Author Topic: 4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?  (Read 1964 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline nowsharing

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 247
  • Swoop
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« on: Wed, 08 December 2010, 18:43:00 »
edit: bad title. I just want to connect it to a computer, not necessarily via VGA.

I picked up a cheap 4" LCD screen on fleabay and would like to be able to connect it to my computer to put Foobar & visualizations on when I'm playing music. It has NTSC output through what looks like an s-video cable.

I seem to have three options:
Video card w/TV-out
VGA to S-video signal converter box
Or possibly a USB adapter of some kind, although all I'm finding are video capture cards.

Could anyone set me straight on the best way to go at this?

The screen is an LCD4C ALCD4C I believe.




Offline kriminal

  • Posts: 424
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #1 on: Wed, 08 December 2010, 20:38:32 »
your videocard doesnt have an s-video port?
Geekhacked Filco FKBN87M/EB modified with Brown, black and blue cherries, doubleshot keycaps
Deck KBA-BL82 with Black cherries
Cherry G84-4100LCMDK-0 Cherry ML switches
Cherry G80-8200hpdus-2 Brown cherries
IBM Lexmark 51G8572 Model M Keyboard
Geekhacked Siig Minitouch KB1948
IBM Model M Mini 1397681

Offline nowsharing

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 247
  • Swoop
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #2 on: Wed, 08 December 2010, 20:41:15 »
Quote
your videocard doesnt have an s-video port?
Nope. That would have made it so much easier.
« Last Edit: Wed, 08 December 2010, 20:46:48 by nowsharing »

Offline kriminal

  • Posts: 424
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #3 on: Wed, 08 December 2010, 21:16:36 »
can you take a pic of the other side?
Geekhacked Filco FKBN87M/EB modified with Brown, black and blue cherries, doubleshot keycaps
Deck KBA-BL82 with Black cherries
Cherry G84-4100LCMDK-0 Cherry ML switches
Cherry G80-8200hpdus-2 Brown cherries
IBM Lexmark 51G8572 Model M Keyboard
Geekhacked Siig Minitouch KB1948
IBM Model M Mini 1397681

Offline nowsharing

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 247
  • Swoop
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #4 on: Wed, 08 December 2010, 21:24:17 »
Thanks for the help.




Offline kriminal

  • Posts: 424
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #5 on: Wed, 08 December 2010, 21:40:20 »
ooohh its a 4 pin plug in... either you have to get a male s-video to vga cable, because i searched and didnt find a 4 pin to vga or usb or anything of the like...
still checking.
Geekhacked Filco FKBN87M/EB modified with Brown, black and blue cherries, doubleshot keycaps
Deck KBA-BL82 with Black cherries
Cherry G84-4100LCMDK-0 Cherry ML switches
Cherry G80-8200hpdus-2 Brown cherries
IBM Lexmark 51G8572 Model M Keyboard
Geekhacked Siig Minitouch KB1948
IBM Model M Mini 1397681

Offline nowsharing

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 247
  • Swoop
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #6 on: Wed, 08 December 2010, 21:48:13 »
You might be on to something. At first I didn't think that a VGA to S-video cable would work, but according to this review my video card has an analog D-sub VGA output.

Does that sound like it will work?

Offline nowsharing

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 247
  • Swoop
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #7 on: Wed, 08 December 2010, 21:56:36 »
Wait, no. I won't be able to convert VGA to S-video with my video card. Apparently only a few old cards are capable of that.

Offline nowsharing

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 247
  • Swoop
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #8 on: Wed, 08 December 2010, 22:21:21 »
Triple post.

It looks like I have to use a converter box. I only have 2 PCI-1 slots free to use, and there are slim pickings for PCI-1 cards w/tv out. Another $12 isn't so bad I guess.

Offline chimera15

  • Posts: 1441
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #9 on: Thu, 09 December 2010, 01:47:59 »
Pretty interesting.  Good buy for $5.  Shame it's not a true vga.  I have a 7" usb sub monitor that cost me a lot more, but it probably has a better resolution at least, if you're looking for a similar/better solution.  They usually turn up on ebay for around $80-100.


http://www.mimomonitors.com/products/imo

I also have a 2" lcd with a similar s-vid that I was hoping to turn into a head mounted display.  My laptop worked with it though since it had a s-video out.

