I thought it was a good idea to start a new thread to summarise the discussion about 12" screens for the Picade. The existing threads are very long…
What are we speaking about?
LCD TFT screen, 4:3, maximum physical size about 264x210 mm to fit into the Picade with (almost) no modification to the case
including controller with HDMI input
Nice to have:
1024x768 (XGA) instead of 800x600 (SVGA)
good luminosity (LED is better than CCFL)
good contrast (LED is better than CCFL)
viewing angle (LED is much better than CCFL)
The market as of today (4.3.2018):
Samsung LTN121XL01-N03 (XGA, LED): seems not to be available any more. “Displaysscreen” pretends it is “in Stock” but I ordered one two weeks ago and they refunded me because they cannot deliver it (unfortunately, I had already ordered a controller for it…
IVO M121GNX2 (XGA, LED): available on eBay with controller for $185, look at this post of “coffeefueled”. Much too wide (279mm), would need a big modification of the Picade, a no-go?.
SHARP LQ121S1LG75 (SVGA, LED): widely available on eBay including the controller for $110. 1mm too wide (265mm) but the Picade should accomodate it after loosening a few screws and a modification to the fastening of the screen (because of the big electronic module at the bottom of the panel)… It is not really a SHARP screen, only some generic but I hope that the specs are the same.
No-name CCFL (XGA, CCFL): a few models available on ebay, many with miserable luminosity and viewing angle. This one has viewing angles of about 45° in all directions. Size OK, no modification of the Picade necessary.
At the moment, I guess my choice is between the “SHARP” LED TFT with SVGA (hoping that the generic one has the same specs as the original) with a modification to the Picade, or a less good one with CCFL and XGA (No-name). As I play mostly older games (MAME 80’s, ZX Spectrum, Amiga) with low resolution, I suppose that the brighter “SHARP” SVGA would be the better choice.
@all who have done the modification: which screen type did you use, are you satisfied with it? Would you buy it again?
@all who are still searching: what are YOUR thoughts? Any alternatives?
The Sharp is a TN panel, so could have some issues with viewing angle? I will probably go with the Samsung LTN121XP01 (~$125 USD from Ali / eBay), as PVA seems like a good alternative to the LTN121XL01 PLS. Hopefully this control board will work with it, I also ordered one early thinking Displayscreen would come through.
You’re probably right, good viewing angles are important. Therefore, I have ordered a LTN121XP01 and I hope that brightness and contrast (both less than the LQ121S1LG75 ) are good enough.
Anyways, it should fit better than the LQ121S1LG75 in the Picade.
Does anybody know what product actually used the LTN121XL01-N03 display? Was it a laptop, tablet, or picture frame? I’m thinking there has to be something out there being sold that’s broke but has a healthy display.
After some searching I found another source for the LTN121XL01-N03. Shipping is a lot higher than Displayscreen, but I e-mailed them and they said it’s in stock. If anyone finds another source don’t hesitate to post it.
I have asked elecok.com exactly thesame a few das ago and they didn’t answer…
I would hesitate ordering a LTN121XL01 in China at the moment as displaysscreen.com wrote me the following after cancelling and refunding my order: “this time LTN121XL01-N03 not very good condition”
@ Picard: please let us know if you are succesful!
Here’s the reply I got so others can make their own purchase decision. Not gonna order due to the high shipping cost ($41 to Canada), but at least the option is there.
elecok_service AT elecok DOT com
Mar 5 (3 days ago)
to me
Hi dear,
Just a heads up that ELECOK.com is now out of stock on the LTN121XL01-N03 screen. I ordered it a few hours after you posted and this morning they canceled my order saying they “just sold out”. It’s frustrating because I purchased the controller for $30 on eBay and that was already shipped.
So I guess I’m still looking for a LTN121XL01-N03. Any more ideas? Also do we know what device this monitor came from? Maybe we can find a used one?
Wow that sucks, must both have the same supplier then.
Anyways I bit the bullet and ordered a LTN121XP01 (eBay has a 20% off coupon today). Might take a while but I’ll report how it works once all the parts come in.
Quick update! I found 3 places that are selling the LTN121XL01-N03 screen! (One of them we already know about, but my order shipped from them anyway…weird.)
Invshop http://screensstock.com/genuine-samsung-ltn121xl01-n03-original-lcd-panel-12-1-1024x768-display-screen-idsamsung214.html
I found this company from a deep Google search. They were the most expensive at $164 shipped for the screen via DHL. When I ordered, I never got a confirmation email from the company, except for my PayPal receipt. I also never got an email that my item shipped. I did, however, get a text message from DHL saying they picked up my package so… shrug again
adster I can confirm, Displayscreen sent me an e-mail 2 days ago that the LTN121XL01-N03 was back in stock.
What I found out is the glossy XL panel is designed for laptop and the matte XP for tablet. I agree, would be nice to find out what products use(d) it. Very different despite the similar model #
I ordered a screen from Displaysscreen in December. Screen arrived DOA and like others have posted I can not get it to power on. EBay seller for controller provided awesome service and sent me a second controller for free but warned it sounded like screen was defective.
I sent at least 6 emails to displaysscreens with no response and had given up hope when I finally received a single response. Another 6 emails later no more responses and I have just accepted that the money spent on this screen and controller have been wasted. Now looking at the other options in this thread…
I was browsing through PanelLook to see if there could be other possible options. Ones that are preferentially labeled as “In Production” rather than Discontinued.
I found this option.
Model: G121X1-L04 / G121X1-L03 (L03 is Brighter by 100 and considered for “Gaming” per application listing)
Type: TFT WLED
Reso: 1024x768
Outline Dimension: 260.5x204mm
HDMI Controller: Yes Comparison Stats of L04 & L03
The price for this screen is rather pricey. It varies from $130 - $200 depending on the ebay seller. The control boards are priced from $25 and above. I think the boards for these are rather new. They weren’t listed before when I searched a couple of months ago.
I’ll be crunching some numbers and hopefully make the binge for it this or next month. If I do, I’ll report my findings.
I have been looking through the panels on ebay and panellook to try and find the best one available now. Like hyper I came across the G121X panels. I ended up purchasing the G121X1-L04. Seems to be one of the better 1024x768 panels you can order on ebay. I got it for around $130 by ordering the panel and controller separate. I’ll reply once I receive to let you guys know how I like it. Here is a list I started to compile
As I had asked them explicitly to test it before sendind, they sent me a video of their test! A better service than Displaysscreen…
The bezel has scratches, but the screen itself is in perfect condition and there are no dead pixels. The only thing I cannot judge is its remaining life expectancy, as I have no idea how long it was used before.
I can confirm this: I ordered one display at the same seller after reading this, it arrived yesterday and is working fine with the driver board from eBay seller chinatobby.
Finally a working combination. My order of the display from displaysscreen.com earlier was defective as well.
Well I finally got every thing together. I had some problems with the G121X1-L04 I ordered and had to send it back. Since I already had the driver kit I ordered the G121X1-L03 instead. I have to say I am very happy with my purchase and would recommend the upgrade. I only have the original 8 inch screen to compare it to but the extra size and resolution of the G121X1-L03 are worth the upgrade. The picture looks great too bright and punchy. I had to turn down the brightness and contrast a bit but I think it looks better than the 8 inch screen. The panel also fit perfectly in the picade and required no modification other than trimming the black bezel around the screen. IMO the G121X1-L03 is a viable alternative to the Samsung.