Toughbook Used as a Multi-media Platform?

I’ve been asked to convert one of our Toughbooks into a sort of portable multi-media player, to be used at an orphanage as both a portable DJ/music player and as a platform to play movies.

Movie night and dance night are both held outside on the basketball court, and for the movies, they are projected on a sheet stretched at one end of the court. They have a portable sound system, so I’m assuming they’d just RCA jack into it for sound, and VGA cable into the projector for the movies.

I have a Mark 5, cf-29, the fastest in my fleet at the moment, one that I will use for it, but I’d love some ideas on possible software.

In the past I would have just downloaded itunes and real player, put in a newer DVD player and called it a day, but I’m sure it could be better. I like the itunes aspect as they could project the visualizer that syncs to the music and make it more fun.

In fact, if it works, I’ll probably build three, so we can export the fun to other sites in the future.

So all you techno /rave/alternative/hip-hop/dance toughbookies, how should I build this?

Sam

 

well, the software costs $35 for non commercial use, but you may want to look into touchtone audio system ( http://www.mp3touchscreens.com/). it's what many of the commercial digital jukeboxes run. nice software, and it has a limited trial to see if it's a good fit.

 

Do they need to be fully rugged? A CF51 would give better performance. I may be able to help you out with one.

 

Not Found (404)
The requested URL /) was not found on this server. Turn your Computer into a Touch Screen Jukebox with Full Screen Mp3 Player Software

 

Try this link

mp3touchscreen

 

whoops.
fixed.

apparently, I am the inquisitive idiot...

 

LOL! Cool!

 

I like it, and will put it on the list.

I really like the touch screen aspect, and its got me wondering if we could build a cool wheeled music cart, with built-in speakers and plugs for their sound system, power strip and then use one of the PDRC touch monitors built in at and angle on the top.

Shawn, thanks for the offer, but for the DR orphanage, it probubly needs to be rugged, as the last time i was there during one of the dances, it was a free for all around a low end house style cd player.

Thanks for the input so far.................

 

OH GOD! I couldn't even fathom using a toughbook as a media center without the touchscreen thing. It's one of the most attractive dj features (for me). I use winamp 2.75 (ooooooooold version, circa 1999). Btu have it tweaked and blown up x2 with a high contrast grey/orange skin I made myself(ish).

SIDEBAR:
My 29 mk1 is kind of a minor dream come true for me...
I was drooling over Fujitsu Point 1600's (P1 - 166mmx, 192mb ram max, 10.4" touch) when they were still being retired from hospitals and sold for $1000+ (2000ish). I had delusions of mounting one in my car for the exact purposes I use my 29 for (mp3, gps, wifi, carputer, infotanement, etc). I eventually ended up with 4 of them, that when sold, got less than $100 each (parts are exxxpensive)
Before that, I had used an old 486dx2 desktop, mpxplay (dos), a 40 character lCD wired out through the lpt, and wired up a custom "touch" controller from a butchered keyboard (like an atm, with the buttons next to the choices) and a 10gb drive. It was quite an achievement for me then.

Anyway, yes....touch screen good for Dj, IMHO.

 

Well, after some additional reading on the link provided, the software has several versions, to include a Karaoke version. Im now thinking we should take another of the PDRC monitors, mount it on a simple stand, and now we have karaoke machine as well.

I really want to find a use for all my PDRC stuff since the kiosks I wanted to build in Haiti idea failed when my playground site was turned into a cholera ward.

Thanks guys............

 

For the movie portion, I have used PowerDVD on a CF-29 with excellent results. The main reason I like it above other players is that it has the ability to play DVD "backup files" directly from a hard drive. I know that DVD copying is a delicate subject and backups are not really legal either, but under the circumstances you describe, it might be better to burn the movie to a hard drive and put the disc back away where it is safe. As Jiminy Cricket once said, let your conscience be your guide. As for me, I was able to enjoy my entire DVD collection in Baghdad for a year while my discs were stored safely back at home and I lost no sleep over it. If you want more info on this, I would suggest a PM would be the best venue to continue the conversation.

Even if you are not interested in the backup files feature, I have found PowerDVD to be easier to use and a lighter client than RealPlayer. Mainly, RP annoys the heck out of me always needing to update and trying to force its way into the default player for all media files, including music files which will be a problem if you choose to use WinAmp with the TouchTone software as recommended by interestingfellow and others. I have not used RP in years, so it may be better now but it used to be RealAnnoying.

 

I haven't tried it in a year or so, but yes, I found RP to be a Real Pain.
Another option for playing "backed up" dvd's is VLC. VLC will play just about everything, has it's own codecs included, and is just pretty darn good. You can skin it and customize it, which may assist in using it for both video and audio fies.

And on another note, there is an applet for win xp that allows you to mount iso images as though they were an actual drive themselves.
(iso is a file type that can contain the image of a entire disk, say....a cd or dvd, for example) you can download it from right here. It is of course, unofficial and unsupported, but it is from MS, and works, none the less. I use it all the time without problem.

 

There are three versions of CyberLink PowerDVD 11; and they have a Sale going on:

[_] Ultra US$ 99.95 US$ 59.95
Ultimate Blu-ray, 3D and HD experience
Includes PowerDVD Mobile $19.99
SAVE 50% + EXTRA BONUS YouCam 5

[_] Deluxe US$ 69.95 US$ 55.96
Brilliant DVD and HD video playback

[_] Standard US$ 49.95 US$ 39.96


I have to add a "+1" on PowerDVD. :yes:

 

RealPlayer is listed by at least three sites as MalWare; it's primary function is to provide "anonymous usage data" back to Real Networks which is sold for data mining. I trust them about as much as I trust Carrier IQ.

mnem
"Real" my scaly hindquarters.

 

I know, it is not really what you are looking for, but if you need a good (free) cue program for theatrical use, This one is free and very good

You can run audio and video and command it with midi or even over telnet.
It is also very touchscreen friendly

 

You Might have a look at Foobar 2000 for your music player. It is highly customisable so you can include the features you need and leave out the stuff that will get in the way. You can lock it all down too so inquisitive kids can't mess it up. The library feature is particularly good - just point it to your music files and it will let you search by album, artist, song title, and genre. It can be set up as a portable installation on the computer too which means you could have several setups for particular situations.
There are many plugins available and an active developer community
at Hydrogen audio.
You can set up as many play lists as you like and get lyrics, album art and biography from the internet via wiki, last.fm etc

There are themed versions available from, among others, Deviant Art and you might find someone has set up a version that suits your needs but it does work very well in basic form.
This is my current setup and incorporates coverflow which allows you to sort through your album covers with the touchscreen - might be a nice feature for kids.

I put Foobar 2000 on my CF29 Mk1 a few months ago and it works a treat doing everything Winamp does with the simplicity and lightness of VLC.