Good screen for xbox or gamecube laptop?

Nonsense Man · Post by **Nonsense Man** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 8:30 am

Well if I was going to make an xbox or gamecube laptop what would a good screen to use be?

Electric Rain · Post by **Electric Rain** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 6:28 pm

Ah, great question. I got an Intec Xbox 360 9.2" LCD screen for my 'cube laptop. They're very expensive, (I got mine for free from a friend that didn't want it. W00t!) but they're worth it. I've been meaning to post a thread here with pics/info on it, but I have so much information to share that I just haven't been able to get it all together yet. Some of its most prominent features are component video inputs, which in this case also means it's progressive scan compatible (W00t for maxing out the 'cubes resolution!), 800x480 resolution, which means it's widescreen (which isn't really that good for the 'cubes 640x480 resolution, but it stretches very nicely... and mine was free

) and the speakers are... actually more than loud enough at 10/100 volume!

They're VERY powerful... I'm telling you. I'll try to get that thread up ASAP, 'kay?

Edit: Oh, and it's plenty big enough too. For me, at least. The 'cube on a 5" PSOne screen or my 7" portable DVD player screen is to small for me, but that extra 2.2" really makes a difference! ...Er...

I wrote:that extra 2.2" really makes a difference!

... Shut up shut up shut up! No jokes!

Nonsense Man · Post by **Nonsense Man** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 8:39 pm

How far are you on your laptop or are you waiting for the HDD project to be finished??

Busterblade · Post by **Busterblade** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:27 pm

I'm making an Xbox 1 laptop. I'm going to remove the optical drive and burn my games to a 120GB or so hard drive, which I will use as a replacement for the original 8-11GB hard drive. I'm also going to build in wireless so I can link up to Xbox Connect and play Halo 2 mods online. I am planning on using it at school with four wireless controllers so I can play with my friends at lunch.

I decided to build an Xbox 1 laptop instead of a 360 laptop because it will be easier to build, much more lightweight (especially without the optical drive), and less expensive. It will also use less power.

I need some advice on what parts to use. I have been looking for a screen, but I haven't found a good one. I need a 17" screen at least, because remember I will be using it for four-player splitscreen a lot. 20" wouldn't be bad either. I really want an LCD with native 720x480, because that's the best an Xbox can do (or is 800x480?). I like widescreen, but another poster said widescreen isn't good for 480p. Does 480p in widescreen look distorted?

Also, what is the cheapest way to build a case? How much does an aluminum case like Ben's for his 360 laptops cost? Could I mold a sturdy, good-looking one out of plastic instead?

OP, good luck in your laptop. Will it be an Xbox or a Cube? Have you started planning yet?

Electric Rain · Post by **Electric Rain** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 6:27 am

Nonsense Man wrote:How far are you on your laptop or are you waiting for the HDD project to be finished??

I have the 'cube, the screen, and a bunch of ideas... that's about it.

I am waiting until we get HDD project finished, though. CF card readers are just so much smaller than the disk drive.. you know?

My next step, however, is to get a 'cube component video cable to actually use the screen to its full potential. Then, I'm on to buying the batteries and designing a new PSU / battery charger/protection/fuel gauge circuit.

Busterblade wrote:I need some advice on what parts to use. I have been looking for a screen, but I haven't found a good one. I need a 17" screen at least, because remember I will be using it for four-player splitscreen a lot. 20" wouldn't be bad either. I really want an LCD with native 720x480, because that's the best an Xbox can do (or is 800x480?).

The Xbox actually handles up to 1080i (1920x1080). But that's interlaced, and any LCD screen that you're going to find for a decent price probably won't be able to handle an interlaced signal. The max progressive resolution it can handle is 720p, and that should work on a VGA monitor... which I assume is going to be what you end up getting. You will, however, have to perform an Xbox VGA hack, I believe. Something like this. But... good luck finding a 1280x720 VGA display.

