Lag117

Well here I am--another lurker out from behind the dark shadows. I have been going over the plans for installing a PC in my '97 4-door Civic for quite some time now and have finally decided on a display type.

Those 6.4" LCDs mentioned (a week ago?) would have been great except it is not a VGA connection and I don't want to buy an LCD if I'm not going to be able to read text on it easily (any more opinions on this, please share)

So the question is how to get a touchsreen VGA LCD from 6.4"-8.4" that has enough colors for movie playback (also active not passive) and bright enough to be seen in sunlight (I have read 200 nits is enough) all without paying $500-$1000 (USD) How about $300?

I have looked at Spy Supply and they have a nice 7" for $550 (-$20 if MP3Car is mentioned... according to this thread)

I have looked at EarthLCD's LCD kits and LCD Monitors but their stuff is even more expensive... They do have some cheaper LCDs that just aren't as bright, are they worth the savings? Or should one stick with the "200 nits or more" rule of thumb?

I have also been to
G-NET Car Computing and they also have a 7.0" VGA LCD With Touch Screen but want $779. Ugh.

I have been to StarPanel and am not impressed. They sell an 8.4" Industrial VGA LCD for only $2,297. Yay.

I have been on eBay for the past few days and it looks like it will be hard (impossible?) to pair up things like this or this with this... not to mention most of the eBay items I have ran into do not include the proper LCD controllers or touchscreen controllers and bla bla bla...

I am posting because I want to know before I give up and fork over $550 if there is anything I'm missing here, some secret underground site selling worthy LCDs w/touch, or maybe I need to look into those Metrobooks or the like and rip out the screen on one of those?

Any and all help, ideas, and opinions WANTED. Thank you -Lag

MP3Car.com

 

InFix

Well I would give you my opinion on the Xenarc's, but I dont have mine yet (waiting patiently lol). I would think that the Xenarc screen is the best way to go for you, based on your specs.

There is the DennisK setup, which Im not sure if your familiar with. 8.4" vga touchscreen, but only 150 nits, and only 12-bit color. You would need to purchase an extra cable, as his kit is not 100% complete. The cable goes from the touch controller to your serial port. allamerican.com has the cable for $11, but they have a minimum order of $50, which after tax, shipping and handling, gives you a grand total of $70. Dennis asks $295 for the entire kit (minus the cable) shipped. I can give you his e-mail if you would like.

But like I said before, I cant compare the 2 screens until I have the Xenarc in my hands, but I would imagine that the Xenarc is higher quality, and more suited towards your app (movie playback). While DVD doesnt look TERRIBLE on 12-bit, you can definately tell theres some colors missing. The Xenarcs are 250 nits and 18-bit, more then sufficient for DVD and other video.

Lag117

Thanks InFix,

Guess I'll just have to save up =) Just didn't want to miss any other options and the one you mentioned (thanks again) is tempting... do please post a review of the Xenarc when you get it... I bet many would be interested as it seems to be the lowest priced LCD/Touch able to handle the demands that a PC is capable of.

hotwater9

InFix, did you ever get the display? If so which of the two would you recommend?

lemming

Lag117, I totally agree with you. Spent the last few weeks trawling around and am amazed that Xenarc is the cheapest readily available 7" VGA screen at $550 (plus, for me, shipping to the UK). However, it also appears there are quite a few good quality 7"- 10" LCD modules available, presumably for industrial applications, so it's a matter of matching one of these up to a controller to run it off your PC VGA, rather than RCS or video. Other controllers and kits available from places on this thread...

The route I'm taking is with the new Via EpiaM mobo, which will very soon be coming out with an LVDS connector for linking direct to TFT screens, and so avoiding the need for analogue VGA. Partly due to the multiplicity of 'standards', Via could only integrate support for a limited number of screen, so how it chooses these will be interesting, but in opting for the LVDS standard this selection will be more towards newer screens, rather than picking up old lap-top screens and just connecting them. I'm hoping (and trying to persuade them -- lil'ol'me!!!) to go for modules/manufacturers that include smaller size screens, as I feel this is an important growth market and, er, it's what I want.

In the meantime, I'll either get a touch-screen Xenarc, ot the TM701L being offered through DigitalWW if the spec of the LCD module is good enough. Armen's checking up on that -- see the UPDATE thread...

cproaudio

Where did you read the spec of 250 nit for Xenarc 7" WVGA?

MP3Car.com