Good deal on a BIG touchscreen.

[zimmer62]

I have one of these, and it's a pretty nice screen. The main thing I don't like about it, is that it doesn't have standard vesa mounting holes in the back, but if you're in need of a big touchscreen for somewhere that doesn't need wall mounting, or want to make some custom mount, this is a pretty nice monitor.

http://bensbargains.net/deal/141460/

[jasv]

Looks very interesting but I couldn't find how to buy it for the price on this link. The link only takes you to places that sell it for $399 or more as best as I can tell.

[Mark S.]

Looks very interesting but I couldn't find how to buy it for the price on this link. The link only takes you to places that sell it for $399 or more as best as I can tell.

There is a code in the post on the Ben's site. Plug it in at the Dell site to get the discount.

Mark

[jasv]

Thanks. It is a good deal and the multi-touch looks cool.

[kenm]

OK, I jumped. Not sure why but it will look cool mounted in-wall in our kitchen. Yes, it's a BIG wall so a BIG monitor won't look out of place there. Not sure how I'm going to mount it yet but I'll figure that out once I get it and can have a look at the stand.

Now my questions:

- Where do you start laying out an HSTouch screen for 1920x1080 resolution? Do I build individual screens at say, 640x480, and then group them, and put them into window panes on one big screen?

- How do you go about editing that big of a project on a smaller (1280x800) monitor? Maybe the smaller individual screens at 640x480 while editing?

- Several times on the Dell site it states Window 7 or higher for multi-touch. Does anyone know if this works at all as a touchscreen with XP or Vista or do I have to go get another Win7 machine to drive it? As far as HSTouch goes I don't see much use for multi-touch pan, zoom, pinch, etc.

Thanks,
Ken

[zimmer62]

OK, I jumped. Not sure why but it will look cool mounted in-wall in our kitchen. Yes, it's a BIG wall so a BIG monitor won't look out of place there. Not sure how I'm going to mount it yet but I'll figure that out once I get it and can have a look at the stand.

Now my questions:

- Where do you start laying out an HSTouch screen for 1920x1080 resolution? Do I build individual screens at say, 640x480, and then group them, and put them into window panes on one big screen?

- How do you go about editing that big of a project on a smaller (1280x800) monitor? Maybe the smaller individual screens at 640x480 while editing?

- Several times on the Dell site it states Window 7 or higher for multi-touch. Does anyone know if this works at all as a touchscreen with XP or Vista or do I have to go get another Win7 machine to drive it? As far as HSTouch goes I don't see much use for multi-touch pan, zoom, pinch, etc.

Thanks,
Ken

I don't edit the screens on smaller resolution, it's too much of a pain the in the butt.

Works as a touchscreen in windows xp, but you won't have multi-touch unless you use windows 7 (an it can't be windows 7 basic)

So... with a screen like this, pinch zoom isn't really a big deal. I can tell you that having windows 7 will be better though, because you'll gain gesture support for things like the keyboard, and panning up and down on webpages etc. plus you could use the surface fish pond as your screen saver which gets all kinds of fun attention.

Take pictures of how you decide to mount it? I'd be very curious. The stand isn't going to be what you expect

[kenm]

Thanks for the reply.

Good to know it will work (at least basically) with XP but I'll probably end up getting a Win7 machine to drive it.

This will be the highest res monitor in the house so I'll have to use it for a while to do the screen editing unless I can convince the wife to let me use the 52" Sharp LCD in the TV room? Not!

As far as mounting it I'll probably be using it for a little while on the desk since I'll use it for editing and testing the HSTouch screens.

I sent this link to my neighbor who's a custom AV installer for cars/trucks/RVs and the first thing he said was "Can we take it out of the case and can we remove or cut-off the stand?". He just finished installing an iPad in the dash of a $150K Mercedes and it looks like it came from the factory that way.

http://www.hdtvreview.com/viewimages.php?ProdID=4727

He also noted that based on the overall dimensions (13.47" x 21.71" x 3.63", without the stand) it won't fit between studs and it won't fit in a 3.5" deep wall so that's something to consider. In my case it should be OK since the wall I want to mount it in is 2"x6" studs so it's 5.5" deep. It also backs up to my AV equipment room so the backside can be left open for service, etc.

Dell says it won't arrive for over a week so I'll have to start editing a screen or two using a lower res monitor. It'll be like playing tennis in a closet.

Ken

[zimmer62]

unless I can convince the wife to let me use the 52" Sharp LCD in the TV room? Not!

