Kitchen Touch Screen PC
- Thread starter ASIHome
- Start date
Making a little more progress. Installed the touchscreen drivers on the FitPC2 with no problems. I decided to run the PC display resolution at 1280x768 (instead of the native 1440x900) to get bigger icons, etc. to make it easier to "touch".
For now, I have the display output for both the PC and the DVR going thru the DVI switch. Looks good. Takes about two seconds to switch between inputs.
Next step is to play around with the audio, which is also handled by the DVI switch. After that, I want to see if I can run the DVR video over cat5e for about 100 feet so I don't have to put the DVR somewhere in the kitchen (there goes another $75 for adapters and cable). If it works, I will need to do something similar for the DVR audio. Then I will also need to decide on a method of controlling the DVR from across my home.
HDFury may be a good option for getting around DHCP if DirecTV starts protecting channels we want to watch on this monitor. I am a little concerned about the "screen shifting" the website talks about. If the monitor needs to be adjusted/shifted to center the DVR video, it seems like that would throw the PC video off-center. With the DVR's I have now, I could also look at going component/analog from both the DVR and the PC to the switch/monitor.
Ira
For now, I have the display output for both the PC and the DVR going thru the DVI switch. Looks good. Takes about two seconds to switch between inputs.
Next step is to play around with the audio, which is also handled by the DVI switch. After that, I want to see if I can run the DVR video over cat5e for about 100 feet so I don't have to put the DVR somewhere in the kitchen (there goes another $75 for adapters and cable). If it works, I will need to do something similar for the DVR audio. Then I will also need to decide on a method of controlling the DVR from across my home.
HDFury may be a good option for getting around DHCP if DirecTV starts protecting channels we want to watch on this monitor. I am a little concerned about the "screen shifting" the website talks about. If the monitor needs to be adjusted/shifted to center the DVR video, it seems like that would throw the PC video off-center. With the DVR's I have now, I could also look at going component/analog from both the DVR and the PC to the switch/monitor.
Ira
First "disappointment" found...
Whenever the video source is the DVR, I wanted to have a CQC template on the screen with one big button that takes up the entire screen. When touched, it would cause CQC to tell the switch to change the source to the PC. Of course the button would not be visible when the DVR was the source, but I figured it would be an easy way to switch back to CQC when necessary. Just tap on the screen.
It looks like the touchscreen driver senses when the video is not connected to the monitor (i.e., the switch is using a different source), and so it "disables" the touchscreen. For example, if I switch to the DVR, touch what was the monitor "desktop" somewhere, then switch back to the PC video output, the mouse pointer is still in the location it was in before I switched/touched. I read in the documentation that sleep/standby mode is not supported (no details on exactly what that means), but maybe this is a similar issue.
I emailed ELO tech support to get an official opinion.
If it won't honor a touch while in "DVR mode", I will have to come up with some other way to switch back to the PC/CQC. I guess I can do something via IR using the DVR remote. Another option would be to keep a wireless (RF, not IR, because the PC won't be that close or line of sight.) mouse next to the monitor and use it to click on the CQC button. That would also be handy when web surfing from the PC. The plan was to have the switch located out of the way, so manually switching it is not really an option I want to pursue at this point.
Ira
Whenever the video source is the DVR, I wanted to have a CQC template on the screen with one big button that takes up the entire screen. When touched, it would cause CQC to tell the switch to change the source to the PC. Of course the button would not be visible when the DVR was the source, but I figured it would be an easy way to switch back to CQC when necessary. Just tap on the screen.
It looks like the touchscreen driver senses when the video is not connected to the monitor (i.e., the switch is using a different source), and so it "disables" the touchscreen. For example, if I switch to the DVR, touch what was the monitor "desktop" somewhere, then switch back to the PC video output, the mouse pointer is still in the location it was in before I switched/touched. I read in the documentation that sleep/standby mode is not supported (no details on exactly what that means), but maybe this is a similar issue.
I emailed ELO tech support to get an official opinion.
If it won't honor a touch while in "DVR mode", I will have to come up with some other way to switch back to the PC/CQC. I guess I can do something via IR using the DVR remote. Another option would be to keep a wireless (RF, not IR, because the PC won't be that close or line of sight.) mouse next to the monitor and use it to click on the CQC button. That would also be handy when web surfing from the PC. The plan was to have the switch located out of the way, so manually switching it is not really an option I want to pursue at this point.
Ira
ASIHome
Active Member
Update:
I ending up using Tweak UI and Admin Auto Login to solve my problem.
I disabled the Keyboard Notification in the BIOS.
I setup a Task to shut down the PC every night.
I enabled the Auto ON feature in the BIOS to turn the PC back on in the morning.
On a side note, has anybody found a HDCP copliant HDMI overlay device that the interface can be customized? Non-HDCP compliant?
Thanks.
I ending up using Tweak UI and Admin Auto Login to solve my problem.
I disabled the Keyboard Notification in the BIOS.
I setup a Task to shut down the PC every night.
I enabled the Auto ON feature in the BIOS to turn the PC back on in the morning.
On a side note, has anybody found a HDCP copliant HDMI overlay device that the interface can be customized? Non-HDCP compliant?
Thanks.
