What PC to use with ELO Touchscreen?

[upstatemike]

I didn't want to Hijack the thread on mounting ELO's but I was wondering what kind of PC most folks would use with these screens? Maybe one of those low power fanless units discussed recently?

I like the ELO touch screens themselves but I'm not sure I want to deal with VGA extenders and all that. I'm looking for a QUIET low energy box that could be local to the screen, running 24/7 to drive one of these. I also don't want to pay 3 times the cost of the screen just to have something to drive it. (Something similiar to a homeseer PRO-100 in the $400-$500 price range would be good).

 

[shenandoah75]

Well i plan to run it as the primary display my main HA server (i.e. the box will act as the server and a client). Right now i'm playing with my audio (jriver and netremote) a very old k7m/athlon 600 which depending upon software choices, would likely require me to upgrade for the 1ghz requirement of main lobby, etc). I am testing those on a laptop...

In your case, it sounds like distance, size and noise are all factors, so i think you would want something like the PCI versions of these except that it doesn't have rs-232 or usb for the toughscreen:
http://www.ncomputing.com/ncomputing/products/overview.php

If they made it with usb that would be awesome.


Oops the ethernet version does offer serial and usb, but it looks like the serial port might be propritary to their touchscreens (but i am counting 9 pins in it)

 

[shenandoah75]

fyi- there are several related threads on the ncomuting forums if you search for just Elo... looks like their own people don't think it should be doable, but others claim it works, others are asking for the serial pinouts, etc....

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

Well i plan to run it as the primary display my main HA server (i.e. the box will act as the server and a client). Right now i'm playing with my audio (jriver and netremote) a very old k7m/athlon 600 which depending upon software choices, would likely require me to upgrade for the 1ghz requirement of main lobby, etc). I am testing those on a laptop...

In your case, it sounds like distance, size and noise are all factors, so i think you would want something like the PCI versions of these except that it doesn't have rs-232 or usb for the toughscreen:
http://www.ncomputing.com/ncomputing/products/overview.php

If they made it with usb that would be awesome.


Oops the ethernet version does offer serial and usb, but it looks like the serial port might be propritary to their touchscreens (but i am counting 9 pins in it)

If you want an nComputing/UTMA solution, you should look into the touchtronix UTMA touch screen devices with this technology already built into their touchscreens. It's a nice solution/combination!
http://touchtronix.com/products.html

 

[upstatemike]

I keep coming back to Touchtronix but the per screen price is just a little higher than I want to go. I didn't see a price on the ncomputing L200 box so I can't calculate what an ELO + L200 would be (assuming it works). If there are proprietary ncomputing monitors (besides the Touchtronix stuff) I did not see that option either.

It just seems like starting with a $300 touch screen monitor off of ebay it should be possible to come up with a total solution for around $800 per screen. (But I always end up back at the $1300 Touchtronix unit!)

 

[shenandoah75]

Man, do I here you!!!

i was/am in the same boat... I ultimately decided that i could have one touchscreen centrally located (as per the other thread), and then use pocket pc's for other areas and maybe eventually one portable unit in the family / HT area, though i think the HTPC and another pocket pc up there would be enough.

I looked at the viewsonic airpanels, tablet pcs, IVB's fujitsu, etc... It just seems like way to much money with too little return value in my setup... The pocket pc can go to the outbuilding, the garage, the porch and cost is only ~300 for a refurb'd hp with 680x480 screen... I have pc's/laptops in the mrs' and my own offices, for additional local control etc.


-brad

p.s. If your gut says don't spend the money, i recommend you listen to it... I decided to buy the niles muting / IR volume controls against my better judgement. I hadn't decided on control and now i regret it. I won't be using IR, and the muting means i have to have the VC's powered up with 12V in order to get anything through them. Kind of hurts my doorbell/elk plans in the other thread.

my $.02...

 

[TonyNo]

I've had good luck using ~$200 systems from geeks or tigerdirect for this type of app. My main screen is running from an HP ePC, which is very quiet, and stashed under a bench in my foyer. I ran the wiring in-wall to a small access hole behind the surface-mounted touch screen. Just about $600 total for the system.

 

[shenandoah75]

Tony,

any chance you could post a picture of your surface mount? i would consider this rather than my other proposal if it didn't look too obtrusive... also what brand/model?

thx
-brad

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

I keep coming back to Touchtronix but the per screen price is just a little higher than I want to go. I didn't see a price on the ncomputing L200 box so I can't calculate what an ELO + L200 would be (assuming it works). If there are proprietary ncomputing monitors (besides the Touchtronix stuff) I did not see that option either.