I've got my 46" Sharp in the bedroom hooked up to a windows 7 box for movies etc, and I can tell you I'd prefer not editing homeseer screens on it. It's just weird unless you want to sit 3 feet away. Then it's too big.

I'd probably edit them on the actual screen for now, and consider finding a 22 or 24" 1080p monitor for you main PC (I see them on for deals around 150ish from time to time.)

[kenm]

Yeah, I see what you mean about being kind of weird.

I tested it out last night although I found out that my Sharp only does 4:3 ratios on the VGA input so I was only able to try 1600x1200. I don't have HDMI on my laptop so I'd have to convert DVI to HDMI to use 1920x1080. I had to be more like 5 ft away and I still had a stiff neck when I woke up this morning.

I mentioned something to my son last night about needing a bigger monitor and he offered up one of his gaming monitors which are Samsung Syncmaster 2243 (1680 x 1050). Might be usable for now. He has three of them attached to a multi-head video card and with Summer coming he isn't going to have much time to play games.

I'll probably just use the actual touchscreen for now but I may consider making a contribution to my son's "monitor upgrade" fund in the future. BTW, my main PC is a Macbook Pro and I run HSTouch designer under Parallels. The touchscreen will be running on another PC that currently has XP pro installed.

My neighbor gave me a sketch of one way to mount the monitor (assuming we can remove the stand) so when I get a few minutes to scan it I'll post it.

Ken

[zimmer62]

I was able to remove my stand when I was looking at it... I just wish the thing had normal vesa mounts in the back.

[kenm]

Hi Joe,

I had some trouble scanning the sketch but here it is. I'll try to describe what he's suggesting to see if it's something you are interested in. First off, I want the monitor to be installed "in-the-wall" and be as flush to the wall as possible. What he's suggesting is a technique similar to what is used in trade show displays. Basically, he will make an over-sized, thin-metal plate with a cut-out just big enough for the screen itself. The bezel of the monitor will press up against the back of the plate and be held in place with a couple of custom fabricated brackets and some rubber bumpers (these look like they provide for some minor adjustment in positioning plus hold it tight to the plate. The entire plate/monitor assembly would then be mounted to the wall studs after some custom framing work as the monitor is too wide to fit between 16oc wall studs. He said that we would have to play around with the material thickness of the plate as well to make sure we can still use taping mud, etc. to finish off the wall.

I'll keep you posted as we get further along with the mounting.

Ken

[zimmer62]

That sure sounds interesting. I have a friend who is looking for that custom metal face like you described. Any ideas how much a frame like that runs?

I'd love to see the pictures when you're done. Make sure you take some along the way too..

[kenm]

Raw materials (sheet metal, hardware, etc) are estimated to be around $50 and the custom fabrication cost will most likely be several beers and a steak or two.

The face plate will be cut with either a water jet cutter or a plasma cutter. Could be done with multiple hits of a CNC but we doesn't have access to one of those so that could cost a lot to have a commercial shop do it that way.

The fabrication of the brackets will require access to a sheet metal shear and brake which should be pretty easy. Drilling, tapping, etc. should be easy as well with just a drill press.

We're going to try and CAD it up this weekend to see how it looks. I'll share whatever drawings I come up with so you can get a better idea of the design.

Ken

[kenm]

Hi Joe,


OK, I got the monitor yesterday. I do have to say that it's BIG for a touchscreen. The picture quality is very good. I wasn't sure about the shiny screen at first but now that I see it I like it. It looks much better with a lighter color background rather than dark (ie. black in my case).

I didn't get to do any CAD work last weekend with all the family holiday plans but I hope to do some this weekend. I'm kind of glad I waited anyway since now that I have the monitor I see a couple of things that will have to be taken into consideration when making the brackets.

I also ordered the non-touchscreen version (SX2210) this morning that Dell has on sale for $139.99. That will give me the same full 1080P monitor for editing.

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=320-0921


Any tips on removing the stand? Is the screw just below the base the only thing holding it in place?

Thanks,
Ken

[zimmer62]

I think it was just the two screws.. I'm not 100% on that but I recall it being pretty simple, but then I was left scratching my head how I'd fabricate a wall mount plate for that.

I'm honestly contemplating just using some sort of very very strong tape (the kind security plates are affixed to desks with in computer labs) to mount a bracket to the back which has the VESA sided mount holes in it. It doesn't put it "IN" my wall, but for this wall, I don't want it, I need the tilt swivel features.