Qualia Build/Suggestions/Mini Review

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jbammi
 
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Qualia Build/Suggestions/Mini Review

Post by jbammi »

Received and assembled the Qualia last night. The tutorial is spot on. A few suggestions:

1) The power and display port cables seem to put some stress at the plugs. I looped both of them on the arms and zip tied them. Way less moment of inertia at the plugs.

2) If hooking up to a Mac, also install your favorite resolution switching utility (i like QuickRes) . This will allow you to choose from a whole range of resolutions, even on a secondary monitor (the display control panel on BANNED does not give you many choices).

3) If hooking up to Linux (i hooked it as the primary monitor to a 2nd gen Intel Nuc with thunderbolt), open Settings->Universal Access and choose Large fonts. It will look gorgeous. In your applications (especially chrome) adjust your fonts to be larger.

4) Adafruit: The frame, though functional, is a little lame. I would have at least expected it to have drillings for a VESA mount form factor (with an additional cross member). I have ordered a iPad Xstand from monoprice. Will see how that works out. Right now having only the one picture frame's viewing angle is driving me crazy.

Love the monitor, great job with the controller, a good price (the frame: not so much :-)

Overall very impressed by Qualia, and as always great ideas and execution from Adafruit.

++jrb

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Qualia Build/Suggestions/Mini Review

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

Thanks for the feedback!

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mmccool
 
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Re: Qualia Build/Suggestions/Mini Review

Post by mmccool »

I would also like to comment on the frame. I just got my Qualia and set it up, and it's working with no problems. However...

1. The display arrived with one tab bent, and I had to straighten it out. A mention of this in the instructions would help.
2. The frame pieces would not fit around the tabs, and I had to file one of the notches out (part C) so the LCD would fit.
3. The ribbon cable had come out of the driver board and I had to reseat it. Some instructions on how to do this would help (I wasn't sure if it was a push-in or a clip-in. Push-in, it seems)

However, these are minor things. Here are the MAJOR ones:

4. No adjustable angle? No way to fold it flat? REALLY? I bought this because I wanted a portable display. Now I'm going to have to redesign the stand to get something that folds. And a fixed angle is just intolerable.
5. The way the driver board is mounted to the frame requires a specific distance between the LCD and the driver board. However, on the LCD I got the flex cable was folded and clipped to the LCD in such a way that did not allow any adjustment to the length, and the mounting position of the driver board was about 1mm away from where it should be for the cable. After a bit of gentle rearranging I managed to get things to work, but it would be MUCH better if you used horizontal slots where the driver board is mounted rather than simple holes. Then I would have been able to slide the driver board to minimize tension on the flex cable. What I have works but I feel there is tension on the flex cable that should not be there... I get the feeling it will get pulled out of the molex connector one day soon.

So: I second the original post. Nice driver board, nice display; frame, not so much.

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waaronw
 
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Re: Qualia Build/Suggestions/Mini Review

Post by waaronw »

I've just received and assembled my Qualia. It sure is a fun little screen! There are problems under BANNED getting it to run in HiDPI (see other posts) but I'm hoping that will be remedied soon. In any case, even at full rez, I love this thing.

I'm slightly disappointed to find that the included acrylic bezel is just a *tad* bit different than an iPad 1. If it were sized just about 2mm shorter (and without feet) and 2mm wider, it would make building the display into a rugged iPad 1st gen case (they are thicker) much easier. (note that it would also likely be necessary to remove the barrel jack from the board to do this) Alas, I'll be doing something even more custom so I don't feel like this thing is so fragile.

Also, folks, the screen as-is isn't really made to be exposed to the elements -- especially fingers and such. The surface isn't hard glass - read the warnings in the spec sheet for more info. I'd suggest, if possible, covering the surface with something. I'm not sure how screen protectors will work, but I plan to try one. If you've tried this, could you let us know how it worked?

Finally, for Adafruit: the driver board was mostly disconnected on mine when I received it since it was free to slide around, flexing the cable in the process. Possibly a small piece of tape securing it to the back of the screen for shipping would prevent this.

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Qualia Build/Suggestions/Mini Review

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

The note about the tape is handy. I'll pass that along to the folks in packaging.

Thanks for the feedback!

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adafruit2
 
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Re: Qualia Build/Suggestions/Mini Review

Post by adafruit2 »

For people who want an 'adjustable'/folding screen, you can remove the back legs and use
https://www.adafruit.com/product/1753

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waaronw
 
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Re: Qualia Build/Suggestions/Mini Review

Post by waaronw »

A followup on the use of a screen protector:
I've had great luck applying an "HD" screen protector (I like Tech BANNED brand, inexpensive and high quality). Of course it needs to be manually cut to fit, but once on it's a great improvement. It's much easier to clean than the native surface on the screen. As I previously mentioned, the surface on the screen isn't made to be handled, so I'm thrilled that the screen protector works so well. I'd recommend it to all users of this screen.

thesmileman
 
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Re: Qualia Build/Suggestions/Mini Review

Post by thesmileman »

In reference to the poor design of the stand can you release the design files for the stand so the community can improve on them? I would really like vesa mount holes. Also it would be great to design it to be the same dimensions as an Ipad so we can use stands built for them.

thesmileman
 
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Re: Qualia Build/Suggestions/Mini Review

Post by thesmileman »

Can anyone from Adafruit comment on if the design files for the Qualia case can be released so we can modify them for our needs?

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adafruit2
 
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Re: Qualia Build/Suggestions/Mini Review

Post by adafruit2 »


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noggin72
 
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Re: Qualia Build/Suggestions/Mini Review

Post by noggin72 »

Can anyone advise what material the Qualia stand is made from. I have a bare board and display, but want to build a case. As Adafruit don't sell the case separately I was going to get one laser-cut, but knowing the thickness and type of material is kind of key to this I guess?

(Why didn't I buy a Qualia display kit - long story...)

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