Kitchen Touch Screen PC

[pete_c]

After a short conversation with wife she told me that the kitchen is her domain.

She asked me to keep the addition of more "technology" in "her" area to no more than what exists today.

A fews years back while she was laid up a bit I was tasked with buying a new refrigerator. I ended up purchasing the one with the most up to date bells and whistles. When it came to replace the stove and dishwasher we went together once but could not agree on anything. Two days later we had a new stove and dishwasher installed. She just went out on her own the next day and just purchased it stating she didn't want to wait.

BTW - found 120VAC hockey puck style LED under the counter lights with no transformer at Menards. They are bright. I installed four of them under my workbench shelves in the garage and having them go to a wall switch. They appear very sturdy with thicker metal being used.

 

[ASIHome]

beelzerob: I was going to put a wireless keyboard in and my wife said "We have a touch screen, we can use the On Screen Keyboard." That is fine and dandy but when you first boot the PC with no keyboard/mouse the following things happen:

-It complains about not having a keyboad
-The ELO drivers do not get loaded until the PC boots (Welcome Screen)

I have a keyboard plugged in and tucked up on top of the PC for now.

I am either going to have to disable the Welcome Screen, add the Admin Auto Login feature or does anybody know how to run the ELO drivers as a Service?

 

[pete_c]

My ELO drivers load up as a service by default. In the configuration the option for a try icon is there. There is also a screen edge option and a simple 4 point alignment and a more complex alignment. The newest ELO drivers are also backwards compatible. This is on one of my TS's using a USB port. Its odd though but the driver is a USB to serial port base. I set the ELO driver to a serial com port. I tried the USB driver and it didn't work. This is on an 8" TS from the Pacific rim. None of the drivers that I have tried actually recognize the type of TS controller but it works none the less.

Here are some screen pics of the setup.

 

[Neurorad]

I spent the last few hours researching AIO PC's, for the kitchen.

The HP TouchSmart 300 keeps coming up. Anyone else consider this? TV tuner bundled. VESA mount available.

 

[beelzerob]

beelzerob: I was going to put a wireless keyboard in and my wife said "We have a touch screen, we can use the On Screen Keyboard." That is fine and dandy but when you first boot the PC with no keyboard/mouse the following things happen:

-It complains about not having a keyboad
-The ELO drivers do not get loaded until the PC boots (Welcome Screen)

I have a keyboard plugged in and tucked up on top of the PC for now.

I am either going to have to disable the Welcome Screen, add the Admin Auto Login feature or does anybody know how to run the ELO drivers as a Service?

Hmm...guess I don't understand that. why would you need to use the touch function PRIOR to the welcome screen? Once the welcome screen appears, you SHOULD be able to touch who you want to login...that's what we do. I have another account on there for CQC or else I'd do without the welcome screen. You can also use some 3rd-party windows tools to auto-login on bootup to a particular account.

You can usually disable in the BIOS the "complain if there's no keyboard" warning....at least, any of the more current bios' (within like 5 or so years). That way it'll boot up without any problems. About the only thing you'll REALLY still need a PS2 type keyboard for is getting into the bios screen on startup. Some PC's I have let me use a USB keyboard for that (though not wireless), and some don't.

You will *HATE* using an onscreen keyboard if you plan on doing anything other than typing "hi" once a week. Our kitchen touchscreen is 99% used for browsing the web, and most of that is to allrecipes.com. On screen keyboards might be ok just for just that use, but if you ever start thinking of looking at email or, heaven forbid, facebook.... Just keep the keyboard hidden for now and don't let her see it, so that once she discovers the serious limitation that is the onscreen keyboard, she'll authorize you for a new purchase of a wireless keyboard!

 

[sic0048]

I definitely think a wireless keyboard is a necessity. Even a mouse is nice sometimes, but we pretty much leave the mouse in a draw. But I couldn't live without the keyboard.

