I'm planning on using this TFT LCD (http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=205-048) in my Lian Li. Not in the front but rather inside, viewed from the side window. It says it is NTSC only. So to get the signal from my video card to the TFT, I would start with the card's S-video jack, go to composite, and directly into the TFT? NTSC is a form of composite video? Do they have cables that go from S-video to composite?
you can get tehm as a cable, my georce fx 5200 came with one, simply a svideo plug at on end and an rca plug at the oter
iirc NTSC is the electronic "zoning." NTSC means that it only works in the americas (north, south, central) and i believe that if the device was european it woukd be PAL. Also I have the same TFT
I'm really confused. So if will this TFT LCD take composite video? I've been told by a friend that NTSC is not the same thing. I just wanted to go from my card's s-video, use a s-video to composite cable, and right into the TFT LCD.
By looking at this picture : I'm pretty sure it will work with composite video (composite video usually have yellow RCA jacks like the one in the picture)
Doing that should work fine. Composite video can carry and NTSC or PAL signal, the video card should be able to produce whatever is necessary as long as the connection is made.
yup, composite is RCA connectors. and the below are just regional standards: NTSC= 60hz PAL= 50hz just sure sure to have it running 60hz from your graphics card
Cool. I ordered the LCD. Can't wait to try it out. The LCD says it uses 1 amp and 9-24V. So connecting it to the 12V of my PSU will work just fine, right? I am going to attach the power lines to a switch to turn off the LCD at will. Do I need to do the same for the signal source? The reason for the switch is to prevent "burnout" when not in use. Will not turning off the source be bad? Or confuse my system since it is sending a signal to the LCD when it is off?
For those with similar LCDs, do you recommend I add a plexi front to protect the screen from dust? It is going inside my case, seen through the side window.
go into display properties (provided it windows) and check if its set to something else, the picture will be jumpy. or might just display black.
I'm trying the same thing in a Lian Li PC6002 at the moment. My LCD is a 10.4" CTX Panoview. I have it working quite happily off the 12v PSU, but am using the on/off switch on the LCD to control it. Now on to the difficult bit - mounting it!
This is no biggie. If you have an NTSC TFT all you have to do is hook it to your graphic card's S-video out. Most cards have a round multi-pin video composite connector, which with an adapter plug can be converted to the typical S-video "tulip" style jackplug that usually goes into these TFT screens. Now S-video comes in two main flavours: NTSC (US standard) and PAL (European standard), but this does not affect the connectors, just the signal that is sent through them. If your TFT states it is NTSC, you obviously need an NTSC signal. Most graphic cards are happy to produce both NTSC and PAL. You can select either, via the Display Properties in Windows, or sometimes (like with e.g. Radeon 9x00 series) you have to throw a little dip switch on the card itself. This switch tends to be set per default to NTSC. In short, just hook it up and your setup is very likely to work straight off the bat. If your signal is set to PAL, by the way, you'll know by seeing a somewhat distorted black and white picture, as NTSC and PAL, besides the scan line frequency, also have different colour transmission systems. This will not harm the screen or the card however. Yes. No, the source does not need to be switched off. Your systems Display drivers will register when the TFT is switched on or off, but this should cause no difficulties (just make sure it's switched on when you set up the Display Properties for it, for the very first time). Not needed if you mount it inside the side window. I added a plexi front to my TFT in Metaversa (see project logs) because it went in the front of the case, and there would have been no protection for the fragile glass screen. But if you mount it behind the protective barrier of a plexi side window, it will be fine as it is.
My main desktop is set at 85 hz, to match my monitor settings. Will I be able to select 60 hz for the extended desktop for the LCD and retain my normal 85 hz for my main monitor? To Nexxo - thanks for the extensive comments
You're welcome. Windows will treat your monitors like two completely seperate devices (luckily). This means that they can have different resolutions, colour depths, refresh rates, the works etc. and it won't matter a thing, even if you were to share or extend your desktop accross the two. What you get to see in display properties, really, is a picture of two screens. You drag one around relative to the other to indicate where one monitor is located relative to the other one in real life (e.g. above, below, left or right of the other one). Clicking on each will allow you to set their own individual settings. There is a range of software (e.g. Ultramon) which will allow you to go even further, and set individual screen savers and other gimmicks.
I just setup my LCD and it owns. I can't seem to stretch the extended desktop all the way. I used my ATI properties to move the screen around and stretch it but it doesn't seem to change much or stretch all the way. Is that something to be expected with LCDs like this? Wow. Is it supposed to get so warm?