9.7" iPad Retina Screen Perfect for MiSTer, $60 Fully Assembled 😄

[Warren]

Received my monitor yesterday, works great!

Ordered the pre-built USB-C (type c input in the description) version from here (GIVIFENI Store). There are multiple versions available so choose carefully which inputs you want - https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256801503431249.html

Thought it was defective at first as it kept flickering on and off (blanking screen) as it seems to draw more power than I expected. Connected to MiSTer usb hub and the monitor would blank on and off. Connected to my dedicated usb-c power cube and monitor works fine. Recommend dedicated power for monitor and not from the MiSTer as others have noted in this thread..

Used a high speed HDMI cable from amazon (amazon basics cable: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014I8UEGY and it was able to sync at 2048x1536@60Hz (I also was able to sync at 50Hz on the C64 core in PAL mode). Didn't attempt to use the cable that came with it based on others posting in this thread.

Couldn't find the English menu using the description here (not sure if different firmware, etc). I had to use Google Translate w/ camera on each menu until I found the one that described 'Language'. I believe it was like Menu button press on the rocker switch and then down 5, 2nd option for Language. You need to keep a signal source on it to get to the Menu and make changes. I just ran a game while I made the adjustments (Neo Geo: Xeno Crisis in my case)

Attached some pictures. I have no way to test display latency but other than its a bit reflective/shiny works well for me! I'm mostly using it as a travel display to take along with me on trips.

There are 2 speakers in the case on the back, but I disabled the audio (DVI mode in the mister ini) as I use the optical TOSLINK on my digital i/o board to my bluetooth headsets. They work but they sound like cheap tiny speakers. I suppose you could also turn the volume to zero on the OSD but DVI mode seemed the easiest for me.

How has this been holding up for you? I randomly searched Google to find where there might be suggestions for a MiSTer portable monitor and was directed to this forum site and this discussion. Kind of went in on getting it (the one originally linked and you linked) without reading through the past posts being that this discussion started up in 2021 so it has been awhile now. Never have ordered off AliExpress so hoping I either get a good one or can get a refund easily if not.

[limi]

Thread starter here, I ordered another one a few weeks ago, it’s still great. The most commonly reported issue is that some of them have the screen detach from the frame, which is easily fixed with some double sided tape. I assume this happens because of rough handling along the way, I know that US freight isn’t particularly careful with their packages.

[Warren]

Thread starter here, I ordered another one a few weeks ago, it’s still great. The most commonly reported issue is that some of them have the screen detach from the frame, which is easily fixed with some double sided tape. I assume this happens because of rough handling along the way, I know that US freight isn’t particularly careful with their packages.

Great to hear! Glad I stumbled upon this forum topic post. Hoping mine makes its way to the states okay which is where I live. Appreciate originally posting about it!

[offset]

How has this been holding up for you? I randomly searched Google to find where there might be suggestions for a MiSTer portable monitor and was directed to this forum site and this discussion. Kind of went in on getting it (the one originally linked and you linked) without reading through the past posts being that this discussion started up in 2021 so it has been awhile now. Never have ordered off AliExpress so hoping I either get a good one or can get a refund easily if not.

Well, since this post I haven't been able to use it in a portable fashion due to crazy work schedule, but I did order the U shaped adapters so that the cables run behind the monitor for better cable management. I'd like to put this in a portable case (ie. pelican case style) but that won't be anytime soon.

U shaped adapters originally posted by @missus in this post.
viewtopic.php?p=68967#p68967

[Missus]

Is this the AliExpress one you got that was referenced in the very start of this whole forum post? I just ordered the dual hdmi one instead of the USB C one (didn't realize the usb c one is hdmi and also usb c for power). What voltage and kind of power adapter should I get? Rather use it instead of power via micro usb. If you don't mind helping me out so I can get one for in time it gets here.

yes same as aliexpress dual hdmi.
for most people usb-c version is the best/most versatile.

I used a 5v supply when testing barrel jack but no other voltages. unless you make or happen to have the correct sized barrel jack (and preferably l-shaped), you will have a large adapter sticking off the side. For me, the u-shaped micro-usb gives the most options for powering and providing a clean cable exit.

