mentalmummy

Hi, new member here and straight in with a question!

I`m on a low budget but fancy making a little in car pc from my computer bits I have. The base system is just a SFF compaq with a P3 1 Ghz CPU and 256 MB RAM but I just want it to play films, music, surf the internet and do GPS so it should be fine for what I want.

Anyways, I have seen a cheap and cheerful little in car dash tft player (this one at http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-7-In-Dash-...ayphotohosting and while it has no vga input it does RCA input.

My question is if I use my old Nvidia gfx card with a tv output and connect that to the rca input of the screen would the picture be okay as the pixel resolution is 234 x 480 and as far as I know Windows XP (the OS I will be using) doesn`t go that low so if I set Xp to the lowest resolution would it still display okay on the in dash screen?

I can get a proper vga monitor (7" with quick detach feature) for £5 less but don`t really fancy having to take the screen in and out with me (can`t find room in my dash for a 7" screen except passenger side) so is it worth considering this tft screen?

It will be running roadrunner but I am guessing that the vga would be considerably better (proper pc resolution)?

Dave

MP3Car.com

 

DarquePervert

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/advf...ew&advfaqid=17

__________________

SEARCH: It's how information gets found!
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

[|||||||--] - 80% (I estimate completion in Spring '07)
My Worklog

mentalmummy

I did read that but it doesn`t answer the question I asked. Basically I am hoping someone will be able to tell me if the item I linked to would be suitable for connecting to a car pc but the faq and the link from that concerns specific standards information (I did do a search first!).

Is it worth getting for a in car pc is what I am trying to find out so I don`t waste money on something that won`t work for my purposes!

bbalazs

Hi
I have a TFT LCD TV in my car as primary display and I have to say it is good for films, good for applications that use huge letters or colored icons, but to read small lettered text like internet pages: it is TOTALLY USELESS. Even the boot screen is unreadable.

__________________
Alopecia perniciosa

mentalmummy

Thanks, guess I`ll stick with getting a vga monitor then. I have a Kia Shuma and the only place I could put one would be in the space where the glovebox is now hence my preference for a pull out dash one but if TFT is not good for text I best get vga.

Thanks for the help everyone, I`m sure I will have more questions to ask about other things though at some point!

DarquePervert

If your base question was the one in the thread title, then yes, it does answer the question.


Yes, it is useable.
Is it ideal? Certainly not. But that's not what you asked, either.


Uhhhhh...
TFT (thin film transistor) is a technology for LCD displays and has nothing to do with the resolution capabilities or the input type.

__________________

SEARCH: It's how information gets found!
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

[|||||||--] - 80% (I estimate completion in Spring '07)
My Worklog

mentalmummy

Yes I know what tft is I should really have specified that I meant the tft in dash units which all have this low resolution (232 for example) rather than say a tft pc monitor

DarquePervert

OK. That makes more sense.

There are more write-ups about screens & clarity issues in the FAQ Emporium. Might be worth a look-see.
Basically, if you're going to run a front-end and watch videos on it, then an LCD with RCA or SVideo input (a TV, basically) is suitable. The image will not be crystal-clear, and if you do anything that involves reading text, you're going to have some issues.
The image quality will range from fair to horrible, depending on the screen itself.
You also need a method of outputting either sVideo or composite video (yellow RCA) from the PC. That may or may not be easy, depending on your hardware.

__________________

SEARCH: It's how information gets found!
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

[|||||||--] - 80% (I estimate completion in Spring '07)
My Worklog

FusionFanatic

if you're looking for a "budget" VGA monitor. search for a Lilliput EBY701. they are a nice little touchscreen VGA monitor for a cheap price.

you can get them on eBay for around £70- £85 (+s/h)

__________________
Fusion Carputer (v.2.0)
Fusion Carputer (v.1.0)

mentalmummy

Well I ended up getting a lovely 8 inch touchscreen monitor from http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MEWN:IT&ih=012 which does vga at up to 1024 resolution and picture is excellent so well happy with that.

It needed calibration as at first the pointer was miles off when I touched the screen but after that it worked fine and only £112 delivered next day - been playing with it and now realise I would really like a touchscreen for my home pc as well but don`t think the wife will let me just yet

MP3Car.com