Touchpanel Recommendations

[TheCodeMan]

I am looking for a recommendation. I have a home with four separate rooms that have 5.1 or better. I am using Cinemar MediaLobby on the backend. I want to find a cheap alternative touch panel for each of the four locations. I have investigated the Viewsonic Airpanel (looks good but difficult to obtain) as well as a number of expensive options. I'm looking for the cheapest.

My MainLobby screens are currently set for 800x600 so ideally, I would like to find something to support this resolution. I have looked at Pocket PCs but the screens are just too small to be effective. It looks like 8" to 10" is the sweet spot.

Does anyone have recommendations for me?

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

Just my opinion of course but with the number of touch screens you want, I would look into the 12" RelayTouch-UTMA from TouchTronix!

They retail for around $1200 (which I realize is not the cheapest solution out there).

Plus the UTMA (Ultra Thin Multi Access) is a natural for a home’s touch screen interface to an automation computer. Reasons are (from the TouchTronix site):

RelayTouch-UTMA is the world's first wall-mount touch screen ultra-thin client that does not require a CPU, hard-drive, or CD-ROM, yet executes with all the power of a desktop PC. Using NComputing's exclusive UTMA (Ultra Thin Multi-Access) technology, RelayTouch allows you to leverage an existing home automation server to power up to 10 touch-screens around the house, or up to 30 with Windows Server 2003 or 2000 Server.

So what does this mean? Well, first of all the system is maintenance free (that in itself should attract dealers). The firmware will automatically update itself. Second, it runs an “instance†of the operating system meaning that you only have to maintain ONE computer (the dedicated automation computer).

Plus, if future upgrades dictate a different operating system, the RelayTouch will be able to handle it because the operating system RESIDES in the automation computer itself.

More information on the relay touch is shown below (again from their web site):

RelayTouch-UTMA is the world's first wall-mount touch screen ultra-thin client that does not require a CPU, hard-drive, or CD-ROM, yet executes with all the power of a desktop PC. Using NComputing's exclusive UTMA (Ultra Thin Multi-AccessT) technology, RelayTouch allows you to leverage an existing home automation server to power up to 10 touch-screens around the house, or up to 30 with Windows Server 2003 or 2000 Server.

How does it work?

Each RelayTouch-UTMA is programmed to access the host PC's excess computing power. By utilizing Windows XP/2000/2003's multi-user feature with UTMA technology from NComputing, each RelayTouch-UTMA touch-screen can operate like a separate PC without decreasing the overall performance of either the host PC or each RelayTouch-UTMA. Therefore, each RelayTouch-UTMA unit can run any application from the host PC independently.

Each RelayTouch-UTMA connects to a common server running Windows XP/2000/2003 through the home's Ethernet network (Network Switches are required). UTMA software running on the host establishes a Windows desktop session for each touch screen. The touch screen has full access to the applications on the host.

Each RelayTouch-UTMA only requires power from a low-voltage UL listed power supply and an Ethernet (CAT5) connection to the network. Optionally, small in-wall speakers can be mounted above or around RelayTouch-UTMA for local stereo audio from the UTMA session.

Benefits

100% Quiet: Since there are no PC components, like CPU, Hard Drives, etc. mounted in the wall, RelayTouch-UTMA opeartes without any noise whatsoever, yet it harnesses the full power of an existing home automation server.

No maintenance required: You only have to maintain and upgrade the host PC, RelayTouch-UTMA requires no hardware maintenance, only occasional software updates.

Compatibility: RelayTouch-UTMA will run Windows based applications on your host PC.

Simultaneous Windows operation: Both host PC and RelayTouch-UTMA touch screens can run independently and execute same application programs separately.

Secure and Fast: The proprietary Terminal Protocol allows for a fast and secure environment using image caching and 128 bit encryption.

Like I said before this is JMO!