Although my screen is primarily a CQC interface, it also gets used for going on the internet. The keyboard is not required for any of the CQC stuff, but worth its weight in gold for browsing the internet.

If you make your wife use a on-screen keyboard, she'll never use it. But put a small wireless keyboard out and she'll use it all the time. If you search hard enough, you can find some pretty small wireless keyboards - especially the one's without the 10 keypad or extra buttons. Try to get just the basic keyboard without all the extra buttons.

 

[signal15]

I definitely think a wireless keyboard is a necessity. Even a mouse is nice sometimes, but we pretty much leave the mouse in a draw. But I couldn't live without the keyboard.

Although my screen is primarily a CQC interface, it also gets used for going on the internet. The keyboard is not required for any of the CQC stuff, but worth its weight in gold for browsing the internet.

If you make your wife use a on-screen keyboard, she'll never use it. But put a small wireless keyboard out and she'll use it all the time. If you search hard enough, you can find some pretty small wireless keyboards - especially the one's without the 10 keypad or extra buttons. Try to get just the basic keyboard without all the extra buttons.

You can get little bluetooth keyboards that are about the size of a Blackberry keyboard also. They run about $30.

 

[samgreco]

It complains about not having a keyboad
-The ELO drivers do not get loaded until the PC boots (Welcome Screen)

You should be able to go into the bios and disable the stop on keyboard error. PC should boot without any keyboard or mouse attached.

 

[ysualum]

We designed our cabinets to allow for a large screen to be put there. But will definitely measure everything up before I order.

My plan, once funds are replenished, is to get one of the 25 inch HP Touchsmart PCs. Can run Sage, CQC, and has built in tuner. I think one of the 15 inch ELOs is going to be too small for our kitchen. The planned location is about 8-10 feet from where we would usually do our food prep and cooking. A DIY solution with a larger screen will likely end up costing not that much less than the HP.

Just make sure you measure were you want to put it. That thing is huge and doesn't fit under a standard height upper cabinet on the counter. My 15" ELO barely fits under the counter. There is less space than you might think.

Of course if it isn't going under a cabinet, then the sky is the limit. But I still might make a cardboard cutout the same size as the screen and put it in the desired location for a few days. See if you can live with something that big.

 

[ASIHome]

Hmm...guess I don't understand that. why would you need to use the touch function PRIOR to the welcome screen? Once the welcome screen appears, you SHOULD be able to touch who you want to login...that's what we do. I have another account on there for CQC or else I'd do without the welcome screen. You can also use some 3rd-party windows tools to auto-login on bootup to a particular account.

You can usually disable in the BIOS the "complain if there's no keyboard" warning....at least, any of the more current bios' (within like 5 or so years). That way it'll boot up without any problems. About the only thing you'll REALLY still need a PS2 type keyboard for is getting into the bios screen on startup. Some PC's I have let me use a USB keyboard for that (though not wireless), and some don't.

You will *HATE* using an onscreen keyboard if you plan on doing anything other than typing "hi" once a week. Our kitchen touchscreen is 99% used for browsing the web, and most of that is to allrecipes.com. On screen keyboards might be ok just for just that use, but if you ever start thinking of looking at email or, heaven forbid, facebook.... Just keep the keyboard hidden for now and don't let her see it, so that once she discovers the serious limitation that is the onscreen keyboard, she'll authorize you for a new purchase of a wireless keyboard!
:rockon:

The touch functions do not work until you are past the Welcome Screen so I cannot select the user to load. As far as the keyboard check on boot, that was a total brain fart on my part about the BIOS. I have a few wireless keyboard/mouse combos at the ready for when we need to switch. My wife has already used it a few times for looking up receipes. Her biggest problem so far is the touch does not function so well once you get close to the edges right where the scroll bar is.

 

[beelzerob]

Ya, touch near the border is an issue for us too. The touchscreen works absolutely fine just for the CQC interface....but I firmly believe there's no substitute for a mouse and keyboard if you're going to do anything else.

