In-Wall touchscreen w/ computer

So... I saw Nobu's in wall computer with touchscreen. But $2,763.00 is tough to swallow. I consider myself technically oriented and I'm looking into building my own in-wall touchscreen computer.

First Option...
Amazon has some decent touchscreen monitors for anywhere from $150 - $500. Depends on the size you want.

And I have been looking for a excuse to purchase one of those Intel Atom processor/motherboard combo which is $10 off on Newegg.com right now (even more of a reason to buy it). $69.99

You can get a 8GB compact flash card for $57.99 on Newegg ... OR...
a 32GB compact flash card for $92.00. The reason for compact flash... cheap, low heat and low power consumption.

2GB of RAM which is the max supported for the motherboard for $22.99

Then you still need to find a case and power supply. Let's say $75.00.

Touchscreen: $200
Mobo+AtomCPU: $69.99
8GB Flash: $57.99
RAM: $22.99
Case+P/S: $75.00
TOTAL: $425.97 + tax and shipping.

OPTION 2 (The better option I think)
Stumbled upon one of these on newegg.com when looking up prices and parts for Option 1.
ASUS Eee Box
Motherboard Chipset: Intel 945GSE + ICH7M
Processor: Intel Atom N270 - 1.60 Ghz
RAM: 1GB DDR2
Hard Drive: 160GB
Ethernet: 10/100/1000
Wireless: b/g
Weight: 2.53 lbs.
Dimensions: 8.5" x 7" x 1"
OS: Linux EZOS (fine by me... I will most likely install Ubuntu anyway)

Price: $299.00
Plus another $200 for a decent Touchscreen.
$500 +tax and shipping. Grand total probably under $550.00. Far less then the $2,763.00 Nobu wants. Even if you wanted XP you are still under $700.

I like the idea of being able to stuff the computer in the wall. Then making some kind of bracket to mount the computer to the back of the touchscreen and maybe have it "flip out" so you can still get to the computer part of it (after reading the reviews on newegg.com it looks like it includes a VESA mount so you can mount it to the back of a monitor). Or mount the PC below the touchscreen, but still make the touchscreen easy to remove from the wall. I'm in the EARLY planning stages of this. But I'm looking for input from those who have done it or are looking to do it. Ideas!

On to a question or two...
If you have a touchscreen mounted in (or on) your wall what size to do you have?
Do you wish you would have gotten a bigger or smaller screen?
What size do you all recommend?
 
I have a 15" in my foyer and am happy with the size. It's big, but you can do a lot on one screen.
 
And I have been looking for a excuse to purchase one of those Intel Atom processor/motherboard combo which is $10 off on Newegg.com right now (even more of a reason to buy it). $69.99

You can get a 8GB compact flash card for $57.99 on Newegg ... OR...
a 32GB compact flash card for $92.00. The reason for compact flash... cheap, low heat and low power consumption.

2GB of RAM which is the max supported for the motherboard for $22.99

Then you still need to find a case and power supply. Let's say $75.00.

Touchscreen: $200
Mobo+AtomCPU: $69.99
8GB Flash: $57.99
RAM: $22.99
Case+P/S: $75.00
TOTAL: $425.97 + tax and shipping.
I did option one but mounted the computer on plastic and put it in a Leviton can with some other HA stuff. Used an Elo used touchscreen which I got on e-bay for $100. Purchasing XP to run on it felt like a disproportionate expense....
 
Look at the HP t5720 thin clients. They run XPe and can have programs installed on them. I use a couple that I have installed CQC on and they work fine. You can find them used on E-Bay anywhere from about $50 to $150 (which is too much to pay IMHO).

If you only need a lightweight (ie not very powerful) device to power a touchscreen, then you might also look at the HP t5700 which are older than the t5720 and have less RAM (max 512mb). They are also smaller and completely silent and cheaper. I have one tucked behind my 47" LCD TV.

You can do some pretty cool stuff with these two devices. Small, quiet, and you can install programs, touch screen drivers, etc on them.
 
Here is my install. For my older touchscreen I used a 15" Elo that I bought from ebay. I took it apart and mounted it in the wall.
For my most recent install I purchased a new Elo 1537L and also mounted it in-wall.
They are connected to the pc in the basement with 2 cat5 wires and one low voltage wire.

here is a description of the install http://www.techgeeksonline.com/mlscenes/Touch_Screens.htm
 
djsl, do you have more info about the parts you used to establish control/video/power? Thanks!
 
boyfly,
Are you interested in DJSL's in wall touchscreen hardware? Or also the software? Or also the HA and media hardware behind that?

DJSL is using Cinemar's MainLobby home automation / media control software (which is the answer to one of those questions). There is Design software that helps you build the user interface. There is software for scheduling "automated" tasks. There is various software components the interacts with the home's hardware to get status and send commands to the hardware.
 

Wow, very nice. That's the type of setup I literally dream about at night. Do you have more documentation or pictures posted anywhere?


Like David said I am using Mainlobby by Cinemar. You can use the scenes that come with the package, you can buy professional scenes that they sell or custom make your own like I did.

Most of the scenes that I am using are on the "scenes" page, you just have to select each menu item like you would on a touchscreen.

hope this help, let me know if you need any more info

Jim
 
I would love to know more about the hardware you used, the Cat5E adapters etc (didn't see any details on your site).
 
djsl, do you have more info about the parts you used to establish control/video/power? Thanks!

Dan one of the cat5 cables is used to extend the serial ports for the touchscreen. You can use usb but it is limited to length. Some touchscreens come with just serial port, just usb, or both.

The other cat5 is used for the video and I am using VGA Baluns to extend the vga cable, the only thing is that the cat5 has to be shielded.
The Baluns that I used are Muxlab 500010 and 500011. I have read that the ones on ebay also work and are much cheaper.


The low voltage wire is just a 16 gauge 2-wire that connects to the power adapter in the basement. The touchscreen needs 12v.

You can get the touchscreens that have the 120v at the screen but I prefer to avoid having to deal with line voltage in the wall.

Here is a pic of one of the touchscreen connections http://www.techgeeksonline.com/mlscenes/Touch_Screen_2.htm

the second serial connector on that picture is for the touchscreen buttons (like the on/off, brightness...) that I extended to the basement using another cat5. I hardly ever used it so I dont think its worth the trouble.

Jim
 
Really clean install, Jim. You make it look so easy. ;)

What hardware, may I ask, is connected to the serial port?
 
Back
Top