wrong, please correct me.

**Giuliano** · 12-31-2004, 08:40 PM

Originally Posted by ncamara

I think the Xenarc 8" native resolution is 800x600. I know the website says 640x480 but the back of the screen says 800x600. Maybe I'm confused with the Lilliput 8"; if anyone has it and I'm wrong, please correct me.

I would kind of doubt that it's physical resolution is 800x600 - the specs do say the physical resolution is 640x480, and the dot resolution is 1920 x 480.

A dot resolution of 1920 x 480 really is 640 x 3 RGB x 480, so it matches the physical resolution of 640x480.

The 800x600 shown on the back of the screen is likely the resolution that the VGA video controller on the panel can accept, and it simply scales the picture down to fit the smaller resolution, losing detail in the process.

Of course, if anybody has one taken apart and can get the make and model number of the LCD panel itself, I'm sure I could find the spec sheet.