make a laptop screen work with a dreamcast?

[nacho]

hey guys, im new here and i just found this forum out. but anyways im trying to get a laptop screen to play on my dreamcast... so i can further my modification... but the problem is, i have no clue on earth how to do this... and i thought you guys might. my idea is to get it to work with the AVI cable... but alas, i have no idea... here is pic of the conections..



so if you guys have any ideas, please post them

[gannon]

Step 1: Buy a controller card that is compatible with your laptop lcd. This will cost around $300.
Step 2: Either use the dreamcast's standard vga output, or use it's composite with a scan doubler (this will cost around $150)

If you don't like the fact that it's going to cost you that much to make it work, buy an lcd t.v. at around the same price.

[Sparkfist]

Well finding the controller card isnt going to be easy they're not a common item. However you can try to look at the mobo and see if there is a way to cut the video-screen circuitry out.

Really it will save you a lot of time and/or money to just buy an LCD tv screen.

[Guest]

well thats the thing, i dont have money... i just have old laptops..

im sure there is some kinda way you can splice the wires together until you get some feedback... right?

[Sparkfist]

well thats the thing, i dont have money... i just have old laptops..

im sure there is some kinda way you can splice the wires together until you get some feedback... right?

I did a lil research on this about 2 years ago to see if I could make use of an old crappy laptop I (still) have. From just about every website I went they gave the sad concution you have to get a control card for the screen, they're not cheap and they're hard to find, building one from the laptop circuitry is going to be even harder (you have to know what your looking for.

You can search the web to see if anyone has been successful doing something like this but chances are slim.

[nacho]

well thats the thing, i dont have money... i just have old laptops..

im sure there is some kinda way you can splice the wires together until you get some feedback... right?

I did a lil research on this about 2 years ago to see if I could make use of an old crappy laptop I (still) have. From just about every website I went they gave the sad concution you have to get a control card for the screen, they're not cheap and they're hard to find, building one from the laptop circuitry is going to be even harder (you have to know what your looking for.

You can search the web to see if anyone has been successful doing something like this but chances are slim.

well if this card is in the laptop, then i have it... because i have the entire laptop.

btw i thought of a new idea... if i can just splice the laptop (or do whatever) so it has the female ends of an AV plug... and i can just plug the av cable into that... get what im sayin?

[wallydawg]

I've heard of something for the Dreamcast called the VGABox. Might do something entirely different than this, but the name sounds like it might do the trick for what you need.

[gannon]

yeah, but that doesn't change the fact that he'll still need a lcd controller for the screen.

[nacho]

I've heard of something for the Dreamcast called the VGABox. Might do something entirely different than this, but the name sounds like it might do the trick for what you need.

i have one, thats why i say an AV cable or CRT cable.

let me make apic of what im trying to do.

[Sparkfist]

Let me guess at it first.

You want to use a Laptop's LCD display as a monitor for your portable, and so you plan to run the Dreamcast's video signal through the VGA adapter directly into the screen.

First its a nice idea but its got some parts missing. First the "card" Gannon and I are talking about is neccessary to have the display work at all (controlls resolution, how the data is sent and how it is to be displayed). Next a VGA adapter is primarally for using a CRT or LCD monitor as your display for games, thats all its good for.

[nacho]

Let me guess at it first.

You want to use a Laptop's LCD display as a monitor for your portable, and so you plan to run the Dreamcast's video signal through the VGA adapter directly into the screen.

First its a nice idea but its got some parts missing. First the "card" Gannon and I are talking about is neccessary to have the display work at all (controlls resolution, how the data is sent and how it is to be displayed). Next a VGA adapter is primarally for using a CRT or LCD monitor as your display for games, thats all its good for.

im not at home right now but i will be in about an hour. i think i may have the controller card if it came in the original laptop. ill take some pictures of what i think it is when i get home. i also made a picture that explains what im trying to do here. ill post the picture i made plus the picture of what i think may be the card when i get home.

[nacho]

[gannon]

But you'll need something like this.
LCD-->Controller Card-->VGA Box-->Dreamcast.
The controller is actually part of the laptops motherboard, so unfortunately you can't remove it.

[Sparkfist]

But you'll need something like this.
LCD-->Controller Card-->VGA Box-->Dreamcast.
The controller is actually part of the laptops motherboard, so unfortunately you can't remove it.

Unless you know what your looking for and the card is rather isolated from other circuitry on the board.

[gannon]

Yeah, I guess that's right