 

[TheCodeMan]

They look great but I really don't want to mount them in the wall. My preference is to place them on a coffee table and use them as a remote. I would like to find something rechargeable that sits in a base. Ideally, I could pull the unit out of the base and surf the web, send remote commands, start movies on a big screen, check house security status, adjust lighting, etc.

 

[IVB]

Fujitsu 3400?

 

[jeffx]

I'll give a 2nd vote for the Fujitsu 3400's, and there are not many people cheaper than me on this forum

 

[TCIII]

Hi all,

I will second the vote for the Fujitsu 3400's also.

I presently have two of them that I bought off of eBay.

As a matter of fact, there are quite a few of the 3400's for sale on eBay now for under $200 + shipping.

I am running Homerunner on my two touch screens as I have a Stargate SG-IP.

Regards,
TCIII

 

[gregoryx]

Price is right on 'em. I have four Fujitsu 3500s. ML runs great.

 

[mikhael]

Can you use your finger With these or are they strictly stylus controled?

 

[jeffx]

you can use your finger tip with your fingernail. Fingertip alone won't work because of the built-in palm rejection.

 

[Mark S.]

Price is right on 'em. I have four Fujitsu 3500s. ML runs great.

Are you talking about ML2 or ML3? I see that Cinemar recommends a minimum of 800 MHz machine for ML3.

Mark

 

[gregoryx]

ML3 works well on them. It may not be quite as fast as it would be on a 1GHz system, but I've noted that the performance difference between a 1GHz and a 3GHz system is not noticeable to me; the 3500s seem to be "just a bit slower" than the ideal.

IOW, tolerable... especially for the money.

As I said, I have four of them. I'm trying to pick up a couple more now to replace the old Progear units which are not fast enough to be tolerable. That changed, BTW, around ML 2.5, not when ML3 came around.

 

[DavidL]

MarkS, MainLobby will run on a slower machine, but it will operate slower. It won't break, just slower response. We chose 800mhz because we felt that was were end users were going to get a crisp reaction to changing scenes etc. Use it for a guideline.

There are also scene design strategies that allow ML3 to run on slower machines with little performance hit. Our very own gregoryx created some means to swap out the label and function of a button without having to reload the graphic. This works great even on very slow machines. GregoryX posts all of his creative work for all and we thank him for his positive contributions.

 

[gregoryx]

...and we thank him for his positive contributions.

hehehe... positive reinforcement for the specific behavior you want while subtly discouraging the unwanted behavior. A style VERY much to my liking.


Good folks, good product. It's a real pleasure working with the Cinemar - and now CocoonTech - communities. Much like the "good old days" I recall of HomeSeer, Progear, SlinkE, Applied Digital (though the board was always junk), and many things significantly older than those... back to the triple-digit bps BBSs. Good times!

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

gregory;

Have you seen the latest BBS updates/upgrades from Applied Digital?

http://www.appdigusers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php

I dont' frequent that forum myself that much, mainly because I never have any problems with my App Dig gear.

I really like the "ladder logic" programming of the Ocelot and I rarely need to do anything that I can't figure out (of course it helps to have the ultimate Ocelot Guru as a Cocooner)!

My Ocelot has NEVER hung up since I owned it (that's the only piece of my automation gear hardware and software wise that I can state this claim with!)

On the topic of touch screens, I would love an updated Leopard that would have a little more versatility.

BSR

 

[gregoryx]

Yeah, I made the transition to the newer AppDig board, but bailed right about that time.

Bottom line: it's a lot of work to reinvent wheels that are so well implemented elsewhere - as in the Elk platform.

I really liked the ladder model - after they'd got a couple of more modern elements added to it - but see only improvements between the AppDig and Elk environment. That I can natively use a web browser, native IP, and even a native IP-based GUI on PocketPC or Windows is just what ADI should have done... but didn't. I put a lot of time and effort into the ADI Leopard and it never really exceeded reliability into the realm of WAF the way that ML with Elk and other hardware has.

There is a Leopard with more versatility: it's Elk with whatever front-end you prefer.