Adding a touchscreen, have questions

[scottw]

I am currently runng XL using Naylia's skin:
http://xlobby.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3147
and it is displayed on my 36" CRT tv at 720x480. I want to add a touchscreen (mounted in the wall) in the family room just to control music for the back sections of the house. I don't want a really big screen in the wall and was looking at around an 8" screen and this is one of the one's I was looking at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Lilliput-8-TOUCH-SCREEN-XGA-TFT-Car-Monitor-FA801_W0QQitemZ110064764191QQihZ001QQcategoryZ48609QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Before I buy the screen I want to get an idea of what the skin will look like on that small of a screen. This may sound silly but how can I make my test machines computer monitor (19" dell) display that size screen (in a window I guess) so I can see in real size what the skin may look like on an 8" screen. Does that make sense??????

My second question is I guess I would need to run 2 copies of XL since I would not be using the same screens that were displayed on the TV but custom versions made bigger for the smaller screen. I read this post:
http://xlobby.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5173&highlight=touchscreen
which shows you can run 2 copies of XL at the same time. Does this seem like the best option or am I missing something???

Almost forgot, you don't NEED to use the stylus for these type monitors do you??? That is just for some tablet pc's right???

Thanks for any input,
Scott

[PhilB]

I have a 7" lilliput upstairs and it is usable with my skin but I would not recommend something that small if you plan to use it often. The small screen fits my needs for occasional use but I use a 10" downstairs which is much nicer. Big but not obtrusive like a 14-15" would be.

PB

[rembetis]

Before I buy the screen I want to get an idea of what the skin will look like on that small of a screen. This may sound silly but how can I make my test machines computer monitor (19" dell) display that size screen (in a window I guess) so I can see in real size what the skin may look like on an 8" screen. Does that make sense??????

Sure, run Xlobby, hit F2, choose the Skins section on the left, and type in the touchscreens resolution in the Resolution section. You will probably want to add the X/Y offsets to get the window centered. (Keep in mind the contrast ratio, sharpness, and overall quality of the 7" will probably be a bit lower than your 19" so this is just an approxiation)

The best setup for touchscreens use a video that has dual outputs. That way you can run Xlobby as a "control center" on the touchscreen and have movies, etc. displayed on the tv, projector, etc. But I concure with Phil, a 7" might be kinda small to use regularly, particularly without a stylus (which may in fact be necessary).

[scottw]

Thanks Phil,

I am limited in space as to what size I can use. We use a PPC now and the screen I have designed for it works and looks fine. Now if I can get a screen like that on the TS I will be fine, even better since that screen will be bigger than the PPC.

How do you like the 7" lilliput??? I don't plan to use it a great deal just to have a list of music maybe not even coverart and some buttons for volume and such.

Do you just mirror your main screen with the TS's???

Thanks,
Scott

[scottw]

Sure, run Xlobby, hit F2, choose the Skins section on the left, and type in the touchscreens resolution in the Resolution section. You will probably want to add the X/Y offsets to get the window centered. (Keep in mind the contrast ratio, sharpness, and overall quality of the 7" will probably be a bit lower than your 19" so this is just an approxiation)

The best setup for touchscreens use a video that has dual outputs. That way you can run Xlobby as a "control center" on the touchscreen and have movies, etc. displayed on the tv, projector, etc. But I concure with Phil, a 7" might be kinda small to use regularly, particularly without a stylus (which may in fact be necessary).

That makes sense but if the TS has a resolution of say 800x600 then wouldn't 800x600 look differently on a TV vs. a 7" ts, on the ts everything would look smaller. I just am trying to get an idea of how big the buttons will be, see if they are going to be big enough for me to be able to push with my finger.

Maybe I could make a screen at 800x600, take a screen capture and then shrink it down to the dimentions of the TS to get an idea. Does that make sense?

[rembetis]

Maybe I could make a screen at 800x600, take a screen capture and then shrink it down to the dimentions of the TS to get an idea. Does that make sense?

That would work for determining absolute button size. I thought you were asking more about proportionality (if that's a word) of the skin. Better check about the need for stylus, though -- if I remember correctly some definitely do require them (something about a finger not providing a sharp enough point of contact).

[scottw]

Maybe I could make a screen at 800x600, take a screen capture and then shrink it down to the dimentions of the TS to get an idea. Does that make sense?

That would work for determining absolute button size. I thought you were asking more about proportionality (if that's a word) of the skin. Better check about the need for stylus, though -- if I remember correctly some definitely do require them (something about a finger not providing a sharp enough point of contact).

