You just went from something easy to something a lot harder
Heh, I’d be happy with just hdmi in, but one can dream…
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Alternative 1: How about going straight to the monitor and adding a second input that is direct to the screen instead of going through the pci/mainboard. Have a keyboard shortcut to switch inputs.
Alternative 2: Have the framework mainboard connect to the screen using usb c and provide some ability to convert/mount third party screens . We could then upgrade our screen with any portable monitor product (ex: asus zenscreen) that would fit into the framework frame. There are a lot of options in that space (screens with batteries, screens with touchscreen/pen input). This would give framework users a lot of upgrade options without framework having to design and manufacture a bunch of different screen products.
That would need a major mainboard change and some creative abuse of usb-c pins.
As someone who has bolted usb-c screen to a laptop, I can sat that isn’t a very normal user friendly thing to do but yeah more screen options would be nice.
There are single-chip HDMI-to-USB solutions like the MS2130, which should fit in an expansion module. Unfortunately documentation for that chip is rather sparse (read: does not publicly exist at all), but there is this open-source design that makes use of it: GitHub - YuzukiHD/YuzukiLOHCC-PRO: Low cost USB3.2Gen1 HDMI-USB Video Acquisition With Loop Out (Loop Out HDMI Capture Card) base on MS2130 & MS9332
That project also has an HDMI splitter and loopback output, which won’t fit in an expansion card and have to be removed. MS2130-based capture devices can also be found en masse on aliexpress, they sell for around 10-20€.
Based on the schematic for the project I linked above, it looks like a SPI EEPROM is also required (the repository contains a firmware binary).
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Do note that the part you linked is under an NDA, so I really don’t think they should be posting all the files for it.
Hmm, I don’t see any.
(Just like Chinese companies who regularly pretend copyrights, NDAs and anything else they wish just doesn’t exist)
We’ve taken a look at that part (based on non-NDA information), and have concerns about latency.
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I have one of the USB 3 capture dongles using the MS2130. It does have more latency than the built-in screen, but it’s not unusably slow either.
EDIT: at least in guvcview latency is minimal, in OBS it’s a lot worse
A bigger issue is that there are seemingly some graphical artifacts introduced by the capture card – the top-most line in the captured image is always black (or close to black), while the 2 right-most columns are a bit brighter than they should be.
for the right formfactor/footprint, I would absolutely spring for a card that could handle 4k60input.
Physics and BoM might prevent that from being moderately priced.
I would love this.
If i could connect a laptop and use it as a monitor with mouse and keyboard id buy one immediately.
Remote desktop is disabled at work due to security concerns, so i cant use it, but a laptop thats effectivly remote desktop but wired. Oh my, id be very happy and very excited.
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This article on Hackaday looks interesting: delete that HDMI Out and I want to believe this will fit in a Framework accessory footprint…
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Ah right: same person also have an HDMI Capture-only board as well…
Ooh! That looks just right for a larger expansion card like the ethernet one. Getting a tiny capture card in an expansion card form factor would be a dream.
I found a device from MicroCenter that has the necessary ports, usb c to hdmi in, but it looks a little long. https://www.microcenter.com/product/645805/inland-hdmi-to-usb-a-c-video-capture-dongle
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I don’t know if this directly applies or could be adapted to an expansion card format but I thought the announcement might be of interest to some of you:
“eEver Technology, a subsidiary of eTron Technology, has launched the EJ523D 4Kp60 audio and video capture and streaming processor with a USB 3.2 interface, along with a reference platform currently showcased at COMPUTEX 2023.”
https://www.cnx-software.com/2023/05/31/eever-ej523d-chip-enables-4kp60-video-capture-or-streaming-over-usb-3-2/
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Man that chip alone looks bigger than an expansion card but the capabilities do sound nice
Yeah, perhaps HDMI-IN in an i/o array as an expansion bay.
Dreaming bigger…an expansion bay geared towards media and content i/o:
- HDMI-IN
- HDMI-Out
- audio line in
- audio out
Or just a mega connectivity expansion bay…caveat, I have no idea on bandwidth constraints. Any/all of these:
- Dual USB-A
- Dual USB-C
- 10Gb ethernet
- full size SD Card reader
- HDMI-IN
- HDMI-Out
I would absolutely pick up one of these before buying a dGPU expansion bay.