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

[smx]

Hi, I'm interested in the model with VGA and HDMI. In particular, I would like to be sure to buy a model that supports both 50Hz and 60HZ (and RGB PAL). I've asked several sellers but they can't answer. Can you give me a link where I can purchase this monitor? Thank you

[limi]

The display at the link supports both 50hz and 60hz, as already stated.

[Galen]

Does anyone know a seller that sends to Germany? Ali Express for some reason will not deliver iPad screen to Germany.

Cheers

[Missus]

Does anyone know a seller that sends to Germany? Ali Express for some reason will not deliver iPad screen to Germany.

Cheers

my advice is to buy a as-is ipad that is cloud locked and harvest the screen yourself. then buy a cheap driver board and youre good.

[Galen]

Good idea.

Do you have a recommendation/link for the driver board? It would be nice if I could play 50Hz pal games as well. I was reading through the posts in this thread, and some people seem to have problems with specific boards.

Cheers and thanks!

[Missus]

Yeah I have tried a few of them. Theyve worked fine for me, granted I am not using PAL very often.

The hdmi/usb-c combo board is the best and most versatile one in my opinion. I linked to the exact boards in this thread a while back.

I would like to add there is an independent guy who is making driver boards for these as well. He even has ribbon cables for the 7.9" ipad mini screens! He ships from Japan and the boards are seemingly high quality.

http://www.abusemark.com/store/

[Galen]

Awesome! Exactly what I was looking for, and the boards from Japan look indeed very good. Order placed.

Thank you again!

[CraigBuckley]

I just received my USB Type C version.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001689746001.html

It looks amazing, But the Display lag is not sub 1ms as on RetroRGB.

The LCD Panel is made by Sharp from what I can tell looking up the number but there is a missing Label.

I managed to select English in the OSD.

In MiSTer Ini.

video_mode=13
vscale_mode=4
vsync_adjust=2

All cores work well from my testing, Shame about the display lag not been as expected.

supports upto 63hz

I tested with MiSTerLaggy.

I have attached photos of the Lag test, Label from the LCD Panel, And Driver board.

Lag Test

DSC01309.JPG (8.62 MiB) Viewed 361762 times

LCD Panel

DSC01288.JPG (6.19 MiB) Viewed 361762 times

Driver Board

DSC01291.JPG (7.24 MiB) Viewed 361762 times

Hope this helps others.

Any questions?

[smx]

Excuse me, do you think it is possible to insert a glass protection between the monitor and the case?
A simple glass made from a photo holder should suffice. And is very cheap.
But I don't know how the various elements are fixed and if there is space, let's say 2/3 mm.

[smx]

https://www.leroymerlin.it/prodotti/dec ... 93513.html

[LamerDeluxe]

There was a glass iPad screen protector on eBay that fit, but that exact size has been sold out for a while.

[CraigBuckley]

Excuse me, do you think it is possible to insert a glass protection between the monitor and the case?
A simple glass made from a photo holder should suffice. And is very cheap.
But I don't know how the various elements are fixed and if there is space, let's say 2/3 mm.

I thought about that but the screen is double sided tape in. So order one that just fits inside the frame outside.

[pkatzman]

I am curious about some details of the different available versions, and can’t see a way to contact the seller on Aliexpress. Hoping some folks here who have purchased over the last 2 years can weigh in.

On whatever version you have, what are the power input options? I’m leaning towards the USB-C version, but would like an option for 12v powering and not sure which versions give me that option.

On whatever version you have, where are the OSD control buttons and how loud/clicky are they?

On whatever version you have, what are all the inputs and outputs on it, and where are they located?

Sorry for the silly questions, this seems to be the most active place on the internet where this specific listing is discussed. Appreciate the insight!

[Missus]

I am curious about some details of the different available versions, and can’t see a way to contact the seller on Aliexpress. Hoping some folks here who have purchased over the last 2 years can weigh in.

On whatever version you have, what are the power input options? I’m leaning towards the USB-C version, but would like an option for 12v powering and not sure which versions give me that option.

On whatever version you have, where are the OSD control buttons and how loud/clicky are they?

On whatever version you have, what are all the inputs and outputs on it, and where are they located?

Sorry for the silly questions, this seems to be the most active place on the internet where this specific listing is discussed. Appreciate the insight!

please review the thread. alot of people (myself included) have provided a lot of helpful information and photos that address some of your questions

[Link83]

Might anyone know how to access the service menu on the USB-C model? I have tried holding down the rocker switch before powering on but nothing seems to happen.

Would also love to know which vscale mode is recommended for this screen between vscale_mode=4 and vscale_mode=5? vscale_mode=4 seems to be scaled slightly more by the screen when compared to vscale_mode=5, so i'm not sure which mode is best? (Both look good)

I just received my USB Type C version.
...
Any questions?