It just seems like starting with a $300 touch screen monitor off of ebay it should be possible to come up with a total solution for around $800 per screen. (But I always end up back at the $1300 Touchtronix unit!)

upstatemike:

Everyone has their own set of priorities of what features/items are important to them, but right now I have six PC's in my house, and it's a royal pain keeping them updated with Windows Updates, Antivirus Definition files, etc... Plus, they will become outdated and will need upgraded or replaced in several years.

The UTMA solution presented with the Touchtronix products only need an occasional firmware upgrade, so they are virtually maintenance free. That plus they have no moving parts (ie no hard disk drive).

Again, I do respect the fact that these items are not of the same importance to everyone!

 

[TonyNo]

Sure...

It's one of those 15" Dells.

 

[robertmee]

I wouldn't discount the vga extenders....If you already have cat5 near the location (phone or data) it makes for a very clean install as you have a small cigar sized box, with no power wart (gets power from the transmitter). I use several ELOs with the Cybex Longview extenders (about $75 on ebay) and they carry both the VGA and serial for the touchscreen control. I just use an old PIII remotely located to drive all my screens. The ELO driver supports upto four concurrent serial ports so you can have four screens directly connected serially, and use a reverse KVM or VGA splitter to attach all four monitors to the PC. Granted, all four monitors will show the same thing, but for a family of four, it has NEVER been an issue.

 

[upstatemike]

I wouldn't discount the vga extenders....If you already have cat5 near the location (phone or data) it makes for a very clean install as you have a small cigar sized box, with no power wart (gets power from the transmitter). I use several ELOs with the Cybex Longview extenders (about $75 on ebay) and they carry both the VGA and serial for the touchscreen control. I just use an old PIII remotely located to drive all my screens. The ELO driver supports upto four concurrent serial ports so you can have four screens directly connected serially, and use a reverse KVM or VGA splitter to attach all four monitors to the PC. Granted, all four monitors will show the same thing, but for a family of four, it has NEVER been an issue.

Interesting solution... I didn't know you could run 4 concurrent serial connections for the ELO driver. A lot cheaper than UTMA! I would lose sound but can deal with that. In fact having having 4 screens all show the same thing might be an advantage. And all the benefits of only running 1 PC just like UTMA. I need to look at this some more....

 

[robertmee]

I wouldn't discount the vga extenders....If you already have cat5 near the location (phone or data) it makes for a very clean install as you have a small cigar sized box, with no power wart (gets power from the transmitter). I use several ELOs with the Cybex Longview extenders (about $75 on ebay) and they carry both the VGA and serial for the touchscreen control. I just use an old PIII remotely located to drive all my screens. The ELO driver supports upto four concurrent serial ports so you can have four screens directly connected serially, and use a reverse KVM or VGA splitter to attach all four monitors to the PC. Granted, all four monitors will show the same thing, but for a family of four, it has NEVER been an issue.

Interesting solution... I didn't know you could run 4 concurrent serial connections for the ELO driver. A lot cheaper than UTMA! I would lose sound but can deal with that. In fact having having 4 screens all show the same thing might be an advantage. And all the benefits of only running 1 PC just like UTMA. I need to look at this some more....

The Cybex longviews also transmit sound both ways (speaker and mic), along with the serial and KVM, depending on the model. So, you can use the speakers on the ELO if you want.

 

[68sting]

I want to use two elo touch screens and one standard monitor on one pc. It sounds like the elo driver can handle this. Is there a recommended video card for this? Anything else I need to know?

Thanks
Lance

 

[Ranger Digital]

I want to use two elo touch screens and one standard monitor on one pc. It sounds like the elo driver can handle this. Is there a recommended video card for this? Anything else I need to know?

Thanks
Lance

Lance, A few months ago I bought an ATI Visiontek Radeon X1300 with 512MB dual video card. Its really more high end than i needed. Anyhoot, i ran the primary video on the on board VGA card and two touchscreens off the ATI. It worked GREAT. No issues. Since, I have pulled that card out and but in a matrox quad. The bummer on that is, that card wont allow me to use the on board VGA to have a total of five screens, which is what I want (to get more, i have to add another matrox card, bummer, but that fine).

I am going to put the ATI card on ebay if I cant find a taker beforehand. I paid 199 bucks for the card. Really more power than needed for HA but really good for gaming. This card is hard to find and most are 256mb and not 512.

Hoping to get $110 for it before I put it on ebay. All boxed, all contents, software, etc. If interested, let me know.

Tuck