Playing video on mini LCD screen  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: Buch
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 08, 2015, 04:06:15 pm
content: Hi guys,I'm total newbie and I'm working on a movie prop that will require some electronics, so I need your help!My question is simple: Would it be possible to play a video sequence on this mini LCD screen?http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-5-Inch-TFT-LCD-Screen-Monitor-Reverse-Camera-Car-Rear-View-Backup-HOT-/190891895058?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c720b2912&vxp=mtrAnd how could it be done? I need the screen to show a pre-recorded video sequence and not the feed from a camera... Can it be done? And how?Hope to hear from some of youKind regardsAnders

author: Richard Crowley
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2015, 04:27:25 pm
content: The specs in the Ebay listing say that it can be connected to any regular video source.So, yes, it can play a video sequence on this display.Of course, you will need to connect the display to 12VDC power, and to the video source.The specs don't say anything about what video standard (NTSC, PAL, etc.) it supports, however.

author: mij59
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2015, 04:53:10 pm
content: The monitor probably excepts a video composite signal, in the description it says auto switch between PAL and NTSC.Could you explain the second question a bit more ?

author: Buch
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 08, 2015, 04:57:47 pm
content: Thanks Richard!Regarding the second question: Is it possible to play video from a video file on a USB memory stick and feed that into the screen? I will need to keep things as small as possible...So the video standard thing won't be a problem if it switches automatically?

author: Richard Crowley
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2015, 05:04:43 pm
content: The LCD screen only DISPLAYS the video. You also need something to PLAY the video.Since we know nothing about how you want to use this, we can't really offer any definite suggestions.Perhaps a laptop computer that has composite output? Or a DVD player or something?Or even some little internet boxes like Roku or something?

author: rob77
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2015, 05:32:11 pm
content: actually most of the film-making props are just cardboard and duct-tapehow about securing a small smart phone playing the video into the frame of your prop by duct-tape ? (i'm serious... it's fast & cheap - and good enough to make the shot).

author: Buch
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 08, 2015, 06:35:33 pm
content: Please, let me know what I need to tell you guys...The screens are going to be build into a prop replica of the Voight-Kampff machine from the movie Blade Runner. I'm not making it for a movie, I'm making it to enjoy at home as I'm a huge fan...I think I get it now, Richard, sorry if I'm a bit slow, this is all new stuff to me. I need a player of some sort to play the video sequence, of courseCould that be a tablet or iPad for instance? Then I would hook that up to the screens and they could display the video sequences?That opens two new questions: Could one player (say a tablet) play three different videos and feed them to three different screens? Or would I need three players, one for each screen?

author: albert22
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 09, 2015, 05:01:30 pm
content: This may give you some ideas:The key points are:SD to store uncompressed video (or may be he is storing the datastream required by the nokia display)Limited resolution and reduced frame rate.Limited color space.The same idea could be used to obtain a NTSC signal. Is not a project for a total beginner but you can learn a lot from it.Some thoughtsPAL signal is a little more complicated but its frame rate is slower (25fps).The data to be stored in the SD can be converted from a short video by a PC program into a suitable format. In such a way that the signal generation is done as far as possible offline and not by the microcontroller.The color signal requires almost 4Mhz, some external hardware will be needed. Which gets more complicated as you increase the quality of the image.As I said before is not an easy project.The really easy way:Use a Raspberry PI which includes a composite video output and a ready made video player like OMXPlayer .

author: Richard Crowley
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 09, 2015, 06:21:58 pm
content: There are many sources of OEM (i.e. raw component, not in a finished enclosure) LCD display panels.For example SparkFun, AdaFruit, EarthLCD, and even Ebay.Some of these feature built-in controller boards (typically on the back of the display) which can play a video directly from an SDHC card.There are several schemes documented online for using RaspberryPi or BeagleBoneBlack boards to play back full-motion video to attached LCD screens.Both the RasPi and BBB feature full HDMI outputs, and the RasPi also has a composite video output designed in.Note that low-end computer boards (like Arduino) are NOT fast enough to do anything but very low-resolution monochrome animation.If what you are simulating is "computer-like" control/display screens, etc. then it may be easier to program these into the RasPi or BBB boards than to play back a video.