lcd touch screen htpc quotation

As with shopping for a conventional monitor, some core considerations include: resolution, price, size, and panel type. The resolution of a monitor will determine the how much detail it is able to display, and you should aim for a 1920 × 1080 monitor if your budget allows. You should also consider what type of panel technology a touch screen monitor uses, as it can affect color accuracy, response time, and viewing angles.

The most common panel technologies for touchscreen monitors are: twisted nematic (TN), vertical alignment (VA), and in-plane-switching (IPS). Twisted nematic (TN) is the most common LCD monitor panel technology due to its low cost but has narrower viewing angles and less color accuracy than other panel technologies. VA and IPS panels offer superior viewing angles and color accuracy, but are more expensive. If you expect that the touch screen monitor will be used by a single user looking at it straight on, then a TN panel will be just fine. However, if it is going to be constantly viewed from the sides then you will need to look for a VA or IPS display.

When shopping for a non-touchscreen monitor, the importance of the stand is often downplayed and the focus is more on the display. For touch screen monitors though, the stand plays a central role. Because users will be touching the monitor with varying amounts of force, the stand will need to be sturdy enough to hold the monitor in place. Also, it needs to offer a large amount of adjustability for customizable ergonomics.

Sorry to rant about this, but I have to get it out. And since it"s about cases, then I felt it was best to let it go here...

I hate every single implementation of this I have seen. Take the Zalman ones for example HD160XT.
This is the typical design. But I cannot for the life of me see the point.
A display, yes. Even a touchscreen... IF it was detachable like the old Akai-smplers front-panels. That made sense to me.
But a vertically mounted touchscreen in a HTPC case designed to go in the rack of other HT-components. It"s beyond me.

Why isn"t every single one of these constructed with detachable battery-driven touch-screens which single reason to sit in the front of the case is to charge the batteries? Having that touchscreen with remote-link to the HTPC would be almost incredibly cool, and worth some extra money. But as these things are designed, I cannot get it. But if they were only an advanced display, then I get it, and it would maybe be worth a slight premium over other cases. But again... Why? And do anybody really pay that extra for something they will rarely or ever get out of their comfy chairs to get to use?

Edit: If they at least had a means to angle the display so that if the rack was on the sidewall near a chair, it could be angled up from the front and used in a semi-comfortable way. But not even that is catered for in any way...

Best Regards
Bo Eriksson

The team works very hard to make sure the community is running the best HTPC-software. We give away MediaPortal for free but hosting and software is not for us.

This full size chassis with touch screen is 174mm (6.9") high. It is made from extruded, brushed aluminum with four round corners finished by sandblasting. Screw less cover in all chassis, kept in place by magnets. This chassis accommodates four 3.5" HD and one standard optical drive. 7" touch screen LCD ads nice look and very convenient operation, however it works with Soundgraph FingerUI software only. For more information about FingerUI software please look

Any HTPC that uses SoundGraph LCDs requires iMON to be installed to be able to utilize all of the functionality of the LCD. And the functionality isn’t just restricted to the display itself – the IR receiver, for example, is a part built into the FP LCD hardware. Powering on by remote, for example, is only possible through the FP LCD hardware’s built-in IR receiver. My case, the GD02-MT, came with a SoundGraph iPad remote control, but I prefer the functionality of my MCE remote (programmed easily into my Harmony-style URC-R50), so to have the IR receiver recognize MCE presses instead of iPad presses, I needed to install the iMON software and select MCE as my remote profile. Granted, the IR receiver will attempt to capture any IR signal it gets, and you could probably even use a Comcast remote with the thing if you ran Girder or something, but the pre-defined IR code profiles in iMON help with general navigation and the usual remote functionality you’d expect. Other things are even tied to the FrontPanel LCD hardware – power switch, power light, HDD light, etc. These are all triggered automatically by the FP hardware, instead of having to manually plug in jumpers and all that other fun stuff that building a PC usually involves. Instead, you merely have 3 connections from the FP LCD to the PC itself:

Ok, past that. All of the best HTPC cases have SoundGraph LCD’s. Some are 7", some are 4.3". Silverstone manufactures one case, mine, with the 4.3". Moneual, who also makes some spectacular cases, are all 7" from what I can tell. But again, I paid $369 for my case, and every Moneual case I find is anywhere from $490 to $650. And they still use the SoundGraph LCD’s. Regardless, if you buy a case with an SG LCD, you are going to have to use their software. It’s a closed API, the software is not updated often, it’s buggy, has heavy compatibility issues, and the x86 drivers have not been updated in 6 years. (The x64 drivers I had better luck with, as they actually seemed to install, but were still horribly buggy). I am still fully unable to calibrate my touchscreen, as it only recognizes a keypress from a single location – the screen’s center. There are many similar complaints about this in the iMON forums. Some displays are merely impossible to calibrate and iMON has made no effort to respond to my support requests or forum posts, except for a copy/paste email response telling me to autoupdate to the latest drivers/software. Yeah, well, I did, and it still doesn’t fucking work.

