Author Topic: Monitor in middle of poker table question.  (Read 3974 times)

Q-Prof

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Monitor in middle of poker table question.
« on: August 03, 2009, 03:12:21 AM »
Recently found this excellent tutorial:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Put-an-LCD-in-your-Poker-Table/
on putting a monitor into the middle of the table, and using Tournament Director with some customization to come up with a great practical center piece for tracking and displaying time, chip count, etc. while playing.
My question is
I am building a table right now and I am wondering if it is worth while to spend extra to put say  a 15 LCD touch screen in the center
(3M™ MicroTouch™ Display C1500SS Enclosure Monitor)  http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/3MTouchSystems/TS/Solutions/TouchMonitors/C1500SS/
as opposed to a regular screen.  I am thinking in conjunction with Windows 7, Tournament Director, and actual practical usage during a game. 

I know there are issues with accidental touching of the screen, but I am sure that is just a software mod that implemented to prevent accidents - there always is something put into place just in case.

Anyway, any further insight into this issue would be great, as I am not an experienced user of the software yet.

Bottom line, based on software and program experience, would this be a great idea and your reasons why?
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Johno

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Re: Monitor in middle of poker table question.
« Reply #1 on: August 03, 2009, 09:08:08 AM »
How can the screen determin which are "Accidental" or "Intentional" touches?
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Q-Prof

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Re: Monitor in middle of poker table question.
« Reply #2 on: August 03, 2009, 02:52:51 PM »
First of all, there are two types of touch screens out there: Capacitive and Resistive.
The Capacitive works on the actual electricity in your finger, so a poker chip or a card will not actually set it off, but your hand will.
http://www.tvielectronics.com/Touch_Screen.html

The touch screen I was looking at is 1024 X 768 capacitive.  Incidentally, capacitive screens have a better light/screen passing through, and a 75 degree viewing angle from straight on view from vertical and horizontal. Only thing though is it's going to cost about $500, as opposed to a regular monitor which is probably a little over 1/5th the price.

Anyway, the touch screen will only work if it is set up with the usb cable attached also to the computer... and with the software that allows it to work with the application and the operating system, similar to a PDA, you can "lock" everything, i.e. temporarily turn the touch screen sensors off, or ignore any touch commands.
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Re: Monitor in middle of poker table question.
« Reply #3 on: August 04, 2009, 09:06:06 PM »
I had a Dell 15" touchscreen monitor. Just make sure you have the latest drivers and that they are Windows 7 compatible. I had a hard time finding Vista drivers. I'm not sure how you would use Tournament director inconjunction with a touchscreen display since you need a keyboard to control the program... I guess you could use a virtual keyboard...
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Q-Prof

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Re: Monitor in middle of poker table question.
« Reply #4 on: August 04, 2009, 11:24:04 PM »
I was chatting with another guy Jason over at Instructables: http://www.instructables.com/member/je1330/ who is the only one I know who has put a monitor in the center of the poker table successfully and created an online tutorial to share with everyone.  He ended up having to make another one as it was a great idea.  He thought it would be a great idea, and so I am going to try it.  If this catches, maybe Tournament Director will look at it's use during the game with this idea kept in mind.

Using the customization screen you can get a nice 4 directional timer/information screen that everyone can see.  I was talking to a 3M techie today and they are working very close with Windows 7 and also have a developers kit for application software developers.  I can see the possibility of touch screens getting very popular, especially with Windows 7 supporting it directly.  There will be a need for the key board is in select situations, but for basic display of information and control during game play, it looks like it will work well from what I can see.

It is nice to hear some input, but I thought there would be more interest in this, as I think this is an awesome addition to a poker table, even if it is a regular monitor (cheaper).  As far as the keyboard and mouse are concerned, if you have blue tooth, then a key board can also be easily used say under the table with a slide out tray - if really needed.  I plan to use my old lap top for now with an extended video cable.
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