I've been trying to set up a htpc solution for a long time now. The perfect setup for me would be a beamer connected to my htpc and the htpc sitting in a case with a built in touch screen. So there would be no need to switch on the beamer if I just want to listen to some music.
In this thread I want to collect as much information and experience with this kind of setup as possible. The first question is which cases are available and what specs do they have. The second question is what and how to display on the touch screen, i.e. clone mode or the beamer as primary display and some kind of "remote" control software on the touch screen as secondary display.
Work in Progress... I'm still about to give this thread a little bit more structure...
[size=+2]1. The Cases[/size]
Up to now, I have found 4 different cases with a built in touch screen - please feel free to add different ones or correct me with the specs. If you would like to add additional information or just your personal experience with that case, this would also be very appreciated.
[size=+1]a. Silverstone Lascala LC 18[/size]
[size=+1]b. Origenae X15e V2[/size]
[size=+1]c. Zalman HD160XT[/size]
[size=+1]d. A-Tech 3000, A-Tech 4000EX, A-Tech 6000[/size]
[size=+1]e. Origenae S21T[/size]
[size=+2]2. How to Use the Touch Screen[/size]
[size=+1]a. Clone Mode[/size]
My first thought on how to use the touch screen was using the clone mode of my nvidia driver. But soon I realized that this wouldn't be as easy as it looks...
The clone mode requires your touch screen to have the same resolution as your beamer. So if you go for a 720p beamer, your touch screen must support a resolution of 1280x720. From what I found out (please correct me if I'm wrong) only the Silverstone case and the Origenae S21T can handle this resolution. Now, since 1080p beamers get cheaper (ok, not really cheap, I know, but the new Sony really looks interesting...), there's only the S21T to supoort this - and this case costs nearly as much as a 720p beamer...
[size=+1]b. UltraMon[/size]
To get around this resolution problem, I found this little utility. I didn't try it, yet, but it seems that it can handle different resolutions in clone mode. However, I read somewhere, that it would make it impossible to use the DirectX acceleration of your graphics card, which would make it useless for MP. Can anyone confirm this?
[size=+1]c. Remote Control Interfaces[/size]
Finally, if I refrain from displaying the same content on the touch screen and on the beamer, I could make the beamer my primary display (so that it can make use of the DirectX acceleration) and the touch screen my secondary display. MP would only be displayed on the primary display. Then I would launch some kind of remote control software for MP on the same computer and maximize this one on my touch screen.
This software could be the web remote interface for MP, but it seems that it is not very suitable for touch screen use (still something I have to try out...)
Then someone opened a thread (just trying to find it again...) where he wanted to develop some kind of PDA remote control software. This should be usable by a touch screen and would also work on a normal Windows PC.
My last idea would be VNC. Did anyone try to use this on the same machine but on the secondary display? Again something to try out...
In this thread I want to collect as much information and experience with this kind of setup as possible. The first question is which cases are available and what specs do they have. The second question is what and how to display on the touch screen, i.e. clone mode or the beamer as primary display and some kind of "remote" control software on the touch screen as secondary display.
Work in Progress... I'm still about to give this thread a little bit more structure...
[size=+2]1. The Cases[/size]
Up to now, I have found 4 different cases with a built in touch screen - please feel free to add different ones or correct me with the specs. If you would like to add additional information or just your personal experience with that case, this would also be very appreciated.
[size=+1]a. Silverstone Lascala LC 18[/size]
- Link: http://www.silverstonetek.com/products-lc18.htm
General
- Color: black or silver
- Motherboard: ATX or micro ATX
- Dimensions: 425 mm (W) x 170 mm (H) x 425 mm (D)
- Net Weight: 6,5kg
- Drive Bay External: 2x5,25'' and 1x3,5''
- Drive Bay Internal: 5x3,5''
Front
- I/O Ports: optional via 3,5'' bay
- Buttons: Power / Reset / 5 buttons to control the touchscreen via OSD (including touchscreen on/off)
- LEDs: ???
- Wheels: ---
- Cardreader: ---
Display:
- Size: 7''
- Aspect Ratio: 16:10
- Native Resolution: ???
