LVDS panels vs HDMI panels

[Laurence Rochfort]

Hi all,

In the new year I want to knock together a "laptop" from an ARM SBC.

I have several nice displays from dead laptops that are all LVDS interface.

Now, what are the pros/cons of using an LVDS panel vs buying a new HDMI panel?

There are SBCs with LVDS and there are also LVDS/HDMI converter boards. It seems some SBCs LVDS may only be 12bit not 18bit which may limit screen resolution. Those numbers are probably wrong, but there are different LVDS widths for sure.

HDMI seems potentially easier, but messier? What about inverters for powerimg the backlight? Any pros/cons for LVDS panels vs HDMI there?

Right now I'm at the little knowledge is dangerous level of skim reading about this stuff so any pointers from somebidy that actually knows what they're tlking about would be awesome.

I may just ignore you because LVDS seems more wizard like to me, but hey, that's my own funeral.

Cheers!

[Alexander Stephen Thomas Ross]

heh, you might find the rhombus-tech arm-netbook mailing list [1] a
useful mine of info. Subjects like lvds, hdmi, -i forgot all the other
lcd connection names :)- have been discussed, pros and cons.

its also the same mailing list the eoma68 laptop has been developed on.
you can pledge/get one via the funded crowd fund [2] or 3d print and
make your own. [3]

[1] http://lists.phcomp.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/arm-netbook
[2] https://crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop
[3] http://rhombus-tech.net/community_ideas/laptop_15in/

[Laurence Rochfort]

Awesome, thanks Alexander.

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[Alexander Ross]

On 14/10/16 19:15, Laurence Rochfort wrote:
> Awesome, thanks Alexander.

Good to hear.

heh I pledged for one eoma68 laptop my self, looking forward to getting
it next year XD... heh going to have to put it together before power up :)

its a good place to ask questions too btw. hmm maybe i should mention
lukes gonna be extra busy making all this stuff but post anyway and see
who replys :)

[Norro]

LVDS isn't one single type of connector. It's all different types and it is a right pita to match up a screen with a device unless you get a controller that specifically matches.

[Laurence Rochfort]

Is the underlying protocol standardised even if the physical connectors vary?

--

[David Zilberberg]

Laurence, 

I have one display converted, which I am happy to bring in, using LVDS board, in fact my second board for a larger 14" screen (still portable) with higher res and plenty of connectors on the panel (HDMI and VGA is all i want) so form me +1 for LVDS way.

Cost point, the LVDS chip is far cheaper and you get the screen quality you started with while small HDMI monitors that i was looking at are fairly expensive, from memory over $250 for 7" Vs +/*£30 LVDS board for your screen.

post an update once your mind is made :)

dz

[Laurence Rochfort]

David,

I had started to lean to LVDS because it seemed cheaper, and there would be more experimenting to do :)

Did you homebrew an LVDS driver board, or are you using off the shelf?

I monkeyed somewhat successfully (with help) with getting a screen to display "white" via an FPGA, but anything more than that is beyond me hardware wise.

--

[David Zilberberg]

:) 

So no i dont have the skills to make any hardware :( but i can very easy find the screen product code and match a LVDS form ebay (the broken sentence from earlier should have read that i am waiting on its arrival :) ).

Let me know when you are in next  and i'll bring the toy along.

all this discussion makes me think about mobile device screen reuse thou ....  maybe even get the touch to work ... but in second thought, this is likely about my comfort/skill level ....

Night.

dz

[Laurence Rochfort]

Thanks very much. Ill try to be in next week and give a shout beforehand.

[mikethebee]

This is similar to an idea I was trying a while back, if Laptop screens can be reused I can offer some. The feedback previously was that drivers would be a problem. Previous thread is here: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/reading-hackspace/laptop%7Csort:relevance/reading-hackspace/46LToSoxaaw/2KtKo6nEAAAJ

-Mike

On Friday, 14 October 2016 17:41:18 UTC+1, Laurence Rochfort wrote:

[Jeremy Poulter]

Here is a nice guide on converting a Laptop screen to a monitor; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfirQC99xPc

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[Keegan Neave]

I've a couple of old laptops with screens that may be usable too, sounds almost like a nice project for a group hack :)

---

From: jer...@bigjungle.net
Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2016 13:01:43 +0100
Subject: Re: [RDG-Hack] Re: LVDS panels vs HDMI panels
To: reading-...@googlegroups.com

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to reading-hacksp...@googlegroups.com.