Oddly, I found a program called touch-base, which let me calibrate my touchscreen perfectly, but it only works for the first 100 clicks before they want you to pay $200 to register it. So it’s not a hardware issue, it’s a software issue. An iMON issue.

The trick really is not to even try to bother with x86, as the drivers simpy do not install. Next is to make sure you’re x64, install iMON, allow it to install the drivers, choos your remote profile, and then prevent the program from starting ever again. You still won’t be able to use your touchscreen, but at least the remote drivers will work and the LCD will function well as a secondary display.

Still, my quest continues for a cool weather indicator. That’s really all I want – I can see the date on my desktop (and the time, so the analog clock is just for pure sexiness) so I don’t really care about that. But being able to swap between various widgets or programs to display different data depending on what I’m doing would be sweet. Ah well. I suppose if anyone decides to buy a case with an SG LCD, you can come to me for information on what programs to use, but keep in mind that the built-in Frontview is useless, and so is the touchscreen. You may as well forget about them. Sorry for the long post, tl;dr and all that.

Like many computer enthusiasts, I’m an early adopter. At the turn of the millennium, I decided to construct a home theater PC (HTPC)--before Windows Media Center Edition was readily available as a standalone product. Armed with AMD’s Remote Wonder, a Radeon 7500 with an S-video output, some game controllers, and a DVD-ROM drive, my HTPC was tasked to play DVDs, music, and PC games on the 27" TV in my living room.

The experiment technically "worked"–it played movies, music, and games and I could even play the PC version of TOCA race driver in split-screen mode. However, the system was not very user-friendly and I got tired of explaining and re-explaining how to operate it to my family. It was also a little buggy and temperamental, while frankly yesteryear’s CRT televisions weren’t really capable of making even the low 640x480 resolution look readable. While it was technically an HTPC that could do the job, in reality it was still just a PC attached to my television.

Here we are, almost a decade later, and in the last few years high-resolution LCD and plasma televisions have proliferated extremely quickly. More and more folks are even running dedicated home-theater rooms with HD projectors. In addition, Windows Media Center offers the PC a truly user-friendly interface that even my wife–who is not very tech-savvy–and children can use. Between modern graphics cards being able to offer sublime image quality on HD playback and my desire to try out the latest PC games on my HDTV, I believe the HTPC’s heyday might have just arrived.

It"s certainly not 2002 anymore, and there are a lot more case options than beige-on-beige. In fact, there are a seemingly infinite number of unique and interesting HTPC cases available. Notably, we"ve seen a number of cases offering an integrated LCD touch screen that have both user-interface functionality as well as information-delivery. But are these cases well-optioned, well-built platforms for the serious home enthusiast? Are they worth their substantial price premium over an HTPC case without an LCD display? Or are they just a flashy case with a pretty face?

Let’s find out by taking a hard look at three HTPC cases with integrated LCD touch screens: the Moneual 972, the SilverStone CW03, and the Thermaltake DH102. All three offer full ATX compatibility, iMedian HD media player software, a handy IR remote, and a 7" LCD touch screen.

The premium HD160XT Home Theater PC enclosure features an elite 7” LCD touch-screen display, elegant audiophile styling, excellent airflow, along with an impressive suite of software. Awesome!

Zalman’s new HD160XT is a premium HTPC enclosure that incorporates a high-quality 7′ LCD with touch-screen capabilities. The HD160XT is similar in many ways to theZalman HD160 casewe reviewed last year but takes the elegant audiophile styling and HTPC features to a new, higher level.The HD160XT is available in either silver or black and can accommodate a full size ATX mother board and power supply.It has room for one externally accessible 5.25′ drive and up to five internal HDDs to support your music and movie storage needs.The HD160XT comes with four exhaust fans pre-installed and multiple case vent openings for excellent ventilation and cooling.The bundled M-Play Zini software provides a wealth of functionality.

In addition to the integrated 7′ LCD display, the HD160XT HTPC enclosure comes equipped with a 17-in-1 card reader, and a Windows MCE compatible IR remote control.Like the original HD160, the HD160XT is a desktop style enclosure squarely targeted towards HTPC enthusiasts.

