Idea: A Virtual DVD for a more natural Interaction

[NiN^_^NiN]

Ok so i had this brainstorm lastnight

Basic idea is Mount a 7" or bigger LCD screen into a DVD Case and a wireless mouse into it aswell

The LCD is in a vertical position  as it would be and displays a DVD cover the scroll wheel from the mouse just pointing out on the edge of the dvd case (where you usually open it right in the middle)

The whole idea is to have a few dvd cases for show and this DVD case on the shelf

The DVD cover is connected to a computer in my case it's connected to a spare EEE PC thats hooked up to the projector

Once the cover is taken out of the shelf a dvd cover displays on the screen moving the scroll wheel up and down will sort through the dvd covers and pushing the scroll wheel will Flip to the backside of the DVD cover

So now we have a Virtual DVD that lets you select the Movie you want.

Now to play the movie you could either use one of the other mouse buttons or have alil docking station that when the dvd cover is placed onto it then it plays the movie that you have selected.

This would cost very little and is more an idea on a natural movie selection.

All thats needed is:

7" or 9" LCD screen
small usb wireless mouse with scroll wheel
Batteries

I did try this tonight with a 7.6" OEM lcd screen i had and sadly the damn ribbon cable snapped (was previously used on my DIY projector) so now i can't do a damn test of it Grrr

This was using a Composite LCD screen which im not sure how it will look with DVD covers displayed probably not that good

The other solution is a USB video card and wireless usb hub all put into a DVD cover the good thing is that if it won't fit you just have to use one of the bigger dvd covers used for TV shows etc

So whats everyone think of this idea? I wish i could of mounted the LCD inside and taken pics to give you a better idea of what i mean i'm jumping on Ebay now looking for a slim LCD screen

[Generic Eric]

Thats sounds cool!

[ahofle]

Am I the only one who entered this thread under the pretense of pr0n? 

[NiN^_^NiN]

lol sorry no virtual Jenna or you 

I got to test it out lastnight and its just not good enough on a composite screen so i've got a 7" VGA screen comming for this lil project (sadly it will take probably 2 weeks) and will get the mouse this sunday.

Now looking at my options this will likely be wired for now as i can't get the wireless USB hubs down here yet but thinking of this when the wireless usb hubs come out making a wireless touchscreen for a HTPC will be simple

So i'll update you guys when i get the LCD

[NiN^_^NiN]

Ok guys i got my 7" touchscreen today and its working great i tried to put it into a old clear VHS cover but it was just a tad to big cause of the tabs inside the case altho it would fit fine if the case of the LCD was removed.

Here is the setup so far the EEE PC running the software and movies displaying a dvd cover


And with a click of a mouse button the back of the dvd


And here is a comparison of the lcd using the VGA signal as VGA


and as composite


you probably can't tell by much but the VGA is worth it compared to the composite cause the back of the dvd cover was impossible to read but clear when used for VGA so composite LCD's are out

Now this was just a quick test the colours on the touchscreen don't look as good as the eee pc cause i turned the brightness down to take a pic and left the contrast up so thats why the colour looks diff. I also need to fix the aspect ratio on it aswell.

But for a first test it worked nicely sadly the only way i could make it wireless is if i used RCA instead of a VGA signal and id rather have a small cable poking out the bottom that no wires and not being able to read the small text.

Now how this works right now is that using the mouse wheel button flips through all the DVD movies and if you click the mouse wheel that will alternate from front to back dvd cover.

using a small docking station that will have a lil pole that when the cover is inserted into it the pole hits the left mouse button which loads up the movie on the projector

I'll also have a lil magnet in the docking station that will turn a reed switch off and turn the power of the cover off for when not in use will do the same thing when on the shelf once it's moved away from the magnet it will turn on.

So far it's working great i just now need to find the right VHS cover or big dvd cover to use it

[SavannahLion]

That is slick!

So far it's working great i just now need to find the right VHS cover or big dvd cover to use it

Frys sells DVD cases. They have one type which is a three (or four?) disc DVD case. It's about twice as thick as the standard case and opens in with a center "page". Might be thick enough to fit your needs.

[NiN^_^NiN]

Sadly im in australia no frys down here

I did do a quick test and i need the case to be a tiny bit thicker than a normal VHS case to be able to fit the VGA connector in it's a royal pain i went to my local video shop to get some of their olf VHS tapes there throwing out for 60 cents and i got one of the old old old style VHS cases the bendable lots of plastic inside not one of the newer thin plastic cases this kinda worked ok but i had to cut out all the inside plastic and i've ended up with a book cover basically so it might be worth making a case for it from scratch

This LCD is bigger than i thought and id like to keep it in it's case now that i have some idea's for other uses later down the track so i can't really slim it down anymore like i was gonna

[protokatie]

Too bad you couldnt get ahold of an old reel-to-reel, and take one of the reels and cut out the center of it for this screen. I think it would look neat, any-who. (And it would be big enough to fit the screen while still in it's case)

Hmm, on second thought, maybe the metal case that they store/transport reel movie reels in 

[NiN^_^NiN]

Ok i've gone back to this idea again and did find a solution that was thinner but would be very expensive (using a usb to vga adapter that was release in november last year and a industrial lcd screen which is just the lcd and controller board)

I had a brainstrom today about using a 7" picture frame so i ran down to kmart before they closed and they only had 1 digital picture frame left and it was a $99 so i got it thinking sure i can easily bring it back tomorrow for a refund so i got it to see if this idea will work.

So i'm excited ii decide to do some quick testing.

