Hey all,
I just snagged a tobisha SD-P2000 8.9 portable dvd player on ebay, for a good price because the dvd player dosent work. The pannel has very nice resoulution for its size (1024x600) So, Im just looking for some opinions on this project.

I already have it half-way stripped, and so far-so good, with all real wires going to the LCD.(EDIT! WRONG, 2FFCS AND SMALL BOARD ARE FOLDED UNDER BACKLIGHT)

While this thing has virtualy every kind of output known to man,all it has for A/V input is a mini-plug,(ie psone lcd) which I was a little bummed about. Would it be worth looking into some kind of vga input mod?, might that even be a possibility?

Did you test the screen and input yet to see how it looks? You should probably be able to tell if it is approximately 1024x600 just by looking at a picture.

Trying some sort of a vga mod sounds like an interesting idea. You should try searching for it and see if someone else has done it. Even if it hasn't been done, try comparing the circuit board on your screen to the psone board. It might be possible. You should still end up with a good projector with just that one av-in jack.

Thanks for the input! I havent powered it up yet, but I will tonight, and take some pics. The guy I got it from has great feedback, so I would hate to think I will have to screw up his track record if the LCD dosent work perfectly, as described.

So then, it might not be worth the hassle of a VGA mod if it indeed is somewhere around 1024x600?

Also, does anyone know of the response time on a panel like this?
Im not super concerned about it though, as this PJ would be primarily for movies.

I fired it up, and it does look great! even with the mini plug, next step will be to finish stripping the rest(LCD is stripped, but not the DVD player section with the main board, and make sure I can add this one to the compatible list, and start a new plog.

Another great feature is that I can flip the image upside down, which may prove usefull for the mounting situation.

So far I would say if you can get one of these cheap... with a bad backlight, or a bad dvd player like mine, I would say go for it!

The only other slight complication I am faced with is a lack of remote for this thing. I cant seem to accses the monitior controlls with the buttoons on the unit(other than flipping the image)

It is good that it works with the mini-plug. That should work out well for you. Be careful with stripping the dvd player, you need to make sure you don't permanently dissconnect something you need.

I don't know what to say about the remote. Do you mean you can't change any monitor settings at all, or that it is hard to push the buttons the way you plan to mount it? If it is just hard to push the buttons, maybe you can adjust it the way you want it and hope it keeps its settings.

How much did you end up winning the dvd player for?

I paid 50 US beans, including shipping for the player
There are about 10 of them on ebay now, in various conditions, some are gambles potentialy worth trying,.
Again, its the SD-P2000

About the controls
It seems like I cant controll anything but vital functions without the remote. I will find one eventually I hope, but if not Im just gonna roll with it. It looks pretty damn good as is!

I found a remote for a very similar player on ebay, its literally one number off of the model I need, but Im going to hold out for a week or so while I try to track one down during the peliminary building/planing phase

That is an awesome deal. This screen sounds much better than a psone screen and the psone is 40+ before shipping. Good work.

What do you mean by anything but vital functions? I assume you mean color, contrast and some of that stuff. I don't know what type of video card you have, but if your card has a video out you could try hooking the screen up to that and you might have control over the colors. That is just something to try.

Good luck, that is a really awesome find for $50.

Not even on the vitals, by that I mean power, AV in mode enable, the DVD player controlls, and thats it! except for the 1 button labled monitor, that flips the image.

thats a good point about controlling it with my computer, I didnt even think of that! Im used to it too, from my PSONE projector. I have a few configs saved on my G4 powerbook just for my 5" PJ I built into my wall last year.

Thanks! I just emailed you back

For a DIY projector that is a hot deal especially when looking at the prices of the new ones. If that screen really puts off that high of a resolution then you have some serious potential for good quality, and portable to boot.

I was searching online for that dvd player and I found the manual at toshiba.
http://tacpservice.toshiba.com/ConsumerPro...2000_ownman.pdf

On page 42 there is stuff about using the virtual remote control. It sounds like you can probably use that. It shows pushing the shift and v-remote buttons simultaneously on the actual remote, but you should see if there is some way to activate it without the actual remote. It seems worth trying.