You could probably use something like this though.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Adaptor-VGA-D-Sub-SVideo-S-Video-RCA-TV-Cable-PC-/260477902814?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ca5b15fde
« Last Edit: Thu, 09 December 2010, 01:58:51 by chimera15 »
Alps boards:
white real complicated: 1x modified siiig minitouch kb1903,  hhkb light2 english steampunk hack, wireless siig minitouch hack
white with rubber damper(cream)+clicky springs: 2x modified siig minitouch kb1903 1x modified siig minitouch kb1948
white fake simplified:   1x white smk-85, 1x Steampunk compact board hack
white real simplified: 1x unitek k-258
low profile: 1x mint m1242 in box
black: ultra mini wrist keyboard hack
blue: Japanese hhk2 lite hack, 1x siig minitouch pcb/doubleshot dc-2014 caps. kb1903, 1x modified kb1948 Siig minitouch
rainbow test boards:  mck-84sx


Offline PAINKILLER

  • Posts: 51
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #10 on: Thu, 09 December 2010, 06:24:24 »
Quote from: chimera15;259986
You could probably use something like this though.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Adaptor-VGA-D-Sub-SVideo-S-Video-RCA-TV-Cable-PC-/260477902814?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ca5b15fde

This is a passive adapter for cards that run s-video through the VGA port.
Quote from: nowsharing;259940
Apparently only a few old cards are capable of that.


Quote from: nowsharing;259946
It looks like I have to use a converter box. I only have 2 PCI-1 slots free to use, and there are slim pickings for PCI-1 cards w/tv out. Another $12 isn't so bad I guess.


$3.32 for that box with cables etc. looks extremely cheap to me.

Offline AndrewZorn

  • Posts: 1086
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #11 on: Thu, 09 December 2010, 08:51:29 »
I remember when I was trying to get a PSone screen on my computer that the s-video port could simply be rewired to work as a VGA plug.  I didn't believe it, but it there is tons of documentation on the method.  Maybe it would work for this too.

I got the screen working fine, but gave up on actual integration, mostly due to Windows multi-monitor support being garbage.

Offline nowsharing

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 247
  • Swoop
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #12 on: Thu, 09 December 2010, 09:53:16 »
Quote
I have a 7" usb sub monitor that cost me a lot more
That looks much more useful than what I picked up. Too bad they don't make a smaller, less expensive version though.

Quote
$3.32 for that box with cables etc. looks extremely cheap to me.
Its cheapness is the main selling point! It actually has good reviews on Amazon, and I don't need anything powerful to meet the screen's 480x230 res.

Quote
I got the screen working fine, but gave up on actual integration, mostly due to Windows multi-monitor support being garbage.
I was hoping that it would work as a second screen that I could drag things onto. I'm not sure if that is how it will work with this converter though.

Offline nowsharing

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 247
  • Swoop
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #13 on: Thu, 09 December 2010, 10:07:54 »
Quote
I have a 7" usb sub monitor that cost me a lot more

That looks much more useful than what I picked up. Too bad they don't make a smaller, less expensive version though.

Quote
$3.32 for that box with cables etc. looks extremely cheap to me.

Its cheapness is the main selling point! It actually has good reviews on Amazon, and I don't need anything powerful to meet the screen's 480x230 res.

Quote
I got the screen working fine, but gave up on actual integration, mostly due to Windows multi-monitor support being garbage.
I was hoping that it would work as a second screen that I could drag things onto. I'm not sure if that is how it will work with this converter though.

Offline nowsharing

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 247
  • Swoop
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #14 on: Thu, 09 December 2010, 10:08:31 »
Quote
I have a 7" usb sub monitor that cost me a lot more
That looks much more useful than what I picked up. Too bad they don't make a smaller, less expensive version though.

Quote
$3.32 for that box with cables etc. looks extremely cheap to me.
Its cheapness is the main selling point! It actually has good reviews on Amazon, and I don't need anything powerful to meet the screen's 480x230 res.

