aight, my friend gave me a laptop that dont work... the screen is still good, but the internals are shot because i believe water spilled on the keyboard. i was wondering if anyone knew of a way to take the screen and somehow modify it to accept RCA inputs for video so i could hook a playstation or dvd player to it.

 

i don't think so, because then anyone could go get a broken laptop at the thrift store for $5, but i'd like to hear what people have to say. if it's possible, i'd definitely do it!

 

I am not sure, but you might get some idea on that message board. I had the same idea a while back, but can't remember why I didn't go thru.

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/index.php

 

It's quite possible, but a bit of a pain in the ***. You'll first have to find the manufacturer of the screen (not the laptop itself) then find one of their pinout charts, to tell you which wire goes to what. Then, after doing that, you'll need to reprocess the signal to the screen (might not be a need with all screens, but most won't accept line level RCA input) then solder the whole thing together, custom fabricate some manner of installation bracket, and BINGO... a cheap screen that would have cost far less in time and pain in the *** factor to purchase

If you're going for it, you want to make sure it's a decent panel. Many laptop manufacturers use poor screens because you'll never see them from an off angle, and it's much cheaper that way. That's great for a laptop... terrible for the in car environment.

If you've just got the laptop kicking around, and nothing better to do with your time, I say go for it. If you're a busy guy and not really interested in a lot of electronics and custom work, I'd suggest you skip it. It tends to be more of a pain in the *** than it's worth.

 

since it doesnt accept line level rca, i am guessing then that the standard input format is VGA then? i would have no trouble locating an RCA ---> VGA converter. it doesnt sound to difficult if that is all it would take.

 

If ever you find anything, please let me know, cause my laptop is still sitting in my room and my gf is *****ing cause it takes space

 

I just taugh of something. Here is a project you might want to do. It will take a few buck, but it is worth it. You can costum built a small computer that would fit in your trunk or under your seat, or wherever the f*** you want and hook it up to the screen. You could store as many mp3 as you want. You passenger could play computer games while you drive. The possibilities are endless with a "carputer"

 

I've done the computer in car thaing, and researched putting old laptop screens in cars with video inputs.. on the computer thing, its not too hard, and sometimes it's worth it, but usually not.

on the laptop screen, forget about it... you'll spend more trying to get it working than you would on a decent screen meant for that. laptop screens are lcd screens. the screen itself only takes ttl level signals, namely ones and zeros. you need a controller to turn any kind of serial or parallel type signal into one the screen understands... most controllers will run at least $100. then you need to convert the dvd or tv tuner's signal (which is analog) into a digital one which requires a converter (like a rca-vga), and whaich specific type depends on the controller you are using, which in itself depends on the screen you are using. then once you get it working you wont be pleased. laptop screens have a much higher resoluiton than a tv screen , so you'll probably see the picture only filling half of the screen. the picture itself will be degraded b/c of all the conversions it's going through. then after all that, the screen will be unreadable at even a slight angle, and any motion will look like blurry crap b/c the screens dont refresh fast enough to keep up with video.

if you want a screen go for it, but i recommend getting one meant for video. if you want to build a computer into the car, its a different story, and I can offer some insights on that.

 

ah, okay... i just wish i could find a decently priced screen that was 13" or so. thanks for the advice.