UPDATE!!!
I am about 3/4 of the way home on the dismantle.
And there ARE infact 2 FFCS, That were kind of hidden, but......... so far this thing is DIY friendly!!!! I think there are frensal lenses in this thing in front of the backlight! I am taking pics, and I will post them all in a few, including one of the near tragidy, with what could have been a broken edge conector. There was a strip of glue on the backlight's bottom edge that you need to be suuuuper gentle with. I lost a very small chunk of a corner while separating the LCD form the backlight. AND IT WAS A BLACK CHUNK. But I got lucky... and shes still goin strong! pics VERY SOON
!

IM DONE!!
Im very happy with the way it stripped down, and see alot of possibilitys as far as mounting, controll button placement ect.

Such triumph and pioneermanship must be suplemented with sleep

the whole step by step photo documented strip tommorow after work.

very interested in your design. Just bid on the same player as yours. I would like to add that i think the model number is SD-P2000. (Forgot a 0), correct me if I'm wrong.

I was wondering if anyone with expertise in this area could answer a couple questions:

From what I've read about this portable dvd player, it has a polysilicon lcd panel. I was wondering how light transmission of this kind compares to that of a "standard" lcd panel.

what kind of ffc's does it have? (pitch, pin count)

will it function if you remove the dvd unit from the lcd?

thank you!

Thanks tawamiami, you are absolutly correct on the model #, sorry guys, I just edited the thread
All great questions above!
I appologize for the delay on the pics, the batteries died on my camera, and I lost the first batch, so I need to take more now.

Im not patient enough to count the pins, there are alot of em.
I see no need to extend, but I could be wrong.
However, one may want to extend the ffc that go's to the controll buttons depending on their design.

In regards to the polysilicon query, I gotta say that if anything it looks more transparent than the lcd from my first pj, which was a psone 5". So I would guess that this would promote better light transmition.... but thats just a guess.

As far as disconnecting the DVD portion, I dont know if it would be worth the effort. Almost seems as if a liiliput would be the way to go if your that concerned with having just the LCD. But Im no electronics wiz either, so again, this is just a guess from someone who has succesfully taken it apart.

I am glad to see some interest and ideas on this topic. More and more of these decent pannels are bound to pop up on ebay for good prices.... particularly when there is an issue with just the DVD player, or the backlight or somthing.

OK, Im gonna take a few pics again now.....

OK, heres the whole unit stripped down

and heres what I mean about the controlls, there is one ffc about 4 or 5 " which is connected to the main board. The black thing is just tape that was on there. You can see the blue,"C shaped" 5 pin ffc. Its probably long enough to work with, but it could be benifitial to legthen it depending on your design.

And here is a close up of one of the two short FFC's that connect to the LCD.
Feel free to count the pins... heh

And the LCD alone. The ffcs may look sketchy here, but refer to the first pic, where I have the lcd proped up. I think this thing is diy friendly all the way.

I will take some of the thing powered up tommorow, when I can snag the only ac adapter I have that can power this.... which go's to my now sleeping roomates nintendo game cube.

terrific posts

really helps my confidence level to know that someone's a couple steps ahead of me as i do the project.

i'm excited about the monitor. looks very diy friendly. (PLEASE don't try to count the connector...give yourself a hernia or something. I'd thought you meant the normal white 20 pin or so ffc's)

I bid on a panel that's advertised that it turns on and starts playing a dvd but then the panel goes blank white. I'm hoping it has something to do with the dvd player, as I'll be using the video-in only as my source of content.

once again, thanks a lot!

Yes, I saw that one too. Good luck with it. It seems like a potentialy good deal.

Hey, I was wondering if I could get some exact dimensions for the panel.

I'd like to get started on my framing and sizing of fresnel lenses

There is one of these DVD players on Ebay, 23 hours left with 4 bids sitting at 99 cents.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...ssPageName=WDVW

Thought you guys might like to know!

FS

yoshuaspawn, did you get a pj up and running yet with this panel? I'd love to see some pics if you have. I've decided to buy one of these units also, but mine is fully functional. I will be mounting the dvd player portion on the side of my box to play dvd's, since I plan on mostly using my pj for movies.