[Warren]

Thread starter here, I ordered another one a few weeks ago, it’s still great. The most commonly reported issue is that some of them have the screen detach from the frame, which is easily fixed with some double sided tape. I assume this happens because of rough handling along the way, I know that US freight isn’t particularly careful with their packages.

Finally got mine. Hooked it up to my MiSTer with a brand new mini hdmi cable I bought and the input cuts in and out. It will stay for a bit and then start cutting in and out. Not sure if it might be an ini setting I need to edit, but might have to get this sent back for a refund.

[RationalRampage]

Thread starter here, I ordered another one a few weeks ago, it’s still great. The most commonly reported issue is that some of them have the screen detach from the frame, which is easily fixed with some double sided tape. I assume this happens because of rough handling along the way, I know that US freight isn’t particularly careful with their packages.

Finally got mine. Hooked it up to my MiSTer with a brand new mini hdmi cable I bought and the input cuts in and out. It will stay for a bit and then start cutting in and out. Not sure if it might be an ini setting I need to edit, but might have to get this sent back for a refund.

I take it that you're getting this at full "2k" resolution?

That resolution is tough for the HDMI chip on some DE10s to push. Some iPad display driver boards also don't like the stock video_mode setting. I've found one of atrac17's custom modelines works well with mine. You can also play around with the vsync_adjust setting. Don't give up on it just yet. Once I dialed mine in it works great.

[Warren]

Thread starter here, I ordered another one a few weeks ago, it’s still great. The most commonly reported issue is that some of them have the screen detach from the frame, which is easily fixed with some double sided tape. I assume this happens because of rough handling along the way, I know that US freight isn’t particularly careful with their packages.

Finally got mine. Hooked it up to my MiSTer with a brand new mini hdmi cable I bought and the input cuts in and out. It will stay for a bit and then start cutting in and out. Not sure if it might be an ini setting I need to edit, but might have to get this sent back for a refund.

I take it that you're getting this at full "2k" resolution?

That resolution is tough for the HDMI chip on some DE10s to push. Some iPad display driver boards also don't like the stock video_mode setting. I've found one of atrac17's custom modelines works well with mine. You can also play around with the vsync_adjust setting. Don't give up on it just yet. Once I dialed mine in it works great.

Thanks for the tips. Any recommendations to try with the custom modelines and vsync adjustments? I have not done much with adjusting vsync and video modes.

[limi]

No, this is not an issue with the DE-10 nano as far as I am aware. In most cases it comes down to the HDMI cable not being capable of the sufficient bandwidth needed. See earlier comments from people trying 3-4 cables before finding one that actually works. Do not use the included cable — as mentioned in the original post — it is not up to the task.

[Warren]

No, this is not an issue with the DE-10 nano as far as I am aware. In most cases it comes down to the HDMI cable not being capable of the sufficient bandwidth needed. See earlier comments from people trying 3-4 cables before finding one that actually works. Do not use the included cable — as mentioned in the original post — it is not up to the task.

Ordered one from Cable Matters and they have been reliable so odd it does not work correctly.Went back and saw someone said an Amazon Basics one works so ordered it and a Monoprice one. Will report back if one of them works when I get them Friday.

[Missus]

Ordered one from Cable Matters and they have been reliable so odd it does not work correctly.Went back and saw someone said an Amazon Basics one works so ordered it and a Monoprice one. Will report back if one of them works when I get them Friday.

I don't mean to keep beating this drum, but yet another advantage to the u-shaped adapters I linked before.

No need to spend the extra cash for a special cable, the adapter is cheap and they work perfectly. And since the female side that wraps around the back of the screen is a full sized HDMI port, it is much easier to source a high quality and appropriate length cable.

[Warren]

Ordered one from Cable Matters and they have been reliable so odd it does not work correctly.Went back and saw someone said an Amazon Basics one works so ordered it and a Monoprice one. Will report back if one of them works when I get them Friday.