Busterblade wrote:I like widescreen, but another poster said widescreen isn't good for 480p. Does 480p in widescreen look distorted?

640x480 looks surprisingly not distorted on 800x480, actually.

Busterblade wrote:Also, what is the cheapest way to build a case? How much does an aluminum case like Ben's for his 360 laptops cost? Could I mold a sturdy, good-looking one out of plastic instead?

My case is probably going to consist of a flat piece of plastic on the top and bottom with standoffs all around the edges to space them, and a long aluminum strip wrapped around the outside of the standoffs, creating the side. But I might try to figure out a way to make the whole thing aluminum so I can basically use the whole thing as a heatsink, allowing me to cut down the existing 'cube heatsink.

Edit: Ah... silly me... I always forget that they actually make small, LCD HDTVs these days... you don't need a VGA monitor.

An actual 20" 720p LCD HDTV would be fine.

Maybe... something like this. That will support 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i. So, basically, it can max out the resolution of any game you're playing.

And it hooks up with component, so no crazy VGA hacks. However, with screen size, comes size in other areas as well. For example, this one's 7.3" thick! Now... a lot of this could be case and shielding... but you never know. It might not be that portable/hacker friendly. Also, its PSU is built-in. So, externally it takes 120v; the power supply might not be that easy to hack to take 12v. Not to mention the amount of power it's going to draw. All I'm saying is, be careful using such a big screen.

P.S. Er... we're hi-jacking this thread a bit... you probably 'ought to start your own... now that I think about it.

Nonsense Man · Post by **Nonsense Man** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 7:17 am

I don't care if you hijack my thread. And that HDTV would probally be horrible for portabalizing because it's 16.5 lbs and it can consume up to 90 watts.

Busterblade · Post by **Busterblade** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 11:45 am

So the original Xbox can play games in 720p through VGA?

Electric Rain · Post by **Electric Rain** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 4:46 pm

It may be heavy, but how much of that weight do you think is case and shielding? And the power consumption... well... that kinda comes with the territory, doesn't it? I mean, it's a 720p 20" LCD TV. >.>

And yes... with a more-or-less complicated hack, the Xbox should support 720p through VGA.

Busterblade · Post by **Busterblade** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:47 pm

I thought the Xbox didn't have enough power to play in 720p, but I guess it does if it is possible with the VGA hack.

17" WUXGA (1920x1200) LCDs are very common in laptops, so they must not take an insane amount of power. A 20" will probably take more, but I don't think that much more. Should I use a Li-Ion battery? Those are in laptops right?

I'm looking for a deinterlacer box that can deinterlace the 1080i signal to play in 1080p. I probably will only use 720p in the laptop though. 1080p would be useful when I connect to a projector.

Busterblade · Post by **Busterblade** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:47 pm

Accidental triple post from connection lag. My bro's playing Halo online on the desktop as I write this. He's causing abysmal lag

.

Busterblade · Post by **Busterblade** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:47 pm

Accidental triple post from connection lag.

dragon · Post by **dragon** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 1:50 pm

I was planing to build an xbox laptop one problem i found was batterys. and for the vga hack do you not need to upgrade the firm wire or some thing like that?
And good look.

Busterblade · Post by **Busterblade** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 9:22 pm

Yeah, you might. I'm going to have a built-in stealth switch to de/activate the mods. That way you just go into stealth mode, and your Xbox becomes completely, absolutely undetectable. Then you logon to Xbox Live, which automatically gets you the latest firmware, and you can also download new content and play on the Live service. I need to do that so I can get Halo 2 Map Pack 3, since it isn't on DVD like Map Packs 1 & 2. Then you reboot, come out of stealth, and logon to XLink Kai or Xbox Connect or whatever Live alternative you want, and enjoy online, free, modded Halo and Halo 2.

Electric Rain · Post by **Electric Rain** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 4:19 am

I have details on the 9.2" screen now... check it out here.