I'm not sure with one of these units that you would be able to mount the dvd player to the side of the projector. ( I am only speaking from experience of seeing pictures of these units stripped down.) I believe that the the connections between the lcd and the dvd unit/controller board would make it difficult to mount the dvd part into the side of the box. But maybe someone who has stripped down one of these units could enlighten us to whether or not this would be feasible.

I think it has become common practice for manufacturers to call each rgb dot a pixel on the small panels. If you look at the resolution tis probably 800x600 real. The only exceptions are the laptop panels.

This is most likely with this panel, but I imagine that it is comparable with the Hami 8" for much less if one can be found on ebay.

It has been a real b**** winning an auction for an "as-is" dvd player. Most have been going well over $100, even when they're advertised as not playing dvds.

It seems as if my best bet is to bid on one that is advertised as untested because of a broken power connection. Anyone have any insight as to wether or not this is a good idea? It'll probably sell for around $35 plus ship.

I haven't stripped mine down yet to see, but from looking at the pics that yoshuaspawn has posted in this thread, it appears that there is a 4-5" FFC between the screen and the rest of the unit. This should be plenty to externally mount the DVD, right? I hope this is the case, because I would don't want to have to run everything through the a/v jack.

It is the same physical resolution as the Hami, except that it is 16:9 vs Hami's 4:3 aspect ratio. This means that the vertical resolution (top to bottom) is 600 just like the Hami, but since it is wider than the Hami, its horizontal resolution (side to side) is 1024. I hope I got the horizontal and vertical right, I always get them confused.

Hey guys, WOW, I thought this post was dead. As far as progress ummmm, not so much, but Im getting back on it tommorow. And to make matters worse... my LCD is now damaged, but a new one is on the way. I made a temp box to get some rough measurements, and I think its gonna be sweet.

The way Im laying it out is with the controlls and motherboard on top/front. Im going with a straight lightpath to keep it simple. The box will end up 22" long, 5"high, and about 8.75" wide. Its going to be quite long, but thin and slender in the other dimensions. Wooden sides with either aluminium or plastic top and bottom.

Im using the haaus man/ joes bakery style, contoured light path, but only on the ass end, due to the way the electronics will be mounted in the front. its gonna be wierd, but cool.

I am looking forward too all your comments, input, and suggestions.

Edit! Hey Arizonated, I think Mongals is right about about the side mount problem(Hey Mongals!)
What did you have in mind? I will try to also take more detailed pics and mabey whip up a sketch or somthing.

And I could use some suggestions as to what may have killed my LCD, once I take some pics of what it looks like now.

Yoshuaspawn I am looking forward to some progress on your pj. I've been to lazy lately to get started on a small PJ, and decided that I needed to enjoy the projector that I have already built. But I guess the funnest part is coming up with how to build it, and then doing it. Good luck.

anyone found a way to make a vga port for it??

Not that this is of any help to you guys, except maybe some encouragement, but I just won me a Toshiba P2700 player with an adapter and remote for a buy-it-now of $100. Crazy, considering most auctions for this model go up to at least $300. Seller looks legit, so wish me luck.

I'll probably be documenting my progress in this (if yoshuaspawn doesn't mind) thread, or in a new one.

Post ahead tawamiami! Mabey if we have good results, we will have our own plogs as well, or the moderators will do there thang.Im looking forward to seeing how the 2700 strips. Could you email me the seller?, what is the condition? thats a SICK price for the unit + remote and the AC... I wish you good luck. I noticed it got harder to get a deal on one of the 2000's after I started this post. Perhaps I should have waited till I finished the project before I posted, but I cant hold out on my fellow lumenheads.


I actualy just won a 2500, so this should be interesting to see how these 3 models differ. I will try to make some progress soon, but my summer painting biz is eating up all my time, but Im hell bent on building this thing, so I will make time soon.

I am hoping Brainchild takes a peek at this thread, and gives his opinion and input on the specs of this 8.9" LCD were dealing with. And how it compares to the hami or lilli. The manufacturer boasts 1024x600... and it seems like the concensus is that there talking about RGB dots, not pixels. However, most product and consumer reviews agree with the claim by Toshiba that this screen has 2-3 times the res. of its closest competitors. And the image is quite decent.(or was until mine suddenly had a black line/corner.... new one in the mail)
Also is there any advantage/disadvantage to the polysilicon.