I don't mean to keep beating this drum, but yet another advantage to the u-shaped adapters I linked before.

No need to spend the extra cash for a special cable, the adapter is cheap and they work perfectly. And since the female side that wraps around the back of the screen is a full sized HDMI port, it is much easier to source a high quality and appropriate length cable.

Appreciate bringing it up as I did not your post about that. Is there one you suggest ordering?

[Missus]

Appreciate bringing it up as I did not your post about that. Is there one you suggest ordering?

Yes, links here:
viewtopic.php?p=68967#p68967

[Warren]

Appreciate bringing it up as I did not your post about that. Is there one you suggest ordering?

Yes, links here:
viewtopic.php?p=68967#p68967

Great appreciate it! Put in an order for the mini hdmi adapter. Will report back when I get it and try it.

[Lightwave]

No, this is not an issue with the DE-10 nano as far as I am aware. In most cases it comes down to the HDMI cable not being capable of the sufficient bandwidth need . See earlier comments from people trying 3-4 cables before finding one that actually works. Do not use the included cable — as mentioned in the original post — it is not up to the task.

Ordered one from Cable Matters and they have been reliable so odd it does not work correctly.

To be clear, the issue isn’t the quality of the cable, but rather the standard. HDMI 1.4 cables are targeted towards 1080p, HDMI 2.x cables are designed for 4K.

For the iPad screen (with a resolution of 2048x1536) to work properly at 50-60hz, you need a proper HDMI 2.x (4 K) cable.

[Lightwave]

Ordered one from Cable Matters and they have been reliable so odd it does not work correctly.Went back and saw someone said an Amazon Basics one works so ordered it and a Monoprice one. Will report back if one of them works when I get them Friday.

No need to spend the extra cash for a special cable, the adapter is cheap and they work perfectly. And since the female side that wraps around the back of the screen is a full sized HDMI port, it is much easier to source a high quality and appropriate length cable.

I bought one of these adapters and it works fine with the iPad screen at its native resolution, as long as you use an HDMI 2.x cable to connect it to the MiSTer.

Even a high quality cable will cause issues if it is an HDMI 1.4 / 1080p cable.

[Missus]

To be clear, the issue isn’t the quality of the cable, but rather the standard. HDMI 1.4 cables are targeted towards 1080p, HDMI 2.x cables are designed for 4K.

For the iPad screen (with a resolution of 2048x1536) to work properly at 50-60hz, you need a proper HDMI 2.x (4 K) cable.

uhm, kinda?

a very high quality hdmi 1.4 cable -can- pass 4k too, even ones made before hdmi 2.0 was even a standard. most wont, because manufacturers want to save money and adding thicker conductors and low impedance connectors is added cost.

there isnt anything particularly special in the cable.
no chip, no extra pins, no ids, no smarts. the devices have no idea what spec cable is used.

HDMI is just copper wires. yes manufacturers built to spec, so when 1.4 was all there was, as long as the conductors used were capable of meeting the spec, that was fine. however if a manufacturer overbuild the cable (or if it is particularly short), they may be able to use higher refresh rates and resolutions than the 1.4 spec.

granted, your advice -is- perfectly valid. dont go hunting for an overbuilt 1.4 cable in 2023, get one certified to work with the specs you require.

if its rated for hdmi 2.x you can be reasonably sure the manufacturer has built and tested at these resolutions to ensure compatibility and have no issues.

this is very similar to why some runs of cat5 and cat5e can push beyond their rated 100mbit/1000mbit with no problem.

[Missus]

I bought one of these adapters and it works fine with the iPad screen at its native resolution, as long as you use an HDMI 2.x cable to connect it to the MiSTer.

Even a high quality cable will cause issues if it is an HDMI 1.4 / 1080p cable.

fully agree!

[Lightwave]

a very high quality hdmi 1.4 cable -can- pass 4k too, even ones made before hdmi 2.0 was even a standard.

Generally, 4k @ 24/30 fps is possible with cables built to the 1.4 standard, but you would have a hard time finding a cable of this type in the wild that supports ~ 50-60hz that the MiSTer uses.