I would be interested to know what the lag tester results are for the middle and lower screen positions as well? Also might you know your driver boards firmware revision?

I assume these latency results will be specific to the driver board and firmware revision in the current USB-C model?
I'm guessing this is the case given this old post from SmokeMonster which shows this screen with a different driver board/firmware matching a CRT for latency:-
https://twitter.com/SmokeMonsterTWI/sta ... 0920445952
This post suggests that having pixel-overdrive enabled in the driver boards firmware might be the most important criteria for low latency:-
https://twitter.com/SmokeMonsterTWI/sta ... 9526572032

I did notice the USB-C model has some "Game Mode" options in the menu, including "FPS" and "RTS" but there is very little explanation for what each mode actually does.

[FoxbatStargazer]

Would also love to know which vscale mode is recommended for this screen between vscale_mode=4 and vscale_mode=5? vscale_mode=4 seems to be scaled slightly more by the screen when compared to vscale_mode=5, so i'm not sure which mode is best? (Both look good)

Mode 4 will try to match the horizontal resolution to a multiple of the core's horizontal resolution (i.e. horizontal integer scaling.) Mode 5 will just keep the horizontal in the same ratio with your vertical resolution (probably 4:3). I think Mode 4 might be a problem if you use digital rotation for vertical arcade cores (instead of rotating your display.)

If you can I would generally use mode=13 and vscale_mode=0. That will make the Mister responsible for all scaling, usually the best quality along with the best control and outcome for shadow masks. You can use aspect ratio = full/wide in the core options if you want that 4:3 display always perfectly filled up.

[xenphor]

Does anyone know about the quality of the other portable monitors on Aliexpress? Is this supposed to be the best one? I ordered the usb-c model but was wondering about the other displays.

Would it be possible to use panels from other types of mobile devices or is there something about this particular iPad screen that makes it more compatible with a custom driver board? It would be awesome to be able to use a Samsung OLED screen as a portable monitor.

[Missus]

Does anyone know about the quality of the other portable monitors on Aliexpress? Is this supposed to be the best one? I ordered the usb-c model but was wondering about the other displays.

Would it be possible to use panels from other types of mobile devices or is there something about this particular iPad screen that makes it more compatible with a custom driver board? It would be awesome to be able to use a Samsung OLED screen as a portable monitor.

We like this one because it's readily available (iPad screen) and cheap, plus has a very high PPI and resolution with low latency, especially for it's size.

[xenphor]

We like this one because it's readily available (iPad screen) and cheap, plus has a very high PPI and resolution with low latency, especially for it's size.

Does anyone have experience with the touch screen version? I'd be nervous about applying a screen protector to a bare LCD screen but maybe having a touch digitizer installed would protect it more?

[Missus]

We like this one because it's readily available (iPad screen) and cheap, plus has a very high PPI and resolution with low latency, especially for it's size.

Does anyone have experience with the touch screen version? I'd be nervous about applying a screen protector to a bare LCD screen but maybe having a touch digitizer installed would protect it more?

I don’t but I imagine they are just USB HID touchscreens. should work and if nothing else, like you said it would protect the screen. Go for it!

I’m still looking for a precut glass overlay for the screen, touch or not.

[xenphor]

I don’t but I imagine they are just USB HID touchscreens. should work and if nothing else, like you said it would protect the screen. Go for it!

I’m still looking for a precut glass overlay for the screen, touch or not.

Okay, I already ordered the non touch usb-c version but maybe if it works out I might try getting another. Do you know the best way to clean the bare LCD without harming it?

[LamerDeluxe]

I wonder if the touch functionality works like a standard mouse and if it would work well with some of the mouse-controlled games on MiSTer, that would be pretty neat.

[chromium]

I've got one of these I bought a couple of years ago, I was messing with the aspect ratio in menu and now it just says "No support" and I can't do anything with it lol

Anyone know if I can factory reset somehow? It won't let me into the menu.

I've tried hooking up a PC and trying every resolution and it still just says "No support" The stupid thing won't let you use the menu unless it detects a signal that it can handle

Edit: Scratch that, I pulled the plug and now it's displaying my laptop output

[xenphor]

Has anyone tried attaching a metal plate to the back and using a magnetic mount with the display? Would that work?

[q654q]

Happy new year everyone!

I've purchased usb-c version of the screen from Aliexpress and really enjoying it so far. However, still have some questions.

1) Although the included hdmi cable is trash (already ordered the higher speed 2.0 cable), it seems that bundled black usb-c cable is decent and can potentially be some sort of a "thunderbolt" cable. It's also pretty thick and semmengly od a decent quality. I'm not sure if both usb-c ports are the same (one of these is marked with lightning, but not sure if it is referred to thunderbolt or just power port), but this screen can be powered from a laptop's thunderbolt port and transfer the screen with this single "thunderbolt" cable! I didn't test the speed, but it should be decent as I tried to transfer a 4gb file from a phone to a lptop with it and it transferred in about a minute, which certianly should be faster than usb 2.0 speed. Can anyone else confirm from experience that this bundled black cable is actually pretty good?