The seller is a small, seemingly non professonal member, so I don't think that any more of these will become available. You can view the auction here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1

I am literally praying that it goes through painlessly.

This one appears to have a swivel screen, but I hope this doesn't affect its stripability. Good luck with your panel, sorry to hear about the problems.

I too am wondering about the differences between our usual TFTs and these polysilicon ones.

Yoshua, I was wondering if you could do me a favor and measure the exact dimensions of the panel that you've disassembled.

The panel is 125mmX 202mm
The right and left side edges seem as if they vary a tiny bit. My eyesight aint what it used to be, so you may want to add a millimeter on the width, and call it 203mm, or mabey split the difference.

Interesting; That makes the panel around 9.5" in diagonal, contrary to the advertised spec of 8.9".

However, the 16:9 aspect ratio seems to have been preserved.

Thanksfor the help!

Wow your right! That is wierd!

OH, OK, its 8.9 viewable diag. but the LCD itself is closer to 9.5.

OK, so heres a rough idea of the design Im going for.
Trying my best to keep it simple, with a straight light path, and 360 watt OHP bulb.

The LCD is able to flip the image, which will let me mount the board and LCD as you see here.This is also adventageous in regards to the placement of the controll buttons(they are attatched with a C-shaped FFC about 4" long, which dosent give you many mounting options without extending)

The biggest challenge I see with this design is the cooling, but I think it can be done. I will be going with the two fan intake/out-take system. And I will have about 1.5" of open air space around my light engine.

what do you guys think?

The profile. I think the guided light path on just the arss-end is great with this project, and looks nice too. But again, its quite obvious Im in the early stages here... but I think its a very simple; and plausable idea. The box is 2' long, but quite compact in the other dimensions.
Its sorta half Haasman style.

Did someone say, "half assman style"? No way, looks real good to me...

What fresnels are you going to be using? I like the style and am excited to see some results with this.

Thanks duders,
I cut down an OHP fresnal from an older 3M overhead.The halogen light was pulled from there as well. I stumbled upon a freakin treasure trove of about 20 3M overheads with various problems behind my school being thrown out. I grabed my drill out of my truck, and proceeded to rip them apart on a busy Boston street. Funniest part is, the only thing wrong with one of the OHP's was that some clever fella drew a big picture of cock n' balls on the fresnal lense. Guess thats not covered under warranty....

Im really anxious to see some results myself, and Im trying sooo hard not to rush through it. Should be up in running in two or three weeks (I hope!!!) Im still awaiting a new panel too, which should be here late next week.

Pfft, who hasnt drawn a cock 'n balls on a teachers overhead before she turns it on

Pfft, who hasnt drawn a cock 'n balls on a teachers overhead before she turns it on



Well I sure haven't....

I saw the player for the first time yesterday. Plays dvds flawlessly, no dead pictures AFAIK. I have no doubt in my mind that this is a true 1024x600 panel.

Yoshua, I was wondering if you could tell me how you plan on getting the video signal to the unit. Mine has a single 3.5mm input jack, and I happen to have a 3.5mm to composite adapter from another player. I have output the video signal to composite using my ATI All In Wonder card, and it looks like CRAP.

Other than that, I couldn't be happier.

Moniter's stripped, working flawlessly, except that I cracked one of the corners during removal from the frame. I guess I'll be ordering another panel through ebay. I was wondering if you could tell me the model number of your lcd panel, so that I can verify that the different dvd player models share the same lcd. It's located on a sticker in big print, LTM09C362.

Hello, Im not sure of the model number on the LCD, although I have confirmed that it is the same LCD for the 2000, and the newer 2500, which makes locating a new one easier

PS, I also chipped a corner during stripping Then cracked it later while taking measurements.... be very carefull with this lil gem. It almost seems as if the poly silicon LCD is a bit thinner than other LCDs, but as previously mentioned, mabey this could make for better light transmition?

As far as input, I will just be using the same 3.5 mini to composite you have, with my DVD player. I watched some finding nemo on it, and was very pleased with that.