As you mentioned, since there is no reliable way to tell how any given cable will perform without testing it, we don't have much choice other than looking at the HDMI spec it was built to (2.0/2.1 in this case) to be sure it will work with the iPad screen at native resolution.

(Thanks for the recommendation of the 180° adaptor by the way, it was just what I was looking for a semi-portable MiSTer build I'm putting together)

[Missus]

Generally, 4k @ 24/30 fps is possible with cables built to the 1.4 standard, but you would have a hard time finding a cable of this type in the wild that supports ~ 50-60hz that the MiSTer uses.

As you mentioned, since there is no reliable way to tell how any given cable will perform without testing it, we don't have much choice other than looking at the HDMI spec it was built to (2.0/2.1 in this case) to be sure it will work with the iPad screen at native resolution.

(Thanks for the recommendation of the 180° adaptor by the way, it was just what I was looking for a semi-portable MiSTer build I'm putting together)

You're right! I had mostly considered the tv/video 4k use case. Good thing these cables are so pervasive that they remain cheap!

And you're quite welcome for the links, I spent some time playing around with a few other options and those ended up the best. And for better or worse, you cant beat the cost for such niche adapters. Glad it worked out for you too.

[Warren]

Ordered one from Cable Matters and they have been reliable so odd it does not work correctly.Went back and saw someone said an Amazon Basics one works so ordered it and a Monoprice one. Will report back if one of them works when I get them Friday.

No need to spend the extra cash for a special cable, the adapter is cheap and they work perfectly. And since the female side that wraps around the back of the screen is a full sized HDMI port, it is much easier to source a high quality and appropriate length cable.

I bought one of these adapters and it works fine with the iPad screen at its native resolution, as long as you use an HDMI 2.x cable to connect it to the MiSTer.

Even a high quality cable will cause issues if it is an HDMI 1.4 / 1080p cable.

The Monoprice cable I got does not specify 2.x but it's rated for 4K@60Hz, 18Gbps which I believe means it is a 2.x cable.

[Lightwave]

The Monoprice cable I got does not specify 2.x but it's rated for 4K@60Hz, 18Gbps which I believe means it is a 2.x cable.

Yes, we are looking for any of those keywords, so that should work just fine.

[PistolsAtDawn]

I just received my dual USB-C version today. Wow! This really is a great little screen! Shadow masks look AWESOME on it. Much less noticeable than on a 1080p screen.

The included HDMI cable works fine with my MiSTer so far, and I'm able to power the screen from the USB ports on the MiSTer using a USB A to C cord (Anker). I am using a beefy 6 amp power supply that came with the LED matrix panels I purchased for the tty2rgbmatrix add-on from hellbent.

[syntax_x]

Is there a way to hide the info box? I haven’t found anything in the settings.

https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Main_Mi ... video_info

Set video_info to zero in the ini file.

If this refers to the blue/white popup shown by the display interface board (Realtek), I haven't found any way to disable, and I checked in Factory Settings (advanced) also. I get the popup once when loading a core or going back to main menu. Shows frequency and resolution.

BTW I'm using a panel & interface from LaserBear which I believe is the same hardware.

Here are a few firmwares to try out, the Red one has no info box when changing resolutions, I'm pretty sure it has most of the Laserbear additions as the aspect ratio options work. I never really had much luck with the Laserbear VRR so I couldn't test that, it made tricky cores drop out for me more often. I know it reports as a different device and does not show in windows as having 50hz and 30hz modes like Laserbears does.
But it does sync to the Amiga core @50hz fine.

It would be interesting to compare the two ( I did with over 1000 differences ) and see if we can edit the info box out from the Laserbear firmware.
I'm also trying to find a way to edit the EDID properly so the screens report as the correct physical size. Every time I flash it EDID just resets.
EDIT It seems all the firmwares are signed... sigh.

Screen Flasher.7z

(9.28 MiB) Downloaded 747 times

[chunky_tesco]

do you have both the VGA and HDMI version? I do have a Dreamcast but I could just the OSSC and ignore VGA

Did the seller declared it as the full price when shipping?

