Custom Screens, combining several Laptop LCDs for higher Res

Everything about displays and monitors. 120Hz, 144Hz, 240Hz, 4K, 1440p, input lag, display shopping, monitor purchase decisions, compare, versus, debate, and more. Questions? Just ask!
Post Reply
User avatar
shadman
Posts: 95
Joined: 19 Dec 2013, 16:39
Location: West Coast

Custom Screens, combining several Laptop LCDs for higher Res

Post by shadman » 29 Jan 2014, 05:45

Did you know you can create your own custom screens by combining several laptop screens, as well as a few electronics picked up from ebay, to make yourself a high-resolution multi-screen display!

Take note: Some setups are easier than others. Most older 'laptop' panels will have used LVDS to transmit information/power from the laptop and computer, and you can buy kits on eBay/Amazon/other places that will fit this connection, and give you VGA/DVI connections to use. However, most newer laptops and panels, along with tablet/phones, will use eDP, which thankfully matches up well with the desktop DisplayPort. This thread is about panels with eDP, since the older LVDS is for displays that aren't top of the line stuff that we want, such as high-PPI and high-frequency custom panels. Note that none of this work was my own and I only compiled this information from others, with sources linked all over the place. Have fun!




Over at [H]ardForum to start a group buy a kit (or already assembled) using a Chrombook Pixel panel (display model number LP129QE1-SPA1) and connecting it with a specific board to go from eDP. It is still going through updates, but appears to be nearly complete. This is meant to be purchased all at once. Thread is found here. Here are the specs put out for it so far:
12.85"
IPS
2560*1700
RGB subpixels (not pentile)
8bit color
400cd/m² (from the panel datasheet, have not measured with our boards)
constrast ratio is better than 600:1, though 800:1 is listed as the typical value in the datasheet
PWM rate is 16KHz and it can do 100% dutycycle (meaning constant on).
Citrix's test unit could OC to 80Hz, but this will vary on final units.
USB powered (note: kind of over-spec, might have to use one of those 'charger' style ports, though it worked fine with the couple of laptops that I've tested)
DP driven. No scaler, autodetects to native res. Data goes directly to the panel without any buffering. Freesync may or may not work, it is untested.
The device has three buttons. On/off, brt+, brt-. Very simple. No OSD or other adjustments
Meanwhile, at OCN there is a mass thread for helping users create other types of panels, using mainly these displays here (among others) :

Panels:
-iPad 3 and 4 screen LG LP097QX1-SPA1/2 or Samsung LTL097QL01-W01, both at 2048x1535
-Chromebook Pixel panel LP129QE1-SPA1
-The ALIENWARE~M17X~R5 panel LP173WF2 data sheet and other info (120Hz 1080p!) (Not the -WF1 panel, this is 60Hz only, also LVDS)



Side note: There is talk that the panel for the iPad 3 could be 120Hz input/120Hz Strobing, or 240Hz with 60Hz input. See this post and this other post for details.

Controllers:
-iPad 3/4 LCD controller - http://abusemark.com/store/index.php?ma ... ucts_id=47
-Another iPad 3/4 LCD controller, and also a Macbook Pro - http://www.rozsnyo.com/

Sources for the panels, apart from Amazon and eBay have been found by a user named Kylepdalton on OCN, like so:
You know what would be neat guys? The 120Hz 3DVision screen Alienware uses in the 17 at 1080p.

3 of those would be pretty slick, still looking in to the MBP screens though. :D[ / quote]

No problems getting the screens it is in the controllers that are more difficult to find. I have been waiting for someone to try doing this type of project for awhile. I started collecting a few sites that make searching for and finding panels and controllers that work together well.

Screen Sources:

1.) https://www.screencountry.com/

2.) https://www.laptopscreen.com/index.php
*I believe those are actually the same company with two outlets. I have ordered from both with no problems.

3.) http://www.lcds4less.com/

4.) http://www.screenmall.com/

5.) http://www.screentekinc.com/


LCD Controllers

1.) http://www.njytouch.com/lcdcontroller.htm
*They have an ebay store as well

2.) http://www.lcdparts.net/Default.aspx

3.) http://myworld.ebay.com/e-qstore/
*These guys always have the cheapest and hard to find controllers. If you don't know what you need exactly just shoot them a message and they will get back to you with what you need.

Now for the biggest issue. If you are not familiar with laptop or LCD panels then searching for one with certain specs can be a really big pain. Getting the model number can be a pain. The two sites below will let you search for specs you want and then match it to model number to search screen sources or ebay with.