Two things caught my attention when I first unpacked this case.The HD160XT is relatively large for a desktop style home theater PC enclosure.This bodes well for easy installation and good case cooling.And the HD160XP is gorgeous.It has one of the nicest anodized finishes I have seen to date on any HTPC.The HD160XT will certainly hold its own when placed in a rack with other high-end audio-video gear.

The SRMTPWP-23.8R are 23.8″ sunlight readable panel mounted waterproof touch screen monitors. They feature at least1000 nits screen brightness with a 16:9 aspect ratio.  We design this 23.8 sunlight touchscreen for outdoor use. It is a weatherproof touch screen specifically for use in direct sunlight.  Because of the high brightness of the SRMTPWP-23.8R panel mount monitors, they are also perfect for other high ambient-light conditions. These weather proof touch screens utilize state-of-the-art LED backlights.  1000 nits brightness is over 3 to 5 times brighter than standard monitors.  For example, standard monitors are  only 200-300 nits brightness. Therefore, the result is an amazingly bright screen.  This will provide you with crystal-clear images, even in direct, bright sunlight on the face of the screen. These are full HD resolution.

These 23.8″ 1000 nit touch screen lcd displays are not only bright, but extremely rugged. For example, they are built with true industrial-grade components. Furthermore, they receive our exclusiveTRU-Tufftreatment. TheTRU-Tuffprocess includes RTV silicone on all connections and critical components. Additionally, we dress all wires, tie-wrap and secure them. Lastly,  we apply ThreadLock to all screws.  The rugged Stainless Steel panel mount enclosure ensures maximum shock and vibration resistance for this rugged touch screen monitor. The enclosure face has a rating of NEMA 4X Waterproof.  Projected capacitive touch technology can be activated via an exposed finger, and also when using thin latex or cotton gloves. The multi-touch capability allows up to 10 simultaneous finger operation for selecting, zoom, flick, and other functions. It is also unaffected by dirt, grease or moisture on the glass surface. It is also available in Portrait orientation.

This weatherproof touch screen monitor features a rugged waterproof stainless steel panel mount enclosure. Flush mount this unit into any panel, cabinet, door or wall. It is impervious to liquids, rust and corrosion. It is rated NEMA 4X, and features protective Anti-Reflective glass over the LCD panel. This weather proof monitor will easily withstand the elements outdoors. It is also ideal for wash-down environments. For this reason, it is widely used in industrial and food processing plants.  The NEMA 4X front face ensures resistance to water. There’s also a handy guide on how to install a panel-mount touchscreen.

We design the SRMTPWP-23.8R  to operate in nearly any environmental conditions.  This 23.8 sunlight touchscreen performs in frigid conditions or blazing heat. These sunlight displays will survive and thrive. To clarify, these monitors will operate in temperatures down to -22°F (-30°C).  They will also withstand brutal heat.  Moreover, operating  temperatures go up to 176°F (+80°C).  The ruggedstainless steel enclosures are waterproof. We design them for panel mount or flush mount applications.The 23.8″high brightness displays will provide years of reliable imaging performance.  Specifically, typicalMTBFfor these monitors is 50,000 hours.

Our 23.8″ sunlight touchscreen have been deployed in a wide range of demanding industries. For example, industries such asmilitary,law enforcement, manufacturingandentertainmentwillbenefit. 23.8″ bright touchscreens are also deployed in theinspection,marine,  oil & gas sectors. Industrialandtransportation industries also utilize this popular model.Most importantly,TRU-Vumonitors are backed by our full 3-Year Warranty.  This ensures you of many years of reliable service for your high bright outdoor display.

With over 200 LCD monitors and touch screens on our site, selecting the ideal weatherproof touch screen solution may be a bit overwhelming.To help narrow-down the choices, check out ourAdvanced Search Tool.For example, this enables you to filter by your own specific search requirements. See our full line-up of industrial-grade Sunlight Readable and Daylight Readable. This highlights all of our high brightness monitors. Additionally, you’ll find the sunlight readable touch screens in all the sizes and configurations available. Our full range of waterproof monitors and touch screens are available for any outdoor use.

Finally, our team members are ready to help! We can determine the exact solution that will meet your specific needs . Certainly, TRU-Vu will help provide crystal-clear images for your operating requirements . Call(847) 259-2344today to speak with one of our specialists. Above all, we will listen.  It’s one of the things we do best.  Our professional advisors will ensure the monitor or touch screen you receive will be and do everything you had hoped it would!