2) As for powering the scren, I'm aware that it is recommended to power it not from the MISTer's usb board, but rather from separate pwoer source. However, if we are using 4A/5A power supply for MISTer, would it be fine to power the screen from the MISTer's usb board (in order to have wires) or separate power source is still recommended?

3) Are vscale_mode=4 (integer scaling) and vsync_adjust=2 optimal settings? vsync_adjust=2 seems to be working fine for every core, although there is some slight flicker/loss of sync on PSX Bios, but I think it is rather a faulty HDMI cable.
As for integer scaling, I'm not so sure, but suppose that image will be sharper than when it is stretched to fill the screen on default option.

[PistolsAtDawn]

Happy new year everyone!

I've purchased usb-c version of the screen from Aliexpress and really enjoying it so far. However, still have some questions.

1) Although the included hdmi cable is trash (already ordered the higher speed 2.0 cable), it seems that bundled black usb-c cable is decent and can potentially be some sort of a "thunderbolt" cable. It's also pretty thick and semmengly od a decent quality. I'm not sure if both usb-c ports are the same (one of these is marked with lightning, but not sure if it is referred to thunderbolt or just power port), but this screen can be powered from a laptop's thunderbolt port and transfer the screen with this single "thunderbolt" cable! I didn't test the speed, but it should be decent as I tried to transfer a 4gb file from a phone to a lptop with it and it transferred in about a minute, which certianly should be faster than usb 2.0 speed. Can anyone else confirm from experience that this bundled black cable is actually pretty good?

Happy New Year!

I haven't had any problems with the bundled USB-C cable. I have only used it for power though.

2) As for powering the scren, I'm aware that it is recommended to power it not from the MISTer's usb board, but rather from separate pwoer source. However, if we are using 4A/5A power supply for MISTer, would it be fine to power the screen from the MISTer's usb board (in order to have wires) or separate power source is still recommended?

I most often just plug it into the MiSTer's USB board. It will not always supply enough power depending on the settings I'm using, but I also have never removed the inline power switch that came with my MiSTer (from MiSTerAddons.com). I think (someone correct me if I'm wrong here) that limits the amount of power that can go into the MiSTer to 2 amps.

I've powered the screen separately with a USB-C power supply in the cases where the USB hub/board wasn't supplying enough juice, and that worked fine, but the majority of the time it has been enough.

[q654q]

Also, I think this screen if pretty cool for another use case, 6 gen software emulation!
PCSX2 even with recent lag optimisations is, unfortunately, not really great for fast paced games (although this really low lag screen may help with that) and Xbox original emulation is probably not really mature yet, but using for Dreamcast and Gamecube games is really amazing.

For instance, this youtuber claims that it is possible to get lower than Dreamcast input lag with Flycast emulator:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJGXqyIx_r8

I tried this with the screen and it worked great! What is also really cool is that you can keep original resolution or crank 480i/480p to around 4x. It is a matter of preference, but both options look amazing to me.

Just try it and you won't be dissapointed. Loking forward for any feedback from forum members on this use case.

[Lightwave]

slight flicker/loss of sync on PSX Bios

If you mean at the start of the BIOS sequence when the core is first loaded, yes that is normal.

If you're also seeing sync loss in-game, try enabling Fixed Hblank and Vblank in the PSX core OSD if they are not already set to 'On'.

[RationalRampage]

I just received my USB Type C version.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001689746001.html

It looks amazing, But the Display lag is not sub 1ms as on RetroRGB.

The LCD Panel is made by Sharp from what I can tell looking up the number but there is a missing Label.

I managed to select English in the OSD.

In MiSTer Ini.

video_mode=13
vscale_mode=4
vsync_adjust=2

All cores work well from my testing, Shame about the display lag not been as expected.

supports upto 63hz

I tested with MiSTerLaggy.

I have attached photos of the Lag test, Label from the LCD Panel, And Driver board.

DSC01309.JPG

DSC01288.JPG

DSC01291.JPG

Hope this helps others.

Any questions?

Your driver board is 100% different from the one tested a very long time ago on RetroRGB. I have two from back then, and the Realtek chip is RTD2556T.

[xenphor]

I received my USB-C model and it seems to work well. The screen is a bit off center and there is some blacklight uniformity issues on the right side. I've been using the included mini HDMI cable and can select 2048x1536@60hz in Windows, so I'm not sure why people are saying it's not good. The fit is very stiff though. It sucks having to go back to regular vsync after using a VRR monitor, but the input lag is tolerable with Special K. Portal RTX looks nice on it. I feel like I need to use gloves whenever I move it to not mess up the screen, but at least it doesn't have a heavy matte grain on it like my Alienware does.