[Malcolm Napier]

That is a nice guide and also plugs another guide on turning "bust" LCD panels into LED lights that mimic real windows - which strikes me as a real upcycling opportunity.

I already have a kit to convert a screen from a Samsung NC20 into a stand alone (R-Pi compatible) screen (see previous threads on why Linux doesn't work for this if you are wondering why I am butchering one (and ultimately four or more) perfectly good laptops). So if people are going to get together and have a session on this, I am already "componented up" and need a reason to get on with it.

On Monday, 24 October 2016 14:49:06 UTC+1, Keegan wrote:

I've a couple of old laptops with screens that may be usable too, sounds almost like a nice project for a group hack :)

---

From: jer...@bigjungle.net
Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2016 13:01:43 +0100
Subject: Re: [RDG-Hack] Re: LVDS panels vs HDMI panels
To: reading-...@googlegroups.com

Here is a nice guide on converting a Laptop screen to a monitor; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfirQC99xPc

On 19 October 2016 at 12:08, mikethebee <miketh...@gmail.com> wrote:

This is similar to an idea I was trying a while back, if Laptop screens can be reused I can offer some. The feedback previously was that drivers would be a problem. Previous thread is here: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/reading-hackspace/laptop%7Csort:relevance/reading-hackspace/46LToSoxaaw/2KtKo6nEAAAJ

-Mike

On Friday, 14 October 2016 17:41:18 UTC+1, Laurence Rochfort wrote:

Hi all,

In the new year I want to knock together a "laptop" from an ARM SBC.

I have several nice displays from dead laptops that are all LVDS interface.

Now, what are the pros/cons of using an LVDS panel vs buying a new HDMI panel?

There are SBCs with LVDS and there are also LVDS/HDMI converter boards. It seems some SBCs LVDS may only be 12bit not 18bit which may limit screen resolution. Those numbers are probably wrong, but there are different LVDS widths for sure.

HDMI seems potentially easier, but messier? What about inverters for powerimg the backlight? Any pros/cons for LVDS panels vs HDMI there?

Right now I'm at the little knowledge is dangerous level of skim reading about this stuff so any pointers from somebidy that actually knows what they're tlking about would be awesome.

I may just ignore you because LVDS seems more wizard like to me, but hey, that's my own funeral.

Cheers!

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[David Zilberberg]

My LVDS SHOULD arrive in the next few days ,

Happy to play about .

Dz

dz

http://Flickr.com/zilberbergd

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[Toby Williams]

I'd definitely be up for a hack along! I have several laptop screens that could be made useful.

[David Zilberberg]

So LVDS just arrived,

Likely to be at the space tonight/weekend working out the monitor box layout ..

LTN141P4-L02 LVDS from Ebay 

old Lenovo P60 14" screen "LTN141P4-L02"

See you at the space.

dz

On Monday, 24 October 2016 18:16:00 UTC+1, David Zilberberg wrote:

My LVDS SHOULD arrive in the next few days ,

Happy to play about .

Dz

dz

http://Flickr.com/zilberbergd

On 24 Oct 2016, at 18:06, Malcolm Napier wrote:

That is a nice guide and also plugs another guide on turning "bust" LCD panels into LED lights that mimic real windows - which strikes me as a real upcycling opportunity.

I already have a kit to convert a screen from a Samsung NC20 into a stand alone (R-Pi compatible) screen (see previous threads on why Linux doesn't work for this if you are wondering why I am butchering one (and ultimately four or more) perfectly good laptops). So if people are going to get together and have a session on this, I am already "componented up" and need a reason to get on with it.

On Monday, 24 October 2016 14:49:06 UTC+1, Keegan wrote:

I've a couple of old laptops with screens that may be usable too, sounds almost like a nice project for a group hack :)

---

From: jer...@bigjungle.net
Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2016 13:01:43 +0100
Subject: Re: [RDG-Hack] Re: LVDS panels vs HDMI panels
To: reading-...@googlegroups.com

Here is a nice guide on converting a Laptop screen to a monitor; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfirQC99xPc

On 19 October 2016 at 12:08, mikethebee

This is similar to an idea I was trying a while back, if Laptop screens can be reused I can offer some. The feedback previously was that drivers would be a problem. Previous thread is here: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/reading-hackspace/laptop%7Csort:relevance/reading-hackspace/46LToSoxaaw/2KtKo6nEAAAJ

[mikethebee]

How did the project go? Did you get any pics? Thx - Mike

[David Zilberberg]

:) Still fighting with the case assembly, might get there later on to try and resolve this ...