- Supportet Resolutions: 1600 x 1024; 1600 x 900; 1360 x 768; 1360 x 1024; 1280 x 1024; 1280 x 960; 1280 x 768; 1280 x 720; 1152 x 864; 1152 x 720; 1024 x 768; 960 x 600; 848 x 480; 800 x 600; 640 x 480
IR-Receiver:
- ???
[size=+1]b. Origenae X15e V2[/size]
- Link: http://www.origenae.com/product_x15e.htm
General
- Color: black or silver
- Motherboard: ATX or micro ATX
- Dimensions: 435mm (W) X 155mm (H) X 420mm (D)
- Net Weight: 5,94kg
- Drive Bay External: 1x5,25'' and 1x3,5''
- Drive Bay Internal: 4x3,5''
Front
- I/O Ports: 2xUSB; 1xFirewire; 1xLine in; 1xLine Out; 1xMicrophone
- Buttons: TFT Power / TFT Mode / TFT Menu / 2 TFT Menu Select / PC Power
- LEDs: PC Power
- Wheels: ---
- Cardreader: ---
Display:
- Size: 7''
- Aspect Ratio: 15:9
- Native Resolution: ???
- Supportet Resolutions: 1024x768; ???
IR-Receiver:
- optional (???) IR-Trans Receiver (Is there also a built in IR-Trans transmitter?)
[size=+1]c. Zalman HD160XT[/size]
- Link: http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/view.asp?idx=232&code=029
General
- Color: black or silver
- Motherboard: ATX or micro ATX
- Dimensions: 435mm (W) X 160mm (H) X 460mm (D)
- Net Weight: 6,9kg
- Drive Bay External: 1x5,25'''
- Drive Bay Internal: 5x3,5''
Front
- I/O Ports: 2xUSB; 1xFirewire; 1x Microphone; 1x Headphone
- Buttons: PC Power / 4 buttons to control the TFT / 4 Arrow Key Buttons (left, right, up, down) / 1 enter or multimedia app launcher button (is this configurable ???) / 1 backspace or previous button
- LEDs: PC Power LED
- Wheels: 1 wheel for volume / mute
- Cardreader: 1 Card Reader Slot (MS/Pro/Duo, CF/Micro drive, MMC, SD,SM)
Display:
- Size: 7''
- Aspect Ratio: 15:9
- Native Resolution: ???
- Supportet Resolutions: 1024x768; ???
IR-Receiver:
- built in (which one?)
[size=+1]d. A-Tech 3000, A-Tech 4000EX, A-Tech 6000[/size]
- Link: http://www.atechfabrication.com/HTPC_cases.htm
- All three cases can be combined with a touch screen and are all very customizable
[size=+1]e. Origenae S21T[/size]
[size=+2]2. How to Use the Touch Screen[/size]
[size=+1]a. Clone Mode[/size]
My first thought on how to use the touch screen was using the clone mode of my nvidia driver. But soon I realized that this wouldn't be as easy as it looks...
The clone mode requires your touch screen to have the same resolution as your beamer. So if you go for a 720p beamer, your touch screen must support a resolution of 1280x720. From what I found out (please correct me if I'm wrong) only the Silverstone case and the Origenae S21T can handle this resolution. Now, since 1080p beamers get cheaper (ok, not really cheap, I know, but the new Sony really looks interesting...), there's only the S21T to supoort this - and this case costs nearly as much as a 720p beamer...
[size=+1]b. UltraMon[/size]
To get around this resolution problem, I found this little utility. I didn't try it, yet, but it seems that it can handle different resolutions in clone mode. However, I read somewhere, that it would make it impossible to use the DirectX acceleration of your graphics card, which would make it useless for MP. Can anyone confirm this?
[size=+1]c. Remote Control Interfaces[/size]
Finally, if I refrain from displaying the same content on the touch screen and on the beamer, I could make the beamer my primary display (so that it can make use of the DirectX acceleration) and the touch screen my secondary display. MP would only be displayed on the primary display. Then I would launch some kind of remote control software for MP on the same computer and maximize this one on my touch screen.
This software could be the web remote interface for MP, but it seems that it is not very suitable for touch screen use (still something I have to try out...)
Then someone opened a thread (just trying to find it again...) where he wanted to develop some kind of PDA remote control software. This should be usable by a touch screen and would also work on a normal Windows PC.
My last idea would be VNC. Did anyone try to use this on the same machine but on the secondary display? Again something to try out...