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[Project] Entertainment Island

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 1:30 am
by DemonicSandwich
Before my discharge it was agreed that I would sleep in the living room so that I wouldn't have to uproot my dad from what was my room in the rear.
And I ended up buying a laptop before my discharge.

I've been gaming with a computer screen for so long that using a TV that is 10 feet across the room in unacceptable.
My bed is a futon, aka a couchbed. And I'd rather have my gaming come to me than me go to it. So I wanted some kind of mobile, wheeled platform to put all my gaming shit inside off with a monitor on top.
That way when I feel like gaming, I just roll that bitch right out front.

After doing a little shopping around Walmart for a cabinet or something to attach wheels to, we stumbled upon a Kitchen Island.

Checklist: [☒]Not started., [☐]Started, not complete., [☑]Complete
  • [☑]Ventilation installed.
  • [☑]Monitor Desk Arm installed with monitor.
  • [☒]Composite to VGA installed.
  • [☐]PSU installed.
  • [☒]Interior Lighting installed
  • [☐]KVM installed. (Monitor signal switcher)
  • [☒]Cables, PSU, and power strips mounted under shelf.
Monitor
Cougar suggested I get a desk mount to attach the monitor to. I found one at Walmart online. Swapped the LCD for a CRT on the old PC and look the LCD.

Monitor Inputs
Since my laptop has a VGA port on the side, I can have a second monitor on my laptop. But I hate the plug/unplug shit I did before so I got a KVM switch.
That way I can switch between input at the press of a switch, and the device can be powered from 360's USB standby power.

Ventilation
I wanted to be able to have the cabinet doors closed while the xbox is on, so some ventilation would be needed. I installed four 8cm fans in the back to keep the air flowing.
The pair directly behind the console suck air out while the opposite pair brings air in.

Power Supply
I needed some kind if power supply for the fans. Figured a simple wall adapter would suffice. Maybe so, but a 200W PSU was only 10$ and I could power other shit from it.
Other things like interior lighting and control circuitry for it. I chose two 4w flourescent lamps. One for each shelf. Waiting for them to arrive in the mail.

Sound System???
I haven't decided yet but I think I may install my 2:1 speaker system in there as well.

Other Consoles
I also intend on installing my modded xbox original but since a VGA cable for it is so rare (and expensive) I would need an exterior converter instead.
Also by having an exterior converter, I can hook up my PS2 with it as well. Waiting for said device to arrive.

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Re: [Project] Entertainment Island

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 1:43 am
by DoorM4n
Holy crap that is awesome! You're one clever guy! I'm really envious too! :D

Re: [Project] Entertainment Island

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 2:46 am
by Ogrish
I see you have the customary jackoff towel, and holder installed. :XD:

But seriously, you can can buy a thin lightwieght metel organizer for your games and stuff.

Re: [Project] Entertainment Island

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 3:15 am
by Gary
Looks cool man, I don't have any suggestions at the moment. You pretty much thought of everything for it. Good luck.

Ogrish wrote:I see you have the customary jackoff towel, and holder installed. :XD:
Lol, would really suck if someone who didn't know what it was used for used it to wipe their face :XD:
Ogrish wrote: But seriously, you can can buy a thin lightwieght metel organizer for your games and stuff.
Why buy? Find some steal and weld one together.

Re: [Project] Entertainment Island

Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2011 3:05 pm
by DemonicSandwich
I got a few packages in the mail. I got a few 4W flourescent lamps to light up the shelves. I may put a color filter on them perhaps.
And I got a Composite->VGA adaptor. The quality is barely ok.

By no means sharp but the biggest downfall is that the resulting VGA signal is very dark.
Even with the monitor Brightness and Contrast maxed, areas like the dark sections of Waterworks are near totally dark.

I managed to install my xbox original and PS2 slim, and sound systems sub-woofer inside the cabinet as well.
The VGA switch that I got a while ago has a switch button on a long cable, allowing me to install the button on the outside of the cabinet.
This way I can mod something, test it, then take a break by switching over to 360 input and chill for a little while.

Re: [Project] Entertainment Island

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 3:10 am
by bumlove
instead of using composite to vga why not just use yelo neighbourhood streaming? boot to debug and just leave the xb video lead hanging?

Oh I didn't notice you're using a ps2 as well

Re: [Project] Entertainment Island

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 5:03 am
by DemonicSandwich
Not my idea of fun playing on a 320 pixel feed. That and it cuts the frame rate by at least half when live feed is running.

And the feed is buggy when using it on a laptop with the xbox bridged through it. Fucking bridge resets every time the port looses connection.

Re: [Project] Entertainment Island

Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2012 8:56 am
by DemonicSandwich
Removed the top bar from the cabinet portion of the island and attached the door sensors.
Gonna mount some of the shit(vga splitter, vga converter, etc.) on the underside of the shelf so that they are out of the way.

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Edit: Shit attached.
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