I have no idea, sorry. Didn’t get stuck in customs or anything where I live.

BTW I've tested one card with vga and hdmi and it won't handle vga 480p.

Here are two photos of it connected to a Dreamcast and to an old PC, respectively:

969A6815-2414-41C4-B6E5-896D612F1D4F.jpeg

72621CC8-5B04-43AB-A789-29080E3C208D.jpeg

[chunky_tesco]

sorry, just read the post that you have the 2 x HDMI version. And also the VGA still has to convert to digital, so the OSSC for Dreamcast would be a better option.

do you have both the VGA and HDMI version? I do have a Dreamcast but I could just the OSSC and ignore VGA

Did the seller declared it as the full price when shipping?

I have no idea, sorry. Didn’t get stuck in customs or anything where I live.

BTW I've tested one card with vga and hdmi and it won't handle vga 480p.

Here are two photos of it connected to a Dreamcast and to an old PC, respectively:

969A6815-2414-41C4-B6E5-896D612F1D4F.jpeg

72621CC8-5B04-43AB-A789-29080E3C208D.jpeg

[PistolsAtDawn]

For the USB-C version, I got a 196 x 147 mm glass screen protector from a seller on eBay that fits well (just a small gap on the sides) for $7. Center it well enough and it's super hard to tell it doesn't completely cover the screen while you're playing. The full actual screen size is 200x150mm for this screen version. I couldn't find a glass protector in that exact size. There are no notches or holes cut out for the cameras on tablets. Just a single rectangular piece of glass with slightly rounded corners (flat, square edges, not rounded).

Shipping ($3) was very fast for coming all the way from China too. I got it a week before it was promised (not quite 3 weeks, arrived in not quite 2).

Verdict: recommend

https://www.ebay.com/itm/284678842499?h ... SwuLZYy4w8

[LamerDeluxe]

I just received this stand: https://www.ulanzi.com/products/vijim-p ... older-2667 ordered at Amazon.

It is a fantastic stand for this display, not only does it lift the display, making it more comfortable to watch, it allows you to twist and turn the display any way you like.

So clockwise or counter-clockwise display for arcade cores doesn't matter, just turn the display accordingly. You can tighten the ball head to your liking so it needs very little force to adjust.

Also, the clamping force is perfectly low. I was afraid it might damage the display, but there's no chance of that happening. The clamps have a rubber part for better grip and their shape fits this display so well it is like it was custom-made for it.

It is foldable for portability, but the foot is a bit heavy for stability. The clamp is plastic, which is fine for this lightweight display.

I'm using it in conjunction with the 180 degree HDMI and USB-c adapters (also from Amazon) that someone here recommended, which works well for turning the display in a trouble-free way.

Sadly, the slim 1 meter HDMI cable, that I also ordered, provides no signal with any screenmode on the MiSTer, even though it is rated for 4K. It does work with my 'The VIC-20'. Made by THSUCORDS, avoid for use with MiSTer, seems fine for other purposes.

[Jimiga]

Thanks for starting the thread on using an ipdad screen with your MiSTEr!

I've just repurposed an old iPad 4 with a board but I do appear to have bought one a little hastily that doesn't accept a PAL signal.

All NTSC cores work fine but PAL just returns an incomaptible signal error

I saw your link to the all-in-one at the top of the page, and several others here, but I'm really looking for just a board that will support PAL, and wondered if there's any way of knowing one that's confirmed to work, since they don't seem to state this detail in the specs on a lot of listings!

Thanks for your help everyone.

[MikkyTee]

Well, finally took the plunge on one of these and I'm quite impressed with this screen. I thought it may have been too small, but once you load up a game it doesn't seem to matter. Packed well and arrived quickly. Really nice display, no defects i can see and perfect with an iPad stand. How are you guys powering this? The psu & barrel jack is not ideal so i would like to sort something better along with an L adaptor for the hdmi cable, and the menu is in Chinese so need to fix that too. I'm using amazon basics mini HDMI as was recommended in this thread, thanks to op for the heads up.