The screen is an ELO, right? I don't understand why the drivers aren't loading prior to the welcome screen....since they do for us. I have XP Home, maybe it's a "install for all users" kind of thing??

Otherwise, maybe you should use tweakUI to have it auto-login as someone.

 

[ASIHome]

Auto-login was my final option but I was hoping to get the Welcome Screen working.

 

[sic0048]

Having a wireless keypad would also make this login problem disappear. A simple CTRL/ALT/DEL with the use of the tab button will allow you to type in your username and password to log into the system without using the touchscreen at all.

That being said, I also have an ELO touchscreen and I am about 95% sure the drivers are loaded well before the logon screen. But on the rare occurance that I need to log into the system, I generally use the keyboard since it involves typing the name and password. But I can check it pretty easily - if I remember I'll reboot it tonight and see if the curser will follow my touch prior to actually logging in.

 

[Ira]

My touchscreen monitor was delivered today. I bought the ELO 1900L, which is the 19" widescreen (16:10 aspect ration) touchscreen. I opted for the "accoustic pulse recognition" (APR) technology for the actual touchscreen. It's supposed to be the latest and greatest. Unlike most ELO touchscreens, the touchscreen itself doesn't have a bezel around it. Instead, the monitor has a very flat/thin bezel, and the touchscreen glass is somehow attached to it. This means that the touchscreen can sense contacts near the edge of the monitor screen, which I guess is difficult for touchscreens that have a bezel around them that makes it difficult to touch a scroll bar on the extreme edge of the monitor screen or "close window x" in the upper right hand corner. It supports finger, gloved finger, and stylus touches. It looks pretty good. Not having a bezel around the touchscreen glass probably makes it look a little more contemporary. This monitor is not made to be "built-in". The back is fully covered in plastic. There is a similar model that is meant to be built in. It has a very heavy base, but that is probably normal for touchscreens to give them stability. I will ultimately have it mounted in the kitchen on a wall bracket that allows it to be pulled out from the wall.

The plan is to use this in the kitchen as a TV (DirecTV), CQC client, and some amount of "regular" PC work ('net browsing, email, etc.). I have a DVI-Link DVI video/audio switcher that can be controlled via CQC and/or IR. I plan on getting another FitPC2 (or something like that) to run the CQC client and do the other PC stuff.

The monitor is not HDCP compliant. If I tune to DTV channel 100 (which has HDCP "turned on"), I get no picture and a message about the monitor not being HDCP compliant. My understanding is that at least for now, the only DTV channels with HDTV are the PPV and VOD channels and a few "test channels". Since the monitor will be in the kitchen, not having access to PPV/VOD won't be an issue. If more channels go that way, I guess I would try to utilize the component video outputs on the DVR instead of the HDMI output. The monitor has DVI and VGA inputs. I think you can get a "component to DVI" adapter.

Lots of "research" to be done now to get this thing up to it's full potential. Next is seeing what happens when I try to do DVI from the video switcher to the monitor over about 100' of cat5e cable.

Ira

 

[signal15]

The monitor is not HDCP compliant. If I tune to DTV channel 100 (which has HDCP "turned on"), I get no picture and a message about the monitor not being HDCP compliant. My understanding is that at least for now, the only DTV channels with HDTV are the PPV and VOD channels and a few "test channels". Since the monitor will be in the kitchen, not having access to PPV/VOD won't be an issue.

I'm trying to remember the name of it, but there is a device out there that you plug into a valid HDCP compliant monitor, it learns the HDCP ID and other stuff from it, and then you plug it inline with the monitor you have that doesn't have HDCP and it spoofs it.

I think I saw them on Monoprice for around $50 last week, but now I can't find them. Could have been Newegg also. Doh! If anyone runs across them, post here with the name.

It was called something like the HDCP Helper, or the HDCP Solution.