Screen Databases:

1.) http://www.panelx.com/

2.) http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/panelsearch.htm

This might be helpful to look at as well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_di ... el_density


Other resources:
http://mikesmods.com/ - this blog talks about working mainly on the screens in Apple units, namely the iPad 3 + 4 LCD, and the Macbook Pro screen (Update Feb 4 2014, e-mailed asking about 2-month absence on blog/forums. He responded just that he has just been busy, and shall be continuing his work soon!)
http://emerythacks.blogspot.com/2013/04 ... to-pc.html - this follows the same steps as mikesmods.com, but has not been updated in a bit. While it appears to be dead, I will e-mail them and ask for any updates. Either way, I will keep this link as an information reference.

Most information gathered from here: http://www.overclock.net/t/1389756/cust ... t-250/0_20

For even more information, mostly regarding the Seiki 4K and progress to >30Hz for 4K/other higher frequencies not currently supported (and Chief and moddermike have contributed to this discussion alot themselves too!) see this thread here http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1756171 though, I'm still digesting it myself. (Update: Having read through most of that, it seems that it could be done, but either with an expensive FPGA, or other methods that will most likely end up costing more time and money than waiting for the new series to come out. See this post, though a huge contribution goes to maarten12100 as well for starting and continuing that discussion along the way.

Also props to Samhain of Blurbusters, for originally creating a custom displays thread here: http://forums.blurbusters.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=247
Last edited by shadman on 05 Feb 2014, 04:12, edited 5 times in total.

User avatar
Ahigh
Posts: 95
Joined: 17 Dec 2013, 19:22

Re: Custom Screens, combining several Laptop LCDs for higher

Post by Ahigh » 29 Jan 2014, 20:29

Please digest and pretty up that 38-page-thread, friend! 8-) You know many would benefit from it; we all know it's hard work, but thank you so much in advance for the offer! Hopefully this forum continues to have more signal and less noise due to folks just like you, buddy!

User avatar
Chief Blur Buster
Site Admin
Posts: 11647
Joined: 05 Dec 2013, 15:44
Location: Toronto / Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Contact:

Re: Custom Screens, combining several Laptop LCDs for higher

Post by Chief Blur Buster » 29 Jan 2014, 21:09

shadman wrote:If there is some interest, I could throw together all the relevant information together into one collage/spreadsheet/post, making it easier than searching through the whole thread..
I second this. This is actually mostly Area 51 stuff, so I've created link to this thread from there.
Head of Blur Busters - BlurBusters.com | TestUFO.com | Follow @BlurBusters on Twitter

Image
Forum Rules wrote:  1. Rule #1: Be Nice. This is published forum rule #1. Even To Newbies & People You Disagree With!
  2. Please report rule violations If you see a post that violates forum rules, then report the post.
  3. ALWAYS respect indie testers here. See how indies are bootstrapping Blur Busters research!

User avatar
shadman
Posts: 95
Joined: 19 Dec 2013, 16:39
Location: West Coast

Re: Custom Screens, combining several Laptop LCDs for higher

Post by shadman » 30 Jan 2014, 01:50

Oh man, I'm not active at all on stuff like this past saying "cool stuff!". But I offered. I have to do airport stuff early tomorrow, so I'll work on it over the weekend.

User avatar
shadman
Posts: 95
Joined: 19 Dec 2013, 16:39
Location: West Coast

Re: Custom Screens, combining several Laptop LCDs for higher

Post by shadman » 04 Feb 2014, 04:35

I've updated the OP a ton, let me know if there are any questions at all regarding anything, or if I need to fix anything. As I started reading up, I just kept getting further and further into the rabbit hole ;)

Edit: added a tiny bit more, including update to Seiki thread, mikesmod update, and credits due to people here on BlurBusters.

splango
Posts: 5
Joined: 01 Jan 2014, 21:54

Re: Custom Screens, combining several Laptop LCDs for higher

Post by splango » 30 Dec 2014, 16:41

Thanks for your compilation of info shadman :D

Will help save me a lot of time googling for panel model numbers etc

splango
Posts: 5
Joined: 01 Jan 2014, 21:54

Re: Custom Screens, combining several Laptop LCDs for higher

Post by splango » 30 Dec 2014, 17:19

Curious if anyone has found evidence of higher hz on the iPad LG Panels?

Possibly higher hz at lower resolutions.. maybe I need to buy one and test out

splango
Posts: 5
Joined: 01 Jan 2014, 21:54

Re: Custom Screens, combining several Laptop LCDs for higher

Post by splango » 30 Dec 2014, 19:30

Bit the bullet and ordered 3 shipping from US to Aus.

If I can manage to overclock any panel will get back to blurbusters :)

Post Reply