1st project and excited!

[gec5741]

Hello,

I am in the process of finishing my basement and in the bar area (witch isn't finished yet) I'd like to build a wall mounted jukebox.
I am in the brain storming and early stages of how to go about building my first juke box!  What I want to do is the following.   

I plan to use a small form factor PC that I have and the program that I am leaning towards is Album player.  I've played with that software and I like
that it easily finds and downloads the album cover art and other info easily for music.  I also plan to incorporate music videos and this seems to do a really nice job
of playing video files as well.

the cabinet I plan to build is going to be a wall mounted system.  Since I'm going to use a small form factor pc I think I will be ok to leave it in the case as it isn't very large. 
I don't have the exact dimentions yet for the cab but it would be somewhere around 18 inches wide and 28 inches tall. 

I plan to use a 17 inch touch screen monitor for the display.

The basic design will be a basic rectangle with an open back or semi open back as it will be against the wall.

Now a few things that I'm wondering on how to go about doing.  I want to mount a power switch or button on the case that will turn on the PC and turn off the PC and I don't know how to go about doing this or what I need to get to do this.  going along with this (wich I think will be easier to figure out) is I'd like to mount the cd rom in a way to be flush with a cut out in the side so you can open and close the tray.  Also I'd like to extend one or 2 usb slots into the side as well so you could stick a thumb drive in and upload music that way as well.  The PC will also be on my network so I can transfer files accross my network easy enough as well as being on the internet.

Another thing I am not sure about is the speaker setup.  I don't plan to incorporate in mount speakers.  I'd rather use some good speakers that I already have that I plan to mount around the bar area that I am putting this into.  they are not PC speakers so I'm not sure how to make the connection to an actual PC using these kind of speakers.

Also what is the best way to mount the display inside the cabinet?  is there a trick on how to cut the hole that the display will be in so it sits in there nice and looks professional?  I'd like to do some sort of trim I'm thinking around the outside of the hole? 

I have time to get this completed as I'm still working on the actuall basement and bar but once I get an idea in my head it's really hard to shake it and figure out how i'm going to actually get it done.  I'd like to start messing around with some prototypes until I actually get everything I need for the finished product and know exactly what I'm doing before hand.  so any advice on how to get some of these things incorporated would be much appreciated!

[egosbar]

a great project , ive nearly finished mine , im just trying to source my lighted jukebox sign

no problems with a power button just get a momentary button and extend the wires going to your power on off switch to your new swithc and mount where you want , if you pull your computer apart you will see its very easy

my juke is here http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,105231.0.html  .  i use touchjams ive used and trialled all  juke software and i believe its the best

definitely look at a griffin powermate volume control , you can see it on my pics or google it , it has the added features of  mapping commands for push button in short and long and push button in right and left , so ive mapped push in right is next song and push in left is clear playlist , short push is now playing screen and long push is options , plus normal left right volume up and down

i also dont use speakers in the cabinet i purchased a pair of very nice adelaide speakers , no probs just run good quality wire anywhere you want, you will have to have an amp though and just use the optical out from your computer to your amp for best results

i recessed my screen in pretty easy , i just bought a tv mount and screwed it to a bit of 6x2 and then just screwed in from the sides it holds it behind the screen opening

touchjams supports a second screen you can play music videos as well as having the juke software working



good luck and have fun

[toeknee1973]

Congrats on starting your 1st Build....
          I just have a normal power switch, hidden out of sight, to supply power to my pc. Once power is detected by the pc, it automatically powers on, this feature is done in the bios of your pc.   For software , like Egosbar said , I seriously recommend TouchJams for your Jukebox.  I personally love it,its awesome and is very user friendly.  I'm also in the works of designing a wall jb too......... but i plan on using smaller JBL powered speakers, then adding some audio out connections to expand my sound. Have fun with your build..

my juke http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,118260.0.html

[egosbar]

nice build on your toe , 

ive tried the power up  in my bios but wasnt succesful im using windows xp

might have another go can you put your steps for me

have you had a go at skinning in touchjams , i added a skin called egosbar for the 4;3 screen , its a four album view as i like to keep it simple and see the albums from the other side of my bar , bob added it to the touchjams site which i was really happy with , means i cant lose it lol

trying to get him to add a option where the screen flicks through albums when its playing but hasnt been touched for a while , skg juke did this and was a great feature , loved sitting at the  bar or playing pool and see an album come up you hadnt seen in years

also saw a great little app for ipad ,  i think it was jukester , the feature i loved was being able to touch and hold a song in your playlist and drag to top , also trying to get bob to add a move to top or drag feature inside a playlist , very painfull moving a song in a saved playlist that could be hundreds of songs long to the top , add to next would be awesome

do you have any ideas for improvements on touchjams i talk to bob occasionaly and hes always interested in improvements

[toeknee1973]

hello egosbar,
       i love the skin you did, 4:3. I have used it and have had several compliments. Regarding powering the pc , it'll depend on the pc, it's under the power management option. i know that older models do not have that option. What model is your pc? As for Touchjams, i would love to have a button for another genre of music.... we love spanish music but would like to have it so it's not mixed with the english. thank you

[egosbar]

ill email bob and see if he can add something for spanish music

[egosbar]

hey toe here is bobs response , i didnt think about changing your id genre tag , i use media monkey probably the best ive used and free



Regarding the Spanish genre, TJs already allows custom genres.  So, if you assigned an ID3 tag with the genre Spanish, that genre should appear within TJs.

Also not too far down the road will be multi-lingual version of TJs - aslo user will be able to change text/labels on main TJs screens (not options pages).

[gec5741]

I've done more research since my first post.  I'm trying to fit a PC into the custom case design I have in mind but it's proving tough.  I wanted to go a bit smaller.  I've thought about using a laptop and purchasing a touchscreen kit to use with the display but not sure.  I'll post up when I have something actually started.  Thanks!

Question is if I used a laptop how then would I add on a push button?  Does it work the same basically as using a desktop mother board?  Also how could I add in other things like 4 led case fans, and or LED lighting?

[Turvey]

Question is if I used a laptop how then would I add on a push button? 

Something like this? http://www.mp3car.com/how-to-power-a-laptop/108758-simple-and-clean-remote-laptop-power-switch.html

You can also set your laptop to sleep and use a mouse to wake it. Is it possible to hack a mouse and solder wires to a switch to act as on/off switch?

[egosbar]

I've done more research since my first post.  I'm trying to fit a PC into the custom case design I have in mind but it's proving tough.  I wanted to go a bit smaller.  I've thought about using a laptop and purchasing a touchscreen kit to use with the display but not sure.  I'll post up when I have something actually started.  Thanks!

Question is if I used a laptop how then would I add on a push button?  Does it work the same basically as using a desktop mother board?  Also how could I add in other things like 4 led case fans, and or LED lighting?

are you dismantling the computer case? ive seen some pretty slimline designs , or just run a computer monitor ext lead and hide your computer somewhere , ive seen a great touchscreen mounted flush with the wall nothing else and the computer 5 meters away hidden , looks very modern

[gec5741]

yes even dismantaling the computer with everything the case is getting bigger then I want.   And I want to make it one unit so it could be portable.  So I am planning to use a laptop in the case and turn the display around so if faces out. 

[egosbar]

heres your answer , an all in one touchscreen computer

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/All-in-One-Computers/Touch-Screen-Computers/pcmcat190000050014.c?id=pcmcat190000050014