AndyKent
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Registered: 3rd Sep 05
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After a bit of help.
Came up with the bright (but possibly overambitious) idea of building an integrated home media system incorporating a fancy touchscreen LCD monitor to control everything so you never really need to actually use a PC.
Trouble is I've never used a touchscreen LCD 
Has anyone used one or can recommend a decent one for not too much money? I've seen one on ebay - a 19" EETI LCD - but with very little reviews about its a lot of cash for an unknown brand.
Any suggestions?
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Neo
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Registered: 20th Feb 07
Location: Essex
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Whats it going to be for, if its to control wmp or itunes etc, a 7 or 8" screen will do
I used to install these in police cars
http://www.allcam.biz/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=99
Would need to get a socket from maplin that converts a wall socket to a fag lighter but something like that is what i'd go for tbh.
[Edited on 27-10-2009 by Neo]
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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Get a propper touchscreen monitor over a lilliput (res is too small and i wouldn't recommend if you have chunky fingers) and build it into a table - has been done a few times over on avforums, like coffee tables. Problem is that a touchscreen (like >this<, >this< or >this<) is pretty damn expensive and you can get something like a Logitech Harmony or Philips Pronto for a lot less that'll do most things.
Some of the older touchscreens will require a serial port for the touch side of things (plus VGA/DVI) but most newer screens just need a USB port (plus VGA/DVI), and you'll get drivers with it. And it's pretty much PnP as the touchscreen just acts like a regular mouse pointer (you can hide the pointer in windows if need be).
Might be useful, for Vista Media Centre there is a plugin to allow for TCP remote commands (>Here<), as well as someone designing an app that works with this (>Here<).....
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AndyKent
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Registered: 3rd Sep 05
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I was thinking of something a decent size that can either work as a remote tablet (complicated to organise I think) or more likely a screen mounted to a wall.
My thoughts then were for something 15" upwards which most of the time would display home information (like controlling lights etc) but could also access playlists and be used to watch video, or control what other TVs can watch.
I see where you're coming from though Neo, that would be the simplest but might not cover all the PC functions I'd want.
Cheers for the links Dom, I'll have a look over on AV forums and see what I can find. Did come across a few custom builds in America earlier into coffee tables, but they all used a projector onto home-made led lit acrylic sheets which seems like a lot of work!
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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never seen projected screens in coffee tables, probably impressive but like you say stupid amount of work. But LCD touchscreens in coffee tables is the usual, with people adding features like the screen can be tilted towards you etc.
I remember seeing a guy that built a house who intergrated touchscreens everywhere - he had a little 7" displays that looked like a photo (digital photo frame) with a wooden frame, but a hand gesture on the screen would switch it to a control system that allowed him to control the alarm (enter codes to arm/disarm it etc), switch audio audio/video feeds around the house etc. He had these is most rooms along with huge displays mounted in tables for controlling the tv, cuirtains, lights etc. Was a lot of work as he wrote a lot of the software himself but did look impressive.
To be honest, the touchscreen and mounting side of things is the piece easy bit, it's the control software that interacts with video/audio software, external hardware etc that will be the arseache (probably easier to develope something yourself).
As for controlling lights, the X10 protocol, a lot of components/code (certainly VB, .NET etc) already exists for controlling X10 hardware.
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