So this picture frame is a 7" NEXTBASE Gallery 13-s which has a slimline backside to it so that seemed perfect.



So i took it out of the box and it looks ok the bezel was abit big.


No hacking required the bezel had some tabs u could lift up and it came off which made it smaller than a dvd case


So lets start this badboy up and see how its setout (oww a splash screen)


Ok so first menu once started is photos or settings (i changed the settings to auto load images instead of do thumbnail views and to not do a slide show and have to manually select new image and set the transition mode to fade)


Menu 2 is to select usb memory card or internal memory i'm using usb for tests but SD card for the final option.


Ahh the dvd cover it actually looks good enough for me it's not vga quality but it is better than the composite test i originally did


Transition effect is set to fade when u push next


dvd cover 2


Ok now for the size comparision to a dvd case (this is my nieces dvd it was right next to me i swear lol)


With the picture frame onto the dvd you can see it has space around the dvd to fit inside.


Same thickness of a dvd altho the case comes apart we will have to see how much we save


Case i will be using is the double dvd case its a normal dvd  case but twice as thick


Thick enough for the wireless gamepad or any type of controller with 4 buttons and batteries to make it wireless


Ok so you're wondering how is this gonna wireless play movies on a tv and know what movie ur looking at well that's where this simple idea came to me and it works great

Ok so you have 4 buttons being used from the wireless game pad/whatever

2 buttons are hooked up to the same next prev buttons on the picture frame to see images.

push next and it goes to the next image it also pushes a button on the gamepad which tells a program it went to the next image so it counts up e.g. it counts up or down and knows what image ur seeing on the screen.

The 2 other buttons on the game pad a play movie button E.g. ur seeing image 44 which is the dvd cover for I am legend so it checks the database and plays the avi file for entry 44.

The other button is a reset button this is just used as a reset the counter for the program once ur finished a movie and wanna see another one ur restarting the picture frame so the first image will always be a push start then wait 10 seconds (for the images to load) then push next this will get the user to reset the counter to 0 then when they push next it will be dvd cover 1

A simple way to make this idea work i'm quite pleased with this and having batteries will allow it to be portable and looked at like a normal dvd case.

The case will have a docking station when you have started the movie this docking station will turn the lcd off and charge the batteries it will also provide the pc program to reset to 0 so it knows what dvd cover is being looked at.

Now all i need to do is find a double dvd case that doesn't have the cd holder moulding on the inside and only uses the insertable flaps so the lcd can be pushed up against the clear plastic. I also just have to find a small wireless device that has 4 buttons and acts like a joystick/gamepad (so i can program the program to only take input from the joystick/gamepad which will make sure nothing interfears)

[protokatie]

Cool work et al. Hope it works out as you planned.

One thing of note tho: Doodling or marking over eyes on a picture gives me an odd impression of a rapist or serial killer. Esp as the picture with the eyes doodled over were that of a female. Maybe your kid did it, but it is something that caught me as disturbing. (Or I am reading into it too much)

[NiN^_^NiN]

lol i think ur reading to much into it i didn't do it myself but by the looks of how messy it is id say it was my niece she did it over the lips and forhead and the word tv guide and it isn't very clean lines so im pretty sure it's her unless someone was trying to get a pen working by scribbling back and forth and not taking notice of what was on the paper.

lol anyway back to this i've looked and haven't found dvd cases that have a clear front case there is always a moulding for a cd placed on it so i might get a black dvd case and cut out the plastic for the lcd and just use a paper cover under the plastic flap to cover the edges of the cut.

also thought i could use a 555 timer to push the ok button on the picture frame then turn a relay on thats used to power the lcd so this skips the splash screen and selects view picturre then memory card slot

that would make it look like it's more professional and not a picture frame.

[SavannahLion]

I also just have to find a small wireless device that has 4 buttons and acts like a joystick/gamepad (so i can program the program to only take input from the joystick/gamepad which will make sure nothing interfears)

Not a joystick but perhaps a small wireless laser mouse? Like the MS 3000 or even the MS 8000 which will net you the presentation buttons and bluetooth. Both have a scroll wheel which might be hackable for your DVD cover selection and three buttons (minimum) for your play & reset functions. You'll just need to remove the emitters.

The Wiimote? It would probably require a bit of work to remove the expansion port and deal with the IR camera and capacitor. With the Wiimote, it would give you a grand total of 11 buttons using a bog standard Bluetooth connection. Wiimote rechargeable batteries are pretty common so you can use one of them. I don't know how they're constructed though. With the IR receiver, you could err... add functionality? You also get four indicator LEDs that your program can exploit.

Wireless gamepads would probably be cheaper, but their general PCB shape might make it a pain to add in the much needed battery and charger. Guesstimating the general shape of my own wireless controller PCB's to the DVD case, you're might to lose out on some precious space just on the oddball shaping. The Wiimote PCB is a nice uniform shape and the mouse PCB is going to be nice and small regardless of which you pick.

[NiN^_^NiN]

A mouse with presentation buttons could work i wanted a gamepad etc so it wouldnt interact with windows besides the main program that will control vlc.

As for the wiimote i've used it but turning bluetooth on and getting it to connect is a pain cause u would have to go to the pc or use a mouse to connect it again then the size can be a problem for me.

As for a wireless gamepad i can easily trim the pcb as id only need 4 buttons from it so the size won't matter

The picture frame takes 5v so im wondering if i use a 12v battery and use a generic car adapter to 5v or use a 6v battery and then use a 0805 or even a resistor might work i'll have to try.