Thread: Help a newbie out??

Good questions...yes I think most have been answered before.

bottom line....

The best quality etc, is with a VGA screen using TFT display.

(that is other than direct digital)

The screen in my truck is 640x480, dual scan, and is about 9-10" on diagonal.

It is good for gps and mp3 but not video.

Any smaller screen and it becomes hard to reas the text

to help you out...

1. I am interested in a touch screen tft display for my carputer, is the touch screen and tft/lcd 2 different items?

an lcd is a liquid crystal display. tft means thin film transistor. it is a type of lcd. higher quality than the lcd screen i, say a calculator. a touch screen is a device that fits over the screen that allows you to touch the screen to click. it is basically a sandwich of 2 sheets of glass with a clear sheet in between that transmitts voltages to determine the point you touched.

2. I read a lot about DennisK kits, but couldn't find anything on ebay about him or links to a webpage?

DennisK is the guy that sold a bunch of us screen kits on ebay. look up "mp3 lcd" or "sharp tft" to see if he has any screens up. his username on ebay is: a2z@dwk.org , you can check if he has auction that way too.

3. I want a screen for winamp, windows apps, and dvd. From what I am reading I should at least go with 18 bit?

it depends. the DennisK screens are 12 bit, but have a good control card, so they look very nice. if you get an 18 bit screen, you can go with a cheaper controll card and get good results. the control card is going to be the big money item however.

4. Should I try to piece a display together or just go with a kit from somewhere?? What is cheaper??

kits are easier. (duh) but if you can find parts then piecing something together is probably gonna be cheaper, cuz someone else hasnt already done all the "part aquiring" for you. www.earthlcd.com has a good selection of kits, but they are not cheap.

5. If pieceing a display together is the best way what would be a recommended screen between 7-10" as far as make a model number.

i like the sharp screens, but nec also has a good range of products. look on ebay all the time, use search terms like "sharp lcd", "nec lcd" ..."tft" etc. also, visit the for sale forum, there are always links to screens for sale that someone else has already found but usually doesnt need.

6. Could someone suggest so more reading to become more familiar with tft/lcd displays

reading the spec sheets is helpful for some people. i like to read as much of the display forum as i can. anything that looks important i try to keep up with it.

*********************

also, dont be afraid to ask questions, but dont ask questions that have be answered dozens of times.
read as much as possible from the forums.
plan out your system as much as you can in advance, somethings will change, but it will save you the headache of trying to plan everything on the fly. trust me on that one.
have fun, this is a hobby, not something that is going to make or break your life.
and finally, ask for help when you need it, if you dont know how to wire a computer, find a friend who can, ask a computer tech. likewise with any electronics in your car. you dont want to fry the computer in your car. know what you are doing, or find someone to help!

wow....long post!!
~mike

what is j&j speed shop?

own your own business?

just wondering....

~mike

Originally posted by mp3z24
an lcd is a liquid crystal display. tft means thin film transistor. it is a type of lcd. higher quality than the lcd screen i, say a calculator

Just expanding on Mike's post, TFT screens tend to have a large viewing angle than LCD screens. Rember the old laptops back in the 80s, where if you weren't straight infront of the sceen, it would look blank. What ever screen you go for, it's a good idea to check the viewing angle first