OK thanks.

Yeah I had I rough time trying to explain what I needed, thanks for picking up on it

[Colby]

I use a touchscreen outputted to a tv. One instance of XL. NTSC Tv is 640x480 so you shouldnt worry about resolution. Set your touchscreen to this res. As far a size goes, its really very simple. Think of it as percentage. If your screen has an actual width of 6 inches, and your finger is actually .5 inches diameter then a single button should be 1/12th the size of your skin, no matter how it scales.

I run my resolution 1024x768 on my TS. My buttons are between 50&85 pixels. I design for standard web, 72 pixels per inch. As far as I know unless you are using something out of the ordinary, most pixels are relatively the same size.

P.S. I never use a freggin' stylus.

[scottw]

Colby,

That is one awesome explaination!!!!!!

I would hate to have to use a stylus. I am leaning towards this one now:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Lilliput-8LCD-Touch-Screen-VGA-Monitor-809GL-80NP-C-T_W0QQitemZ170057559500QQihZ007QQcategoryZ48609QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I measured a 10" into the spot I would put it in and I think it may be a little big as well, so I may just stick with the 8"


Colby,
Do you just mirror your main display or extend the desktop to it???

Thanks again,
Scott

[cioffij]

If I understand what Colby is saying, I agree. That is, if you have a smaller screen, you still have to make the buttons fit your fingers. That might mean fewer buttons on the smaller screen.

I have a 12 inch ELO flat panel touchscreen and it works fine with the simplicity skin. 8 inch seems a bit small to me. I wanted a 15 inch, but got a deal on this one and took it (eBay also)

I'm going to try running 2 copies of XL, as suggested by Defrag in the other thread. I'll post my results there when I try it. I really think that's what you need too.

Jim

[scottw]

If I understand what Colby is saying, I agree. That is, if you have a smaller screen, you still have to make the buttons fit your fingers. That might mean fewer buttons on the smaller screen.

I have a 12 inch ELO flat panel touchscreen and it works fine with the simplicity skin. 8 inch seems a bit small to me. I wanted a 15 inch, but got a deal on this one and took it (eBay also)

I'm going to try running 2 copies of XL, as suggested by Defrag in the other thread. I'll post my results there when I try it. I really think that's what you need too.

Jim

Thanks,
I am choosing a smaller screen because the room this is going in does not even have a TV in it. If I was going to be watching movies and stuff like that I would get a bigger screen. I may even add a 15" in our livingroom where our main TV is located but for just music control I would think the 8" should work fine since we are managing fine with a PPC, plus it keeps a low profile for that room.
What do you guys think?

[PhilB]

scottw,

The Lilliput runs fine as long as you dont take it apart. I did that for my Antique Radio based musicserver and it was a royal pain with the ribbon cables.

Anyway, I run my two TS mirrored at 800x600. Since XL is so easy to skin, 800x600 is fine. I use a dual head card with the second output for the HD-TV. The two TS's run off the first output that is split with a inexpensive multiplexer. I can have up to 4 more TS if I want but I really tend to use my laptop and remote control software to just directly control the XL server over 802.11. This way I dont have to get off the chair. I dont like the PPC XL option since PDAs go to sleep and disconnect XL.

PB

[scottw]

Thanks Phil,

I was wondering about running the thin client on the same pc as the fat client. I read a couple of posts about this and have done it before. I was testing out some screens and just opened the thin client on the 2nd monitor and it worked fine. The only problem I could see was someone else said it used up system resources especially when the thin client waas refreshing, but I am not sure how much of a problem that would be for me. I wish you could run 2 copies of XL at one time, this way I could make a custom screen just for the TS. I run XL on my TV now and navigate with a remote and use it mainly for watching movies but I would like to run a seperate skin that would be independent from the TV's skin for the TS, the TS would not control the TV at all just music. So I guess I would need to either run the thin client or a seperate copy of XL which at this time would have to kill the one running on the TV, I could switch back and forth but would like to run both at the same time.

I dont like the PPC XL option since PDAs go to sleep and disconnect XL.

PB

I agree 100% that is why we are getting the TS since it take 20 seconds to get the PPC running, but it is great for a portable solution.

[scottw]

Ok OK you guys talked me into the 10" . I jusy bought this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Lilliput ... enameZWDVW
I think down the road I will be glad I went with a slightly larger screen.

[cioffij]

Ok OK you guys talked me into the 10"

It's gorgeous. I'm sure you won't regret it.

Jim