Quote
I got the screen working fine, but gave up on actual integration, mostly due to Windows multi-monitor support being garbage.
I was hoping that it would work as a second screen that I could drag things onto. I'm not sure if that is how it will work with this converter though.

Offline PAINKILLER

  • Posts: 51
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #15 on: Thu, 09 December 2010, 10:55:12 »
Quote from: nowsharing;260168
I was hoping that it would work as a second screen that I could drag things onto. I'm not sure if that is how it will work with this converter though.


You have a VGA and a DVI port on your card. If the monitor has DVI input, the setup is obvious. If it only has VGA, you can use a cheap DVI to VGA adapter to connect the converter box to the video card and keep the monitor connected to the VGA. Then you can set up dual display in Catalyst Control Center - I think "Extend" mode will work best for you.

Offline PikachuDX

  • Posts: 37
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #16 on: Thu, 09 December 2010, 15:03:43 »
b(6zrsQwnz~2MGY-PGANYb8C+),ePRnVKJZSj(Jj+xlx!BSuFQ
« Last Edit: Tue, 20 June 2023, 05:45:37 by PikachuDX »

Offline AndrewZorn

  • Posts: 1086
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #17 on: Thu, 09 December 2010, 15:46:47 »
Quote from: nowsharing;260149
I was hoping that it would work as a second screen that I could drag things onto. I'm not sure if that is how it will work with this converter though.

That is how it works, but getting other windows stuck over there, applications not liking the second screen, and losing my mouse pointer drove me crazy.

I just wish 'they' would finally make proper support for accessory screens.  These things, the outer notebook displays, the G15/19... there's enough crap out there to warrant it.

Offline microsoft windows

  • Blue Troll of Death
  • * Exalted Elder
  • Posts: 3621
  • President of geekhack.org
    • Get Internet Explorer 6
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #18 on: Thu, 09 December 2010, 15:57:27 »
Quote from: ripster;260271
$99 at ThinkGeek.
Show Image


Flight Simmers really get into this stuff btw.  You might want to search some of their forums.  Nice people once they take their hand off their Joystick - heh, heh.
Show Image


For a hundred bucks, I'd rather just get a big LCD.
CLICK HERE!     OFFICIAL PRESIDENT OF GEEKHACK.ORG    MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN MERRY CHRISTMAS

Offline AndrewZorn

  • Posts: 1086
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #19 on: Thu, 09 December 2010, 16:02:40 »
Wow a non-CRT monitor post by MSW

Offline microsoft windows

  • Blue Troll of Death
  • * Exalted Elder
  • Posts: 3621
  • President of geekhack.org
    • Get Internet Explorer 6
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #20 on: Fri, 10 December 2010, 11:59:52 »
Well, you can get a CRT the same size for cheaper.
CLICK HERE!     OFFICIAL PRESIDENT OF GEEKHACK.ORG    MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN MERRY CHRISTMAS

Offline Megaweapon

  • Posts: 188
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #21 on: Fri, 10 December 2010, 12:32:00 »
I keep headless computers around and I'm getting tired of lugging out a full sized monitor when the need arises, so I'm seriously considering this:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.22660

Need to be able to get into BIOS, boot manager, etc. so I don't think the USB ones will cut it (as sexy as they are).

Anyone have experience with this monitor?  Know of any better candidates that are < $100?
Ancer Research Groop DFK191ABA11 IBM Model M13 Part 92G7461 (white) Rosewill RK-9000
Matias Tactile Pro 3 Apple Extended Keyboard II (ALPS)
Rosewill RK-9000I

Offline nowsharing

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 247
  • Swoop
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #22 on: Fri, 10 December 2010, 12:37:57 »
Quote
Flight Simmers really get into this stuff btw. You might want to search some of their forums. Nice people once they take their hand off their Joystick - heh, heh.
So that's why they call it a cock-pit!

I did a search on Ebay for Liliput monitors, and came across this incredible photo bearing my family name (and bought it of course). Now I know why we're so short!

Offline keyboardlover

  • Posts: 4022
  • Hey Paul Walker, Click It or Ticket!
    • http://www.keyboardlover.com
4" LCD - How to connect it via VGA?
« Reply #23 on: Fri, 10 December 2010, 13:44:03 »
That photo is creep-tacular...