Brightest screen possible

JonEQuest · 12-10-2005, 09:41 PM

I am about to embark on my foirst CarPC project I have been on the sidelines for about two years and ready to take the plunge. One question to start me off. What is consoidered a bright enough to see in the day screen? The common spec I see is 400 brightness (300 with T/S) is this bright enough for the day? How can you boost the brightness of the backlights? I keep hearing about people doing this but have not seen how they did it.

YES, I did search before this and found a lot of irrelevent posts or specifics about themonitor they already have. All I really want to know is of the top 3 brands Lilliput/Xenarc/Avatars on E-bay, are they the same in brightness? Is the brighness specs described accurate? I don't want to buy a lilli to find out that the brand X has a brighter screen. Also I will be using my finger I assume they all work about the same as far as touch quality right?

I have been pondering what screen to buy for about 2 weeks so far, help me choose one please.

John

kirbycope · 12-10-2005, 10:30 PM

eBay Description, Brightness
VM7000 - 7" TFT LCD touchscreen Car PC VGA monitor TV, 280 cd/m2

Xenarc 700TS 7" VGA LCD Touchscreen Carputer Monitor, 300 cd/m² (xenarc)

New ELO 1515L LCD Touch Screen Touchscreen Monitor, 208 cd/m2 (elo)

TM-868 8" TFT LCD VGA TOUCHSCREEN CAR PC MONITOR, 400 (i suspect this is without t/s, 300 with)

SP-719 7" XGA TFT LCD VGA TOUCHSCREEN PC CAR MONITOR, 400 (avatar)

BRAND NEW 8" LCD Flatpanel USB Touchscreen IN CAR GPS, 400 (autopc)

New Lilliput 7 Touch Screen Touchscreen XGA/VGA Monitor, 400 (lilliput)

NEW 7" Super TOUCH SCREEN TFT Car LCD XVGA/ VGA/ PC, 400 (super)

--edit--
Indoor touchscreen's are around 280 or so.

Motorcity · 12-10-2005, 11:12 PM

Several factors need to be considered when looking at specs provided by some ebay sellers.
Some are what is printed on the item's box, or user's manual. Some are factual, based on the actual panel used, and some are just flat out made up.

Another thing to consider is this: most 7-8" monitors out there use refurb'd (read used pull) lcd panels. Although they may be quoting the panel's actual specs, usage time will decrease overall brightness with time.
Addition of a touch panel will reduce overall brightness by 10-25%, depending on what type of touch panel is used.

Some people will try to "boost" brightness by using a more powerful backlight inveter, or by increasing the voltage. This works, however you significantly decrease the life of the components.
400 nits actual is decent, but not direct sunlight readable.
for sunlight viewing, 700+ nits is the number you want.

Rob Withey · 12-11-2005, 12:50 AM

These are bright : http://www.landmarktek.com/

JonEQuest · 12-11-2005, 01:28 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by kirbycope

eBay Description, Brightness
VM7000 - 7" TFT LCD touchscreen Car PC VGA monitor TV, 280 cd/m2

Xenarc 700TS 7" VGA LCD Touchscreen Carputer Monitor, 300 cd/m² (xenarc)

New ELO 1515L LCD Touch Screen Touchscreen Monitor, 208 cd/m2 (elo)

TM-868 8" TFT LCD VGA TOUCHSCREEN CAR PC MONITOR, 400 (i suspect this is without t/s, 300 with)

SP-719 7" XGA TFT LCD VGA TOUCHSCREEN PC CAR MONITOR, 400 (avatar)

BRAND NEW 8" LCD Flatpanel USB Touchscreen IN CAR GPS, 400 (autopc)

New Lilliput 7 Touch Screen Touchscreen XGA/VGA Monitor, 400 (lilliput)

NEW 7" Super TOUCH SCREEN TFT Car LCD XVGA/ VGA/ PC, 400 (super)

--edit--
Indoor touchscreen's are around 280 or so.

So the newer ones seem to be brighter at least. Is the 400 nits on the last four with the touch screen? I guess tinted windows will be coming in handy.

JonEQuest · 12-11-2005, 01:30 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Motorcity

Several factors need to be considered when looking at specs provided by some ebay sellers.
Some are what is printed on the item's box, or user's manual. Some are factual, based on the actual panel used, and some are just flat out made up.

Another thing to consider is this: most 7-8" monitors out there use refurb'd (read used pull) lcd panels. Although they may be quoting the panel's actual specs, usage time will decrease overall brightness with time.
Addition of a touch panel will reduce overall brightness by 10-25%, depending on what type of touch panel is used.

Some people will try to "boost" brightness by using a more powerful backlight inveter, or by increasing the voltage. This works, however you significantly decrease the life of the components.
400 nits actual is decent, but not direct sunlight readable.
for sunlight viewing, 700+ nits is the number you want.

It seems like no one has found a resonable source for the 700+ nits units. I trust that the older guys in this would be using those by now if there was a decent price on them.

Motorcity · 12-11-2005, 01:46 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by JonEQuest

It seems like no one has found a resonable source for the 700+ nits units. I trust that the older guys in this would be using those by now if there was a decent price on them.

some panels can be fitted with higher brightness ccfl's, but some cannot.

just like building a fast car, speed costs $$$. so does a bright lcd panel.

(shameless self promotion) 760nits possible, adds 56.00 to cost. http://cgi.ebay.com/TOSHIBA-8-4-LCD-...QQcmdZViewItem

JonEQuest · 12-11-2005, 02:19 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Motorcity

some panels can be fitted with higher brightness ccfl's, but some cannot.

just like building a fast car, speed costs $$$. so does a bright lcd panel.

(shameless self promotion) 760nits possible, adds 56.00 to cost. http://cgi.ebay.com/TOSHIBA-8-4-LCD-...QQcmdZViewItem

So it's just a little more for the bright option, not bad. How would I turn it down for night driving? is there a way to trigger that off of my parking lights wire?

John

Motorcity · 12-11-2005, 02:50 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by JonEQuest

So it's just a little more for the bright option, not bad. How would I turn it down for night driving? is there a way to trigger that off of my parking lights wire?

John

the backlights stay on whenever the panel is on, just like a regular lcd monitor. the brightness is controlled through the osd board, via the on screen menu. you could also wire in a variable resistor in the inverter circuit, and use a dial or slide switch. this way, you can control brightness without having to access the display menu.

JonEQuest · 12-11-2005, 03:09 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Motorcity

the backlights stay on whenever the panel is on, just like a regular lcd monitor. the brightness is controlled through the osd board, via the on screen menu. you could also wire in a variable resistor in the inverter circuit, and use a dial or slide switch. this way, you can control brightness without having to access the display menu.

Hmm that would work or wire a relay with the tweaked resistor to put it where I want at night. Is this totally compatible with the popular software and resolutions used for them? I am concerned because I have read ranting about some monitors not being able to work at XX or XX resolution.

Motorcity · 12-11-2005, 03:14 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by JonEQuest

Hmm that would work or wire a relay with the tweaked resistor to put it where I want at night. Is this totally compatible with the popular software and resolutions used for them? I am concerned because I have read ranting about some monitors not being able to work at XX or XX resolution.

my 8.4" setups support 640x480, 800x600 and 1024x768.
800x600 is native, and provides the best results. 1024 looks good, but text is small, and your dpi settings require adjusting. 640 is big, but easy to see.